@adr Granted, just by the hardware parts they'd loose out if they were to sell at €749 (you can thank the #AIbubble as well as #RAM & #NAND - #Tripol #Cartel and lack of #regulation for that).
- OFC #retailers also want their margin, and unless one's in a position like #Apple, the #retail margin will be 10-20% depending on the market, whether it's a #online or in-presence stores or whatever. And that is already a low margin.
Everyone who expects this a €499 box is fucking dellusional at this point, because with the current memory prices and expected developments people would just buy truckloads of them to harvest the #GabeCube for it's #RAM, #SSD & #VRAM and scrap the rest.
If the #GabeCube is competitive priced if not cheaper than equivalent #Desktops and #Servers then we'd see every #business with "strategic procurement" just buy literal truckloads expecting #DRAM & #Flash prices to not come down this upgrade cycle (aka. within 5 years) but still needing some machines to work with as the heightened prices - like the #ChipShortage before - will strangulate the #UsedMarket.
- I kid you not, we'd rather see #scalpers and #businesses equipping employees with cash, credit cards and high-value gift cards just to pick shelves clean (just like it happens with #GPUs because that shit is now hotter on the black market than "research chemicals" because it has less risk and higher payouts).
So do expect the #Gabecube to cost way more than €749 + VAT and closer to €999 than €749 since #Poland has a low #VAT / #GST rate and is a 'low income' place (compared to the EU-Average)...
- The €749 would've been more realistic by the time it was announced but the €499 never were for any non-closed system subsidized harder than the #PS3.