Following its dissection of the PlayStation 4 over a week ago – where it learned that the unit costs $391 to put together – IHS has run through the same process with the Xbox One, finding out how much it costs to assemble and make it tick.
With its report to All Things D, IHS has reported that the cost for the components in Microsoft’s system come out to $471 – approximately $80 more than the PS4, but still enough for the company to make a small profit on every system sold. That’s without considering the discount to retailers, shipping and handling costs, and marketing costs, of course. As usual for consoles, profits will come from software, not hardware.
$75 of that cost comes from the Kinect add-on device that comes included in the box, but the most expensive part, according to IHS analyst Andrew Rassweiler, is the microprocessor provided by Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD. It runs about $110.
The rest of the parts vary, with the controller coming in at $15, the memory chips from SK Hynix going for $60, and the external power supply, complete with “power brick,” estimating at $25. It costs about $14 to put together overall.
The Xbox One is available now, albeit in limited numbers, at retailers.
Source: All Things D
