[Professor S]

If the PS3 price starts at over $400, you can bet that they will lose the next generation. Hands down. And it won't even be a contest (unless Microsoft and Nintendo are dumb enough to follow suit).

History has shown that starting console prices that high kills the consumer and doesn't move any product. Regardless of its brand name power, a $400+ price point will simply be prohibitive for parents to invest, even for the holidays. Hell, that high of a price is prohibitive for most adults as well. Thats one month's rent or a car payment or two.

And thats just the console by itself. By the time you add the cost of 1-3 games for the machine, at least one other controller, etc., your looking at costs that might be over $600 just for video game console. These amounts of money are what people put aside for life needs, not for what is still considered by most to be children's entertainment.

$300 is about what every console should start out. By going higher you are shooting yourself in the foot, regardless of how great the hardware is. Gaming is just not that important in most people's lives to warrant such an expenditure.