PS3's Blu-Ray drive to cost Sony $100+ a unit?

by Conrad Quilty-Harper { Sep 5th 2005 at 3:00PM }

ps3

The Inquirer has published a speculative article supposedly based on news from Games Developers Conference Europe that suggests Sony will have to pay $100 per Blu-Ray drive in each PS3. No, wait, more than $100 per console. And that number comes from an article that states;

"Microsoft is playing a safe game here, it will launch with DVD+RW but in some point in the future might release a new Xbox 360 version with HD-DVD or a Blu Ray drive."

Uh, since when is Microsoft putting DVD+/-RW drives in the Xbox 360? Last time we checked it's just a standard 16x DVD drive, which can't be costing Microsoft any more than $5-10 a unit, if you adjust for the huge number they've ordered.

Sure, it's a given that the Blu-Ray drive will be expensive, but more than $100 after economies of scale are factored in? That'd make it possibly the single most expensive component in the PS3 bar the Cell chip. As it stands, the article makes incorrect statements about the rival console's optical drive and fails to back up the statement with a source. We're getting in touch with The Inquirer to see where exactly they pulled that number from. Stay tuned for more.

[Thanks, bandersnatch]

[Update: Dan of gamegeeknews.com gave us the low down on the original source. In June a Merril Lynch analyst from Japan estimated the costs of the components at $100 each for the Cell, RSX CPU and Blu-Ray. We've got no idea why The Inquirer felt the need to write up this 3 month old report as news, or why they stated the 360 will have a DVD burner.]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Spartacus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Pretty sure the 360 drive is a 12x, not 16x... But I'd be more than happy to be wrong, lol.

Anthony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Its is really Stupid, when the Ps3 come out in will aboutn $1000 Cadn. 100 Blu-ray about 200 for the cell. ete sony will not male a profet

Jules @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Maybe its the same reliable source that told them that the Xbox 360 has a DVD+RW.

Ombre @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Not really surprising, as it costs Sony about $494 to make just one PS3.

Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Not only is this news old, but it's not even the entire story. At the end of June a Merril Lynch Japan analyst reported that the Cell chip, RSX GPU, and Blu-Ray drive are each expected to cost Sony +$101 to manufacture. Merril Lynch also said that each PS3 as a whole is expected to cost Sony $490 to make, and that they'd be selling them for $399 losing close to $100 on each system. I covered this on my own shamelessly plugged site here: http://www.gamegeeknews.com/?p=140 which itself sources a story from GamesIndustry.biz: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9838

It's all old news, and I have no idea why it's suddenly deemed "news" all over again.

epobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

For the first generation of units a cost of $100 isn't that remarkable. This would include the yield cost while the manufacturing process is being perfected. Despite their similarity to CD-ROM drive the first gen of DVD drives were also remarkably pricey before everything came together and all of the issues were resolved.

Keep in mind that the PS3 will be the effective reference platform for Blu-ray players. Compare that to the PS2, which shipped years after that original $1,000 Sony DVD player which served as the reference platofrm for DVD in its era. Sony is trying to establish two major standards in one product. Cost issues are just one piece of the challenge.

Bedpanjohn @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

When the PS2 came out how much did it cost for the dvd drive? i am sure it was about the same ratio to cost...

it maybe a somewhat smart move for microsot since they are still not turnning a profit in their entertainment side of buisness. but god damn they are chargeing 400 bucks for a $15 20 gig hard drive and a $5 dvd player... rape rape!!!

smash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

inquirer is the best site for trusted news...
oh wait, i mean its a decent site that has internet rumours with no concrete sources ever...

everything is just speculation...
ok, sony owns blue-ray, sony owns cell... you think they are gonna be spending this much on stuff they created themselves and own patents to?
all these numbers are just speculations on what the market cost will be for the amounts...

NergiZed @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

well you still hafta to make the stuff, and that requires materials, manufacturing machinery, and a fuel to power those machines, which all require money. So yeah I think that they'd be spending a decent amount of money on it, especially when the technoligy is so new. I'm not saying that this info is true, but I'm I'm pretty sure that #1 Sony's gonna sell it at a loss, or #2 it's gonna cost a hellava lot, or the worst case sernario, #3 both.

Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

In your "update", the link to the GamesIndustry.biz story that references the findings from Merril Lynch Japan is broken. It's referencing "http:///" instead of http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9838 ... just in case anyone is reading this. :)

homer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

seems to me that a lot of the hardware that will be in the PS3 is completely new and pretty much untested in the mass market. in this sense i think microsoft is smart to stick with proven technology. doesn't matter to me anyway... i won't be buying any of the systems until they fall below the $200 dollar mark. depending on the nintendo entry, i may have to wait for the first round of price drops. oh well...i have a pc to bridge the gap.

Alexander @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

That's interesting of course, because Blu-ray and HD-DVD are the standarts of future! I'm waiting for them 3 years!

serge @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

the price isnt that big if you think about it, for either console...

back when ps2 launch in 2000... it was $299 USD...
people were ready to payout that much in 2000... due to changes in economy and other bs.. $299 isnt what it use to be...

i for one was one of the fools who bought it on launch date...
and i am dumb enough to do it again... =p

over inflation and stuff.. 299 isnt worth what 299 was 5 years ago... i am willing to spend 100 to maybe even 200 more than that...

Dralt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

PS3 more and more sounds like a console for elite gamers.

I don't think many kids will own that one.

I can't wait to buy one.

$1K is my limit though.

Glenn @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Let's not forget about $100 per machine in marketing they will probably spend

pKitty @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

Sony is looking waaaay past ps3 .. they want Blu-ray to be dominate next gen. optical disc and kick major hddvd a$$. ps3 helps them do that in a very big way. They will more than make up the initiall loss once royalties and licencing start coming in.

MosquitoControl @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

"back when ps2 launch in 2000... it was $299 USD...
people were ready to payout that much in 2000... due to changes in economy and other bs.. $299 isnt what it use to be..."

Well, the PS2 was launched in the middle of the Dot Com boom, before the AOL/Time Warner merge.

Everyone had jobs, everyone was making money hand over fist, and everyone had hundreds of thousands of new dollars thanks to the stock market.

Right now the economy is down, unemployment is up, all those stocks are from companies now bankrupt, we're in the middle of a war, and tens of thousands are now homeless.

It's a much worse economy to launch a luxury item in. Especially a very expensive one, relatively.

Dralt @ Dec 18th 2005 9:41PM

The PS3 will sell out. That's a given.
Gee, there are people willing to spend $250+ on the PSP.
Some people are willing to spend even more on iPod gear.
Right now, HDTV sets that cost $2000+ are flying off the shelves at Costco, BestBuy, Circuit City, etc.

There is no doubt the PS3 will sell.