Your post comes across as defensive?
Anyway, tech does get cheaper. Going in with the Cell wasn't the best idea. Slapping in a PS2 for BC wasn't the best idea. Splitting the RAM against the wishes of devs(IIRC) wasn't the best idea.
Sony could have shaved a few quid off of the console. However, they launched with a console A LOT more expensive than the 360, that took years to show off what it could do, by that point it was 'too late'. They had lost a lot of good will and support to Microsoft.
Purely talking about the price in a vacuum, did you feel, at launch, that the PS3 was far superior to the 360 and was worth the extra price? No.
However. If Sony, with all the knowledge they had in 2013/2014, launched the PS4 with a more effective use of the cash and launched at £500, the difference between PS4 vs Xbox one, would have been (even more) staggering.
"Going in with the Cell wasn't the best idea" Agreed.
"Slapping in a PS2 for BC wasn't the best idea" Subjective. Consider how much that feature is talked about right now and consider Sony was coming off the PS2 breaking all sorts of records with sales never thought to be broken by home consoles. It made sense why someone thought it was a must have feature for them at the time and I don't disagree with the move at the moment to put it in. It makes sense.
"They had lost a lot of good will and support to Microsoft. " Did they ? MS own RROD didn't suddenly keep those customers and making a solid system that pushes the industry is more important to them then simply selling a cheap, dated, faulty box to just get sales. So MS choices with 360 also resulted in XONE selling as less as it sold. If MS got that support and "good will" from that generation, they'd move MORE units now, not less.
"Purely talking about the price in a vacuum, did you feel, at launch, that the PS3 was far superior to the 360 and was worth the extra price? No." ?? What? Don't do that. Seriously, you asked a question and then answered it for me. I might disagree with you on some points, but I'm also respecting your post, comments, answers etc vs telling you what you are saying or something.
So my answer (if I'm allowed to do that) is yes. Bluray for film and what its doing for games, BC to PS2 and wifi and Ethernet support is far superior then what 360 was offering. Keep in mind they had free online gaming at the time, keep in mind PS3 never had some crazy faulty issue to the same degree as 360. SO "superior"? ABSOLUTELY RROD sealed that deal my friend. So I agree with you on the Cell and in hindsight of BC being added in regards to the price, but their choice of media format and packing the system with as much tech to build a solid base (bluray, wifi, Ethernet), and building it solidly enough not to have the whole RROD situation is why I'd have to respectfully disagree with you. THAT is what built good faith in Playstation as a brand that resulted in PS4 moving those massive units. EVEN if those folks didn't buy a PS3 and bought a 360, they also got to see less REAL exclusives, nickle and dimed for features like HD-DVD, Wifi, dealt with RROD and clearly saw that PS3's launch price being high in HINDSIGHT might have been justfied compared to seeing several versions of 360's add features finally, while dealing with RROD etc. MS might have made the system so cheaply that their fans got to actually see what they COULD have had if they actually didn't go off of launch price and worry and doom articles alone.
PS3's launch price is just that......its launch price. MS having a nice cheap, dated design might have got their foot in the door, but it ultimately hurt their brand deeply because of how they gimped that generation with dated hardware and poor tech ie RROD.
So I don't know if PS3 was unusually high for last gen or if 360 was unusually low as PS3 is not the one with billions of dollars with tech issues.
"However. If Sony, with all the knowledge they had in 2013/2014, launched the PS4 with a more effective use of the cash and launched at £500, the difference between PS4 vs Xbox one, would have been (even more) staggering." Hard to say and a debate for another day tbh.