People are still willing to pay the full $800 for the PS3 in the Gulf (of the Mediterranean, not of Mexico). It's a more powerful and sturdier machine than the Xbox, in my opinion, so I didn't mind paying $100 more than the Xbox 360 would have cost me in order to get all the neat features (I'm watching episodes of True Blood that I have stored on my computer by streaming them to the PS3 and onto my TV. Does the 360 allow this?) and the peace of mind that hardware failure is significantly less likely.
I had somebody try to tell me I was silly for purchasing the PS3 instead of the 360 once (people often do this with their consoles, as we all know. I think a lot of them are just trying to validate a purchase, though) by telling me that there are very few things available on the PS3 that aren't available on the 360. And I'm actually perfectly fine with that, because the reverse is true, as well (especially very recently). Comparing the exclusives of both consoles, I prefer the ones on the PS3 anyways (Little Big Planet or Heavy Rain vs Halo or Fable II?).
I was a bit skeptical about the PS3's quality when it first came out and it cost a thousand dollars, but I haven't regretted purchasing it in late November of 2009, especially after discovering how great it is for movies and other non-game media. My biggest complaint is that I can't figure out how to play music on shuffle, and the animation that plays during music (either a shimmering coloured screen or the Planet Earth) is kind of boring.
Even still, I can see why it is selling so well now. It's a pretty good console, easily worth the original price. I have it hooked up to a 30 year old television set and it still feels like I'm living in luxury.
I don't understand why some people choose never to install firmware on it, though. The patches have only made my experience better. I don't think I'm missing anything by not being able to install Linux.
On the Wii: I bought a Wii about 2 or 3 years ago, and it's kind of a mixed bag. It's fun and great for parties, especially when you have people who aren't really into video games present (which is a bit foreign to some Bay12ers, I realize, but try to step into my shoes), but it's also not that great for actual gaming. The only game I thought was really worthwhile was Super Mario Galaxy (haven't tried SMG2), which I played to 100% completion on. I think it's a different kind of gaming machine, though, one made more for families and casual players as opposed to somebody whose primary hobby and past time is playing video games, and there's nothing wrong with that. It sells better for exactly this reason, too. It's very appealing to people who have never played video games before, including people who think they're too old to play a video game. Have you ever seen a group of 40 to 50 year old bearded men gather around a TV to play WiiGolf? It's good stuff.