Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console, which is set to debut 6 to 18 months after Microsoft's Xbox 360 hits shelves this fall, is going to be really, really expensive. Although Sony executives won't yet say just how expensive, they've been dropping hints. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ken Kutaragi recently said that the goal is to make the PlayStation 3 so desirable that people will "want it, irrespective of anything else." What's most interesting about the PlayStation 3's price is that the higher it is, the more wiggle room Microsoft will have. Microsoft has historically matched Sony's prices in the video game market, which worked to Microsoft's disadvantage in the current generation of hardware because the company has lost money on every Xbox it's sold. However, analysts expect Microsoft to be able to make money on the Xbox 360 at its expected starting price of $300 to $350. What if it came out of the gates at $500
