Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2010

If, like many gadget-heads, you got a shiny new slimline PlayStation 3 over the holidays, you’ll probably be indifferent to the news that building the console is no longer pushing maker Sony quite so close to bankruptcy. Still, we’ll tell you why anyway – we’re nice that way.

Looking at the components in a stripped-down US PS3, analyst firm iSuppli worked out that each console costs Sony $336.27 to make. Given that it currently sells there for $299, you can see that the 3.8 million PS3s shifted in the last couple of months are putting a hefty dent in Sony’s bottom line. Still, it could have been worse – the previous, fatter PS3 model was losing the company almost $12 more per sale.
www.isuppli.com