[Thespis721]

My point of view is more grand scheme then individual, which is how SONY views it. Selling things at a loss is a common business practice. We see it all the time. You ever go to one of those stores, like in Times Square, and they are busy and are doing business, but given the cost of rental, there's no way they are turning a profit from the store? That's called a loss leader. It's a common business practice where you put out something, even though it individually loses you money, so that it can have an overall profitable impact. Whether that be for name recognition, value, and results in selling elsewhere.

SONY and Microsoft do the same thing when they sell their systems at a loss. You could look at it as a risk, but all business tactics have some degree of risk. But in the overall standpoint, selling at a loss is less a risk then you would think.