@ joeorc,
I'm pretty surprised at how arrogant Sony has become in the past 2 generations, so I wouldn't be surprised if they truly think that their system is a downright bargain at $399.99, and are appalled that people aren't scooping them up off the shelves as soon as they arrive. Nintendo had the same arrogance problem in the 80s and early to mid 90s. It led to bad business decisions. I'm not a Sony fan, but I want good competition, and right now Sony isn't really pushing Nintendo. MS (with their lower prices and family series of games) are pushing Nintendo much more than Sony is.
Also, I find it funny that you mention the 20 million sold. You're a glass-half-full kinda guy ;) Just imagine if they had lowered the price how many more units they would've sold. Perhaps another 5-10 million, or more? Who knows!
It's good to keep in mind that the Japanese typically think MUCH longer term than Americans, and I know Sony has many more product lines than smallish Nintendo, so it's harder for them to stay focused. However, the future success of Sony's Bluray hinged on the PS3 being dominant in this generation like the PS2 was in the last generation. That hasn't come close to being reality. I feel that if they had lowered the PS3 price early, and taken some big losses, they would've pushed the market to adopt the Bluray players faster, and thus improved their position in the long run. Right now, their short-term outlook is bleak, and their long-term outlook isn't much different.
Hardware is only a means to enjoy great games!
