One of the biggest features that Sony's PlayStation 4 has over its next-gen console rival Microsoft and its Xbox One is the fact that it is $100 cheaper. Ever since the price difference was announced earlier this year, people have operated under the assumption that the extra $100 for the Xbox One is the result of the improved Kinect motion sensor. Now new manufacturing cost breakdowns prove definitively that is actually the case.
A teardown of the Xbox One console, Kinect and controller reveals that an overall manufacturing cost to Microsoft roughly $471 (approximately $90 more than the PlayStation 4 from Sony).
The hardware breakdown for each console was done by a research firm called HIS, which published its results exclusively to AllThingsD.
While the Kinect is the biggest drive in the price difference once the console hits the store shelf, the biggest "cost driver" according to Andrew Rassweiler, HIS analyst who oversaw the next-gen console breakdown, is the AMD microprocessor. Similar to the one found inside the PlayStation 4, the chip combines a CPU and a graphics processing unit. It is estimated to cost around $110, which is $10 more than the AMD chip found in the PlayStation 4 and was highlighted in the report as the most expensive component in the Xbox One.
Another contributing factor is the memory storage. The Xbox One contains older, more commonly used chips like the DDR3 memory. When compared to the PlayStation 4's new GDDR5 memory, the Xbox One's storage costs $60, $28 less than what's inside the next-gen console from Sony.
The full breakdown for the Xbox One, according to IGN, looks like this:
Console: $332
Kinect: $75
Controller: $15
Power brick: $25
Headset: $10
Production: $14
What do you think of the rundown of how much the Xbox One costs to make? Do you think the console is offered at a fair price given the production costs? Comment and share your opinion with us below.
