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Sony Close To Profiting On PS3
As you may know, when the PS3 launched back in 2006 Sony took a substantial hit to the wallet with every $599 console sold. The manufacturer actually lost around $250 for each of the glossy, black behemoths. Even considering most manufacturers make their profit off of software and generally take a hit on hardware costs, Sony's losses per PS3 have been uniquely high. A report from iSuppli claims that Sony is now one step closer to breaking even with its new, slim iteration of the PS3. The overarching philosophy appears to be if you put fewer pieces in your system, you’ll put less money into it as well.
Market intelligence team, iSuppli, cracked open the PS3 slim and found that the streamlined version of Sony’s console contains 2,568 components compared to the original’s 4,048. In addition to shaving off 1,480 internal doo-dads, the PS3 slim incorporates more efficient semiconductors and reduces energy requirements.
These changes have accounted for a reported loss of $31.27 per PS3, a significant decrease since 2008’s $49.72 per-unit-loss, and an astronomical decrease compared to 2006’s ridiculous $250. Combine this with over one million total PS3s sold between October and November’s NPDs, and Sony’s console appears to be making up for its historically weak sales.
“However, with each new revision of the game console hardware, Sony has aggressively designed out costs to reach the hardware and manufacturing breakeven point as quickly as possible,” explains iSuppli’s director, Andrew Rassweiler. “The latest version of the PlayStation 3 manages to further reduce the loss, even with the U.S. price of the console having fallen by $100 during the past year.”
It’s been a long time coming for the PlayStation 3, but with reduced production losses and lucrative holiday sales the system seems to finally be getting its dues.
Who’s asking for a PS3 this holiday?
[Via IndustryGamers]
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