I don't think that we would be better off, but I expect Sony and/Microsoft to go that way at some point to avoid the blame of price hikes as then they could start out the price higher and/or blame the high prices on their OEM partners..
I expect the end result to look similar to the GPU market, where several companies and brands use the same basic chips and build their own cards out of them. In this case, I expect Sony/Microsoft to set the specs of the console and the manufacturers then build a console around those.
The Nintendo eShop rating Thread: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=237454 List as Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aW2hXQT1TheElVS7z-F3pP-7nbqdrDqWNTxl6JoJWBY/edit?usp=sharing
The Steam/GOG key gifting thread: https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/242024/the-steamgog-key-gifting-thread/1/
Free Pc Games thread: https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/248138/free-pc-games/1/
