Current rumors are indicating that the PS3 will shop for $399 when it ships, which will be at a loss of $100 per unit for Sony. If this article is correct, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities are indicating that Sony will lose $1.18bn dollars in the first year, on expected sales of 11 – 12 million units.
Also, previous rumors that the PS3 will ship with an integrated hard drive may not be correct, as Sony may choose to make the hard drive an option add on, in an attempt to keep the initial street price low.