Poor Sony. It's just not their day. They've revealed that in the fiscal years 2007 and 2008, Sony have lost $2.16 billion and $1.16 billion on sales of the PS3, thanks to pricing the console way below it's manufacturing cost.

It's unclear whether or not Sony will recoup the costs either. Their annual report states "the large-scale investment required during the development and introductory period of a new gaming platform may not be fully recovered."

Ouch.

I'm sure there are other departments in Sony that are raking in the cash. Losing money on a console is a given these days, unless you don't add any extra features eg. dvd playback

Not that much money. Microsoft actually make money on every Xbox 360 sold nowadays, and Nintendo have been turning over a profit from day 1.

I'm sure there are other departments in Sony that are raking in the cash. Losing money on a console is a given these days, unless you don't add any extra features eg. dvd playback

It is still a much bigger loss than they would have liked due to less than anticipated sales. The issue is they may never recover the losses. No company wants to lose money, unless it will make them money somewhere else. Ant is also right it is not normal for them to still be losing money. When they say never recover, I am assuming this doesn't take into account the software sales and blu-ray royalties they will receive.

If you really want to see how much they are making http://finance.google.com/finance?fstype=ci&cid=33095.

You know all that money Sony made on the PS2?

Yeah. LOL.

I would say $2bn is not a small figure, even to them... And previously their games division have been one of the only *better* performing sectors of theirs (as people go for cheaper brands such as Samsung, LG, Panasonic, etc for their TV's, etc).

That's scary that it's still selling below the manufacturing cost, as really - it's still too expensive for a spontaneous purchase by families. $400 for Wii = just affordable for most families. $700+ for PS3, sorry kids, not this year

Actually, sony was relying on the success of the PS3 to boost up its other departments. Sony makes good av equipment, but prices them at quite a premium. Other companies are making fairly decent sets at cheaper prices and eating into their market. I'm not calling red alert just yet, but they need to start making money somewhere.