usa: "PS4 has already sold more units this week > the last several months combined"

[drkohler]

thismeintiel said:

drkohler said:

At $199, no current gen console is profitable on the hardware level. Like last year, Sony limits the number of units available at this price simply in order to limit the losses on hardware. The idea that "selling more units even at a loss is good because software" isn't really an argument anymore at this stage of the console cycle.

There is absolutely no way the PS4 still costs $249+ to manufacture.  In mid-2017 Sony said the primary reason for their large increase in

This is NOT what Sony said in their fiscal reports, unless you selectively quote things out of their reports. In fact, the list price of the PS4 INCREASED sometimes in 2017 (at least in Europe) due to higher costs (the ram deal probably had to be renewed). Also, contrary to what you think, manufacturing costs generally INCREASED year over year the past decade. That is simply a fact of higher labor costs in China (go figure why the Chinese actually moved manufacturing into third world cuntries like Vietnam and Bangla Desh, for example) and lower product quantities ordered.

There is no question that Microsoft loses shittons of money on hardware (the $99 XBox1 SAD is a particularly glaring example). Contrary to what you think, Microsoft had to play the price card to stay at least somewhat relevant (outside of NA). For the past years, XBox consoles have at all times sold considerably below the prices of the PS4 in Europe. Often $100 below the price of the PS4. And $100 on a $300 product is way, way, way, way, way, way below the manufacturer's margin of a console. That is a simple fact of mass manufacturing.

And lastly, I can only repeat what I already said: At $199, no current gen console is profitable on the hardware level.