The reason this thing is seen as a failure is because it's catering to a very narrow , very specific market of not just hardcore gamers but hardcore gamers that are also AV nerds who have deep pockets. Sony has done nothing marketing wise until GDC to demonstrate the system is intended for anyone else. They overplay the importance of a blur ay drive and how it justifies the enormous price tag which fine, it's cheaper then any standalone BD player at the moment but what of those that want a PS3 that don't even have an HDTV? There's bound to be a few regular gamers out there that want one but only own a 27" television that has so far worked fine with all of their past consoles. I suppose it could be argued that despite it's inability to sell out 100% the ps3 is still selling well enough even with it's bizarre commercial and bluray centric PR ass-talking. Sony needs to chop the price down as fast as they possibly can and start advertising this thing as a gaming system that every gamer needs and they need to emphasize why it's better then the competition AND have software to back up their claims. No sense ranting about free online play when there's only 2 games worth playing online.

It's been done to death over at NEOGAF but my prediction still stands the same- 199USD/199EURO/229CAN/17599YEN with north american release happening as early as october 16th, japanese release following 1 month later and UK release by dec.15th or next February if that date isn't hit. This package will contain : 1 Wii games console, 1 Wiimote, 1 nunchuck adaptor, 1 virtual console controller, standard Y/R/W RCA jacks, power cord with external transformer/supply, Wii sports/demo disc and a voucher good for 1 free virtual console game. Wiimotes will be sold seperatly at no less then 49.99 USD/54.99CAN and a seperate usb to ethernet dongle will be no less then 19.99 USD/24.99CAN with memory devices ranging from 39.99 to 69.99USD depending on size. Hopefully 1st /3rd party game prices will remain what the ps2 charges right now, 39.99 for 1stparty/49.99 for 3rd party.