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Sony Finally Turning a Profit On PS3s

When the PS3 launched in 2006, estimates pegged the price of producing the consoles to be as much as $250 more than the price at which they were sold. Production costs have dropped since then, but there have been several price cuts as well. Now, almost four years later, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida says they're finally turning a profit on the hardware. "This year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3,' Yoshida said. 'We aren't making huge money from hardware, but we aren't bleeding like we used to.' In May, Sony began shipping new PlayStation 3 consoles with smaller and more cost-effective graphics chips. Now, Yoshida said, Sony is looking at replenishing retail stock that has been running on empty since January rather than cutting the price. 'When we bring the cost of hardware down, we are looking at opportunities to adjust prices if we believe that will increase demand,' he explained. 'At the moment, we are trying to catch up our production.'"

2 of 117 comments (clear)

  1. Why cut prices? by CaptainNerdCave · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why not return the features that were removed? Why not add more features? I was going to buy a PS3, but scrapped those plans when several things went out the window. How many other people are like me?

    A cheaper turd is still a turd.

    1. Re:Why cut prices? by GrumblyStuff · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Features such as PS2 backward compatibility. I'd mention Linux but, frankly, the backward compatibility is the big one.

      Funny that they don't mention dropping hardware for PS2 games. Wikipedia says they don't even emulate anymore. Guess that saves them some time and money too.