You can already get a 4GB flash drive for $9 on Newegg which means in reality it can be had in large volumes for probably $4-5 or less, a custom design not using the USB standard and read only flash would be cheaper. In a year, that flash drive will be the same price for 8GB for the same price and a couple of years later it will be 16GB. So we're looking at ultra cheap 16GB flash memory by the time the generation starts over, then once 450mm wafers hit full speed we're looking at each flash module being cheaper to produce and capacities rising to 32 and 64GB with production costs plummeting.
If the cost of one optical drive is greater than 6-7 flash drives, which would you choose? Would you choose a payout upfront with higher costs over time which diminish or do you resign yourself to paying the fixed cost of that optical drive for every console you ever produce?
Tease.
