When it launched late in 2006 it was estimated that every PlayStation 3 console cost Sony around $805 to manufacture. The retail price of the console was $599, which meant that Sony was losing about $206 on every console sold.
It’s common knowledge that consoles are often sold at below their cost price. This is because the likes of Sony and Microsoft make money off game sales and licensing fees.
Therefore, it benefits console manufacturers to sell lots of consoles, even if they lose money on each sale. More consoles simply equate to higher software sales.
Now that the console is selling for $299, iSuppli estimates that the total manufacturing cost is around $336 per unit. This means that Sony is effectively losing $37 on every console, which compared to its situation at launch, is not too bad.
This of course is the base cost, and does not take into account other costs such as marketing, royalties, box content and other expenses.
Before the introduction of the PS3 Slim the console cost an estimated $450 to manufacture. Selling at $399, Sony was losing around $50 on every sale. This means that despite the recent price cut of $100 Sony has managed to reduce its per unit losses on every PS3.
Loading ...
