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Forums - Sony - Kaz Hirai: 'PS4 hardware is already profitable'

naruball on 22 May 2014
kowenicki said:

 The ps4 as a device won't be profitable but since Sony introduced a sub service that users pretty much have to have they are profiting... Of course. They should have done it with the ps3. 


Not really.

Sony knew better than to ask money for a terrible service that it was when it launched and couldn't ask for it halfway through the generation either. ps+ was a good start to warm up to the idea of paying for it and now with the ps4 was the perfect time to enforce/introduce it. I strongly believe that free multiplayer/internet services saved the ps3 from getting annihilated from 360. If I had a penny for every time I read someone mentioning free multiplayer as a reason they went with ps3 over  360, I'd be able to afford a ps4 at the moment.



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drkohler on 22 May 2014
sales2099 said:
The last quarterly results announced the gaming division posting a loss......

hmmm.. let's see, genius:

1. $60mio Write-off on PC software (the only thing explicitly mentioned in the quarterly report)

2. Continued losses in the Vaio hardware segment

3. R&D of 22nm cell chip, possible PS3 gpu shrink

4. R&D, prototyping on server rigs with said cell chips (for game streaming)

5. R&D, prototyping of new PS3 model with said new cell and gpu

6. R&D, prototyping of new PS4 model

7. Huge write-off of cancelled aaa game (I think $100 was mentioned in articles)

8. Many 1st party games still in development - so no revenue stream

9. According to MisterXMedia, Soyn has paid off every single game website and every single game journalist - that surely costs a fortune!

(if all other arguments fail, you can always trust MsiterX's - and the many voices in his head - research).

Actually, pretty surprising they came out +/- 0 in the end..



Nirvana_Nut85 on 22 May 2014
Deimos said:
What was the reason that Sony sold the previous consoles at loss? (sorry for my english)


The PS3 was a great technological leap and more powerful than what was running in highend PC's at the time. The PS4 is the equivalent of a mid tier PC (minus the ram) if we go by todays standards. 



" Rebellion Against Tyrants Is Obedience To God"

darkshadow23 on 22 May 2014
sales2099 said:
celador said:

The successful launch of the PlayStation 4 (PS4), with more than 7 million units sold in 72 countries, will also be used as a way to promote Sony content, said Hirai.

This I find interesting. Now Sony will be copying MS's practice of ads plastered on our consoles homepage ;P. Only this time, the ads will be more self-serving to Sonys agendas.

Since many people who own Xbox (and many who don't) complain about so much product placement, I wonder how PS gamers will adapt to the exact same situation, except the ads will feature Sony movies, music artists under the Sony label, and TV/camera ads.

Why Sony are you stealing MS's rich culture?!?!

Sony has been doing this with the PS3 on the PS Store. Nothing new here. They've been doing it with PS4 as well in the PS Store.



bananaking21 on 22 May 2014
gooch_destroyer said:
I remember when it launched they were like "you need to buy one game and one year of PS+ for this to be profitable to us"

How did they cut costs so quickly?


if i remember correctly, Sony managed to slash like 300$ from the production price of the ps3 within one year, of course by then, they were still making a loss. 



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mornelithe on 22 May 2014
Deimos said:
What was the reason that Sony sold the previous consoles at loss? (sorry for my english)

There were 3 brand new technologies in the PS3, the Cell Broadband Engine, XDR Ram from Rambus, and the Blu Ray drive.  That's the answer in a nutshell.

Bolded: No reason to apologize, unless you meant something completely different, I don't see how knowing better English could've phrased this any better :)



vivster on 22 May 2014
celador said:

The successful launch of the PlayStation 4 (PS4), with more than 7 million units sold in 72 countries, will also be used as a way to promote Sony content, said Hirai.
"Half of PS4 users have already signed up to our online PlayStation Now service," he explained. "Sony plans to expand the entertainment content available through PlayStation Now and also make the PS4 and 4K television sets compatible."

Wait what?



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

gooch_destroyer on 22 May 2014
bananaking21 said:
gooch_destroyer said:
I remember when it launched they were like "you need to buy one game and one year of PS+ for this to be profitable to us"

How did they cut costs so quickly?


if i remember correctly, Sony managed to slash like 300$ from the production price of the ps3 within one year, of course by then, they were still making a loss. 

Thanks,king.



WagnerPaiva on 22 May 2014

Wait, PSNOW is avaliable? Where?



My grammar errors are justified by the fact that I am a brazilian living in Brazil. I am also very stupid.

Train wreck on 22 May 2014

PS3 released November 2006
PS3 hardware no longer sold at a loss, first mentioned in June 2010 by Yoshida

PS4 released November 2013
PS4 hardware profitable by at least ending March 31

The prevailing thought from non-sony fans on this site was that the PS4 with its reliance of last gen ports (which make up 70% of game sales), its high price, stiff competition from better brands in the US, the introduction of a paywall and the current economic situation would spell trouble for the console and Sony....Seems that forum noise and real world noise really are different.

Nice turnaround by Kaz, with that out the way, they can finally focus on other Sony business and address those losses (which they already are)