| aryu said: In 2008, Stringer stated that the PS3 incurred a $3.3billion loss (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/stringer-wii-business-model-superior-to-ps3s/014766). This was when the PS3 was doing poorly and had a very high price tag. He stated that the 'PS3 could not make back the money that it had lost' for as long as he lived (he still lives btw). A few days ago, Tretton stated that if the PS3 sold 80million, it would be regarded as a 'great' success (http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2013/11/22/jack-tretton-ps3-would-be-a-great-success-if-it-ended-at-80-million-units-sold/). So the question I want to ask you is do you think that the PS3 as a success? Also do you believe that Sony has recouped the majority, if not all, of its losses with the PS3? |
Surely in 2008 the situation was awful, but Sony announced that PS3 stopped losing money on HW sales in Q2 2010, so considering SW sales and royalties too it had started recovering losses earlier. Recovering $3.3billion losses with just HW sales would have been almost impossible, as even a very good profit margin, but on a lower sale price, couldn't have balanced alone heavy losses on previous high sales price and the initial investment too, but considering also SW lifetime sales, probably 65 million consoles with a good attach rate should be enough to eventually break even and even profit (just do the maths, at the end of June 2010 HW sales were at 37M, and SW sales at 276M, at the end of June 2012 HW sales were at 66M and SW sales at 550M, bringing royalties on 3rd parties plus publisher profits on 1st parties and 3rd parties published by Sony itself).
We can already say PS3 won't be as successful as PS2, and it lost a lot of market share compared to it, but in absolute terms it's already the 4th of 5th (some more weeks outselling XB360 needed to tell it's 4th for sure, due to the latest sales data released by MS and Sony about XB360 and PS3) best selling console ever and still growing.
