The trend in consoles – at least during the last two generations – has been cutting edge hardware capable of trumping even the most powerful home PCs.  That’s often despite a price that places the gaming systems at half or even a third of the price for a competitive Alienware machine, leaving those interested pondering the question: how can these companies afford to do this?

Last year, analysts who deconstructed the Microsoft Xbox 360 discovered that the console’s parts and accessories – and this is all besides labor – ran about $470, or $71 than the cost of the premium package.  Although estimating labor is much more difficult, it’s safe to assume Microsoft was losing at least $100 on every system built. 

That’s pretty concerning, although considering Microsoft’s place in the corporate world…no one was particularly worried.  However, although Sony is a giant force – their loss on the Playstation 3 sounds catastrophic.

The same tech heads who took apart the 360 last year have again worked their mechanical magic on the Playstation 3 this holiday season.  The findings are, quite simply, astounding.  By most estimates, Sony’s premium 60 GB version, in hardware alone, is costing the company a staggering $840, or $240 more than its $599 asking price.  When one plugs in an estimated labor cost, it’s possible that Sony is expending $300 more to construct the Playstation 3 than it makes on every sale.  That’s three times more than the loss taken by Microsoft a year ago, and cause for concern amongst those who have been worried about Sony’s investment in the troubled PS3 project.

Clearly, there are a few findings here.  For one, the PS3 hardware is worth nearly twice what can be found inside its competitor’s casing.  Second, Sony is banking a whole lot on the Playstation 3, and the company as a whole – from television to DVD player to digital walkman production – could see a major swing in marketing and manufacturing trends based on the success of the sleek, dark console.

The problem for Sony here is: what can they do with that $840 worth of hardware?