http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/104/1040692p1.html
Sony Eyes PS3 Profitability
System may stop losing money next year.
US, October 30, 2009 - PlayStation 3 has been out since 2006 and has sold millions and millions of units. Would you believe that Sony has been taking a loss on each of those systems sold?
We're only bringing this up because it looks like the losses are gong to disappear shortly. Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda told a press conference in Tokyo today that Sony has managed to get its PS3 losses down to somewhere between 10% and 20% of the system's retail price. It expects that figure to fall into the single digits before the end of the year, then turn into a profit some time during the next fiscal year.
For Sony, a turn to profitability for the PS3 hardware will presumably be welcomed. The company's games division bled cash once again this quarter (July 1 through September 30). Operating losses for the period hit 41 billion yen, a 6 billion yen increase over the same period last year.
Sales also declined, by 27% to 197 billion yen. This wasn't the PS3's fault, though. Sony blamed the appreciating yen and slowing PS2 hardware and software sales.
PS3 sold 3.2 million units over the quarter -- an increase of 800,000 over last year. Sony's other hardware fell. PSP dropped 200,000 to 3 million units. PS2 fell 600,000 units to 1.9 million.
