You are kidding... right? Its not about the cost in terms of weekly/monthly salary. Its about the opportunity cost (a fundamental economic principle) - what ELSE you can get with the same cash. ... 360 entertainment pack - Premium model, 2 controllers, 2 games - about $1000 (I think I got that right??). Wii pack - Wii, Wii Sports, Wii Play (2nd controller), Zelda, Nunchuck - about $650. PS2 or Xbox - around $200 (or less). Games retailing for $20-$30. For $300 you can get a GREAT gaming pack. DS + 2 games - about $250. ... $1000 will also get you a laptop, holiday, (very) cheap car, 40 DVD's, a lovely TV (etc). Consider than a PS3 with HDMI cable, 2 games, extra controller will cost close to $1400AU - and its not hard to see why they haven't sold out. This is a purchase for either people with too much money, or people who have waited/saved a long time for a PS3. (NOTE - EB have a trade in deal - PS3 for *only* $700 - when you trade in a PS2 & TWENTY titles).

I don't know... I'm a bit astonished. 600$ for a PS3 isn't a highway robbery. YES. The price is reasonable. I live in a pretty poor country and all these complaints regards price are extremely weird for me. About games... right now I pay 189 pln ~ 65$ for a PSP game (!) It's a lot of money. 600$ - it's something I would love to pay for PS3 (I have to pay 800$, and ~75$ for a game) How can you complain? You trying to convince everyone here that console-price should be almost imperceptible for you home budget. No it shouldn't - it's a big deal. Everything is a matter of importance. I can relax with games - so it's important for me. For example I will never pay "real money" for a mobile phone. I'm using SE k750i which I got for less than 20$ (with service plan) but I can assure you there will be a lot guys and gals who will pay $600 for this crap from Apple. Don't use one measure for everyone. Don't throw flames on people who likes electronic entertainment more than you.

I am sorry, but I actually agree. Considering the bang for your buck pricing seems reasonable. It's expensive and a product aimed a the higher end of the gaming market. The PS2 is cheap and targeted at the lowend market. It's not expensive at all, if you consider Sony currently won't be making money on the hardware sales. They are selling a relatively futureproof piece of equipment which is very complex and expensive to make.

Hardly futureproof, needs sales today to guarantee that

@ jstam I meant the basic hardware specs with the Cell, Blu-Ray, HDMI 1.3, Wi-Fi. etc are very high end and state of the art of modern technology. There are already millions of units sold in only a couple of months, the PS3 has a long term strategy and doesn't need to beat its competitors right away. especially with the PS2 still performing so strongly. I think mass sales of the PS3 would be more interesting for Sony, when they are cheaper to make for them.