9. Is The PS4 Profitable?
Given that the PS4 ships for so much less than the Xbox One at present, many have been speculating how Sony will be able to turn a profit, and though companies notoriously make a loss on consoles when starting out, there are several factors that may cause Sony's quest for financial success to be all that more arduous. Firstly, the U.S. dollar's rise against the Japanese Yen is problematic, as it will make Sony's profit margins all that much tighter. Though the Yen's weakness will pose a challenge, at least Japan accounts for only 30% of Sony's market. However, the PS3 notoriously took 5 years to turn a profit for Sony - initially causing them losses of $3.5 billion - and so Sony must be careful to ensure they don't repeat the same mistakes, something they appear very confident about.