Accessories:sixpackdan101 wrote:I would say most of their profit comes from software....not accessories.The_Niddler wrote:I agree with most of what Dak stated.
However, companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo do not make money the way they currently make a gaming system.
Most companies sell their systems at a loss or very, very little profit if any.
They make money on the accessories mostly and a little profit on games.
Actually, I know from working at BestBuy and GameStop, it doesn't take Sony much to make accessories.
PS3 controllers probably cost them $5 to $8 to make each one.
retail stores probably get charged about $40 for them and charge $55 to $60.
I know at Best Buy, some of the discounts on accessories was just stupid.
You would only get like $10 off a computer or printer, but then you would get a $25 printer cable for $1.21.
Online:
A huge money maker for them too is charging for online play like PS+.
That is basically pure profit.
According to ISH Electronics and Media, the move will make Sony as much as $1.2 billion (£770 million) a year by 2017 and bring the Japanese electronics maker in-line with Microsoft with its revenue channels.
“Sony has already taken a major step towards a more profitable and competitive PlayStation business with a single but significant commercial decision to place online multiplayer gaming behind the PlayStation Plus subscription paywall,” IHS’ Piers Harding-Rolls said while speaking with MCV.
Games:
Sony and Microsoft make approximately, $10 per game on average.
You have to remember the cost, licensing, etc. that goes into making a game.
Obviously games made by Sony or Microsoft themselves turn bigger profits than 3rd party games.
Consoles:
Here is an article explaining some of it and some info from it posted below the link:
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/xbox-36 ... im-future/
“Consoles like Xboxes, PlayStations & the Wii U are sold at a loss”, said Cousins. “It costs more to manufacture and distribute the device than it is sold for. Console manufacturers do this because they hope to make back the money from the license fee they charge for every game sold on the system.
“In order to offset the huge cost of hardware production, distribution, R&D and marketing, a hardware platform holder must sell vast quantities of hardware, and even bigger quantities of software. So much needs to be sold, in fact, that the data points to PS3 and Xbox 360 having made huge losses, despite having sold 70+ million units of hardware each.
“Of those 70 million Xbox 360s sold, a large proportion (approx. 40%) were bought after the most recent price cut of August 2009. Of the 70 million PS3s sold, a large proportion (approx. 42%) were bought since the introduction of the PS3 Slim.”
With such a large proportion of consoles being sold post-price cut, it seems as if the loss-leading strategy is failing to bear fruit for both companies. The issue isn’t being helped by some 50% of home console owners also owning a smartphone, tablet or both, devices which are seeing a rapidly advancing capacity for supporting triple-a game content.
