Beautifully said! It's way over-priced and the revised hardware has nothing compelling to offer. The Age of Mediocrity in the console space... has begun.

Microsoft is even worse. They are still charging $400 US at BestBuy for a 250GB Xbox360 + Kinect.
http://www.bestbuy.com/si...0kinect&cp=1&lp=1

Considering Kinect 2.0 is rumored to be integrated into the next Xbox, and I doubt MS will charge $600 for the next Xbox, my guess is a next generation Xbox with Kinect 2.0 won't be more than $500. $400 for a 7-year-old Xbox360 sounds absurd! How are consumers still paying these prices?

Psst, they did upgrade to 250/500GB & dropped prices.

What would you do with 802.11n wireless? It sounds nice I'd like it too. What would you like to transfer? Gigabit Ethernet would be kick ass. But in reality what I want is the ability to stream from a PC. Copying files over a network (minus gigabit eth) takes a lot more time, than just watching them from where-ever they are. We need solutions that allow this. Otherwise a sneaker-net of carrying flash drives is easier, than downloading over a network (wireless or otherwise).

I can tell you have a good head on your shoulders. But your views don't include the fact that this is also the most advanced Blu-ray player on the market (repeated endless, but have mercy on those who buy a dedicated Blu-ray player, that doesn't include gaming & and storage). Sony placing 250-500GB of storage on this drive, also means TiVo, Netflix, etc functionality is on the table.

http://us.playstation.com/psn/psn-services/
With a browser it is a full on PC.
Sony, could Strike a deal with Google. And their common Unix-like framework could work out. (YellowDog & Android)

Find:
+ 500GB Notebook HDD (Not a heavy block)
+ Internet Streaming Services,
+ 3D Video
+ DVD & Blu-ray
+ 3D Gaming
__________
$299?

If you've already got one, I can understand. You have to justify why not to upgrade like an iPhone clone. But if you don't have a console, DVD, or Blu-ray, player... this may be the very best deal there is.

We always want cheaper. But the American Government or Industry fight quietly to keep control of the market and what technologies we are allowed to have. I believe in delivering the best product. If you want that to happen, then stop blaming Sony and find out what rules, lawsuits, and other things are happening to stop you from getting what you want!

Apple sued Samsung for $1Billion dollars because the Samsung GalaxyS3 might be a better phone than the iPhone5. That Billion Dollars can only be paid by charging customers more. Your wallet has to get larger every time there is an excessive lawsuit for damages that never happened. Our wallets suffer because of people stopping companies like Sony from offering more than competitors want.

I hope Samsung gets the $1B fine removed as unjust or excessive. So that you and I will be able to afford products like Super AMOLED Plus! http://www.oled-info.com/super-amoled-plus ~ Without that fine We could all own Super Retina displays on our PC's tablets, etc.

Don't blame Sony. Petition those who would stop Sony & Samsung from giving you what you want at the price you can afford. If people don't petition the courts, then $300+Extra has to be charged to you 3.4Million times before you can buy a $300 device for less than $600.

____________
Update:

Damn.... WTF, Apple??? They just asked a Judge for the $1Billion to be tripled to $3Billion???
http://www.dailytech.com/...es+to+3B/article27737.htm

Seriously... Who the F* can afford to pay off
three billion by charging their customers for Apples greed? Who thinks consumers should protect this in order to have an alternative to the iPhone or afford to buy a Computer Display that uses Samsung panels???

I may get one as well since my BD drive is dead (or the controller for it) so can't play... replacement drive is about $120 and may not fix my problem so I think I'll wait for one of these to be on sale for just over $200 AU (like the 160GB slim was this year) and pick one up, oh and a 500GB drive for < $85 so it's useful!