So we know there is a US $18 loss per console on the US retail price of $299. Given a few assumptions (i.e. the loss is agains the total cost of putting the PS3 into the consumer's hands, incl marketiung etc) this means any country selling substantially above US$299 equiv. is a profitable market for Sony.

Here in NZ the average base price for the PS3 120Gig console is about $590 (RRP is actually $620 but no one sells it for that). Taking off taxes and converting to US dollars it means it's selling for $361. If Sony are getting the PS3 onto the shop shelf for US$320 with retailer mark up, this means ~US$40 for Sony for every PS3 sold in NZ.

OK Sony may only sell 1000 PS3's a week here for a meagre $40,000 profit per week. But $40K profit is $40K profit.

Lots of assumptions on this. $40 per consloe is the max theoretical profit, the true profit is probably going to be something less than that, but I doubt the unknowns would wipe out that $40 entirely. I think it's pretty certain PS3 HW is selling at a profit here.

Is PS3 HW in the black in your country now?

Pretty sure you have to convert to yen to get the real profit.

Also, other companies include a lot of VAT. You'd have to know exactly what that is and remove it from the price.

It's a lot more complex than what you make it out to be. There are many other variables that go into play. You don't even know how much Sony sells the PS3 to wholesalers/retailers for.