Yeah, I think you guys are completely overreacting. We've all said that yes, the PS3 is the most expensive, it's also the most expensive to produce, which is the reason. It's not like it's just Sony overpricing its stuff. At least not as far as I've seen. And again, while the 360's only legit version is the most expensive one, which can be interpreted as shady and attempting to get people to spend more in the end after they buy the core version and realize they need to make all the upgrades as they'd have gotten with the premium (and pay more to do it), Sony's versions are actually both perfectly usable as they are and actually cater to the people who would buy them. I would go the cheaper route with the PS3 and not be forced to make changes. I went the cheaper route with the 360 and am now going to be forced to spend more money than I ended up saving in the first place (which, to be fair, I kind of expected... it was more the fact that I didn't want to pay it all at once).
And Cobra, while a store is giving you a rebate on the 360, the 360 is older and the PS3 is brand-spanking new. You can certainly say that because of that you want to get a 360 instead of a PS3 as things stand right now, but you can't levy it as an argument against the starting retail price points of either item. And that's really what's at issue here.
Like I said, I'm very far from a Sony fanboy, but I think you guys are all completely overreacting and have some vision of this horrible nightmare future in which PS3s sprout legs and crush the populace. Yes, it's $500 for a console. So fucking what? It's now $60 for top-tier 360 games. Games are getting more expensive and that *really* shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you given how closely you follow this hobby. I understand the misgivings with the price, and I'm not about to pay it myself; HOWEVER, that doesn't mean it's the most outrageous console price in gaming history (because it isn't) and as Pug said, you have to consider the machine itself, not just price. To use a different car metaphor -- it makes no sense when comparing a Pinto and a Lamborghini to say that the Lamborghini is a total ripoff because the Pinto is so much cheaper. Obviously the latter car is *ridiculously* expensive and probably not at all worth it unless you have lots of money to burn, but it isn't even remotely comparable to the former car. You may not entirely get what you pay for with the latter the way you do with the former, but the former at any price is giving you the bare bones necessities and fuck all else. This isn't entirely an accurate metaphor as I think the Wii should have great games and plenty of fun, but when you're talking raw hardware, this seems somewhat apt, and hardware is what dictates price for the most part.
Anyway, whatever. I'm not buying one and neither are any of you, so I think the end result speaks for itself either way. None of us have any damn money, and what we do is going to something other than the PS3.