The PlayStation 3 was an expensive system for both consumers and Sony itself. Not only did interested buyers have to shell out $599 to experience next-generation gaming, but the manufacturer was taking a significant loss with each console taken off the line and added to a new home. Although numbers were never disclosed for the PS3, it was the The Wall Street Journal that estimated an $18 loss on each PlayStation 3 pushed in 2010. That wasn’t a good way to run a business, but this time, Sony won’t be making the same mistakes with the PlayStation 4.
"We are not planning a major loss to be incurred with the launch of PS4," Sony Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato said in today’s earnings call.
Really, it's the PS3’s unique architecture that’s done so much damage during our current console cycle. The in-house development of the Cell processor forced Sony to invest deeply into the processing branch, but a few alterations to save time and money have been made this time around.
"We have a team working on chip development, but we already have existing technology to incorporate, and also product investment and all facilities will now be invested by our partners," Kato said. "We don't have to make all the investment in-house.”
The following specs were divulged during the unveiling of the new hardware, and tell a tale of a console that’s much more analogous to a PC of the future:
Main Processor: Single-chip custom processor
CPU: x86-64 AMD "Jaguar,' 8 cores
GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD next-generation RAdeon-based graphics engine
Memory: GDDR5 8GB
Hard Drive: Built-in
Optical Drive (read only): BD 6xCAV, DVD 8xCAV
I/O: Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0), AUX
Communication: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), IEEE 8.02.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 (EDR)
AV output: HDMI, Analog-AV out, Digital Output (optical)
The actual price of the PlayStation 4 has not been mentioned. Expect to hear more on the topic around this June’s E3.
