steveyg20 said:
Disagree with this completely - I am typing on my Apple iBook and it naturally has Wifi built in - While I am not angered at having to pay more, what peeves me is that this next gen console will still have need a stupid looking piece of cack plugged in and sticking out of it to make it wireless, not happy with that, it should be integrated. Oh, and to counter your price argument, take a look at the Mac Mini.
Does the PS3 have in built wireless? I don't know.
YOu have to think though that consoles are sold at a LOSS. Money is not made on the consoles, 90% is made on games and dev kits etc, the rest on peripherals.
"It is estimated that Microsoft suffered losses of approximately $4 billion on the first Xbox video games console - a situation that the company seems poised to remedy with the next generation Xbox 360 console.
Microsoft intends to break even on the Xbox 360 within the first year or two of the consoles 6-7 year life cycle. In contrast with the first Xbox, which was manufactured using off-the-shelf components from Nvidia and Intel, Microsoft owns the intellectual property inside the Xbox 360 console.
This gives the software giant greater control over price, since it can shop around for chip manufacturers and reduce costs as technology advances. Analysts have also estimated that the Xbox 360 is approximately $100 cheaper to manufacture than the Sony Playstation 3, giving Microsoft more leeway in pricing decisions."
I bet at £220 it's a breakeven price, or a very slight profit on hardware.
As the initiall R&D gets amortised over the lifecycle and compment charges reduce with volume and manufacturing improvments MS will get scope to reduce prices. Not necessarily increase profit on the HARDWARE side.
They make lots of money from selling the dev kits for games, and percentage royaltys of games sold and distribution rights etc.
Same with Sony.
Where MS are interested is owning the OS , the Xbox 360 is just about extending the dominance of the MS platform and more importantly preventing Sony from pitching a rival media OS.
Bearing in mind that these form an important part of the media center for a household.