That's my point, though. It can cost the big boys exactly what it costs the end user if the big boys are the typical end user.

If they do pull a profit off of it, it seems to me more probable that they pull their profit indirectly (renting people equipped with it) rather than directly (selling the actual MBW unit for more than they manufacture it for).

~J

I don't get to post all day and look what happens.

Cyberware does in fact require a subscription, just a very long term one. SOTA upkeep is a bitch. Where exactly do you think you go for maintenance and repair for your delta MBW 4? It was made specifically for you and you would need another delta clinic to do a full work up on you just to generate a medical profile so they could work on you.

As I clearly stated(I thought) in my post, cell phones and alarms are not a good comparison because they are low cost mass produced items. I merely made the comparison the back up my arguement that there are indeed some items that are not sold for profit.

I went with cyberzombies because like MBW 4 delta, they are expensive, unique, available in extremely limited quantities by a select few corporations and for all intensive purposes are things. Thats a rather broad asumption that CZ's are never sold (or rented) comercially. Renraku could make a killing on technical support and maintenance alone even if they "sold" the CZ for what it cost to make it. You can't exactly take it to your local military hospital if you break it.

Very high end (massivley complex) items don't need to be sold at a huge profit margin because you just won't sell that many. You make your money on the exclusivity of service.

Lastly, I never intended to compare MBW to vehicles in terms of cost. I merely put them in the catagory of "Things Shadowrunners will never own".