Because they don't make money from the hardware. If you don't buy games for it, there's no point in selling you a console, from their perspective.
replyThey don’t make much money (if any) selling hardware.
replySony is barely making money on PS5 hardware.
replythey aren't in the business of selling consoles (duh). they are in the business of selling games. jailbroken consoles can run pirated games ...
replyconsoles are sold at a loss, best information i can dig up is that this is still true today, even after all the volume.
Way back in the 90s and early aughts, Toys R Us used VAX terminals (and then, emulators on PCs) to do a lot in a local store.
replyInventory of other locations, and the individual details of a stocked item were one of the functions. This additionally displayed the markup/profit percentage for a given item. I understand that these numbers may not have been completely accurate, but will be sufficient for demo purposes.
Most toys, movies, and video game titles claimed a ~20-30% margin. Private label clothes and such, slightly higher. Game consoles showed ~1-2%. When employee discounts were finally adopted, it maxed at 10%, and thusly items like game consoles were excluded.