PS3 delayed in Europe, no 1080p games, and 5 years to recoup losses

[A Black Falcon]

You don't NEED anything other than what the core gives you in order to play games. Everything else is extra. Sony, on the other hand, is forcing a bunch of crap on you.

Yes, you do. You need somewhere to save games -- the 360 Core, unlike the Wii or either PS3, has no internal save system. You need either a $40 memory card or a 4100 hard drive in order to save. That makes it $340 to $400 for the core. The real big charges, for HD-DVD, online play, or single-console multiplayer are admittedly optional, but seriously... isn't it reasonable to expect that most people are going to want at least SOME of the other options, at some point over the life of the console? I'd sure say so! And that's where MS gets you.