Material breakdown reveals PlayStation Vita costs $159 to make

Is Sony really pocketing $140 on each PS Vita sold?

 

The PlayStation Vita's $250 price point is a touchy subject for many gamers.  Some think it's too high, others think if you're worried about price then you're in the wrong hobby.  Whatever your stance on the subject, we just want to know if the $250 price tag is justified.  Or if Sony is just jacking up the price to make a quick buck. 

Thankfully, UBM's Jeffrey Brown, got a rough estimate of how much it costs to create a PlayStation Vita based on a quick breakdown of the materials used in the 3G-enabled system.  His analysis prices the Vita at $159.10.

Below is the bill for each component:

• Display and touchscreens: $50
• Battery: $3.60
• Cameras: $3.50
• Wi-Fi/BT/GPS: $3.50
• NAND: $6.00
• SDRAM: $9.25
• Processor: $16.00
• BB+XCR: $16.25
• Non-electronic: $11.00
• Other: $30.00
• Supporting materials: $10.00

Now before you are ready to crucify Sony for pocketing $140 on every 3G system sold, remember that there are many other factors to consider such as the retailer cut, cost of labor, research & development, marketing, distribution, and more.

Suddenly that $140 doesn't look like too much.  While Sony probably isn't losing money on each unit sold - unlike the PS3 which cost Sony losing hundreds of dollars for each console purchased - it's likely that they aren't making that much either.

It does appear, however, that Sony does have some wiggle room for a price cut, should the Vita's sales continue to drop after the February launch in the U.S. and Europe.

[UBM]

With everything else factored in, would the Vita be in fact making money and not losing on each unit sold? Assuming these estimates are correct of course.

If so the maybe there actually is room for a bit of a price cut if things don't start off so smoothly in the West.

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Also, since my work PC won't let me post pictures (Yeah, it's annoying), you will need to follow this link to see the PSVita's guts.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-20-vita-innards-pictures

1.25 each camera? dafuq

How did he come to that conclusion. Who is he and is he usually right about these things?

Time to google search i think.

yes the part might be less then their system but the R and D used to create the PS Vita has to be accounted for

i would have to assume that he is really low balling the price of the components.
but anyway Sony sells the Vita to retailers for less than $299, so even if it did cost that much they would pocket that much.
im also guessing that the 3g model costs almost nothing more than the wifi only model, maybe like $5 more, so the 3g model is definitely just Sony's way of trying to recoup costs. kind of like the 320 GB $299 ps3. it probably only costs several dollars more than the $249 160GB model but they sell it for $50 more.

Well this would show Sony doesn't need to cut the price. Why cut the price when you are profiting on each unit sold. Sony can not....can not be that stupid.

If they are making profit, use that profit to market the system and MAKE MORE GAMES. I have no problem spending $250 for the WIFI only model right now.

In the same way that people got annoyed because it supposedly cost Nintendo about $100 to produce a 3DS - there are many more costs than just materials.

Here is the primary components list according to the source.


Primary Component Listing
Sony CXD5315GG – Quad-core processor with two Samsung K4P2G324EC 256 MB Mobile DDR2-S4 SDRAM Memory die (512MB total memory)
Toshiba THGBM3G5D1FBAIE - Multichip Memory Package – Memory and Memory Controller
Marvell 88W878S-BKB2 - Avastar WLAN/Bluetooth/FM Single-Chip System-on-Chip
Fujitsu MB44C026A – Possible Multichannel Switching Controller
Sony 1144KM427 – suspected AKM Magnetic Compass
Wolfson Micro WM1803E – Audio Codec
Qualcomm MDM6200 – Gobi Single-mode Modem
Qualcom PM8028 – Power Management IC
Toshiba TY890A111222KA - Mobile SDR SDRAM Memory
Kionix KXTC9 - Three-axis MEMS accelerometer
Avago ACPM-7868 - GSM Power Amplifier
Avago ACPM-5005 - W-CDMA Band V Power Amplifier Module
Avago ACPM-5001 - W-CDMA Band I Power Amplifier Module
Avago ACPM-5002 - W-CDMA Band II Power Amplifier Module
Avago ACPM-5008 - W-CDMA Band VIII Power Amplifier Module
EPCOS B7429 - SAW Duplexer
Sony CXM3555ER - SP10T Antenna Switch Module
Atmel MXT224 – 224-Channel Touchscreen Sensor
STMicroelectronics 32P10SOD
STMicroelectronics 3GA51H - Gyroscope

So that means a 57% profit margin if I did the math right (which I probably didn't because I'm a moron at math). That's pretty reasonable, that's less of a profit margin than the clothing industry charges.

Just checked him out, he is actually a very qualified geeza