Sony close to breaking even with PS3 Slim

The launch of the new line of PlayStation 3 units has been well-received and well-sold, but apparently, Sony is still losing money for every PS3 they sell. This is the report coming from applied market intel, iSuppli. On a more positive note, they are closer to breaking even now than ever before.

"Since the introduction of the PlayStation 3 in late 2006, Sony has subsidized the price of every console sold, a deficit the company has made up for with game sales and royalties," said iSuppli teardown services director and principal analyst, Andrew Rassweiler.

He goes on:

"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. 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."

As of December 2009, the total manufacturing cost of a 120GB PS3 Slim is US$ 336.27 - and with the US$ 299 price point, Sony still loses US$ 37 per unit sold. Fortunately, prices for the console's parts are expected to "decline significantly in 2010." "In light of these factors, the PlayStation 3 probably is already at or near the tipping point for profitability," Rassweiler said.

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I thought Sony would be making a profit on each sold now, since months ago they say they were just about breaking even. Eh, almost there I suppose.

I know for each machine they sell it is at a loss, but one would think they're making a profit of some margin as a whole.

Even if my current PS3 dies (god forbid) I'll never buy a slim. Playing PS2 games on it is a quality feature for me.

Don't forget these parts Sony or any other company is getting is wholesale so it becomes even cheaper, I think they are breaking even right now.

This was just posted yesterday, but the topic was outlining how WiFi costs under $5, and on Xbox 360 it's $80-$100, at least that's where that TC went with his thread.

Anyways, just updating and saying hi. :P

this is why i love sony. even though they are loosing money they are not giving up and not abandon they're consumers and still try to give us the quality games. IMO PS3 will finish 3rd this gen in terms of sales but in my heart as a gamer they are number 1 based on the gaming experience they offer. :P

Well they are losing $37 on each PS3 sold and probably everyone buys a PS3 will at least buy one game with it so $60-37= $23 profit :P.

Well they are losing $37 on each PS3 sold and probably everyone buys a PS3 will at least buy one game with it so $60-37= $23 profit :P.

Kashiwaba

Well they are losing $37 on each PS3 sold and probably everyone buys a PS3 will at least buy one game with it so $60-37= $23 profit :P.

Kashiwaba

LOl, they don't make $60 per game profit per game sold....

:lol: Wasn't the Slim supposed to have a break-even price from the get-go? I could've swore a read articles last year saying: "PS3 phat close to breaking even".

I'm guessing the PlayStation division got some harsh words from the higher ups by the sounds of it.

dont forget the profit sony is making from ps2 still.

funny that because outside of the US and Japan the rest of the world pays a ridiculous price for the ps3. In Oz we pay $465USD for our PS3

I know for each machine they sell it is at a loss, but one would think they're making a profit of some margin as a whole.

SaudiFury

You would think but Sony (it's gaming division at least) is actually loosing more money. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/14/sony-reports-continued-loss-expects-games-division-to-remain-un/

Sony corp is not going to allow this to go on forever.

funny that because outside of the US and Japan the rest of the world pays a ridiculous price for the ps3. In Oz we pay $465USD for our PS3

smartcriminal

Your prices could be inflated by the hidden cost of big government.

I just told my PS3 that Sony is losing money of every unit sold, and all it did was insist that I keep playing Killzone 2.jalexbrown

Deep down inside your ps3 weeps, when you turn it off at night it crys itself to sleep because of the thought that it is costing its creator, it longs for the day that its brothers and sisters are manufactured at a low enough price to allow a profit to be made for its creator.

[QUOTE="Kashiwaba"]

Well they are losing $37 on each PS3 sold and probably everyone buys a PS3 will at least buy one game with it so $60-37= $23 profit :P.

Yankees718

LOl, they don't make $60 per game profit per game sold....

I just told my PS3 that Sony is losing money of every unit sold, and all it did was insist that I keep playing Killzone 2.jalexbrown

[QUOTE="smartcriminal"]

funny that because outside of the US and Japan the rest of the world pays a ridiculous price for the ps3. In Oz we pay $465USD for our PS3

Burning-Sludge

Your prices could be inflated by the hidden cost of big government.

[QUOTE="Yankees718"]

[QUOTE="Kashiwaba"]

Well they are losing $37 on each PS3 sold and probably everyone buys a PS3 will at least buy one game with it so $60-37= $23 profit :P.

T-Aldous

LOl, they don't make $60 per game profit per game sold....

What other costs make it so they lose more? :?

[QUOTE="T-Aldous"][QUOTE="Yankees718"]

LOl, they don't make $60 per game profit per game sold....

OneLazyAsian

What other costs make it so they lose more? :?

Plus if games are bundled that adds another significant cost.

that's actually pretty good but sony needs to swallow their pride and use Lite-On blu-ray drives rather than their own Sony Optiarc brand. it'll save them a few dollars .

could someone clear this up for me? the chart doesn't show the cost of the GDDR3 ram the ps3 uses (256MB @ 700MHZ) and the XDR ram from samsung that is listed there says it's 512Mb (mega bits) which is only 64MB (megabytes). i could've sworn the ps3 had 256MB of XDR ram, not 64MB.

[QUOTE="OneLazyAsian"]

[QUOTE="T-Aldous"]That is true, plus the fact that they lose a lot more than $37 on each console.blue_hazy_basic

What other costs make it so they lose more? :?

Plus if games are bundled that adds another significant cost.

[QUOTE="OneLazyAsian"]

What other costs make it so they lose more? :?

Plus if games are bundled that adds another significant cost.

I just told my PS3 that Sony is losing money of every unit sold, and all it did was insist that I keep playing Killzone 2.jalexbrown

how can sony lose $37 on each ps3 sold? it has to be more than that....

retailers buy ps3s for less than $299....

Seems that after three years of being on the market, losing at least $37 (I say at least because you have to figure in transport, retailer cut, packaging, and adverts into the cost) on each console must be a big downer for Sony's gaming division.

Sony Employee A: "Hey guys! We just sold 710,000 consoles in North America this month! How awesome is that?"

Sony Emp B: "Wow! That's great! Hopefully this will finally help us become profitable, I could really use that Christmas bonus."

Sony Emp A: "Well...no, actually. Um, we lost over $25 million to sell those consoles."

Sony Emp B: "Wait...what?"

Sony corp is not going to allow this to go on forever.

Jamisonia

Yep. They're now coming up at a $5 Billion loss after just 3 years. That's even worse than what Microsoft has lost $4.2 Billion off of the original X-Box after 4 years.

All I know is, is that the PS3 better be turning profitable within the next year, or chances are that it'll become the next Dreamcast & the first X-Box, in which both Sega & Microsoft had to drop support for those systems because they kept losing money & weren't turning profitable.