HTPC is one PC type that can actually afford to be big. It's the type of PC that resides with other large-sized electronic equipments and rarely be moved in its lifespan.
So, the argument that you are paying for the size doesn't really makes sense since the size is not a big factor in a HTPC's selling point.
If this product was a desktop replacement, then yeah, I see the appeal, but not as a HTPC.

DJ Max Portable is one of the best games on PSP and it happens to be Korean, not Japanese.

As the popular story goes, NASA was having a hard time trying to invent a pen that can be used without the help of gravity in space, and it took NASA over 2 million dollors to solve this problem. On the other hand, the Russians, they simply used pencils...

Just save the money and put the game on multiple discs. --Problem solved--

It seems like most people just assume that their TV will be able to display 1080P, even though there are only a miniscule number of HDTVs that are capable of doing that. (it gets even microscopic if you count in analogue TVs).
The question is, will you be purchasing an expensive brandnew 1080P HDTV set just to experience PS3's 1080P capabilities??

I am definitely going to buy a PS3, but the answer to the question is definintely a big NO. I am satisfied with my current projector setup, which can only display 720P, and once I get my hands on a PS3, 720P will be the only resolution that I'll be running my PS3 games. It's just not an option for most people, and I'd say that applies to about 90% of gamers out there.

#12, believe me or not, it's your choice, but there are real people behind making these games. People who are working on 360 and PS3 games do browse the net and participate in discussions like this. It's not like game developers are hermits huddled up in their dark rooms afraid to come out until games get released.

and as for the 720P vs. 1080P comment made on post #21, I'm sure PS3 exclusive titles like like MGS4 will be designed from ground up to be optimized for 1080P and once it comes out, it's going to look amazing.

But, not every game on PS3 will come STANDARD with 1080P. Many games will still be displayed as 720P or 1080i, and on top of that quite a lot (majority of multi-platform titles) will actually be made with 720P art assets and simply be upconverted to 1080P when being displayed; just like how many PC games are optimized for 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024 resolutions yet still supports even higher resolutions like 1600x1200, etc.

Also, keep in mind that only 2% or so of HDTVs currently out there are capable of displaying 1080P, which means 1080P is pretty uselessly for most consumers for quite some time.

poster #9, I agree with most of what you are saying.

I'm currently working on both 360 and PS3 multi-platform games and I can tell you this; there won't be any difference in graphics quality in majority of games simply because most games are released as multi-platform titles. There'll be only a very few number of games that will take advantage of PS3's supposed "superior" graphical performance, which by account of many, isn't all that it's cracked up to be in the first place.
At first, there may be a few developers that would tweak their multi-platforms games specially for PS3 for the PS3 launch as some sort of "special edition", but the novelty will soon wear off and everyone will use Xbox 360 as their default machine to stamp out quality across the board. In game industry, the lowest common denominator rules over the highest common denominator. And how little the quality difference there may be between 360 & PS3, Xbox 360 is still a lower end machine and that's enough reason to make it the default machine for most developers.

Here in Canada, a lot of UMD movies are actually priced HIGHER than regular DVD. Some of them are actually $28US.. Insane. Worse pictures than DVD, no extra features, only plays in one damn machine that has a tiny 4" screen and it's priced higher than a fully featured DVD movies.. Yeah Sony, what the hell were you thinking? I mean I would've bought a few UMDs if they were priced around $10 and if there were some Sony dual UMD/DVD players available.

Wasn't UMD supposed to be "Universal" Media Disk? Typically Sony..

"cum" is latin for 'plus/become'. It's prone to misinterpretation and I wish the writers stop using that word. Everytime that word is used in an article, there are always a few posts that points it out. Don't go latin on us especially when the same word is also used as a R rated slang, ok? Now "cum" is as annoying as "natch", alright? You get that, Engadget!

Poster #50,

----------------------------------
"Oh, and the Premium package sells for $400.
$700-$400 != $400. "
----------------------------------

have you ever heard of shipping, marketing and retailer cost?
A huge chunk of cash is devoted to shipping and marketing, which cost MS tens of millions or even hundreds of millions dollors.
On top of that retailers that sells Xbox 360 needs make profit from their sales, so MS provides retailers all units at bellow retail price.

So in the end, when a 360 premium is sold for $400, it's actually costing MS $700(manufacturing) + $100(shipping,marketing,retailer cost) = $800 - $400 = $400
And I'm not even factoring in the R&D, defects replacement, insurance, customer support into the whole equation, which would drive up the cost even more.

So, if you look at the whole picture, it's not as simple as tic-tac-toe $700-$400=$300.

The same goes for PS3. It's not going to be just manufacturing cost vs. retail price.

--------------------------------------------------
"The $700 rumor for the 360 is unsubstantiated to begin with, and why would the PS3 be $300 more expensive? The Blu-ray is just another optical drive, the cell is just another big CPU (like the triple core CPU in the X360) and the GPU doesn't have 10MB of embedded RAM, unlike the X360. The bluetooth is probably no more expensive that the customized wireless solution MS is using for its controllers."

"The big difference is that Sony will manufacture large chunks of the PS3 on its own, so unless you think those extra HDMI and USB ports are going to cost Sony hundreds of dollars (I'm thinking about $5), your estimate is completely baseless"
--------------------------------------------------

It's true that $700 is an unsubstantiate number, however, all estimates range from $650 to $740, so I picked the average number, which is probably closer to the real cost. A tripple core system with Xbox 360 premium's feature set at $700 is quite reasonable. Certainly not a major over-estimate.

As for Blu-ray drive, "just another optical drive", you say? Blu-ray is much more expensive to produce than even HD-DVD drive, which in itself is a very costly drive compared to D360's regular DVD drive.

The whole reason behind it is because of much finer point of laser density and very high failure rate that Blu-ray is currently prone to. Comparing Blu-ray to DVD is comparing a Dual-Core P4 3ghz to a P2 400mhz.

MS is hesitant to go even with HD-DVD, which can be manufactured at traditional DVD player factories with very little upgrade and has quite low failiure rate.
Blu-ray, however, needs a fully upgraded facilities with proprietary Sony equipments or even brand new factories dedicated just for Blu-ray production because much of the technology behind BR drives are not compatible with traditional DVD manufacturing methods.
On top of that the imaturity of BR drives are resulted in high failiure rate.

When Sony included DVD drives to PS2, DVDs were already 7 years old technology at the time and have been in the market for 4 years prior to PS2's release, so DVD was not a huge financial gamble because it was already a mutured technology.

On the other hand, Blu-ray hasn't even taken its first step yet. It's only a 2 year old technology without any commercial players on the market.
Yes, Blu-ray will be "just another optical drive" in a few years when it gets broad enough user base in the market, and by then, the manufacturing cost will drop significantly, however, at this very moment, the cost extremely high.

And as for your comment on Cell Processor being a "just another big processor", well, if you think a nine-core CPU is just another CPU, I don't know what to say to you...

Just think about this. Every time a single unit of Xbox 360 is sold, MS is losing around $400 because it's costing them estimated $700 to make a premium package.

And Xbox doesn't even have Blu-ray, Cell Processor, blue tooth and any of those goodies Sony is promising to put in PS3.. Just imagine how much it will cost Sony to manufacture that beast when such a comparatively simple Xbox 360 is costing MS over $700.
My guess is it will cost Sony upwards of $1000 to manufacture PS3 and Sony's going to an insane amount of money on each PS3 sold because we all know it'd be a suicide for Sony if PS3's price point is anymore than $500.

So, whatever new feature Sony tacks onto PS3 from now on is just driving the cost like mad, and this is exactly what Sony should avoid. Whether or not Sony has these extra features doesn't really affect most consumer's buying decision as long as Sony can deliever on their promise of mega game franchises like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid series, etc.

Also, whoever dreamed up that article simply doesn't get Sony's paranoia when it comes to media piracy. DIVX and XVID on PS3? Has the author of that article been living under a rock for the last few years???
Sony's behavior in the past shows that Sony wants to be the front runner of Anti-Piracy Crusade.
Sony hated MP3 so much that they developed a proprietary format ATRAC for all their media players. On top of that, MGM Sony's rootkit(DRM) spywhere controversy clearly shows that Sony is not afraid to act on their paranoia. DIVX, the king of movie piracy on PS3?! IN YOUR DREAMS