Good question. I guess PS3 is different as it\'s build smaller which also helps cut down the manfacturing cost. That also makes me ponder why don\'t stand a lone Blu Ray players or HD-DVD players use cheaper parts and smaller size to keep the cost down too. A manufacturer can design two models, say one costing over $1,000 while the other costing $500 that are build smaller in size and uses cheaper parts. Why don\'t they do that, I don\'t really know.
I guess its just how business works, anything that is new and first generation are usually very expensive, then as time progress, the price comes down to a reasonable level as the production have increases, and many more models were being made for that type of technology too...