Well, I've had a night to sleep on it, and while there is no doubt the price is high (the biggest shock is how much higher it is than the PS2 launch price), the overreaction here is getting out of hand.
I'm no pyschologist, but I've a very strong feeling that A LOT of folks here are now trying extra hard to prove that everything on the system was/is/looked like shit except some undeniables, so they can subconsciously convince themselves they don't need the system. Why? Because the price hurts the wallet, and a lot of folks on this board (younger gamers) can't afford it. I'm not trying to generalize, so don't take it the wrong way, nor am I trying to say that that line of reasoning is absurd. Hell, I can afford the thing and I tried that myself last night; but too many games look too good to pass up.
Another thing, is that people are REALLY underestimating how well this will still sell. This is the day and age where people are spending $300-400 on portable music players that do little else. Spending $30 on UMDs and $2 a pop by the thousands on TV episodes off of iTunes. $600 is A LOT of money. But you're getting the most advanced gaming system available, a high definition movie player, and 60GB HDD equipped media hub that has the right tech inside to last 8-10 years. And this is at launch. And that right there is the most important point.
I think a big part of disappointment/jacket tossing is the realization that many are having that they are no longer the uber hardcore, which has usually been defined as the first folks to buy the system. If your price range is a few price drops away, that's fine; wait for the subsequent drops before you buy; Sony knows full well that right now they'll only sell this price to what will end up being less than 10% of the final installed base. But I honestly think there are enough consumers willing to purchase the system at the higher prices to maintain software support at the same level as the PS2. I've always thought that traditionally systems are ridiculously cheap, as after only 6-7 game purchases you've already spent more on software, and many of us end up with over 40-50 titles by generation's end.
Lastly, for the amount of people crying foul that they just want a games machine, I don't understand the complaints on the $500 pack, as unlike the 360, none of the omissions affect gaming. All HD resolutions from games are fine through component, the HDD is still there, the ethernet is still built in, and the memory card slots are more for the media hub than gaming. If the whole convergence thing isn't your bag, what's really wrong with the $500 pack?
EDIT: Oh and for the record, I think $399/499 would've been the better move.
I hope they show off more of it at their booth.
