Sony Bleeds a Little Less - Laser Production Issues Crushed

What was it that made the PS3 so expensive, you ask? Well, that’s easy. The PS3 uses the new High Definition multimedia format called Blu-Ray. In order to create these drives, Sony needed to manufacture a special type of laser that wasn’t used in any optical drives prior to the Playstation 3 and the Blu-Ray line of burners and set-top players. Until now, that laser was expensive to produce due to poor yields during initial manufacturing. This made the ability to produce a working Blu-Ray drive much more expensive than it would otherwise be.

Sony has recently announced that production of Blu-Ray lasers is now running perfectly, and that supply of Playstation 3’s and Blu-Ray players will no longer be as expensive to produce. While it doesn’t help our wallets out, Sony is feeling a little less pain with each PS3 that rolls out the door.

Source: compoundsemiconductor.net