Sony just can't catch a break in this crucial time before the launch of the PlayStation 3.

The company cut back its fiscal year profit forecasts today by almost 40 percent, blaming that massive laptop battery recall and the price cuts it had to make on the PS3 in Japan even before the system came out.

The company didn't change its sales outlook, however. But it listed several ways in which its profits will be hacked, including the 20 percent price cut on the PS3 in Japan and the delay of the PS3 launch in Europe to next March.