Nothing Cheap About the PS3

PS3のコストの話。例のiSupplyが元ネタになっている。PS3の60GB版は599ドルの売値だが部品コストは840ドル，20GB版は499ドルの価格にも関わらず，部品コストが805ドルといった具合。もっともXbox360だってというのが以下の話である。

Sony's plan is much like that of rival Microsoft (MSFT): Take a loss on the console and make it back on the games. And that's exactly what Microsoft did when it launched the Xbox 360 a year ago (see BusinessWeek.com, 11/22/05, "Microsoft's Red-Ink Game"). At the time, the $399 Xbox 360 cost the software giant $470 to make, leaving a loss of $71 for each one sold.

But times change, and the prices of chips come down. A new iSuppli analysis of the Xbox 360 and the price of the components used in it reveals that Microsoft may be close to hitting the breakeven point on the Xbox 360. The console now costs Microsoft $323 to manufacture, leaving a gross profit of $76 per unit.

部品の細かいコスト内訳も興味深い。

The most expensive component inside the PS3 is the Reality Synthesizer graphics chip from Nvidia (NVDA), which adds about $129 to the manufacturing cost. Behind that is Sony's own Blu-ray drive, which goes for $125, then the Cell processor, which Sony designed in partnership with IBM (IBM) and Toshiba (TOSBF), at $89 a chip.

Another notable component is a new type of memory chip from Samsung known as XDR DRAM, which is based on a design by Rambus (RMBS) for high-performance applications. It's a radical step up from conventional DRAM. Rassweiler says the four XDR chips used in the PS3 add $48 to the cost. "It's very cutting-edge memory technology, and it's the first time we've seen it used anywhere," he says.

ちなみに同じ特集記事で，任天堂の宮本氏のインタビューも掲載されている。
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