From EETimes: Sony could actually make a few dollars on its latest PS4 console -- $18 to be exact. That's the conclusion of a teardown by IHS Inc., which estimates the cost of the bill of materials and manufacturing for the video game console at $381. It sells for $399.
The move marks a shift for Sony, which traditionally sells its consoles at a loss, making profit on the computer game titles it sells. Both the business model and the electronics changed with the PS4, which uses fewer expensive peripherals.
"The PlayStation 4 keeps a lid on costs by focusing all the additional expense on the processor and memory -- and reducing outlays for the optical drive, the hard disk drive and other subsystems," said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, cost benchmarking services for IHS, speaking in a press release.
IHS estimates the optical drive in the PS4 costs $28, compared to $66 for the latest revision of the PlayStation 3, itself a cost-reduced model called the CECH-2001A. Sony trimmed another $10 by integrating a number of discrete and passive components, IHS said.
The PS4 also shaved five dollars in mechanical parts compared to the PS3. The hard drive in the PS4 is a 500 GByte model compared to just 120 GB for the PlayStation 3, but was still one dollar cheaper, thanks to efficiencies in hard drive manufacturing.
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