Seihyouken said:
The numbers in that link are estimates based off of Sony's financial reports of 2007 that don't appear to take into account software or development costs, nor does it take into account the fact that the former 60GB and 2007 80GB cost Sony more than the current 40GB models. If all that weren't enough, it only makes rough guesses as to how much PS2 and PSP factor into the numbers. That $260 "estimate" is 100% worthless. My previous link stating that PS3's cost Sony about $400 to manufacture in January still stands. |
Granted that the $260 estimate is in large part conjecture, we know that the PS3 still costs far more to manufacture than Sony gets at retail.
July 17, 2008
"In an interview with Jiji Press, Kazuo Hirai, president and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., said that it seems difficult to achieve profitability from the game console alone by the end of the business year.
But the overall PS3 operations, including related equipment and game software, are expected to swing to the black, he said."
So Sony itself is saying that it's still taking a loss on each console sold: they're just hoping to make up the difference via profitable software, peripheral, services, and other methods by the year's end.
Edit: So considering how Sony itself if dubious that it'll break even on PS3 costs by the end of the year, despite the increased production of Blu-Ray parts and the planned line of newer, cheaper chips, I think it's safe to say that the analyst 321tttrini4everz quoted has a case. The loss may not be as high as the analyst believed, but it must still be fairly significant.
