In the world we live in today, technology is refreshed annually, or even semi-annually. Why are video game consoles different? It's probably the last piece of technology I can think of that still operates with this outdated thinking.It just seems baffling to me that people will buy a new phone every single year, but are otherwise not open to doing the same thing with a video game system. What baffles me even more is that consoles are cheaper than most phones that come out. So, what's the deal here? Is phone subsidization the real ticket?If there's one thing I took away from the recent Apple event, which was otherwise a complete letdown for me as expected, it was that they are introducing a subscription model for their phones. If you pay around 30-40 dollars per month, you get a brand new, unlocked phone every year with warranty. That's an $800 plus piece of kit. This equates to roughly 400-500 dollars a year, which is about half the cost of buying one straight up.If we've nailed the architecture moving forward down to x86 for the most part... what's the hold up here?If you're not an enthusiast for performance, stick with the old model for 2-3 years and you'll be OK. Pick up the new model any given year for 300-400 dollars (since most would argue that's the sweet spot for time/value) and off you go. If you are an enthusiast, maybe MS or Sony develops a similar hardware subscription model and, all things to consider still, you pay like... $20 a month maybe?Am I taking crazy pills here, or am I not the only one that would be interested in this?Edit: Another mix in to this, is this not what we're thinking Valve is going to try with Steam Machines?. He didn't guess right about it happening at E3, but they discuss it.