Look what just happened this gen. Two extremely under-powered machines were released in 2013 for the sake of keeping the price low enough. And what happened? They were so under-powered and feature less that we are having a mid-gen hardware upgrade because PS4/X1 specs aren`t just good enough to keep up with development evolution. 

I think having a 600 USD, or even 700 USD or 750 USD shouldn`t be seem as a bad thing. It`s better to pay this much for a gaming console that will hold up for many years than pay 400 USD for something that isn`t just good enough. Having a high price tag at launch and price cuts with time when the manufacturing costs come down should be the natural path. Have PS4 released with the PS4 Pro specs for 600 USD and with price cuts along the years would have been much better than releasing this mid-gen upgrade that is awful because leave developers with not knowing what to do, PS4 base model will bottleneck PS4 Pro potential, and PS4 Pro potential not being explored it will be harder to justify purchasing it.

I really hope next gen hardware makers go for higher price tags and deliver great machines from the get-go. 

You may as well build a gaming pc, when you're talking about paying 700+ for a home console.

Or not? Keep doing exactly that? Cause at the end of the day consoles and games need to be affordable for the market to exist. Furthermore, power alone means shit. "Underpowered console" is a concept we, as gamers, should simply scrap from our vocab and focus on what matters: the games. And while you may argue this gen's consoles are shit, there have been some very amazing games.

That is a terrible idea. Console sales would collapse...

Counter point: Wii sold gangbusters
PS4 is selling gangbusters
XB1 announced originally for 500 USD. They are currently hiding their sales numbers.
3DS initially sold poorly. People demanded a price drop for the 3DS. Nintendo caved. 3DS sales boosted.
Wii U initially sold poorly. People demanded a price drop for the Wii U. Nintendo refused. Wii U sales continued to suffer.

Extremely under-powered machines?

How about this, take the most powerful PC gaming rig you can conjure today. Thats under say... $1500. Actually make that under $2000.

Now take the best multiplatform game on the market. Run that game on that PC and then on say the $400....no scratch that, the $250 PS4.

Tell me if you can see $1750 worth of difference. Then remember, the PS4 is at least 4yr old hardware by this time.

The people that sell those GPUs every year, need you to think they way you are thinking.... or not the are irrelevant.

Yeah.. nah.
Needs to be affordable for the general consumer

It's not about price or power compared to PC. They need to be significantly more powerful than the previous generation. Consoles are compared to consoles not PC

The problem with thios is not only I would never pay that outrighteous price, as most of us probably wouldnt, but the problem is with the line of thinking that, for a system to be considered next-gen, it needs tyo be a powerful console, it needs to have x teraflops.

This needs to stop.Especially now that the power jump is getting smaller and smaller.Compare an end gen game from PS3 with a game from PS4.The difference is really small.Not only that, but few games have presented new ideas that havent been done or couldnt been done last gen.This mindset that power comes over everything will end up being the end of consoles.For all the hate people have on Nintendo, he is the only one that is innovating and creating new possibilities for gaming out of the three console manufacturers.And thats why I also think that the Switch is the right choice for them.

Gaming is a hobby.A luxury.Thats why it also needs to be as affordable as possible.After that, we have reached a point that extra power dosent necessaraly mean a better game, so innovation(as long as it is a good idea) should ALWAYS comes first.Not saying that there shouldnt be a power boost, but it shouldnt be the priority.You get the idea.

Price was one of the main reasons the PS3 struggled in the beginning, even though it was extremely powerful tech when it released. Price matters for the average consumer.