I think the exact opposite. I see consoles becoming *more* specialized, not less, to increase appeal to those who want specialized gaming device experience. The "water cooler" idea and tying into cable box business and all that jazz I don't think has a future. Market desires dictate these things and no one got hyped for the Xbox One's focus on being a "hub" of sorts, not even after the DRM was dropped. Just like no one got hyped by Nintendo's talk of using the Wii U to control stuff. But the PS4, which market itself as a dedicated, fairly specialized, game centric device? Selling like hotcakes.

Edit: nevermind, had my device names mixed up.  Still, I don't see this being a big thing.  And on the topic of console specialization and segregation from other forms of media, my above point is what I believe.

You did be surprised. besides that's just an example. there obviously will be different packages. like the above example is for someone that hasn't got a PS4, wants one and wants all the other services too. But for someone that already has a PS4 he may be looking to only pay like $30/month for TV and PS+, then there will be options for someone ready to make a down payment of like $100/$200 towards the console which will reduce what they pay for every month. Point is, the system can be very flexible. 

But hey, it's Sony we are talking about... they will find a way to mess it up and taper momentum. 

how exactly will companies like Comcast crush Sony? the major advantage Sony has is that they will have a PSvue service tailor made for every region all under the PlayStation banner. that's one way the likes of Comcast can't compete with Sony. in addition to that, this is IPtv we are talking about, even Comcast has to not just build their own service but they have to build a following. 

How in the world is $70 a month super expensive. When I dropped Comcast 2 years ago, I was paying $186 a month for TV/Internet/Phone, of that $109 was towards TV, and that was because that was the only package at the time that had ESPN and MLB Network. Right now I pay $74 a month for 50Mbps internet only, If I could get this package with ESPN and MLB Network for $70 a month + I am getting a PS4, I would be comming in cheaper than that Comcast bill, and not having to hook up a useless cable box as well.

In this scenario, Sony has a service that can provide what the cable subscriber wants for less, and provide an avenue for the gamer to get a PS4 for $0 down out the door, while also getting rid of the cable box, and lowering their monthly payement.

Nope, I am telling someone to pay $360 for a game console, while dropping their cable box, and lowering their monthly cable bill. They also have the option to add more value than their cable box can offer, because in this situation they can also get PS Now and PS Music for a similar rate to what they are paying for cable alone. They would also have the ability to use PS Vue (Cable TV equivilant), PS Now, PS Music, and Remote Play on their Smartphone anywhere, anytime. Better device, better services, more places, for lower or equivilent pricing. Even if someone never played a single game on the PS4, it would still be a better deal for the Live TV service alone.

The problem is consoles can not just sit back and be game machines only. The market will pass them by if they don't evolve with the times. Apple, Amazon, Google, Roku, and many others are making devices that do more and more, while also offering games. In time if left unchecked, these devices will start getting Madden, Fifa, Call of Duty, and GTA that is equivelent to what PlayStation and Xbox are getting. The problem I have with this is that starts putting gaming into the hands of companies that are not interested in, but only using it to make there product focused on other areas more appealing.

As a gamer this is not the future I want for this industry. The future I want is one where gaming first companies, mostly like Sony or Nintendo own the platforms people use daily. I want this on Phones, and I want this on television. We have already seen what happened to games when Apple and Google took over the mobile market. I do not want to see the same thing happen to the home console market.

It seems people are still not grasping the gravity of this scenario. This allows people to get rid of the cable box completely (this is something Xbox One was not delivering). By brining in possibly 100's of millions of additional users, it gives Sony a massive amount of new money to play with. Even if these new customers are only comming in to use it as a replacement to their cable box, that is still money in Sony's pocket. It gives the consumer a device that is much more capable than their current cable box and blu-ray player set up, and could lead to them buying and renting movies from PSN, or even dabbling in games, since, well, they are there.

The other major benifit to this is Sony can do continual hardware upgrades to there devices, while leaving the gaming portion alone. That would keep them right in line in the multimedia world, and in competition with anything else on the market. This can work with PS4 and a PlayStation phone if they ever decided to release one. With people already used to paying a monthly bill that includes hardware costs, it would be very easy for Sony to keep the PS4 at $399.99 its whole life, and get people to upgrade every two years just like a smartphone.

Where things get really interesting is when you start to look at next gen. If Sony has this buisness model well established in the next 3 or 4 years, then that opens up a massive amount of leway for a PS5. First with the consinued hardware updates to all non gaming aspects, they have the ability to extend the gen to 2020. Then the biggest part is, they are no longer trapped to the super low entry level price people expect on consoles. With a huge market of people using them as so much more, the value of the device becomes high. In addition, with people already locked into PSN, and used to a a bill with hardware cost built in, they can think much bolder. This could lead to a PS5 that is much more advanced for its time than PS4 is. It could put us back on track to where PS3 and X360 were projecting. Even if the hardware cost is $599.99 of contract, Sony would still be able to pull deals, like trade in your PS4 for a PS5 at no additional cost. Or for new comers, $200 down for PS5, when you sign up for a two year contract.

So, this benifits everyone from the least tech savy person to the most hardcore of gamer. It is a cheaper avenue to the same services people already have, while also consoluidating the cable box, blu-ray player, and console into one machine. For gamers, it can mean a future where game consoles are much more powerful yet easier to afford. Most of all it means way more money for game development, hadrware development, and more flexability for innovation.

This is 100% going to benefit everyone. This is a BIG deal. Anyone paying attention to the constantly rising Sony stock value? This is one of the things driving that.