Sony Losing Money on PS3 Systems

We all knew the Sony PS3 would be a huge seller, but wow. Thousands of people stood in line to get the most powerful gaming console of all time. The regular version of the new Sony PS3 costs $499 and the version that comes with built in wi-fi is $599. There were 400,000 PS3 units released to the US and most stores are already sold out. But, the biggest shock comes when you consider the business end that Sony is on.

When you consider the cost of Sony's PS3 systems, you wouldn't think that Sony is losing money. The different versions of the PS3 cost $499 and $599, but Sony is losing a lot of money on these machines. The PS3 that costs $599 is causing Sony a loss of $240 per unit! This version costs $839 to produce. But, that's not the worst of it. The PS3 costing $499 is causing Sony a loss of $307, because the parts to build the PS3 cost $807. Now, you may be thinking exactly what I thought when I read this news, "How on earth can Sony afford such a loss?" Well, the money doesn't come from the PS3 systems. In fact, they don't expect to break even for 10 - 15 years! The profit comes from the licensing of the PS3 name to game manufacturers. When the Microsoft XBox 360 came out Microsoft only suffered a loss of $126 per unit.

Regardless of the price thousands of people stood in line to purchase the Sony PS3 units. Many people were more than willing to spend $499 and $599. Actually some people were willing to pay quit a bit more. One Sony PS3 actually sold for $3,000 on EBay! People knew what they were doing and knew people would be willing to spend extra to not have to stand in line, but who would have thought they would spend $3,000!?! There are currently over 700 systems on EBay and the highest one is over $2,600. I don't blame people for wanting to turn around and make a lot of money of the PS3's they bought.

Sony may be losing money, but American's are more than willing to literally shell out hundreds and even thousands of dollars for this new console. The PS3 will easily become the top selling gaming console surpassing the XBox 360 in no time. One thing's for sure, Sony will probably make millions from the gaming licenses. After all, people will want something to play on these $3,000 systems.