PS3 grabs 20%+ of the market !

[CrashMan]

Well, I don't know if an argument of the profitability of software titles is really even possible without knowing exact development costs.

Also, a profit for whome? The publisher? The developer? The Hardware Manufacturer?

Any 3rd party developed and published title for a console will make the Hardware Manufacturer money in and of itself as their financial investment is almost entirely in the hardware. If you look soley at license fees and dev kit purchasing all that money goes to the HM with little investment by the manufacturer (maybe some time and money invested in assisting the developer in learning how to develop for the system)

However, if a developer (and more likely a publisher, unless the publisher and developer are in essence the same) doesn't make a profit repeatedly, their support for the system may fade.

Take COD4 for example. Any idea of the development costs? Any idea how much the developer and publisher get for each title sold, after taking out distributers cuts, any manufacturer's cuts, promotion, manufacturing costs, distribution, etc.