You know, Sony could implement a contract option without tying it to a subscription service. I don't know why people seem to think it needs it to be a contract payment system. Playstation is going with the free/PS+ model and they will retain the quality of the free service. Adding new features or at least advanced versions of features will be the realm of PS+ now that it exists.
With a contract console they will probably throw in a month or three of PS+ for free since the service is centerd around games you can only play while you retain a subscription. Still optional, but the incentives will retain users and attract ones that wouldn't bite unless they were introduced to it through a free trial.
@BlkPaladin
I appreciate the maths on your Wii U cost estimation but in order for that to be even close Nintendo would have to be retaining the same profit margin (by percentage) that it set for the 3DS, which people seem to agree was over ambitious and with the issues they had with the price drop one would assume they would avoid a similar pricing structure. I'd guess the Wii U cost around $200 to produce, allowing some profit on the base model and more for the premium. Nothing outrageous.
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
