Sayonara, Sony

Well, it's official -- Sony has just lost me as a customer for the PlayStation 3. And I'm writing this as a guy who still has a stack of original PlayStation CDs in my bookcase, waiting for a new console to play them on (WipeOut XL, resp'ct!)

But according to the news, Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 will be launching in North America with a retail price of $499.

Or, alternately, you can cough up $599 for a version with a 60-gig hard drive.

That is, quite simply, freakin' ridiculous. Not since Trip Hawkins dared to launch the 3DO Multiplayer at a budget-breaking $700 have I been so annoyed at a game console's price tag.

But wait, it gets worse...

According to eagle-eyed gamers, not only does the "base" $499 PS3 means you lose 40 gigabytes of storage, you also lose support for Memory Sticks, SD and Compact Flash cards, built-in Wi-Fi, and HDMI output.

Now, admittedly, you probably don't need all that stuff to play games, but considering the already-astronomical price Sony is setting for the PS3, the omission of any nontrivial features -- especially the high-definition output -- is either a slap in the face or pouring salt in the wounds of gamers everywhere.

I don't know who's got the money to drop $500-$600 for a PlayStation 3, but I know it won't be me. And now I'm really interested to see what Nintendo will unveil for the Revolu^H^H^H^H^H^H Wii...