Without a hard drive the PS3 couldn't do Everything.

Well I had a somewhat modified idea on this. Basically the HDD-less sku is sold to existing PS3 owners who already have a massive 320Gig or 500 Gig HDD in their phat. Not only that but they probably still have the orignal 60 or 80 Gig HDD that came with their phat. So you have a spare HDD kicking around anyway.

Or the $199 HDD-less sku is not really sold HDD-less, rather it is sold with an HDD in the size of your choice. You want a 500Gig HDD in your slim? Sure thing. And why have the hassle of having to do something with an HDD that at only 120Gig is pretty much useless to anyone other than a Phat owner who still has their original 40 or 60 Gig HDD.

Tell me this: If HDDs are so cheap for Sony why was the 80Gig $100 cheaper than the 160Gig? That's a huge mark-up on something that might only cost Sony $10-15 more to manufacture.

HDD-less sku is a fine idea if it can be significantly cheaper then the 120Gig sku, and as long as the customer is clearly informed that they should only buy it if they already have a spare HDD hanging around, or if they intend to get a much bigger HDD for the PS3 than the 120Gig that the std sku comes with.

I wonder if they'd sell many such skus, but there would be a market for them. It's just a question of whether the market you be large enough to be worth it.

I personally would have bought an HDD-less PS3 (phat or slim), along with a 320 or 500gig HDD to install into it. But I'm making do with my 80Gig HDD for now, though I know in time 80Gig will fill up and I'll need to get a bigger one later on.

^^
I think the option to buy a PS3 without a fitted HDD but with a mandatory need to buy one yourself would be nice - i.e. I order a PS3 and a 250 GB HDD and get the PS3 minus the cost of the 120 GB HDD I don't want.

Zing!

There you go. Reasonable being reasonable; by agreeing with me