Sony Losing Money on PS3 Slim Hardware

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Kaz Hirai, head of Sony Computer Entertainment, says that although the company will lose money on every PS3 Slim, as a "whole platform" the company is breaking even on the PS3.

If you're just talking about the hardware alone, the quick answer is yes. That makes good headlines, but I don't actually know that that's the true nature of the business that we're all in, whether it's PlayStation, Xbox or the Wii. I think the better indicator is to look at the business as a whole platform.
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do they not remeber their press releases of making money on this only a few weeks back? i'm tired of sony inflating their losses for tax breaks when they are making profit in disguise.

"oh we lose 10 $ per blue ray licensed blah blah" yeah because those discs really cost 10$ now... yet they still charge THEMSELVES 10$ per disc.
 
Sony would be much better off if they just did not say anything at all... ever.
 
i heard that the first gen ps3 was a 'loss' too... well, you dont make more models of not profitable items...

sony is bad at talking and should get off the stage.
 
Either they're the worst business EVER (you don't do business just to "break even") or they're raking in money under the tables or something.
As high the cost of the PS3 and games, I wouldn't really say they're recouping that money on games and accessories.
 
This isn't anything new to the console business. Sony and Microsoft have been losing money with every console sale this generation. They don't care since the plan is to profit off of software sales, not hardware. Microsoft might actually be breaking even or making a slight profit with the newer (revised) consoles, but most of this generation both companies have been selling consoles at a loss, esp. at launch.
 
ThisIsTheNewSound said:
I thought this was pretty much the norm for console hardware? Take a loss on the console, make it up on games.
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It is in the console business, but people make such a big deal about it for the PS3. I suppose it could be because they're so shortsighted they can't look back further than 2006, and so only compare it to the Wii whose hardware has reportedly been profitable sinceday 1. :rolleyes:
 
The PS3 is different. While the story may be different now, the PS3 sold alot of units simply because it had BluRay. Not for gaming purposes. Thus, Sony isn't making any money off people that do that. IE, it's BluRay player first and a gaming console as an afterthought.

Whereas the flip is true for Microsoft. Microsoft might actually be making money on the 360 at this point.
 
And honestly, the Wii is the exception to the rule. Nintendo actually knows exactly what they've got. That's why they start the price low and MAINTAIN IT.
 
T4rd said:
This isn't anything new to the console business. Sony and Microsoft have been losing money with every console sale this generation. They don't care since the plan is to profit off of software sales, not hardware. Microsoft might actually be breaking even or making a slight profit with the newer (revised) consoles, but most of this generation both companies have been selling consoles at a loss, esp. at launch.
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Microsoft started out loosing money, however with the new hardware revisions and manufacturing they have been making a profit per console for a long time.

Sony i'm sure will always be loosing money on the PS3, the hardware just cost way to much
 
the only way they're breaking even is if they factor in ps2 sales in their "PS3 platform"
 
TechieSooner said:
The PS3 is different. While the story may be different now, the PS3 sold alot of units simply because it had BluRay. Not for gaming purposes. Thus, Sony isn't making any money off people that do that. IE, it's BluRay player first and a gaming console as an afterthought.

Whereas the flip is true for Microsoft. Microsoft might actually be making money on the 360 at this point.
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What about the people who box an Xbox 360 solely as an HD-DVD player?:D
 
ThisIsTheNewSound said:
I thought this was pretty much the norm for console hardware? Take a loss on the console, make it up on games.
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It's been that way for at least the past decade.

Only Nintendo has bucked the "norm" with the Wii. They've been making money hand over fist since day one there.
 
TechieSooner said:
The PS3 is different. While the story may be different now, the PS3 sold alot of units simply because it had BluRay. Not for gaming purposes. Thus, Sony isn't making any money off people that do that. IE, it's BluRay player first and a gaming console as an afterthought.

Whereas the flip is true for Microsoft. Microsoft might actually be making money on the 360 at this point.
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Not entirely true... Sony takes in a license fee from every bluray disk sold.
 
ThisIsTheNewSound said:
I thought this was pretty much the norm for console hardware? Take a loss on the console, make it up on games.
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Microsoft has been making money on their consoles for a few years now. Nintendo has been making money damn near since day one. Sony is the only one still taking huge losses on their hardware (it is much less now than at launch though).
 
quixotic said:
It is in the console business, but people make such a big deal about it for the PS3. I suppose it could be because they're so shortsighted they can't look back further than 2006, and so only compare it to the Wii whose hardware has reportedly been profitable sinceday 1. :rolleyes:
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No,it's because Sony charged too much from day one,and fell way behind the Wii and Xbox360.The "take a loss on hardware,make a profit on games" strategy only works if you have enough consoles being bought to insure game sales.Sony doesn't.
 
Q-BZ said:
It's been that way for at least the past decade.

Only Nintendo has bucked the "norm" with the Wii. They've been making money hand over fist since day one there.
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I would say that the norm is to make money on each console sold. Only Sony and MS have bucked the norm. How many other companies besides MS and Sony have actually sold hardware at a loss from day 1?
 
Tolyngee said:
What about the people who box an Xbox 360 solely as an HD-DVD player?:D
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I know exactly 0 people who did that. And plus, you could still buy an HD-DVD elsewhere for $50. It wasn't really a selling point in the same way that BluRay was a huge factor in selling the PS3.

Steve said:
Microsoft has been making money on their consoles for a few years now. Nintendo has been making money damn near since day one. Sony is the only one still taking huge losses on their hardware (it is much less now than at launch though).
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Exactly.

Microsoft might start taking a cut again, what with the rumored cuts coming from Microsoft.

It would put the 60GB 360 at $250, same price as the Wii. And the other version would compete right at the PS3's $300.

For $250, would you rather have a Wii or 360??? I think this will sorely hurt Nintendo IMO...
 
T4rd said:
This isn't anything new to the console business. Sony and Microsoft have been losing money with every console sale this generation. They don't care since the plan is to profit off of software sales, not hardware. Microsoft might actually be breaking even or making a slight profit with the newer (revised) consoles, but most of this generation both companies have been selling consoles at a loss, esp. at launch.
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Yup, this is the norm. You lose money on the consoles but you make money on the games since every single disc equals a license fee that goes to either Sony or Microsoft, as well as proprietary console accessories that are cheap to manufacture and can be marked way the hell up at retail.

Microsoft actually wins in this way because the 360 is so much more locked down to outside accessories than the PS3 is. You can use any 2.5" SATA HD with a PS3, with a 360 you are limited to paying $150 for a 120GB HD, with a PS3 you can use any Bluetooth headset you want to, with the 360 you have to use their own proprietary headset, etc etc. MS is in a much in a better position to make money on accessory sales than Sony since they deliberately limit your options so much, it isn't just game sales they're profiting from.
 
Q-BZ said:
It's been that way for at least the past decade.

Only Nintendo has bucked the "norm" with the Wii. They've been making money hand over fist since day one there.
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Nintendo has always made money on hardware since launch with every single one of their consoles. They have to, Nintendo are a hardware company as much as they are a software company and games are all they have. They don't have other businesses to subsidize their losses like Sony and Microsoft do.
 
TechieSooner said:
For $250, would you rather have a Wii or 360??? I think this will sorely hurt Nintendo IMO...
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Frankly, I'd still take the Wii. The 360 is too much like a PC for me to consider buying it, and not a particularly good one at that. The majority of 360 games available that I'd be interested in playing are already on the PC.

Now, the PS3 I'd be interested in at $250. It's still one of the best Blu-ray players out there, and its F@H potential is extremely good for the price. The only disappointing bit is its still underwhelming selection of games.
 
phide said:
Frankly, I'd still take the Wii. The 360 is too much like a PC for me to consider buying it, and not a particularly good one at that. The majority of 360 games available that I'd be interested in playing are already on the PC.

Now, the PS3 I'd be interested in at $250. It's still one of the best Blu-ray players out there, and its F@H potential is extremely good for the price. The only disappointing bit is its still underwhelming selection of games.
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PS3 game selection isn't that bad considering that nearly everything is crossplatform. The 360 is my main gaming console but if I didn't have it I'd honestly be ok, I'd only be missing out on Gears, really. Nearly everything on XBLA is cross-platform with PSN as well, so again, no big deal.

In October you'll have great PS3 exclusives like Uncharted 2 and Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, and you'll still get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to boot. Then God Of War 3 comes out next March (YES!).

Again, don't believe the FUD, PS3 game selection isn't as bad as some people would have you believe, and this is coming from someone who's main console is the 360, has over 8000 gamerpoints, etc etc. I've just had the system for much longer, ditto most of my friends, so that's where I'm entrenched, but I wouldn't be hating life if I only had my PS3. I think its also a great gaming system.

As for the Wii, eh, its great for first party Nintendo titles and as a classic game jukebox, but for the most part it collects dust.
 
Q-BZ said:
It's been that way for at least the past decade.

Only Nintendo has bucked the "norm" with the Wii. They've been making money hand over fist since day one there.
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It's amazing what can happen when you create a product that does what people want. IT entertains the whole family. They are proving that to be successful you don't need uber hardware or the greatest graphics. You need FUN games. Something the PS3 and XBox 360 lack. I only have 2 games for my Xbox that are worth a damn.
 
The next consoles are for sure not coming until like 2013-2014. They're still going to be losing money for awhile. Wii is going to dominate for years to come lol. Every next console will only have slight graphics upgrades. They'll all follow what the wii did. Graphics won't be such a big factor next gen. PC will regain its thrown and reclaim its glory for years to come ;)
 
Lebowski said:
It's amazing what can happen when you create a product that does what people want. IT entertains the whole family. They are proving that to be successful you don't need uber hardware or the greatest graphics. You need FUN games. Something the PS3 and XBox 360 lack. I only have 2 games for my Xbox that are worth a damn.
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Its amazing what marketing can do. They can sell gamecube's in a new box and suckers will still pay for them. I guess the ps3/xbox just cant compete with quality wii titles, like wii sports. And wii sports 2. Oh and wii sports 3.
 
FoBZY said:
Its amazing what marketing can do. They can sell gamecube's in a new box and suckers will still pay for them. I guess the ps3/xbox just cant compete with quality wii titles, like wii sports. And wii sports 2. Oh and wii sports 3.
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Ain't that the truth.. other than that it's just the millionth iteration of Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Brothers, etc. etc.
 
FoBZY said:
Its amazing what marketing can do. They can sell gamecube's in a new box and suckers will still pay for them. I guess the ps3/xbox just cant compete with quality wii titles, like wii sports. And wii sports 2. Oh and wii sports 3.
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I just sold my Wii and the decision for this was the game selection. I went down to Wal-Mart and have been browsing amazon for a while to see what games I would like for it. The only things that even remotely looked interesting were the "interactive" games, like Wii sports, EA sports, Wii Extreme Sports, and so on and so forth. House of the Dead Overkill was the only game I ever bought for my Wii. All the mario, metroid, party, and zelda titles got passed over this round as I wanted more action oriented titles and the Wii fails in that area miserably.

Everything is party, sports, and kid games; basically it isn't marketed to gamers but families. Nothing wrong with that, just not for me.
 
^^^ Exactly. It may not be what us here want but there's definately a huge market for it that your "classic" gaming community didn't even know existed.
 
Sony.....price the damn thing at $199 and you won't be able to manufacturer them fast enough for the demand.

Ripple effect......sell a metric shit-ton of Blu-Ray movies, PS3 games and accessories.

End Effect.....Bunch of Japanese Sony Execs having crazy, oily, dirty, "don't tell mama" naked sex in gargantuan piles of US Greenbacks.
 
TechieSooner said:
The PS3 is different. While the story may be different now, the PS3 sold alot of units simply because it had BluRay. Not for gaming purposes. Thus, Sony isn't making any money off people that do that. IE, it's BluRay player first and a gaming console as an afterthought.

Whereas the flip is true for Microsoft. Microsoft might actually be making money on the 360 at this point.
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You should also add it was the cheapest blu-ray player. And Blu-ray doesnt sell like video games sell. And I'm sure Sony, MS, N makes more money off game licenses than disc tech licenses.

michael.pa2 said:
No,it's because Sony charged too much from day one,and fell way behind the Wii and Xbox360.The "take a loss on hardware,make a profit on games" strategy only works if you have enough consoles being bought to insure game sales.Sony doesn't.
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Well not really. People buying PS3 consoles isnt the major problem, selling games is. Every cross platform game sold more on the xbox and whatever is exclusive sells ok on the ps3 but should be posting monster numbers. I mean if your game library is lackluster than the first really good game that comes out for the ps3 should get snapped up by everyone.

Trepidati0n said:
Sigh...Blu-Ray != Sony
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For the most part it does. No one really cares about the other 18 companies seeming that Sony is the biggest and loudest of the bunch. And I have no good [h]ard proof but I'm sure Sony's pockets helped buy their victory in the hd wars.

Greggy_D said:
Sony.....price the damn thing at $199 and you won't be able to manufacturer them fast enough for the demand.
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*sigh*, yet again another person that doesn't see the whole picture. They don't need to move more consoles, because if you listen to enough sony fans, you'll see that they are THAT behind in console sales. They are behind in game sales. So opening the wound further is NOT going to stop the bleeding. You need to bandage the wound by selling more games.
 
XamediX said:
You should also add it was the cheapest blu-ray player. And Blu-ray doesnt sell like video games sell. And I'm sure Sony, MS, N makes more money off game licenses than disc tech licenses.
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WAS the cheapest. Now it's just expensive no matter how you slice it.



XamediX said:
*sigh*, yet again another person that doesn't see the whole picture. They don't need to move more consoles, because if you listen to enough sony fans, you'll see that they are THAT behind in console sales. They are behind in game sales. So opening the wound further is NOT going to stop the bleeding. You need to bandage the wound by selling more games.
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I'd agree. But this demonstrates my point entirely. They're selling a gaming console largely on the fact the kind of media it supports, not the gaming capabilities. How sad is that?
 
XamediX said:
Well not really. People buying PS3 consoles isnt the major problem, selling games is. Every cross platform game sold more on the xbox and whatever is exclusive sells ok on the ps3 but should be posting monster numbers. I mean if your game library is lackluster than the first really good game that comes out for the ps3 should get snapped up by everyone.
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Microsoft did a genius thing by introducing Gamerpoints.

I own all of the current consoles and I like them all. I personally have no reservations recommending that people buy a PS3 if they are limiting themselves to one system, especially if they also want HD movies. Nearly all games out there are available on both systems. Hell, I think that the PS3 exclusives are generally better than the 360 exclusives (and I can't wait for God Of War 3). That said, I mainly game on my 360. Why?

Yup, Gamerpoints. Why buy a crossplatform game for the PS3 when I can jack up the GP score on my XBox account? Its like a meta-MMO that they put on top of the entire system.

Its completely stupid and unreasonable if you think about it, but there it is. The thing is that all of my friends that also own both a 360 and a PS3 will do the same thing, they'll buy the crossplatform release on the 360 so that they can get more GPs. I only buy exclusives for my PS3 because of that, otherwise my stuff is on the 360.

I have over 8000 GPs, several of my friends that also own a 360 and PS3 are in that same 5000-15000 range, and one of them is over 30000. Funny thing is that we all like our PS3s very much, but the teat of GPs keeps us buying all of our cross-platform games for the 360, hilarious.

Again, genius move. The one year head start Microsoft had with the 360 was one thing, it gave them tremendous momentum, but GPs, IMO its one thing that really put them over the top. I'm surprised that there isn't more discussion about that, I've observed it time and time again.
 
Serpico said:
Microsoft did a genius thing by introducing Gamerpoints.

I own all of the current consoles and I like them all. I personally have no reservations recommending that people buy a PS3 if they are limiting themselves to one system, especially if they also want HD movies. Nearly all games out there are available on both systems. Hell, I think that the PS3 exclusives are generally better than the 360 exclusives (and I can't wait for God Of War 3). That said, I mainly game on my 360. Why?

Yup, Gamerpoints. Why buy a crossplatform game for the PS3 when I can jack up the GP score on my XBox account? Its like a meta-MMO that they put on top of the entire system.

Its completely stupid and unreasonable if you think about it, but there it is. The thing is that all of my friends that also own both a 360 and a PS3 will do the same thing, they'll buy the crossplatform release on the 360 so that they can get more GPs. I only buy exclusives for my PS3 because of that, otherwise my stuff is on the 360.

I have over 8000 GPs, several of my friends that also own a 360 and PS3 are in that same 5000-15000 range, and one of them is over 30000. Funny thing is that we all like our PS3s very much, but the teat of GPs keeps us buying all of our cross-platform games for the 360, hilarious.

Again, genius move. The one year head start Microsoft had with the 360 was one thing, it gave them tremendous momentum, but GPs, IMO its one thing that really put them over the top. I'm surprised that there isn't more discussion about that, I've observed it time and time again.
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Although late, PS3 has trophies.
 
PheonixChameleon said:
Ain't that the truth.. other than that it's just the millionth iteration of Mario, Zelda, Super Smash Brothers, etc. etc.
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Each system has it's 1 or 2 blockbuster titles, and the rest is mediocre rehash bullshit - Wii included, Xbox 360 included, PS3 included...and PC included. The Wii, though, has at least this motion control aspect that makes even rehash feel new.
 
stop!theradio said:
Each system has it's 1 or 2 blockbuster titles, and the rest is mediocre rehash bullshit - Wii included, Xbox 360 included, PS3 included...and PC included. The Wii, though, has at least this motion control aspect that makes even rehash feel new.
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I'd agree to an extent.. but my main issue isn't so much as they have plenty of rehashes.. the issue is they have nothing new. The other consoles get new games.. not so much for the Wii :(
 
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