For the record, the PS5 was already making money on PS5s given how their BOM was around $450 and their main SKU was $500. They undershipped the PS5 DE as expected, and even confirmed that the Disc Edition was breaking even.
Gone are the days when they would launch the console for a loss. The PS4 BOM was $381 and it sold for $399. The PS5 had a good $50 difference already which wouldve covered the retailer cut. With Sony now selling more consoles directly from their website, they dont even have to pay that.
The year the PS5 launched, they posted a record $3.25 BILLION profit. For comparison, they lost $3 billion in the first three years of the PS3. They are making more money than ever before. They didnt have the luxury of 46 million monthly PS+ subscribers back in the PS3 days or even the early PS4 days. They were only getting 10% cut from royalties, now with 70% of game sales on their own digital store, they get a 30% cut from every single third party sale including microtransactions.
And yet, here we are. Increasing the price. Passing the costs down to the consumer who already paid $500 for your premium console that has had a dearth of next gen only games to justify its cost. Absolutely shameful stuff from a company I spent decades defending.
