How much money is Sony making from the PlayStation 5?

The PlayStation 5 has become a runaway success, with stock disappearing off shelves almost as soon as it arrives. So many have been sold that Sony has already surpassed first-year sales of the PlayStation 4.

That’s a lot, which should be good for Sony’s yearly earning, right? Well, the console market doesn’t always make money from hardware sales, so just how much money has Sony raked in from the PlayStation 5 console so far?

So, how much money is Sony making from all those PlayStation 5 sales?

Short answer: Not as much as you’d think

See, Sony likely sold every single one of those 4.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles at a loss. Yes, a loss, to get enough PS5’s out there to create a new gaming community. Let’s break it down. Each PlayStation 5 likely costs Sony $450 to produce. Is that just the materials in the console? Maybe, or it could be everything from materials to manufacturing costs.

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That means the Digital-only PS5 is already at a loss, at $399, with the disc-based PS5 making $50 so far. But, that’s only part of the story as marketing costs, packaging costs, and shipping costs now need to be accounted for.

Sony is likely paying up to $15 just for each PS5 box. Then there’s all that expensive air shipping to get PS5 consoles around the world in time for launch.

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Of course, this is nothing new in the console world. Almost every game console ever released was sold at a loss to build a large fanbase that will spend on games and other content, all of which the console manufacturer gets a cut from. The PlayStation 3 lost Sony an estimated $240 or more on every single console and was still regarded as a success.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.