The PS3 actually isn't that expensive...

[A Black Falcon]

The thing to consider is people still need memory cards if they don't get an HDD. Those are EXPENSIVE. Might as well just get an HDD. That's why, as far as I'm concerned, the premium package is the better deal.

I said that several times. Note the "The core is actually $340, minimum" part?

Again, ABF, you don't need all those things to play properly. You can go through all Xbox 360 games (save for FF11) with the core, and save with a memory card. There are extras, and they come at a premium ( as they should being extras and all) Until online gaming and everything it entails becomes common, the extras- HDD, Xbox Live, wi-fi, etc should stay extras and optional.

You're acting like people actually don't get those options, and that's absurd. Live attach rates on the 360 are pretty high, much higher than the Xbox thanks to Microsoft's effort and the free period included in the box. The hard drive is required for anyone who wants FF 11, backwards compatibility, Live Arcade downloads (for all intents and purposes; what could you do otherwise, download like one? To a $40 memory card? Now that's cost efficient...), demo downloads, custom soundtracks, the 360 as a media center, etc, etc... MS has such a huge effort around stuff that uses the HDD that saying "people without it are just as well off" is ridiculous. Maybe some casual gamers do indeed not go online with their 360 and don't have HDDs, but that's not what MS wants and that's not what the 360 is designed for. The HDD is only detachable as a cost-saving measure; it's an integral part of the system and a 360 without a HDD is a crippled console. Same as one without an internet connection -- just like PCs. :)

Anytime you release anything with disabled features, people want the features enabled. I've seen halo nerds get Live super EX plus edition and use it once or twice at parties and yet still pay for it just so they have it available when needed. It's a sucker punch, I mean 600 bucks is just stupid, hell 400 bucks is stupid, but I'd honestly rather pay a one time sticker price than have a new set of bills in my mailbox every month.

The only advantage of a larger amount paid over a longer period of time is that it looks smaller on your bills and perhaps by the time you get the later parts you could be making more money, making it more affordable... still doesn't change the fact that you spent more money overall than you would have with the alternative though. That's an unalterable fact.

I should also say that i'll pay the 10 bucks to have Chrono Trigger playing on Wii, i'll pay the 25 to have the update pack for BWii that gives you twice as many levels, new campaigns, etc. But if Nintendo offered a monthly subscription service I wouldn't take it, if they said you must buy an HDD to play Metroid Prime 4, i'd buy it, but I would lose faith in the company and look down on them for it.

Nintendo won't do monthly (or yearly) fees, and that's great, but I do think that they really like the idea of micropayments... as for hard drives, it's possible. There certainly are rumors out there that the Wii might be USB harddrive compatible in some fashion...

As for games that require addons, how about the N64? I guess that that's not as bad because the expansion pack was included in a few games and was only $30...