PS3 almost profitable for Sony
The PS3 may finally be about to start paying dividends for Sony. The console has so far been an expensive arm of the company’s product line. It does, of course, make money from software, but hardware is another matter. Sony could be about to turn a corner as it edges ever closer to making a profit from the hardware as well.
The PS3 has always cost Sony more to make than it sells for. The company has cut the price as its manufacturing costs have come down, but it still loses money every time someone buys a Playstation 3. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the PS3 now costs just $18 more to manufacture as it sells for at retail.
Considering the PS3 was launched at $599, that’s huge progress. Two months ago the figure was at $37, so it’s coming down at quite a rate. Which means the PS3 should actually start making money for Sony by the end of 2010. As impressive as that is, it’s put into context by the fact the Wii made Nintendo profit from day one. Still, Sony should be celebrating break even day shortly.
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February 6th, 2010
It was the same way with the playation 2. Sony is well known for making minor revisions to the hardware over time that will eventually lead to much lower production costs and a profit on every unit.
If only microsoft would figure out how to do it. they have made revisions to the processor a few times but there is one big revision they should make but never do. I am of course refering to those damn x-clamps. If MS would change those clamps it would lead to a lower RRoD rate, which would translate to lower costs for MS when they have to do repairs.
February 6th, 2010
PlayStation 3: March to Profitability, December 2016 or Bust.
February 6th, 2010
FKSP,
Microsoft’s defect rate on current models is now in-line with Sony’s, however they will wind up paying more in the long run due to their 3 year warranty vice Sony’s 1 year.
February 6th, 2010
Microsoft’s failure rate is not on par with Ps3′s failure rate. There are still a high number of Xbox360′s that still fail. The number of Xbox360 failures have gone down but it’s still not acceptable. The Xbox360 that I had failed already. It was the newest revision of the Xbox360 with the Jasper chipset. It failed in less than two months. I only got to play Bayonetta and part of Darksiders before the system died. I’m currently playing Bayonetta on the Ps3. It’s not all that bad on the Ps3 as it was made out to be. At the end of the day, I would rather have a quality system then one that’s always on borrowed time.
February 6th, 2010
“Microsoft’s defect rate on current models is now in-line with Sony’s, however they will wind up paying more in the long run due to their 3 year warranty vice Sony’s 1 year.”
too bad they keep saying the same BS with every model they bring up but at the end they all died on you sooner or later. one thing is clear…MS is doing a better job to cover it up now than before
February 6th, 2010
Most recent proof: Twilight
and thanks god you didnt experience the N74 error, disc scratching, not reading disc error, and more.
February 6th, 2010
I’ve had 3 Xbox’s, it’s a joke! Before I was willing to leave it but when Mass Effect 2 was coming out I had to get it fixed. Fucking LOVE LOVE LOVE that game.
I can see why some people say it’s better than Uncharted 2, for story and amount you can do I agree but when it comes to things never seen before and action set pieces it’s U2, the building crashing down with you in it, the train level(wow), the tank chase, etc.
But they do lose their shock value on multiple play throughs, Mass Effect 2 has so many re-playability options: Play it as a Man being good, then bad. A women good then bad. With the loyalty of the crew and without, this game is fucking winning me over massively, can’t praise it enough.
I’ll complete it once on the 360 for now I think, I’ll wait for the PS3 editions, which seems likely now simply for the trophies.
…end of rant lol
February 6th, 2010
Yeah I personally know a handful of people of have each gone through a handful of 360s. To the 360′s credit, it must be doing something right because they all keep coming back for more.
On the other hand, everyone I know who has a PS3 has only needed to buy one.
I’m not saying they can’t fail. All electronics have failure ratios. But let’s be honest here for a second. The ratios are not exactly inline by any means.
February 7th, 2010
The only time I experienced the red ring of death was with my current console.
It died, but after leaving it alone for a little while it revived itself. I was taken aback. It was like it was given a second chance.
It wouldn’t have mattered though, I mean, thats what warranties is for right?
A friend of mines PS3 has failed twice now, but it seems to reheal itself also.
Maybe it’s like some sort of bermuda triangle thing. lol
February 7th, 2010
Personally I’m an my 3rd xbox but I don’t mind cause it’s a really good console it does annoy me but as long as microsoft is offering a 3 year warranty I’m not going to bitch
@oldschool
Ya mass effect 2 looks good I’m yet to pick it though because of exams but I got to play the heavy rain demo early and all I can say is that game is just WOW I mean if you think there is many different ways to play mass effect you seen nothing yet
February 7th, 2010
@ Rob: Where did you get the demo mate?
February 7th, 2010
@carl
Somehow i doubt the defect rate is acceptable. The biggest problem with the 360 is the damn X-clamp. The second biggest is heat. Combine the 2 together and you get at least 75% of RRoD problems. The X-clamp can cause the board to warp over time and as it heats up eventually the chips will lose contact with the motherboard. Thats what happened to t he one I had. I had it for 1 day short of 3 years, so it was still covered by the warranty. If MS would not cover it I would have opened it up and fixed it myself. As it stands I am not as happy as I could be with the replacement. I know that no one here will unstand this but to me it does not feel as “solid” as the first one I had. Usually if I get this feeling then it means that it will break soon enough or there is something wrong with it. Anyway, the fan on it is also loudr than my old one. MS needs to do a better job with their fans too. If this one dies within the 1 year warranty they give me then I will send it back. If past that 1 year I will open it myself and put in a better fan and ditch the X-clamps.
To be fair I did play my previous 360 constantly. I went through alot of games on it. I did get extrememly lucky though since it died with 1 day left on the warranty lmao.
@Roca
The disc scratching problem is mostly cause of idiots who MOVE their xbox while they are playing. Go figure.
@Oldschool
I love ME2! Definately one of the best games I have played in awhile, also definately worth the $60.
@Roca
I just beat ME2 on friday. lol told you I would have it beat in a week. I’m debating on wether or not I will go right back and play it again, since I am missing about 7-8 achievements. I might find something else to play for now, or play ME1 first. Who knows.
February 7th, 2010
you can get a demo code through the 4 days challenge, google it toget the answers, and use a euro account to redeem the code
February 7th, 2010
As far as Ps3 sales go, I can’t believe the shortage of Ps3 systems where I live. It took five days before I could get a Ps3 system. I had to take half a day of vacation time off from work just to get a Ps3 system. I was at Gamestop when their shipment first arrived a little after noon time. I don’t know if there is just a shortage of Ps3′s or the demand is just that high. Since the price of the Ps3 system went down, I think everyone just wants the system now. I guess people are starting to really see the value in the Ps3 system. All I know is that there are plenty of Xbox360 systems on the shelves. When I went to Best Buy to get some blu rays, the guy at Best Buy told me that they haven’t been selling Xbox360′s. In addition to the ones on the floor,he said they had a bunch of Xbox360′s in the back storage room as well. He says that they sale out of Ps3′s as soon as they hit the floor. He says they haven’t been able to keep Ps3′s in stock at all lately.
February 7th, 2010
I locked myself out of my UK account. Apparently I choose a random birth date when I created it. I still have my code. I’ll have to create a new one when I get back home this afternoon.
I’m really excited to check out the demo.
February 7th, 2010
Heavy Rain Demo is Amazing..if Indigo Prophecy was anything like it, than I missed a great game.
@FahKin
Spidey just got his Halo disc scratched by his 360 and he said he did not moved the console at all.
February 7th, 2010
@BJ
I used the code on my US PSN account
February 7th, 2010
@Roca
“Spidey just got his Halo disc scratched by his 360 and he said he did not moved the console at all.”
Well there is the problem right there. It was Halo
February 7th, 2010
@BJ
FF13 metacritic score is 87, it’s true what you said about JRPGs reviews by western critics
February 7th, 2010
I’m pretty surprised by that actually. Usually Final Fantasy is the only RPG critics deem acceptable to like. It’s still early though.
Maybe if the main charterer was a space marine, and they made it a FPS… critics would like that more I bet.
February 7th, 2010
Ummm is it just me, or is the Aliens vs Predator demo for PS3 completely broken?
I tried on 3 separate occasions, but it never works.
February 7th, 2010
@roca,
It’s true, western critics have almost always given FF games very high scores. Btw, 87 is still very good, and certainly nothing to sneeze at.
February 7th, 2010
FahKinSuPah said:
“The disc scratching problem is mostly cause of idiots who MOVE their xbox while they are playing. Go figure.”
Well m8, I aint no IDIOT and did not MOVE my 360 to cause the scratch ring ……..
It was lego rock band by the way, not Halo.
I can’t even think of a reason WHY I would want to move the console while playing, seeing how I have all 3 consoles sitting next to each other, in an open space on a entertainment unit !!!!!!
February 8th, 2010
Apparently the Heavy Rain Demo has to be downloaded through a UK account, but once downloaded, I installed and played it on my normal account
February 8th, 2010
Just completed ME2, everyone survived, yay! lmao. Awesome game.
February 8th, 2010
@Spideydog
relax. Like i said, It MOSTLY happens cause of idiots who move their consoles while playing, and that was said BEFORE Roca even mentioned you had it happen to you. Is your 360 still under warranty?
luckiy ive never had that problem. The only times I have ever heard of it actually happening locally (not counting the billions of people online) was when someone tilted the console, which did happen to a friend of mine.
lego rock band? im sure your 360 was very happy when the disc got scratched. I would say it probably did it on purpose… but then again that is the paranoid side of me talking.
February 8th, 2010
@Carlb
“Microsoft’s failure rate is not on par with Ps3’s failure rate. There are still a high number of Xbox360’s that still fail. The number of Xbox360 failures have gone down but it’s still not acceptable. The Xbox360 that I had failed already. It was the newest revision of the Xbox360 with the Jasper chipset. It failed in less than two months.”
Eat that bitch!
February 8th, 2010
LoL
February 8th, 2010
@BJ
“To the 360’s credit, it must be doing something right because they all keep coming back for more. ”
They like it in the @$$.
February 8th, 2010
Well after you pay for the XBL subscription, upgrade your HD, buy games, collect achievements, etc, etc. You pretty much are locked in.
February 8th, 2010
I think BJ hit it on the head. Once you buy into the system, it is a series of overlapping investments that can force you into regarding a platform switch as a huge expense.
Got 9 months left on your Live subscription? Did you shell out for a larger HDD and Wireless? 1-4 years worth of achievement accumulation? Nah, screw a PS3, for 200 I can get a jasper arcade and just get back online.
The only difference between the PS3 and the Xbox at this point is the lack of peripheral investment and a live subscription to be concerned about. Yet, anecdotal evidence tells me that there are very few PS3 first owners that feel a need to invest in a 360, and a lot more 360 owners getting a PS3, regardless of the investment. Granted, often they keep both, but again I think that is because of the investment.
February 8th, 2010
Lego rock band was my son’s game (which he enjoyed greatly) It has only happened once, so I haven’t taken it back in for replacement.
If it can happen without moving the console, it makes me think how they came up with the “mostly” caused by people moving it ??
February 8th, 2010
“Well after you pay for the XBL subscription, upgrade your HD, buy games, collect achievements, etc, etc. You pretty much are locked in.”
Exactly. But don’t tell Carl and CAD that.
They believe there are 30 Million 360s in use today.
February 8th, 2010
@ncaissie
and the higher attach ratio is due to 360 users replacing their scratched copies
February 8th, 2010
and the fact that the 360 has been out longer.
February 8th, 2010
what is the rates on PS3 compared to last year this time on the 360?
February 8th, 2010
about a game less….idk the exact figures but last time I saw those numbers they were pretty close
February 8th, 2010
Well, at least we know that the majority of Ps3 users only had to buy their system once. The same thing can not be said about Microsoft’s system. I know people may have invested a lot into the Xbox360 but eventually people need to wake up and say enough is enough. Apparently, people must like getting raped by Microsoft. There is no way that I would keep buying a Xbox360 over and over if it kept failing on me. Microsoft has some decent software titles but their hardware is garbage. Microsoft just needs to re-design their system. They have had plenty of time to do this. However, they will not do it because people continue to come back for more.
February 8th, 2010
On a good note, My brother finally brought over the power supply for his 360.
It turns out the cord MS sent them for a recall had a circuit breaker or something. (he didn’t bring that part) I put a standard computer cord on it and it booted up fine.
I’m going to suggest he sell it while he still can.
February 8th, 2010
Local used sites have hundreds of 360s for sale, yet PS3 units are rare, with a LOT of wanted posts for BC models. Speaks volumes.
February 8th, 2010
The same here.
February 8th, 2010
I think they need to let Kev back in early.
February 8th, 2010
lol….once he’s back all his other logins will follow.
February 8th, 2010
I need something to laugh about.
February 8th, 2010
I just need to kill some time while at work…the day seems to last forever without the xbots rants
February 8th, 2010
Just got back from a pawn shop, I pop in there every week as I grew up with the owner, and he lets me have first crack at the PS3 games at pawn cost, unless it is ultra-new. No new game for me today, but I did ask him how many PS3s he has. He said none, and that there is a waiting list for them from his regular costumers. I asked about how many 360s he has. He showed me the broom closet in the back he converted JUST TO HOLD HIS 360s, of which he has over 40, 5 are modded and banned. He now won’t offer more than $25 to pawn, $50 to buy any 360. A PS3 on the other hand will pawn for 150, buy for 225.
Pawn shop economics, it means more than you think!
February 8th, 2010
They get a lot of things overpriced also.
I prefer yard sales. Lol
February 8th, 2010
“Microsoft just needs to re-design their system. They have had plenty of time to do this. However, they will not do it because people continue to come back for more.”
…
“SquareTrade found that Xbox 360 quality has improved dramatically since the third quarter of 2008, shortly before the 65nm CPU/GPU “Jasper” model was introduced. Since then, first-year failure rates have plummeted to below the 4 percent the company projected. Looking at 500 units purchased in 2009, SquareTrade found that less than 1 percent had suffered the Red Ring of Death.”
…it looks like Twilight was one of the unfortunate 1 percent (sorry to hear that), as Ivan and others here were part of the unfortunate ~10% of estimated PS3 failures. If you want reliability, get a Wii.
February 8th, 2010
I’ve had 3 Xbox.
February 8th, 2010
What is the failure rate of the Wii anyway?
I’m still on my first Xbox, although it’s getting repaired now because of lightning damage! But I can’t blame Microsoft for that.
February 8th, 2010
Hey oldie, you finished Mass Effect 2 also? How did you get everyone to survive the suicide mission? I made sure everyone was loyal before I went in but people still died. Actually at the end of the mission I was only left with Jacob, Legion, that doctor that talks too fast and Garrus. The Normandy has officially become a sausage fest.
February 8th, 2010
Oh erm update your Normandy fully and pick the right people for the tasks. Where did your crew die?
February 8th, 2010
I had 100% Paragon if that helps? lol
February 8th, 2010
100% paragon? haha i was about 50/50.
From memory, Thane died while entering the Omega 4 relay, Grunt was taken away by those bug things, Tali died in the vents, and Miranda, Jack and Samara (I think that was her name) were the second team and they all died too.
February 8th, 2010
Also, I tried my best to screw Kelly, but the best I could do was get her to come to my room to feed my fish while I was away.
February 8th, 2010
Replied on the other post m8
February 9th, 2010
@Harry
surviving the suicide mission was pain in the neck.
First round
Tech that goes into the vents- Tali or Legion
Leader – Miranda
Second round
Leader – Miranda
Biotic – Jack
Escort – Jacob
That’s what I chose, after my tech getting hit in the head by a rocket several times.
Hope this helps
February 9th, 2010
I picked Garrus to be leader because he lead his own Merc group so him and sexy pants work lol
February 9th, 2010
I lost Miranda (yay \o/ – stuck up cow) and the scientist guy, I forget his name.
For the ladies, well, my Shepard is still having wet dreams about Ashley…