There is already a design based around modular units whereby the consumer can decide how much power they want to pay for... it's called a PC. I believe the value of owning a console is that game designers can better optimise a game based on the fact that they know exactly what the hardware can do, therefore everyone gets the same optimised experience. Building one machine at the best possible specification (based on reasonable economics) also gives the user better bang for thier buck as it significantly lowers production costs - that's why consoles are way cheaper than PCs of similar performance. Storage space is a good exception to this rule, and I imagine that's why Xbox 360 owners get to choose that part of their overall configuration. It's a shame we won't see a new Xbox any sooner, but I agree with Microsofts line on that. It is pointless to bring out a new machine that is only marginally better than the last. First, the cost of production goes back up again which reduces platform uptake, and it does not give developers a fair shot at making each generation of console perform to its best capacity. A good console is measured by the quality of its games, not by GHz, teraflops, pixels, or any other measure of hardware. Nintendo continues to prove that point.