Sony will never reach parity on losses incurred due to the PS3. To do so they must retain their current price point for the remainder of this generation. The losses were that large. Think closer to five billion dollars. You have to include obvious losses, concealed losses, and debt accumulation. Concealed losses are hard to judge, because true losses can be hid behind subscription services, and profitable hardware. This is the price for going too low too soon.
I know it seems paradoxical, but if Sony could have held that original price line through its first year. Sony would have actually been able to deliver a half priced console this holiday season. By losing less earlier they could have spread the loss out over time. They really did not have a choice though. They had to save the console. Without those cuts the console would now be dead. However by doing so they effectively crippled the profitability permanently.
I think the fans should be more pragmatic. The war is all but lost at this juncture, and it was basically a done deal the first year when Sony flew into full blown desperation mode. What Sony needs to do is maintain console viability at this point. Ensure that the division can bring another console out in the next generation. Most importantly of all Sony needs to rebuild and differentiate the brand. They cannot keep following a bad strategy. Having a price war with Microsoft is suicide, because Microsoft has built their console around aggressive pricing.
Sony keeps playing at this game, and they will be giving Microsoft exactly what they want. Hell they have been giving Microsoft what they want for two years. Microsoft is just baiting them farther down the path of ruin.
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