The thrill of the new

I recently bit the bullet and finally bought an Xbox 360, but a post on that will follow shortly. What caught my eye today was a sign outside GAME in Sauchiehall Street. Get one of the last guaranteed PS3 pre-orders, they're going fast!!! At least that's what they'd like you to believe. It’s all about marketing, and given that stratospheric cost of the machine here in the UK I wonder how likely Wii-style price markups are for early adopters? The machine looks prohibitively expensive before you buy all the related paraphernalia, wireless this, advanced cable that, memory card and a multi-tap (I jest, but you how mean Sony can be). Oh aye, stick a couple of games in there and thats another ton on the price. Expensive. However, a bit of history is required - I'm sure similarly insane prices were around when the PS2 was launched. Popular bundle prices were in the four hundreds, and I'm sure I remember seeing an original import Playstation in a game store in London for £650. Factor in ten years of inflation and the current prices look good value. Go figure.