Sony now profits with every PS3 sold
There was a time when Sony sold PS3 systems for less than it took to make one. It has been a tough uphill climb for them, but thanks to cheaper builds and the reduction of manufacturing costs, things have finally turned around. After almost four years in the market, SCE Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida reveals that Sony finally profits with every PS3 sold.
There was a time when Sony sold PS3 systems for less than it took to make one. It has been a tough uphill climb for them, but thanks to cheaper builds and the reduction of manufacturing costs, things have finally turned around. After almost four years in the market, SCE Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida reveals that Sony finally profits with every PS3 sold.
“This year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3”, Yoshida told IGN. “We aren’t making huge money from hardware, but we aren’t bleeding like we used to.” For the last few years, Sony had been counting on software sales to make up for the losses.
Unfortunately, the state that Sony’s in right now might mean that we can no longer expect another price cut, at least not anytime soon. “We have lots of great games coming out and innovations with Move and 3DTV, so we don’t believe this is the time for us to think about a price drop,” Yoshida pointed out.
“When we bring the cost of hardware down, we are looking at opportunities to adjust prices if we believe that will increase demand,” he went further. “At the moment, we are trying to catch up our production.”
Back in December 2009, market intel from iSuppli indicated that Sony was close to breaking even at the time, so they probably managed to jump the hurdle within this calendar year.