They've gotta be losing some serious money.

I don't get why Sony doesn't cut Blu-Ray players. I mean they're fine taking huge losses on the PS3 which they sell more of anyway.

I guess they're trying to make people who want Blu-Ray buy a 40 gig PS3 instead of a stand alone player?

I don't see many early adopters going for that, who just want it for movies. I mean it takes away a lot of the "showing off" when you bring over your friends, or a girl or something. Or atleast the ones that still think videogames are for kids.

I am seriously tempted to do this and take my open-box HD A2 back. If I get some extra loot, I am gonna return it. I already have 300, but want to get both Bournes OR use that extra movie to get Bourne Ultimatum.

Regardless, it's a win-win for consumers. The install base grows - and studios are gonna defect. The region-free crap is one thing - but getting paid is on their minds.

+1 for the HD DVD camp.

If BR would respond, that would be sweet ... but I am still not big on viewing restrictions.

If Sony drops the price of the S300 much lower than it is now, then it will screw over their CE partners. Panasonic, Samsung, etc. are in this to make money, and the only way they'll be able to compete with a heavily subsidized Sony player is by subsidizing their own.

This is the main reason Toshiba is the only manufacturer of HD DVD players. Nobody else can compete with their prices.

After reviewing this, I am gonna do it Monday. It makes no sense for me to pay $99 for a player and yeah, snag two movies, but have to shell out nearly $40 for a remote shipped and no chance of getting the 5 free movies. So, it's settled ... it was nice while it lasted ...

I am thinking I'll probably take the movies back - I still want to keep the movies - and just preorder BU ... and flip 300. That should lower the impact.

Wish me the best ...

They are screwing over Panasonic and Samsung because the PS3 is undercutting standalone sales anyways.

 I think that is a VERY smart move... you'll get another to-line movie, the 5 to flip since you didn't have the box and, wait for it...., a remote.  I just did an online add to cart and sure enough, the movies show up for ZERO as long as they are 34.99 or less.  You can get some top-shelf stuf that will flip at $25 plus shipping on ebay if you want to reduce your cost.  It let me add Shrek the Third at ZERO also and that is a preorder.  I suspect that you can certainly sell that for $25 right out of the gate...  Good luck man... BB isn't known for their customer friendly returns program, but give it a shot and see what happens.

I wish Dreamworks would get off their arses and get their entire library out... The original Shrek and first Ice Age are classics.... come on, guys! 

 Not really. There is a market for standalones for those who just don't want a game console, no matter how good it is.  Subsidizing the S300 would destroy any chance Panasonic, etc. have of making a profit on Blu-Ray.

So you're saying that Blu-Ray won't be able to compete on price?

This week I picked up:

2 Toshiba Players w/ 300 and Bourne Identity= $200 (on sale. usually 200 each)
1 PS3 w/ Spiderman= $400

plus 10 free hd-dvds through mail in rebate and 5 free bluray through mail in rebate.

Assuming every BluRay/HD-DVD is around $20:

I paid $600 for $1160 worth of merchandise.