Sony Loses $18 On Each PS3 Console Sold

Sony apparently continues to lose money on each Playstation 3 console it sells, although, it seems that has managed to narrow the lost from $37 to $18 thanks to lower manufacturing costs and Bill of Materials (BoM).

Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda told the WSJ that the company thinks that it has "bottomed out" and is adamant that they can do fairly well going forward.

By 2011, Sony is expected to make a profit on each PS3 it sells, although depending on its rivals, it might be forced to make yet another cut and keep on losing money. The cheaper PS3, the 120GB Slim, carries a SRP of £250 while the 250GB version costs £285.

Some have suggested that Sony cut down on some features like the card reader, the touch sensitive buttons, the shiny plate and the slot in disc reader, which would certainly have an impact on the final pricing.

Sadly for Sony, Nintendo, like Apple, makes a profit on every console (and  indeed ever accessory) that it sells. To make things worse, Sony has certainly not accounted for other items like the cost of staff, retail and marketing and research and development.

This is likely to make the loss per PS3 sold even bigger, although this might decrease over time as operations are streamlined and the cost initial investments are amortised.