Sony "not planning a major loss" with PS4 launch

PlayStation 3 launch was a monetary blood-bath for Sony, with the launch of the high definition machine very costly indeed. As part of today's earnings call to investors, the company has committed to keeping costs down for PS4 launch.

"Unlike PS3, we are not planning a major loss to be incurred with the launch of PS4," Sony Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato said during the call, caught by Eurogamer.

Kato went on to explain that a large part of the expensive costs associated with the PS3 launch was to do with the creation of the unique Cell architecture. With the PS4 running on existing technology, the machine will be less of a money sink and more quickly profitable.

"At the time we developed PS3, we made a lot of in-house investments to develop the chip, the Cell chip. Development of the chip saw the silicon processing and all the facilities invested by us ourselves," Kato explained.

"But this time, yes we have a team working on chip development, but we already have existing technology to incorporate and also product investment and all the facilities will now be invested by our partners, other foundries, so we don't have to make all the investment in-house."

These comments point to a Sony confident that the PS4 will turn profitable more quickly. Things are less positive for the Vita, which the company is predicting scant sales for in the 2014 fiscal year.

You can find more on Sony's financial results release today through this link.