I think that, unfortunately, their losses at this point are required to allow them to be viable going forward.
Sony was, and is, at a crossroads for their sales and future of the Playstation product line. Going into this, they had essentially 2 choices:
1) Drop the price to $299. Fantastic move for console/software sales, but hurts them in their wallet for some time. Hope that the positive aspects of this (increased sales) outweigh the losses, and woo developers into coming to the revived Playstation line.
2) Do not drop the price to $299, and keep it profitable. Wouldn't have sold as well at a $349 or $399 price point, as it's far outside any 'sweet spot'. More profitable for them in the short term, but may stymie developers from coming to the system.
It's kind of a 'darned if you do, darned if you don't' scenario. However, I applaud Sony for doing the balsy and smart move of finally pricing the Playstation at something people can afford. They've still screwed themselves over with 4 years of buffoonery, but they are at least making sure their loss is the gamer's gain, and I salute them for that 
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
