Sony Spends $448.73 Building Each $399 PS3

If you’re still hoping the rumors of a big PS3 price cut in early 2009 are true, you may want to reconsider. According to iSuppli’s most recent analysis, Sony is still losing money on every PS3 sold—but they’re steadily getting closer to the break-even point.

During launch, analysts estimated the cost of building a PS3 (the $599 launch unit) at $840. Now, thanks to Sony using new parts and reducing the total part count from 4,048 to 2,820, the price of building the $399 unit is only $448.73. Obviously a much smaller number for Sony to swallow on each console sold.

If technology trends keep on the same pace, and if Sony follows the same pattern they’ve been following, iSuppli predicted that Sony would reach the break-even point on each PS3 sold during 2009, and start making a profit on each machine after that. Of course, once Sony reaches the break-even point there’s a chance they’ll drop the price a bit to sell more consoles, but until then it’s likely they’ll keep things as-is. My guess? We’ll see a price cut around mid-2009 at the earliest, unless Sony is keen on losing more money sooner.