It's not just the consumer who wants to see a cheaper PS3, Sony wants one, too. After all, if they start offering the console at a lower price, that means they were able to cut their exorbitant production costs. The company is currently looking into ways to manage this, and one way is quite simple- outsource. Reuters has reported that a Sony senior executive said the company will be "cutting back future chip spending," and examining the possibility of outsourcing production for the Cell chip.
Interestingly enough, this is the first time such outsourcing is even an option. "When we first offered the PS2, there were no semiconductor companies that were able to make chips for the machine, so we did it ourselves," said Sony Executive Deputy President Yutaka Nakagawa. "But now, there are companies that specialize in chip production."
Even at $600 for the 60GB model, Sony is taking a big hit on each system sold, which obviously means their current production costs are extremely high. They've spent an unbelievable $3.8 billion on chip investments since April of 2004, and they want to bring that number down. Most large companies look at outsourcing to save on costs, but again, this is really the first time the option has presented itself. We can always look forward to a lower PS3, right?
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