$400 after buying the Xbox 360 (in cash ^-^) I realized that my finances for the last two months have been severely hurt because I chose to buy the next gen system rather than paying a particular debt off once and for all. That debt is paid for now, but the late pay off has put me in a bit of a financial crisis because I am simply over burdened financially, and perhaps should have waited for the 360's price to drop. Then again I love my 360 and would rather die than not have it...

  But there is a bit of a dilemma. $60 games seems like a stretch with gas and food and utility costs on a never ending price hike, and housing costs on a record increase every year how can I afford to buy games the way I used to? I have 52 Xbox games, 44 GameCube games and 35 PS2 games approximately. That's a lot of games. Most of my XBox and PS2 games came out of bargain bins, but there's still enough there to value more than $5,000 at retail. So far the used next gen games are only couple dollars less than their new counterparts and it's not making things look promising.

Worse yet, enter the PS3, the system that we're all drooling over, yet dread. Rumor has it's price tag in the upwards of $500, and its games at $70... can we really afford that? I'm at a point where putting that kind of money into a house is a bit higher of a priority, especially since I want to get out of the city, and into a quiet rural area which means spending more on gas.

Can the next gen systems really succeed with price points so high? I mean the launch of the 360 shows us that people are willing to pay higher prices in the short term for Christmas, but what about the long term? Now that Christmas is done how will the Xbox 360 fare, especially since M$ STILL has yet to restock shelves at a reasonable rate. Will interest in the system decline? Will people suffer from post-Christmas sticker shock? Will people start to wait for the prices to drop before investing, and how long will it take for the prices to drop?

My wife has forbidden me from participating in the PS3 launch after we got wind of its expected price tag. She's a heavy gamer too, and wanted the 360 (She's an Xbox fan) but has been suffering from post Christmas sticker shock as well. All total, between the games, and the accessories we spent well over $600. Now we're wondering where our next mean is going to come from. We were stupid and we know it, so I'm not allowed to participate in the PS3 launch, nor am I allowed to buy the system until it drops to about $300.00. How many other wives will set that rule upon their spouses?

The good news is that with rumors of the Revolution's price tag being at $200 or less and the games costing the normal $50 or less my wife has declared that I can and will buy that one.

Perhaps Nintendo is right. Maybe the time for high-end graphics is not now, perhaps because the question has to be how much will it cost the average consumer? $400 for a system and $60 for games is already pushing it, and it did break the bank for me. Any more than that would make obtaining the console and its games simply unaffordable.

I have never bough the more expensive $500 systems in the past, it's why Jaguar, 3DO, CDI, etc failed to capture a mainstream audience despite being truly advanced systems for their time... PS3 may simply be ahead of its time and I wonder if that will kill its chances. And I also fear that M$ will also loose it's momentum if it doesn't get new units on the shelves before post Christmas sticker shock sets in. People are willing to spend insane amounts during or just after the holidays. That may not be the case after ward...

Nevertheless, as a cross-platformer, I hope for the best for all three. Competition encourages innovation. I just worry that gamming may be evolving into a rich-men's only hobby.