Sony says the PS4, at $399, is already profitable. Unlike the PS3, which took several re-designs and 4 years to reach the same point!
Image/Photo Credit: Sony
Unlike the previous generation PS3, the PS4 is already profitable after being on the market for only six month.
For the PS3, it took Sony four years to reach profitability, and that's despite the console launching at a price premium up to $200 more than the current price of the PS4. The early PS3 years had a major effect on Sony's bottom line, up to $5 billion in losses, and the company is hoping the same situation won't be repeated with their new console.
The latest Sony earnings report, unfortunately, is still not painting a cheery picture for the Japanese electronics giant. With a net loss of $USD 1.26 billion, the company could ill afford to financially support another loss making console.
Luckily, it seems Sony will not be adopting the same business model with the PS4. Sony president Kaz Hirai was keen to point out that the PS4 is already profitable, thanks in-part to the mandatory requirement for a PlayStation Plus subscription in order to play online. With gamers embracing the PS4 in ways they've never done so with the PS3, Sony's gaming division is also contributing to help make the company profitable, with gaming revenue up 38.5% for FY 2014. A total of 14.6 million consoles were sold in the same financial year.
Microsoft last week responded to the growing success of the PS4 by dropping Kinect 2.0 from their rival Xbox One console, while dropping the price to match the PS4's $399.
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