More PlayStation 3 info leaked?

Ok, now we have to admit that we're getting a little skeptical about that PlayStation Magazine Xbox Live-killer article leak a couple of days go. A second page appears to have made its way onto the PlayStation forums and has some very interesting details -- if a little disparate, unlikely, and even downright dubious. For example, besides a really obvious misspelling of "Blue-Ray Disc" in a headline, the article says making the PlayStation 3 a DVR with media PC-like functionality is a "top priority for Sony" -- even though right now we understand it's only slated to have an optional external hard drive attachment and doesn't appear to have video inputs. Also, you'll supposedly be able to control your PS3-DVR with your PSP, send files home to it remotely from your Memory Stick, and that the final hardware kits released to developers in January were even more powerful than originally anticipated. Wait, there's more: the PS3 will also have Location Free support and media streaming capabilities to counter the Xbox 360's Media Extender feature, and that unlike the 360 it'll be able to play back "all major audio and video formats," including media downloaded from an online service "like the iTunes Music Store." Ok, look, we're not saying this stuff isn't possible or isn't going to happen, but we do know that typically when you see leaked stories based on leaded info that spout off with this kind of pie in the sky exuberance and fantastical feature sets, it's often at least ever-so-slightly exaggerated (or at most an outright fake). We can't say either way, of course, but we'll supposedly find out this Spring when Sony launches, or at least this Fall when the PSM article quotes the PlayStation 3 is slated for launch in the US.

[Thanks, tehmaz & Mike]

[gmozier @ Feb 6th 2006 3:23PM]

I dont care if PS3 records TV etc or not. As long as it provides kick ass games I will buy one. I will not be buying the Xbox 360 as I loath Microsoft, & everything it has done over the last 20 years -ripping off people & smothering competition.

As to the 360 launch - ha ha ha what a laugh! By the time MS sorts out the shortage problem the PS3 will be out at $400 a unit - with a Blu-Ray drive.
MS have to admit they're snookered!

[Arron @ Feb 6th 2006 9:38PM]

I have to agree with the guy who said the blue-ray drive is just another optical drive. Because to compare the ps3 to a blue-ray player just does not work. To add playback fuctionality on a ps3 the only real differance is adding the optical pick-up because everything else will be handled by the cell processor. As for this annoucement the only thing I can see *not* possible at this point is the DVR because of the source connections the ps3 lacks as far as we know. For the online service some of you need to realize that sony has been working at this for 3 going on 4 years now, and that the guy who headed the quicktime team for apple is now working for sony as head of software. So the online service shouldn't be a second thought. As for cost really the only things that are new in it are the RSX, cell, and ram. Everything else is all "off the self" componets. If you really want to compare apples to apples with the 360, try adding in the wireless network adapter and a HD-DVD drive, which assuming low is $99, you have a 699 machine to get similar fuctions. If sony comes anywhere under that they're golden.

[Bob @ Feb 24th 2006 6:43PM]

Look the PS2 might have some problems, but every item that I have ever purchased from sony works as well as it does the day I bought it. Their assesories may not be cheap but the quality is worth it. As said by others the PS2 makes a great DVD player and saves space by the TV.

However, until Sony releases the specs everything is going to be hype and as always stuff will be cut going into production to save time and money. You also have to remember when the PS2 came out at $250 dollars DVD players still cost almost $200. Sony quickly pushed down the price of DVD players and would like to also put a blu- ray in many homes.

By the way, the PSP is the best portable game system on the market.

Sony makes the most durable walkmans

Sony makes the smallest and easiest high quality cameras for the money

Sony makes great TV's

It is just like apple and th iPod. If there is the slightest flaw (such as a scrach) everyone is complaing.

There is a reason Sony won't make a press release... so that they can make changes wothout geting all this critizism.

[Nomad @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:52AM]

yeaaa...and it does your laundry, toasts bread, kills roaches, and gives you fresh breath.

[Kamalot @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:53AM]

I heard lots of these claims from Sony before, in the hype leading up to the PS2.

Everyone keep your head. This is the same dog-and-pony show.

Until I get one in my hands and it works as claimed, I don't believe a thing. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

And for those of us that wanted a video game system when we got the PSP, we got screwed. How much you want to bet the PS3 turns out to be the same?

[is @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:58AM]

Who wants a sony plastation 3 for a media center? It will certainly have crippling anti-piracy software, lack of upgradability, poor interfaces, poor os, and generally be a waste of time as, if people are managing downloaded content, they most likely already have a PC to do this on which suits the needs entirely.

Make no mistake, im a huge fan of intergration, but dedicated devices have their place as well, and the key problem is trying to create an intergrated device, which necessitates freedom and adaptability, and then stick aload of DRM and proprietry hardware requirements on it.


Give me a decent MCPC and dedicated games console anyday. Same goes for the portable front.

[Jesse @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:05PM]

It also fights terrorism or starts a Jihad based on your religous beliefs.

[Kamalot @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:09PM]

Think of it this way:

PSP is a poor video player, playing expensive and proprietary UMDs or lower-resolution videos off of an expensive and small-capacity proprietary memory stick.

PSP is a poor music player with the most bare function set, even fewer functions than most cheap, tiny Chinese players. Music, like video, is plagued by the proprietary memory stick format.

Web browser is worse than that on most mobile phones.

Text entry is the worst possible combination of on-screen keyboard and T9 without leveraging the strengths of either.

Game selection sucks and play is plagued with long load times and short battery life.

PSP was promised to have GPS integration and a slew of other features that never saw the light of day, much like the poorly conceived and implemented PS2 hard drive.

All in all, the PSP does many things and does none of them well.

One acn extrapolate based on historical evidence that the PS3 is going to be a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none.

Do you really expect a PS3 to make a better Tivo than Tivo? Do you really expect it to have a better Microsoft Live than Microsoft Live? Do you really expect it to have all of these features better then the competition?

All I ask is they everyone keep their head. Sony is in serious financial trouble and they are betting the farm on this one product. Think of it as the Homer Mobile (http://www.megahobby.com/Modeling_Zone/Snap_City/POL4000.jpg), a product designed with features for everyone but appealing to nobody.

Now is a good time for everyone to read the Lost Garden article about why convergence is a dirty word.

http://lostgarden.com/2005/12/convergence-great-word-to-hate.html

[Kamalot @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:15PM]

"So when you heard Microsoft and Sony marketoids blathering on about super technology and cool things you can do with the convergence of all media, you are right to dismiss it as hot air."

- Lost Garden -
http://lostgarden.com/2005/12/convergence-great-word-to-hate.html

[cubbiechris @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:23PM]

Xbox Live killer? Yeah right! Sony will never ever hold a candle to xbox live. Gimme a break! As for DVR, Blu-Ray, etc...I don't believe it, unless this puppy sells for over 700 bucks. Sorry but when I decide to buy a HD-DVD it's not going to be a gaming system. How many people use xbox or ps2 for DVD's? No one I know does. I'll stick with my 360!

[Roadzy @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:25PM]

maybe they will be so kind to put hidden root kits on there

[Aram @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:35PM]

If PS3 can do all, I mean EVERY SINGLE FEATURE LISTED in the article, then it'll be one incredible machine! Except I'm convinced it won't do all that... if it did, it'll cost too much and it won't come out this year.

[Jason @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:43PM]

It is a real shame... the PS3 could have had a chance to compete with the 360 on a gaming level but it seems that that, if the article is true, that Sony is all over the board and doesn't have a clue what the PS3 is really going to be... It seems like they made the same mistake with the processor... they went out to get the "most powerful" processor but didn't make sure that it was going to be good for the gaming side of the system... why throw all this "crap" at the machine... the 360 doesn't do EVERYTHING because you can't put all that into a tiny little box and do all those things well... and besides... people are buying gaming machine here, NOT DVR's, DVD Players, MP3 Players, etc... integration is great but lets not lose focus on what the product is that we are making!

[Robb @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:45PM]

Sony, is slashing departs all over their enterprise. Tighter budgets = less functionality not more.

[Carpet @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:48PM]

the only way i could see this thing working is if it were an add-on feature..the hard drive peripheral would have to have a variety of video input ports in the back and some bundled software to record Television shows. anyway, the whole thing, if it is real will probably be half-baked. A dedicated DVR box would be much better.

[Christian @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:49PM]

By the time the PS3 comes out, we'll be on the Xbox 720.

[wheezo @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:53PM]

I would be totally amazed if any of this stuff was there at lan=unch. They are going to be lucky to drag themselves into stores with a barebones system and a handful of games. I would bet all this other stuff is A) Sony intentional leaks to deflate interested in Xbox 360 before MS can get quantity shipments going and 2) Represents a lot of stuff they think might be cool to do someday if the machine takes off.

After all, Sony hasn't been exactly reliable with this sort of thing in the past.

[bret @ Feb 3rd 2006 12:57PM]

"if a little disparate, unlikely, and even downright dubious"

i like how the writer incorporated today's google word of the day :P

[JinKazama @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:01PM]

Whenever there is anything said about the PS3 the bashers come out...

"remember the PS2"

"PSP sucks"

"Sony always overhypes their stuff"

"Sony will never be able to match this or that"

Calm down people...this IS NOT A SONY PRESS RELEASE!!!! It's rumors gathered from developers and the like. If Sony was half as bad as some of you make them out how they'd be out of business.

Some of you guys really need to come up from your parents basements and realize that to the average consumer Sony makes a damn good product...Sales figures don't lie.

The PS2 sold exceptionally well and is a good product, PSP is selling well and its a good product.

If the PS3 delivers on just being an awesome game machine and its between $300-$500 it gonna sell well too.

[edmund @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:14PM]

#7: i used my xbox as a dvd player before i bought a dedicated one; i plan to use the ps3 as my preliminary Blu-Ray player before i buy a proper player. i don't think i'm alone here...

[tblaze @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:24PM]

So can it play games?

[ax7 @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:24PM]

Those of you that are taking anything in that "article" as truth need to get a clue.

The biggest problem consoles will ever face is that they dont have a mouse and a keyboard therefore all shooters are destroyed and not worth playing at all.

(btw those third person view shooters don't count, those are pure crap and I dont know why developers like to ruin good games by making them third person.)

[Kiggle @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:37PM]

"PSP is selling well and its a good product."

The PSP, which plays movies, all sorts of media, can browse the internet, and play highly advanced 3D graphics games, is getting SPANKED in sales by the Nintendo DS, a cheaper unit that ONLY plays games and NOTHING else.

"If the PS3 delivers on just being an awesome game machine and its between $300-$500 it gonna sell well too."

what makes you think ANY of that is going to be true? the LOWEST END blu ray player announced yet, the UBER LOW END CHEAP MODEL not even made by sony, is $1200!!! and ALL IT DOES is play blu-ray disks, NOTHING else! Now throw in the cell processor, bluetooth support, and all the rest, and explain how that price point is at all a reasonable summation. As for the other comment, a system that 'just plays games', where in sony's strategy does that seem to shine thru? If you find any evidence that they value the ability to play games over massive convergence, I'd love to see it. The PS3 is turning into a joke. If the games are sweet enough I'll buy it regardless of price, but that's not the point, they should have sold me as soon as they said the words "Playstation 3", and initially, they did, until all this crap showed up, but I'm a GAMES FREAK, with DISPOSABLE INCOME. You do NOT make money off fools like me, you make money off the REAL idiots who just have to have that new madden game and see mike vick's eye crud. the ps2 was a huge sales success because, frankly, a huge percentage of the lower middle class thought it was cool, and bought it, so that they could have a DVD player. any TV can play DVDs. what $30,000/year income or equivalent is going to buy a HD disk player for their kids, who don't even have an HDTV? this is just stupid.

[n8 @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:41PM]

Yeah, I'm sorta surprised at the negativity. Everything in the article is possible if not plausible, and if it turns out to be true I'd certainly be interested in getting one. More interested than I was a month ago when I thought the only console I'd buy would be the Revolution.

[Geoffrey Sperl @ Feb 3rd 2006 1:42PM]

In reality, this article has nothing to say, at all. It's just filler.

From what Sony has officially released, there is no way to input video signals into the PS3, so how is it going to serve as a DVR?

Do I expect media center capability? That's possible... but I never use my PS2 for CDs or DVDs. I don't know anyone who does. I can't see that changing.

Do I expect iTunes compatibility? Unless Sony isn't telling us something about the Walkman and the Connect service, then no.

Do I expect Sony to answer Xbox Live? Hell, yes. Do I expect it to be better than Xbox Live? No. I expect Nintendo's network to be better thought-out than Sony's since Nintendo has already begun to create its community using the DS. And, of course, MS had had Live for almost four years, so theirs is going to be the most mature. Sony might do best by licensing and re-branding Square Enix's PlayOnline (currently an "Xbox Live Lite" used for FFXI, TetraMaster, and a rumored Front Mission Online), which could then enable them to sell the PS2 HDD kit again for those players to get on, too (sucks for the slim PS2 owners, though) and it gives them a foothold on the PC with the Windows users playing FFXI.

But, in all: All this speculation is premature and just can't be counted on.

[Lynnluv @ Feb 3rd 2006 2:00PM]

I cant wait to pre order like 3 or 4 PS3's and sell them for oodles and oodles to the fools on Ebay, Then i can get all the hookers & booze i want with the proceeds.

[Chris @ Feb 3rd 2006 2:19PM]

C'mon do some of you people realy think the PS3 will be $1200.00? That argument is completely rediculous. You sound like Peter Moore. Just because current blue-ray players cost that much does NOT mean the PS3 will. The business model for a movie player is completly diferent than that of a video game console. I remember distinctly how easy the choice to buy a PS2 was when it came out. It was the same price as a DVD player...plus you got a video game system for free. I don't think Sony is stupid enough to sell it for anything over 500. I think you'll see the price of Blu-ray players come down to around 500 or less by the end of this year. ESPECIALLY since the HD-DVD players are already at this price point. Then the PS3 will be in the same position it was with the PS2... a no brainer if your in the market for a new movie player.

[STEEL @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:07PM]

o0o0oo0o0k good luck with that one buddy maybe if samsung, toshiba, and sony wana just DESTROY their business, obviously that one is impossible if you look at the price trend that all technology follows going from computers to DVD players.

P.S.
Can u PLEASE tell me what color the sky is in your world??!?!?!?!?!!?!!

[JinKazama @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:11PM]

#21 Besides my first statement you basically backed up my comments.

Quote:
-------------------------------------------------------
The PSP, which plays movies, all sorts of media, can browse the internet, and play highly advanced 3D graphics games, is getting SPANKED in sales by the Nintendo DS, a cheaper unit that ONLY plays games and NOTHING else.
-------------------------------------------------------

As for the DS (and the Game boy for that matter) outselling the PSP....Big Deal! By October of last year the PSP has sold 10 million units before the holiday season. Can you imagine what that number is now? Don't know about you but 10 million plus sold of anything is defined is darn good in my book.

[IdiotKidsShouldDie @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:12PM]

Some of you are disgusting disgraces who don't deserve to be gamers. Go fold up in a dumpster.

[mike @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:15PM]

let me guess.. leverage the PSP's 13% marketshare towards world domination

[Bazza @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:36PM]

Did you know it ends world hunder and fixes the ozone layer?

[Stuart @ Feb 3rd 2006 3:54PM]

Quote:
-----------------------------------------------------
27. Some of you are disgusting disgraces who don't deserve to be gamers. Go fold up in a dumpster.

Posted at 3:12PM on Feb 3rd 2006 by IdiotKidsShouldDie
-----------------------------------------------------

lol has got to be a playstation fanboy, why are u getting upset because people are bashing sony propaganda. Sony is infamous for their overhyped products which never deliver.

xbox live killer: will most likely have an online service maybe even a good one. To be fair PSonline is poor and sony are not good a making software. MS has had 4 years head start aswell.

DVR: yes you need video inputs for that which there are none.

bluetooth, blueray, many different storage formats, cell etc etc, all this for under $1000 no chance if it is then they had better hope it sells or bye bye sony.

OH and no console maker has ever stayed on top history has proved that.

[darkflame @ Feb 3rd 2006 4:08PM]

Sony are arrogant idiots. They wont even admit the PS2/3 is a games console >_<

They have no respect at all for the industary that has single handely supported their company for the last 5 years.
Sony view games as merely another route to media controll.
As consumers, we are gullible enough to let big companys like sony do that.
Am I the only one pissed off you cant fast forward past the company logos on DVDs? Or that there is a totaly artifial region system impossed on us just so they can price-fix?

Do you honestly expect Blu-Ray to be better? No.
It will be worse.

Downloadable media, tv, and films is going to be comeing, one way or another.
And I am sure, at some point the, the PS3 will have that function.
But Its nothing any of the others cant also offer if they want too.
All you need is storage space and access to Google Video, or simerla.

"
The biggest problem consoles will ever face is that they dont have a mouse and a keyboard therefore all shooters are destroyed and not worth playing at all.
"

You have err..SEEN the Nintendo revolution controller?
Its like its designed specificaly for FPS.

[D @ Feb 3rd 2006 4:23PM]

I know Sony loves their proprietary formats, but how can it get any worse than the Xbox 360's video capabilities?

The 360 can ONLY play video with streaming, not off a hard drive or mass storage device.

The 360 will NOT stream from any OS except for "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005", which the majority of people do not have, and can not upgrade, because it's OEM only

The 360 can ONLY play god-awful outdated formats like MPEG1/2

The 360 can ONLY play Microsoft's proprietary video codec otherwise

The 360's media features are NOT upgradable because of the specific "media center extender" spec, possibly later with windows vista

As of this time, the 360 is worthless for videos, and not too great with other media either. I don't know how people can say that it 360 is useful for HD Video.

[Need4SpeedPR @ Feb 3rd 2006 4:24PM]

1. PSP is better than iPod because you have more choise.
Why I want to have over 15,000 songs with me? maybe more than the half I am not going to listen. I know that iPod is cool as library but PSP is better.
2. PSP battery is better than the iPod batter for videos. In the iPod maybe you has 2 or 3 hours of video vs PSP that I have 4 or 5 hours for video with a better screen.
3. PSP has only one year and a half in US, give it some more time and you'll see. It is better than DS that is more for kids like many of you.
4. For example, SOCOM for the PSP everyday it has more than 12,000 users conected playing it. 256 users max for channel, 16 plays max. for one game.
5. PS3 is a killer for XBox 360 and Revolution.
6. You guys are expeculating so much. Wait a little for the PS3, when it arrive then you can talk about it.

[blahblah @ Feb 3rd 2006 4:50PM]

"You do NOT make money off fools like me, you make money off the REAL idiots who just have to have that new madden game and see mike vick's eye crud. the ps2 was a huge sales success because, frankly, a huge percentage of the lower middle class thought it was cool, and bought it, so that they could have a DVD player."

#21, so people who bought the ps2 partly for its dvd player are lower-class idiots? same for people who like new games with good graphics?

12yo republican skateboard punks shouldn't be allowed post here.

[jens @ Feb 3rd 2006 5:12PM]

All of this has allready been confirmed by SONY like a half year ago. Didnt anyone see the 2 hour loong presentation of PS3 at E3 last year? God! Make sure to see that, this is all old news people! OLD litteraly!

[Need4SpeedPR @ Feb 3rd 2006 5:43PM]

1. PSP is better than iPod because you have more choise.
Why I want to have over 15,000 songs with me? maybe more than the half I am not going to listen. I know that iPod is cool as library but PSP is better.
2. PSP battery is better than the iPod batter for videos. In the iPod maybe you has 2 or 3 hours of video vs PSP that I have 4 or 5 hours for video with a better screen.
3. PSP has only one year and a half in US, give it some more time and you'll see. It is
better than DS that is more for kids like many of you.
4. For example, SOCOM for the PSP everyday it has more than 12,000 users conected playing it. 256 users max for channel, 16 plays max. for one game.
5. PS3 is a killer for XBox 360 and Revolution.
6. You guys are expeculating so much. Wait a little for the PS3, when it arrive then you can talk about it.

[martinj88 @ Feb 3rd 2006 7:38PM]

errmmm....i dont know if anyone else noticed this.... but that PSP has more icons than it should

maybe a new firmware??

[Blademonkey @ Feb 3rd 2006 8:32PM]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/02/01

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/25

[jsgongwon @ Feb 3rd 2006 8:32PM]

Did anyone actually even read this engadget post? The PSM article is most likely fake, and just looking for people to talk about them. Note: Original PlayStation Magazine (OPM) by SCEA is not the same as PSM.

[Dan Citi @ Feb 3rd 2006 9:20PM]

Well this stuff was all on the PSX/PS 2.5 which came out in 2004

[nobody you know @ Feb 3rd 2006 10:49PM]

It can do all these things AND bankrupt Sony.

[Ubergamer @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:18PM]

I just recently bought an Xbox 360 and I LOVE it. Sony may have more games for it's system but Microsoft has all the better ones. Killzone? Try Halo. Sony is in a lot of trouble and they need the ps3 to help them. Plus, Xbox has Xbox live!!! It's a no-brainer choice which system to get. Plus I know a lot of people who filed a lawsuit because of faulty ps2's. Xbox 360 owns!!!

[Ubergamer @ Feb 3rd 2006 11:18PM]

I just recently bought an Xbox 360 and I LOVE it. Sony may have more games for it's system but Microsoft has all the better ones. Killzone? Try Halo. Sony is in a lot of trouble and they need the ps3 to help them. Plus, Xbox has Xbox live!!! It's a no-brainer choice which system to get. Plus I know a lot of people who filed a lawsuit because of faulty ps2's. Xbox 360 owns!!!

[DK @ Feb 4th 2006 12:51AM]

Sony does love to hype up their systems. Although most of us knows that what marketing says is complete bull, it still helps sales. Sony hyped up the PS2's 128 "Emotion-Engine" CPU, which really wasn't too much better than existing CPUs in the market. Plus, they had the PS2 double as a DVD-player, which was a smart movie considering the DVD market was exploding and everyone was picking one up.

But now things are different. Sony's putting A LOT of new technology into the machine. The Cell processor, Blu-ray disc drive, etc. New technology isn't cheap. The first product to use the Cell processor was a computer used by the US military. And as someone mentioned, the cheapest Blue-ray player is over $1000. The cheapest DVD-player you could get when the PS2 was released was around $80 to $120, nowhere close as being expensive as Blu-ray.

And don't forget all that power means that games are going to get more expensive, because gamers expect better graphics and gameplay with these powerful machines. Look at the Xbox 360's lineup, most of the games are $60 (Don't count Microsoft's $50 games, they can take the cost because of royalties from 3rd-party developers making games for their system).

And no, the PS3 won't be the killer of anything. Neither are the Revolution or the XBox360. Making such remarks is very fanboyish.

As for what I think about the PS3's much-touted technology, I honestly hate it. Well, I love how much power it (supposedly) has, but will it exactly do any good? If history taught us well, having the best technology WILL NOT MEAN THEY WILL WIN THE CONSOLE WARS. NES was less powerful than the Master System. The Super NES was less powerful than the Genesis. The PS1 was less powerful than the N64. The PS2 was less powerful than the XBox or GameCube. The DS is currently outselling the PSP, which is obviously more powerful and has a ton of functionality. And must I remind you on how long the Game Boy lived despite facing competitors who had much better technology?

It's the games people. Don't forget about it.

[Kamalot @ Feb 4th 2006 2:09AM]

I think the links that Blademonkey was trying to post are here...http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/25

and here...
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2006/02/01

[Extinction @ Feb 4th 2006 3:27AM]

"All in all, the PSP does many things and does none of them well. "

I call bullshit. I have been impressed with everything but it's MP3 playing capabilities. Frankly you need to pull the DS out of your ass and see the light

[sm007h @ Feb 4th 2006 10:10AM]

What most people fail to realise when they are comparing a stand-alone blu-ray player to a PS3 is the amortisation of R&D costs.

Looking at just the blu-ray functionality only, to purchase a solution and then build it up to final production stage may cost $500k and you are probably going to build 1000 units for the first run. That is already $500 per unit on R&D costs alone, and when you add in licences and hardware costs etc, then it will go over $1k per unit.

If you look at Sony, they will build over 1M units, so the cost per unit to add blu-ray is much smaller than a stand-alone blu-ray player. Also, Sony will probably absorb all its costs to make blu-ray ubiquitous so they can earn all their money from licensing fees.

So, Sony will subsidise the PS3 through games, and through bluray license fees. That will lower the cost of the unit significantly. By how much is the question.