The recent announcement of
increased production for blu-ray diodes used in the PS3 increased speculation that a price-cut for the PS3 may be coming sooner rather than later. After all, cheaper production costs equate to cheaper overall manufacturing costs and then, a price cut to incite a resurgence in product interest, right? Well, taking a look at the production cost comparison, it seems Sony may need to bring costs down on a few other key areas of their PS3 console before they consider a price-cut. In comparison, a few months after the 360 launched, cost production estimates were
similarly expensive (sans built-in wireless and inclusive next-gen DVD drive). Don't worry fans, we'll get our price cut. Eventually.
[Via
1P Start]
*Update*The data that Digitimes released today was from the November 2006 report that iSuppli released last year. The 360 model in the above chart is NOT the Elite, nor is that the current cost of either console. From GameDaily:
"iSuppli public relations manager Jonathan Cassell informed
GameDaily BIZ that
Digitimes compiled the data from last November's report and erroneously labeled it as May data."
[Via
GameDaily]
{ May 7th 2007 at 5:30PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dustin @ May 7th 2007 5:39PM
o man, our power supply is not only smaller and more powerful, buts its also cheaper! An the Elite is $478. Thats crazy how much it costs to assemble a PS3. I'll make them for half the price!
mike @ May 7th 2007 5:48PM
How can a 120GB HDD in the elite cost $11 less than the 60GB one in the PS3?
kingofwale @ May 7th 2007 5:48PM
Elite's harddrive cost them 43 dollars, but they are charging 179??
man, don't you just love it? ;)
Kenter @ May 7th 2007 5:53PM
It is all wrong. Nobody should pay attention to crap like this. You would be better off getting information from a monkey. Just ignore and move on!
Jeremy @ May 7th 2007 5:53PM
I believe these are the same production cost numbers that were circulating in the fall/early winter. We already know that the motherboard design has changed radically since then (presumably making it cheaper), and I'm sure the costs have come down in other areas too (better yields, mass production). It would be nice to see some current numbers.
Justin @ May 7th 2007 5:55PM
some of this info seems wierd.
Justin @ May 7th 2007 5:56PM
or weird. whichever is correct.
Jeremy @ May 7th 2007 5:58PM
@3, What is the format for the 360 drive? The PS3 uses a SATA laptop (2.5") drive, if the XBOX unit is a 3.5" IDE interface, that could explain some of the difference.
Real Gambler @ May 7th 2007 6:00PM
This is definitively one of the greatest argument in favor of the PS3!!!
What should I buy.... Something that cost $840 to make, but I get to pay $599 for it or something that cost $323 to make but I pay $399
I'm not an accountant, but without my trusty calculator, I'm guessing I'm getting much more for my money buying a PS3 than if I would buy a 360!
Jeremy @ May 7th 2007 6:02PM
After a second look, I think these numbers are actually for the 20 gb Xbox, not the Elite. The retail price is wrong for the Elite, and given the age of the numbers as well as the HD price discrepancy noted above, I think the "Elite" heading is the error.
Felipe Cepriano @ May 7th 2007 6:06PM
@8, The original XBOX uses a 3.5" HD.
The 360 uses a SATA 2.5" one.
Draco @ May 7th 2007 6:05PM
the motherboard on the PS3 is worth more then the entire 360.
(borate voice) verry nyece
philmcneal @ May 7th 2007 6:09PM
i don' tknow about you guys but i got my price cut at eb games
"trade 10 games with 8 dollars or greater value and get the 60 gig model for 399.99 cnd"
3 bills off the ps3? thank you very much
vap3
SuicideNinja @ May 7th 2007 6:11PM
Sony needs to worry about providing some solid games before worrying about a price cut. They're working on it...but right now there's not a lot going on.
What's great is this just shows how HDD's are rip-offs. How does half the hard drive cost more? It's silly.
Shon @ May 7th 2007 6:26PM
I dont need a price cut. I already bought one.
WhackMushroom @ May 7th 2007 6:34PM
know we all know why the red rings of death is so prevalent. they probably have a sweatshop to put them together ... i mean 6.10 cents! WOW! thats just ass cheap.
WhackMushroom @ May 7th 2007 6:37PM
@3: simple ... volume discounts (you dont have to buy them all at once)
massive_98 @ May 7th 2007 6:40PM
GTA:V is going to be PS3 exclusive, there already pushing the size limit on the 360's DVD's.
Andir3.0 @ May 7th 2007 6:41PM
Something is wrong with the numbers... big time.
Andir3.0 @ May 7th 2007 6:43PM
...and why not link straight to digitimes instead of linking through another blog?
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20070507PD200.html
Real Gambler @ May 7th 2007 8:18PM
Both consoles use a 2.5 Sata hard drive...
You're likely looking at the cost of the 60 gig drive 8 months ago, and the price of a 120 gig today. If we wait another 8 months, a 250 gig will likely be less.
Again, to be taken with a grain of salt. Anybody has any idea what is the $150 worth of "other components" not available in the 360... Maybe it's like the $179 360 drive... A $43 drive and a $136 piece of plastic : )
Jeremy @ May 7th 2007 7:16PM
One more time:
1) this is old info
2) this is for the 20gb Deluxe 360, not the 120gb Elite.
Everything makes sense once you factor in these two changes.
psymonj @ May 7th 2007 7:38PM
Why, after delaying launch so much, would Sony be willing to lose some $200 on each unit?
Those figures stink of BS IMO.
I genuinely hope that Sony ARE losing money - serves them right. The PS3 is way too advanced for the current home market - appealing to people with more money than sense is Sony's chief marketing tool - hopefully they've got it wrong and we can leave games to games companies.
Now, where did I put my Sega digital camera....
FrankTheCrank @ May 7th 2007 10:16PM
Microsoft will not give up a price drop unless forced and Sony will not be able to drop the price for some time to come. Microsoft is loving this fact. They can continue to overcharge people for what is essentially 2005 technology.
Nobody would buy a computer with 2005 specs. And if you break it down, these things are just computers(CPU's, GPU, HDD's and NIC's). It's a computer for god's sake!
If sales start to drop off quicker than expected, they will drop the price. They can afford to wait though, their Micro$oft, remember?
Real Gambler @ May 7th 2007 8:24PM
psymonj: You are awesome man! You should definitively read a little bit before posting any comments, in the next few years!
Yes Sony is loosing money for every console the sell. They can afford it. So it's only a better deal for us if it cost more to make than what we're buying them for. They loose money the first year or two, then make lots in the last 3 to 7 years the console is sold.
But what's most amazing is the fact that you're saying Sony should not be in the game business.... Nintendo has been in the business longer, but who else?
Just some numbers for you:
Playstation 1: Came out 12 years ago! First game console that sold 100 millions units.
Playstation 2: Over 100 millions consoles sold as well and still selling like hotcakes after 7 years.
BTW, I believe they sold both original consoles for less than it costed them to make them. But now they are making profit on every PS2. They also get money from the games sold. PS2 is 7 years old, and some games are still coming out today and on top of the charts. They get a decent profit from every 300000 PS2 still sold every months.
Before you say Sony should not be in the game business, please, read!
DukeFett @ May 7th 2007 8:30PM
I'm glad PS3Fanboy just ripped 2 stories off of XB360Fanboy, and then completely messed this one up. They don't note anywhere how these prices are probably incorrect, seeing as they show a 120gb HD as being cheaper than a 60gb, and the price for the elite is completely wrong.
Good job guys!
John @ May 7th 2007 10:29PM
You get what you pay for.
I have thought of buying an xbox360, just for Forza2...
But the red ring of death, the noise, and the well-documented damage to disks, has scared me. And even the Elite has the same freaking drive as the originals!
Plus, I'm really turned off by the idea of spending $50 to be on a network of xboys.
So. I have a Rolls-Royce. There aren't as many of them, they cost a lot, but you GET a lot. And the thing is a tank.