Actually, losing money in the following months (even a year) after the release of a console has been the case since the 90’s for all manufacturers. Sega stopped being a manufacturer because they couldn’t make enough profit after the initial loss of the Saturn. If you consider the development costs of a console, all manufacturers lose money for several years. The only real objective is to make enough cash flow to finance the next console development.
Nintendo 64, for instance, cost US$5 billion to Nintendo in terms of R&D. They overcame this cost in less than a year thanks to game licenses & royalties (a particularity of that manufacturer due to proprietary format).
Another point to consider is the significant technological advance consoles have at their release, thus meaning higher production costs during the first year. This is to ensure a 4-5 years lifetime. Then chips become cheaper, and the manufacturer starts making profit. But as said before, it is well known that manufacturers don’t make much profit on consoles themselves, rather on accessories, licenses and side products.

I’m not surprised by the US$1 billion loss of the forthcoming PS3. I’d even it far more if you add R&D costs. But I’m not worried at all for the japanese manufacturer.

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