Sony’s Fergal Gara believes the PS4 is in a much more “favorable” position than the PS3 at its launch.
The PlayStation 3 was an expensive console when it first launched, a fact that arguably left it struggling until Sony dropped its price in the years following. As expensive as it was for gamers however, it was even pricier for Sony. The company was still losing money on the PS3 awhile after its release, with it taking nearly four years before the console would turn a profit.
Sony, in turn, has understandably been careful with the PS4 to make sure it doesn’t repeat the same mistakes. Estimates are already pegging the new console as being mildly profitable with the parts and labor required in its construction costing only $381, $18 less than its retail price of $399. That in mind, the company is predicting a cycle of profitability far more favorable than it experienced in the last generation. “The economics of PS4 are far closer to the economics of PS2 than they are to PS3,” said Sony’s Fergal Gara. “If you consider with PS3, it was a highly bespoke architecture; it was expensive to make. And we weren’t making money on many of those devices, even at a high price point. With PS4 we come at it at a very lean price point and our economics will be far, far [more] favorable.”
It might not be an inaccurate assessment. With the PS4 already profitable and selling like hotcakes, the console is already off to a better start than its predecessor. Whether or not it will attain the same massive success of the PS2 however, is something we’ll have to wait and see. After all, there’s successful and then there’s record breaking.
