Sony believes that they will make us the losses occured in making the PS4 at the systems launch as the average consumer will buy a PlayStation Plus subcription and a game.
Sony Japan executive Masayasu Ito revealed the news to Eurogamer. It is believed that Sony will make a $60 loss on the $399 console – a charge Ito denies but only because they expect most gamers to pick up PS Plus and a launch title.
Ito would not comment on whether more than one launch game would need to be sold in order for Sony to produce a profit but he did say Sony expects to make money on the average consumers initial purchase.
Even if consumers only buy the console Ito said Sony will see a profit with the PS4 much sooner than they did with the PS3.
In August, SCE CEO Andrew House said "We will not generate anything like the losses we did for the PlayStation 3."
Sony's expectations are likely a resonable bet given that PlayStation Plus is required for multiplayer gaming on PS4. The PS4 will be released on November 15th in North America and on November 29th in Europe.