I hear you on the disc drive. But I guess they need to make a profit lol. I mean, either way, I'm still getting the disc drive. I'll buy any disc drive console while they still offer it because I still like physical media. But I suspect they have it priced that way so they can migrate people to digital downloads. Digital distribution is much cheaper than having discs. They don't have to worry about manufacturing, distribution and retailers taking a cut. They throw the game on the PS Store, that's basically straight profit. Only expense really is to keep the servers running.
Either way, I'm super excited. But I'm gonna buy the console after the holidays. Apparently, Sony said they'll have more units available at launch than they did with the PS4. But sites are already crashing and it seems like more hassle than it's worth right now to have it day 1. January/February stock levels will stabilize and I can walk into any Best Buy and walk out with one
Plus I'm still unemployed so there's that too.