Sony predicts $171 million loss due to PSN breach

One of the central concerns following Sony's seemingly never-ending series of security issues has been over how much the problems will affect Sony's bottom line.

While speculation has pointed to some outlandish numbers, it would appear that some of that speculation was pretty close to the truth, judging by the official numbers Sony has put out today.

The expected cost? $171 million, according to Sony's newly-revised fiscal results. No small change, that number includes the cost of the company's personal information theft protection program, its welcome back programs, legal and expert costs, and network enhancement costs. Sony also anticipates profit losses as it faces a decrease in revenue following the breach.

As for the series of lawsuits that have targeted it, Sony says that they are all in preliminary stages, making it a bit too early to include them in their current forecasts.

These losses come amid an expected $3.2 billion loss for the company following the earthquake that struck Japan in March. Sony estimates the cost of the earthquake itself to be approximately $1.8 billion.

Harder to pin down is how much decreased consumer trust in Sony will affect the company's bottom line. Then again, judging by how quickly PlayStation owners have flocked back to the PlayStation Network, it's possible many consumers will forget about the ordeals altogether.