So, wait, the argument is that because ASICs are a single-use device they can't be profitable? This argument kind of falls apart when you realize that for 99% of the people buying them, FPGAs are also single-use devices. Sure, you could do other things with them, but the majority of miners don't have the knowledge, skill or any kind of application to throw their FPGAs at anything but mining.
No, the problem is that price is determined by the market.
What's the market of mining? The ratio price of Bitcoin / difficulty of mining.
What's the market of ASIC? The miners, who follow the price/difficulty of Bitcoin.
So, knowing that, what prevents the ASIC makers (like BFL) to price their product accordingly to the mining market? They'll know exactly at which point they can sell, and at which point they don't. If the ASIC price is too high, miners can't make an interesting ROI, and the difficulty stay stable or maybe goes down. If the price is low, miners makes an interesting ROI, they buy, the difficulty goes up and they lose their ROI. Same thing if the Bitcoin price varies.
FPGA prices are not determined by Bitcoin difficulty. ASIC prices for Bitcoin will vary, depending on the Bitcoin price and Bitcoin difficulty. In a market like that, either the provider make profit, either the miners make profit. The profit is the same for the two groups, so what one gain, the other lose.
+1
ASICs are great! Seriously. Examining ASIC alone is just a technology shift. Considering technological efficiencies brought by ASIC we will benefit.
It's the ASIC market that, where if ASIC pricing is guided by BTC mining difficulty alone, a vicious cycle could (probably will) form where early adopters overpay and late comers get dismal ROI at best.
ASICs bring about the possibility for many more miners and larger capacity of existing miners due to lowering entry requirements. This can result in emphasizing large, e.g. 60,000 USD+ with BFL pricing, capital requirements to be a serious mining operation with interesting ROI. All this further pushes difficulty while the ASIC provider has the ability, and compulsion to do so based on difficulty, to lower unit pricing by orders of magnitude. If the ASIC provider does indeed lower unit cost severely then all of that big miner operation capital was wasted.
I agree. ASICs are only good for mining profitability if done for the community by the community at minor profit.