PS4 Sold At A Loss At Launch But Can Bounce Back

In an interview with Eurogamer, Sony Japan executive Masayasu Ito made a comment stating that the PS4 will initially launch at a loss, but can gain profit when players purchase at least one game and a PlayStation Plus subscription.

Eurogamer was told by a reliable source that every $399 unit sold will account for a $60 loss to the company. When they relayed this information to Ito, he denied it. The denial was only because it is expected that a game is to be purchased with the console. As long as a game and a Plus subscription is purchased with the console, Sony will turn a profit for the unit sold. However, even if some consoles aren’t purchased with a game and Plus, Ito states that the PlayStation 4 will turn profits sooner than the PlayStation 3.

Sony Computer Entertainment group CEO and President Andrew House stated that the PlayStation 4 launch losses will be less than those of the PlayStation 3. Chief financial officer Masaru Kato says that the PC-like architecture of PS4 makes production costs “much, much smaller” than the production cost of the PS3’s architecture featuring custom parts.