Sony to break even with PS4 at launch

Sony expects to break even with the Playstation 4 at launch. While the console is sold at a loss to make the entry point more attractive, Sony expects to make up that loss with the initial console sale along with a game or two.

Speaking to Eurogamer at Tokyo Game Show 2013, Sony Japan executive Masayasu Ito explained that while the PS4’s hardware was sold at a loss, it was not as significant as the Playstation 3’s launch, in which the company risked taking losses of over $200 for every PS3 sold.

Ito was confident that the company would also see profits from the PS4 much sooner than they did with the PS3 and that more Playstation Plus subscriptions would not only subsidise the console’s losses, but also benefit the online multiplayer services that Sony is planning to improve.

Sony also announced at TGS 2013 that they expected to ship five million PS4 consoles before the end of March 2014.

Sources close to Eurogamer have revealed that the PS4 is sold at a loss amounting to $60. With over one million pre-orders alone, that amounts to a loss of $60 million at launch.

Eurogamer reckons that the addition of a single game or a PS Plus subscription would be enough to break even on the console.

In a similar vein, Nintendo predicted that with the Wii U’s launch, only one game purchase in addition to the console would be enough to make it profitable. Sales of the Wii U, however, have not been favourable.

Sony may be right about expecting to make the PS4 profitable sooner in its lifespan. The PS4 will be launching across 32 countries this year and the company has been producing consoles for a while. The Xbox One will be launching in 13 countries by comparison and Microsoft has only recently begun production of the consoles.