"iSuppli Corp.’s dissection reveals the PlayStation 3 is an engineering masterpiece that sets a new high mark for computing price/performance"

Umm......yes, but remember the part where it costs $600?

"With the PlayStation 3, you are getting the performance of a supercomputer at the price of an entry-level PC"

Well, sure, but remember the part where it is a GAME console that costs $600?  If I wanted a PC, I'd be BUYING a PC!

"For the 60Gbyte version, costs exceed the $599 price by $241.35.

With Sony taking a smaller loss on the higher-end model, it’s not a surprise the company is steering customers to the 60Gbyte version."

Ah, so we DID remember that it costs $600.

"To give an example of how cutting-edge the design is, in the entire history of the iSuppli Teardown Analysis team, we have seen only three semiconductors with 1,200 or more pins. The PlayStation 3 has three such semiconductors all by itself."

Yes, and that is part of the reason it costs $600.

You can read the rest of iSuppli's  PS3 cost breakdown here.

I have no reason to doubt that the PS3 is a great bargain for the money.  But Sony is selling something that costs as much as a low-end PC, that arguably doesn't offer the same level of functionality.  Their justification for at least part of this is the Blu-Ray player.

Ok, time for a show of hands.  How many of you really CARE that it comes with a Blu-Ray player?  How many of you believe that Blu-Ray offers a significant enough advantage over DVD that you are going to go out and buy yourself a HD display to go with that snazzy new Blu-Ray player?  And if you really feel that Blu-Ray is a big deal, how many of you are going to base your decision to purchase a PS3 at least partly on the fact that it has a Blu-Ray player?

Am I getting it all wrong?  Am I just an old geezer who's out of touch with the younger generation?

Tell us, in the forums!