Making money from the downloads isn't really the point, and honestly, the more popular a game is, the more likely it is that a couple artists/programmers time over a month will make it worthwhile from the download cost alone, not to mention the "self advertisement" a (for example) online game can get from it, encouraging users to keep the game long after its play value would have normally waned.
Imagine where you can go with this concept. MMOs: dynamic raid/server info and news, Twitter & Facebook updates if those become part of the PS3's offering, Any sort of weather, news, etc. info you care about... all of which can effectively operate as advertisements for new DLC and websites that want your traffic.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if, over its lifetime, this tiny product pays for itself many times over -- I'm kinda surprised these guys don't think so, especially given their "3-4 weeks for a couple people" comment. No cost-of-goods (okay yeah.. some bandwidth charges), no retail cut... it'll make money at a pretty good clip.
