You can't really compare the ownership of classic Amiga's (whether they sit in a closet or not) to the new hardware. The price is cost prohibitive for many and a perfectly logical dissuader to anyone looking to purchase a new computer period. Yeah, at that price point, the masses are going to stay away. Of course they are. Especially when you're just talking about a barebones motherboard. MOST people want a pre-built system in this day and age. One that sets itself up upon startup for the first time. The SAM mobo and ALL of the others Pegasus/Efika, etc. are designed and built for the hobbyist used to justifying the expense of their hobbies. Always was, always will be. These companies obviously are not interested in the old Tramiel way of thinking. They want to maximise their margins for TODAY and if they cared about the community, would re-invest most of the profit into R&D and production of newer technologies to continue making money in this specific arena.
I'd LOVE a complete SAM setup w/ 4.1, etc. But it's a little too cost prohibitive for me and probably always will be at that price. And I'm not even comparing it to the price of a PeeCee either (that's silly). I think $900-$1k is a lot of money for a hobby computer - period. Halve the cost of a complete system and I'd buy one right now. And no, I would NEVER sell my A2500 to pay for a modern "Amiga" system ;-)
At least when you purchase one of these systems (A1, Pegaos, SAM) you'll get over 80-90% of your investment back when it comes time to sell. What machine (or ANY product today) can you say that about?
