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Since it launched the PS3 back in 2006, Sony has been losing money on every console sold. The reality is that the hardware has always been so expensive to manufacture, that selling it even at cost would make it very difficult to reach a substantial number of users.<\/p>\n
Counting the cost<\/strong><\/p>\n The first model of the PS3 was thought to cost around $805 to manufacture. Sony sold it for a whopping $599, and even though it was losing around $200 on every console sold, it was still perceived as a very expensive gaming platform. <\/p>\n This is not unusual for console manufacturers however, as their strategy is to sell as many consoles as possible, even at a loss, and then make their profits in software and licensing sales. Not only do Microsoft and Sony have their own development studios, but they also get a cut of every third party (Activision, EA, Capcom, 2K etc) game sold for their respective device.<\/p>\n Still, losing as much as $200 per console was obviously going to hurt Sony’s coffers, and they have been working hard to reduce the manufacturing costs of the PS3. <\/p>\n With the launch of the PS3 Slim it was estimated<\/a> that the PS3 was costing around $336 to manufacture. Since it was selling for $299, it was thought that Sony was losing around $37 on every console sold. Considering that shortly before the release of the Slim, Sony was thought to be losing around $50 on every console sold, this was considered pretty decent.<\/p>\n