“In an attempt to bolster confidence in PS3, Sony has assured investors that the firm will recoup its investment in the console just as quickly as it managed with PS2. But it said pre-launch costs are rising.
Speaking after the firm’s games division posted a loss of $231 million in the first quarter of 2006 (compared to a $52 million loss Q1 2005), senior vice president Takao Yuhara assured investors that PS3 investment will be recovered within five years.
But, according to Reuters, he warned that the games division will face bigger losses as the launch of PS3 nears. Analysts were told that some PS3 microchip costs are rising.
Sony is also hoping investors will keep the faith in its strategy for using PS3 to introduce Blu-ray as a mass-market next generation DVD solution; if successful, the entire company would benefit exponentially.” quotes nextgen via a Sony press release.
Both Sony & Microsoft’s marketing departments can shake hands on their stance as both invested billions into their next-gen consoles in hopes of a long-term profit return. Us gamers are the only winners here as both consoles are manufactured at costs that exceed their retail price.
That’s assuming you’re interested in either or both of these. Nintendo on the other hand doesn’t have any other departments to fall back on, and apparently didn’t want to dive into their savings, so their answer to the rising costs in hard- & software is the affordable Wii that isn’t produced at a loss.