In its recent fiscal 2008 annual report, Sony revealed to the public that the company lost more than US$ 3.32 billion over the past two years as a result of pricing the PlayStation 3 below its production cost.

The report outlined the risks investors would be taking, noting that even if the PlayStation 3 sells well, "the large-scale investment required during the development and introductory period of a new gaming platform may not be fully recovered."

Sony mentioned that it spent considerable resources into research and development of the PlayStation 3, noting that the losses incurred might not be recouped if the platform they're supporting doesn't  "achieve such favorable market penetration... resulting in a significant negative impact on Sony's profitability."

Even should the PS3 sell better than expected, Sony adds, it would take some time to make up for the costs it took to produce the console. Luckily, more high-profile games are coming out now that should help make up for the losses incurred. Let's just hope these new games become console pushers so that Sony can keep coming up with new tech for gamers to play with.

Thanks to mister common sense for the tip.