Sony Expecting Much Lower Losses for PS4 than PS3

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House has told Bloomberg that the company expects to experience significantly lower loses on the PS4 than they faced with PS3.

"We will not generate anything like the losses we did for the PlayStation 3," House informed Bloomberg.

Sony lost a reported $3.5 billion between 2007 and 2008 when they launched the PS3 in 2006 for $600 at an estimated loss of $75 per console.

CEO Kazuo Hirai has revealed that the PS3 did not become a profitable investment for Sony until late 2011.

One of the key causes of Sony's significant PS3 losses was the development of Blu-ray discs which delayed the system's launch by a year. The PS4 will not have this R&D budgeting problem as the console also uses a Blu-ray drive, becoming the first PlayStation console to use the same primary optical media as its predecessor.  

Despite House's comments, PS4 R&D costs did impact on Sony's gaming division for the first quarter of the financial year. Even so, it seems Sony is confident of the PS4's prospects. 

The PS4 launches later this year for $399/€399/£349. 

Source: Bloomberg.

Via: GameSpot.