Sony Corp will retail its new PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game console for a lower-than-expected 19,800 yen ($186) in Japan as it goes head-to-head with a new game console to be launched by rival Nintendo Co Ltd.
Sony had said it would launch the PSP, which will also play music and movies, in Japan on December 12, and in early 2005 in North America and Europe, but it had not put a sticker tag on its most significant new game hardware in four years.
Most industry players had expected it to price the PSP at between $199 and $299.
"I think it's a pretty aggressive price point. Fairly competitive with Nintendo," said a game sector analyst at a foreign brokerage. "They are quite serious about this business and they do intend to intrude on Nintendo's aspirations."
Nintendo plans to launch the "DS" dual-screen handheld game console in the United States on November 21 at a price of $149.99. It will be introduced in Japan on December 2 for 15,000 yen ($141).
Ken Kutaragi, group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and known as the father of the PlayStation, began a roundtable with reporters in Tokyo about the PSP launch at 5 pm (0800 GMT).
The PSP will use a new kind of disc designed by Sony called Universal Media Disc (UMD). With three times the capacity of a standard CD, Sony is pitching the format to other movie studios and music companies as a new medium for their content.
Nintendo's DS features two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive and works with a pen-like device. It also has voice recognition and wireless communication functions.
Sony said 21 software titles would be launched in Japan for the PSP in December. They include "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" and "Need for Speed Underground" by video game giant Electronic Arts
An SCE spokeswoman said Sony planned to ship 500,000 PSP game consoles in Japan by the end of the calendar year. It expects to ship 3 million units world-wide by March 31.
Sony Computer of America Chief Executive Kaz Hirai said earlier this year that it did not expect to make money on the PSP at launch, due to the price of components and initial development costs.
"I assume they will be losing a significant amount of money on each sale," the brokerage analyst said.
Sony shares ended Wednesday up 0.27 percent at 3,660 yen before the announcement, in line with the benchmark Nikkei average, which closed 0.18 percent higher.
Comments
Comments are closed.