Bitmap Frogs said:
NJ5 said:
Here is what Sony said to investors:
Q: My second question is related to Playstation number 3, the profitability is increasing, and when are you going to be seeing profit in the field of hardware?
A: If we base our projections on the present exchange rate to continue and if introduction of the 45 nm chips is fulfilled (it is being used in manufacturing already), but in view of that by latter half of next year, sometime there, I believe that we can see the improved margin and start to see profit.
Q: Point of confirmation, when you say later next year, is it later the second half of the calendar year 2009, or the fiscal year 2009?
A: Fiscal year 2009, that's March 2010.
http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=2895
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Oh woah. It's amazing they've survived - credit goes to the long life of the ps2.
Anyways taking into account the currency value shift and increased revenue from a bigger userbase, a 2009 pricecut will happen. Now the question is: E3 or Fall season?
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No, no, no. The question was specifically about hardware, and the result is clear. On top of the hardware costs, there are a LOT of other costs that the PS division (forgot what it is called now, networked entertainment and devices or something) has to cover. Companies need a healthy sales margin to cover those costs. Of course, the margin varies for each company, but to give you an idea one manufacturing company that I know well has a sales margin around 50%, meaning that if a product costs 100€ to produce, they will sell it for 200€. That will give them a healthy EBIT margin, but nothing extraordinary.
So, my point is: if Sony at some point starts to profit from the hardware, that DOES NOT mean a price cut is imminent.
