Though Sony's overall bottom line is back in black, what held it back from an even bigger celebration cake was its core electronics brand, and no stranger to that sector is the PlayStation group. Both Joystiq and The Wall Street Journal took a more careful look at the numbers, and there's a few points worth noting. PS2 sales took a year-over-year dip, down from 2.5 million to 2.1 million. PSP took a larger hit, down to 4.2 million from 5.1 million. The PS3, however, is a mix of good and bad news. The good news: 6.5 million in unit sales, up from the 4.5 million prior. That said, it turns out Sony has yet to pull its home console away from "loss leader" status -- WSJ reports the company is still losing "about six cents for every dollar of PS3 hardware sales," i.e. if Sony were to sell the consoles to retailers for $300, it'd technically be taking a hit of $18 each time. That's nowhere near the estimates when the PS3 first launch, and additionally Sony's CFO Nobuyuki Oneda is promising a 15 percent reduction cost by March 2011, which should go a long way. Lets' not forget the company still makes money on Blu-rays and software sales, but in the meantime, hang tight little buddy, you're this close to being profitable all by your lonesome.

Update: An error in fiscal sales figures that has been subsequently remedied.

PlayStation 3 still a loss leader, 'six cents for every dollar' of hardware sold originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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