I think that was the only reason Sony didn't pull the plug first, they would have been killed in the gaming industry and looked even more foolish.
What's interesting is that PS3 may finally be on the uptick. I got the xbox360 about a year and a half ago, then got the Wii, and just recently purchased the PS3 (for the upcoming Grand Turismo). It's actually a nice gaming system, and yet I wasn't all that interested until recently. The reduced pricing had a lot to do with that. Blu-ray player or not, I couldn't pay $500+ on a gaming system. I think PS3's problem was its identity crisis. People saw it as a very expensive gaming system and - for the most part - discounted the blu-ray capability.
