If you are into video games, you probably know all about the ridiculous price tag associated with Sony's PS3. (Sure, you get a blu-ray player and a lot of bang for your buck, but the system is a massive hit to the wallet.) I bet you have even heard how each generation of consoles tend to sell at a loss, forcing their parent companies to make up the difference through licensing fees, game, and peripheral sales. Gamespot passed along a report from iSuppli stating that the 60gb version of the PS3 initially cost end users $599 but cost $840 to make. Now the 80gb model with a $399 price tag costs about $448 to make.
Now, I'm not a financial genius, but it seems to me that they would have been a lot better off trimming out some of the extra bells and whistles and selling them as add-ons. It worked for Sony before. When I bought my PS1 way back when, I picked up the system and Final Fantasy VII. I rushed home, popped the box, hooked it up, and quickly learned that I needed a memory card to save my game on. What? I never needed anything like that with my SNES or NES. Anyway, make all those extras just that "extras". If people want to buy them, let them. What Sony should have done is what any good traveling salesman knows: get your foot in the door. If you can make the system affordable enough for more people to buy it, they'll get hooked and be back for more.
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