During an interview that Jiji Press, which reports on the Japanese corporate world, did with the President and CEO of SCEI Kazuo Hirai said that the PS3 would be turning a profit for the company by the end of the year, despite the difficulties involved. It would not be the PS3 specifically that would result in this turnaround, said Kaz, but rather the collective PS3 product line, such as peripherals and games, that will push the sales into the black this year.

In the past, the PS3 has had problems maintaining supply due to difficulties acquiring a sufficient supply of the necessary hardware components. But, as TGR has already reported, Sony will be offering its owners a movie and television rental service available via the PS3 worldwide at a point when the infrastructure to provide such a service is firmly established. This is part of Sony’s business strategy, which has at its core the idea of providing the same services to customers in a wide number of countries.

Indeed, there has been a recent upswing in sales of PS3, especially due to the release of Metal Gear Solid 4. The new services and quite attractive-looking titles that were announced for the PS3 this year, in addition to the news that the PS3 will be dropping the price of its 80GB PS3, will go a long way to boosting the sales of the console.

- Via GameDaily