Making money on PS3 was never the point.

Having thought about it for a bit I reckon it's pretty obvious why Sony deliberately sold each PS3 at a loss, I thought it was public knowledge?

They did it primarily to win the BD/HD format wars... just because HD-DVD is now dead, they can't RAISE prices, can they?

I reckon they expected it to take longer to win that fight. But they certainly factored in a loss for at least the life of the PS3.

They also sell the best machine out there, arguably. The Cell CPU is powerful and flexible, as is the PS3 (you can build hardcore Superclusters withem), and they're BD and HDTV ready....

I reckon they are planning for the future in a big way. Lose millions now, but get as many of these cut-price cutting edge boxes in homes that can afford them and you've got a damn loyal and moneyed market. The kind of people that buy Sony HD TVs and Sony games and watch Sony Movies on Sony's own BD discs.

After years of decline they've gambled a significant amount on this, and they've all but won, looking at the figures and HD-DVD.

They'll see a return on their investment for years to come but it won't be in the PS3 division.