There are already plenty of products -- including Google's Chromecast, Roku, and Apple TV -- that allow consumers to stream media from a home network or the Internet. These devices generally cost between $35 and $100, and stream popular services like Netflix and Hulu without any issues. The market hasn't stopped growing yet -- research firms Parks Associates estimates that worldwide streaming device sales will double between 2013 and 2017 to annual sales of 330 million units.

It's not expensive to add these services to the operating systems in a PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U, but it can be costly to bundle additional hardware, such as cameras, motion sensors, and microphones to manage the systems. Meanwhile, both Microsoft and Sony are launching original streaming content for their consoles -- further raising the costs of supporting the Xbox One and PS4.

From the article, "3 Ways Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Could Make Future Consoles Cheaper" by Leo Sun.

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