It's far more than blog talk. Both the 360 and the PS3 were money losers upon launch. It's a common financial model for the industry. You sell at a loss, especially in the first year before hardware costs come down, and make up for it with licensing and accessories. The only one not doing that this generation is Nintendo.
Microsoft has already recouped for the 360 (and I believe by now for the original XBox too, which never made money itself), but Sony's recoup date is far, far off. The two billion lost last fiscal year by the gaming division despite excellent high-profit PS2 sales should tell you that.
BR has a peak data rate of 49 Mbps... HDDVD is stuck at 30Mbps. We have 50 gig discs... they have 30 gig discs.
I already said I generally prefer the better technology. But I'm just sitting back, waiting to see who wins before I buy anything.
Actually the gaming division at Microsoft is 5 billion down still since 2001. The original Xbox never recouped its money and MS cut it off to stop the loss. The 360 is just breaking even despite the high failure rate.