PlayStation3 Economics

The launch of PlayStation3 was exciting, sad and appalling all at the same time. The craze has generated an incredible demand beyond the needs of an ordinary gamer.

The shortage is not entirely due to Sony's marketing machine. It is partially the fault of the difficulty in mass-manufacturing the next generation blue laser used in the console.

But is it worth the money, time and life? Here is a quick look at the ruthless supply-and-demand economics behind PlayStation3.

$245,000 (PDF document) is the starting bid for this PlayStation3 system and delivery anywhere in the world in person. This auctioneer has also offered to play a game or two with the buyer. If anyone buys, flying around the world wouldn't be a problem. The 60 gigabyte premium version is being auctioned on eBay for over US$1,000.

£3,299 (US$6,254) (PDF document) is the price for a PS3 being offered on Craig's List to buyers in Europe, where the console does not go on sale until friggin' March 2007!.

US$499.99 & US$599.99: Retail prices for Playstation3 20 GB and 60GB editions, respectively.

US$240 & US$307: the amount of money Sony is losing with the premium and regular versions, respectively.

CDN$549.99 & CDN$659.99 are signs that while the Canadian dollar has been gaining against its U.S. counterpart, the price of a PS3 is still cheaper in Canada by about US$19.

€599.00 (US$769) is the retail price in Germany for the 60 GB version.

400,000 PS3 units had been scheduled to ship to the U.S. for the November 17 launch. But far fewer actually made it. Analysts believe Sony will miss the goal of shipping a million consoles by the year's end due to a shortage of laser used in the Blu-ray DVD unit.

US$12,500 in Taco Bell Bucks will go to the first person to "donate" a PS3, which Taco Bell Foundation will give to a teen center. To Taco Bell Corp. $12,500 equals lifetime supply of food at the restaurant.

¥200 billion (US$1.7 billion) is the amount Sony's gaming division will lose this year from selling PS3 consoles. The sale does not immediately offset the high research cost.

Petaflops: Molecular researchers at Stanford University plan to conduct more than 1,015 trillion floating point operations per second -- far more than a super computer -- by using individual PS3's across the world. Processing power donated by individual users in the Cure@PS3 project will help find cures to protein-folding diseases.

1: the number of PlayStation3 that was purchased for the specific purpose of smashing it with a hammer in Toronto, Canada. The event probably generated more revenue for his Web sites than the price of a PS3.

Migrant workers and homeless people, most of them Chinese, were paid to stand in line for the Japanese launch of PS3. They turned over the PS3 to a boss who probably sold them online.

US$6.50 is the subscription fee for receiving an e-mail when a PS3 becomes available at an online retailer in Canada and the United States.

Wal-Mart to former Senator John Edwards: It's payback time for undermining us. We will deride you and shame you publicly for trying to use your position to obtain a PS3 when "the rest of America's working families are waiting patiently in line."

Robberies: Shoppers have been assaulted and robbed of their PS3's across the United States.

Demand Exceeds Supply: While Nebraska is not known for much demand for anything, most consumers did not get to buy a PS3 even after waiting in line for it for days.

Eight is the number of PS3's received by Wal-Mart in Rapid City, South Dakota.

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