Sony is putting forth a huge push for its PlayStation 4 console, which will launch in several markets this November. The company is expecting to sell the console at a slight loss when it hits stores, but expects to make the money back through its launch titles, both digitally and in physical retail form.
While speaking with Eurogamer, Sony Japan executive Masayasu Ito didn’t go into detail on the system cost, but did state that an “average” customer’s initial purchase of games would cover the gap, no matter which format they preferred. The loss per unit is expected to be around $60, which would be the cost of a full retail release such as the above pictured Killzone: Shadow Fall.
Considering that Microsoft is selling the Xbox One at break-even or perhaps a small profit, Sony certainly hopes that the games pay off when they start shipping the PS4. Of course, profits from continuing software purchases should be considerable, and if customers regularly purchase games and other media Sony will turn a nice profit in short order. Initial losses on the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles when they first launched were much larger than $60. Market research firm iSuppli estimated that Sony was losing over $300 on each PS3 initially, and Microsoft was losing over $125 per Xbox 360 at launch.
The PlayStation 4 launches in the U.S. on November 15.
Source: GamesIndustry International
