No PSP 'till 2005
02-25-04, 08:23 PM
#1
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
No PSP 'till 2005
Sony Delays U.S. Launch of PSP to 2005
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). (6758.T) on Wednesday said it would delay the U.S. release of its widely anticipated handheld video game device, the PSP, until early 2005, saying that there was not enough time to prepare game software for the planned holiday season launch.
Sony, one of the world's top consumer electronics makers, said the portable version of its best-selling PlayStation console would still be released in Japan this year.
Analysts said the delay was not likely to disrupt financial forecasts for game publishers that had been tied to the game device as long as Sony had the new PSP out in force by the key year-end sales season of 2005.
But the delay was a reprieve for Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd.(7974.OS) and its market-leading Game Boy handheld platform. Sony stunned the game industry last May when it unveiled plans for the PSP.
The device, which is also expected to be able to play videos and music, is seen by many analysts as the first important challenger in years to the dominance of Nintendo in that market.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokeswoman Molly Smith said that Sony was now looking to launch the PSP in North America by the end of the company's next fiscal year, which ends in March 2005.
"So, basically, the U.S. launch is scheduled the quarter following the Japanese launch," Smith said.
Sony said that it wanted to make sure that the PSP would launch along with enough games to drives sales. Major U.S. publishers had been planning to support the PSP with a handful of games by next March, which is also when many U.S. game software publishers end their fiscal years.
"We want to ensure that the product launch is really well supported and that the development community will have time to optimize content," Smith said, "The portable space is a new domain ... and we want to ensure that when this thing is launched that we are able to demonstrate what this thing can do."
Sony's last U.S. hardware launch, of the PS2 console in 2000, was fraught with problems, primarily a lack of sufficient supply to meet overwhelming demand.
NINTENDO COMPETITOR
Nintendo recently announced a new handheld gaming platform, the DS, that will feature two screens. Little is known about it or its games, but it has been viewed as Nintendo's attempt to innovate and maintain market share in the face of the PSP.
Game publishers have said recently they expect worldwide shipments of as many as 5 million units of the PSP by March 2005, though those estimates had assumed a simultaneous launch in the United States and Japan.
Sony has said little about pricing, though publishers are largely assuming games will sell in a range of $30 to $40 and the unit itself will sell for between $199 to $249.
"It's not all that big of a surprise," said Stewart Halpern, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. "It doesn't really do a lot of good to put the platform out there if you don't have a sufficient amount of software."
Halpern noted that Sony development kits, which game developers need to create games for the PSP, had been delivered late.
"For the PSP, we have been skeptical of the worldwide holiday 2004 launch," UBS analyst Mike Wallace said in a note. "2004 numbers are immaterial. As long as Sony is in full production well ahead of holiday 2005, it should not affect numbers in 2005." (Additional reporting by Reed Stevenson in New York)
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news) (news - web sites). (6758.T) on Wednesday said it would delay the U.S. release of its widely anticipated handheld video game device, the PSP, until early 2005, saying that there was not enough time to prepare game software for the planned holiday season launch.
Sony, one of the world's top consumer electronics makers, said the portable version of its best-selling PlayStation console would still be released in Japan this year.
Analysts said the delay was not likely to disrupt financial forecasts for game publishers that had been tied to the game device as long as Sony had the new PSP out in force by the key year-end sales season of 2005.
But the delay was a reprieve for Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd.(7974.OS) and its market-leading Game Boy handheld platform. Sony stunned the game industry last May when it unveiled plans for the PSP.
The device, which is also expected to be able to play videos and music, is seen by many analysts as the first important challenger in years to the dominance of Nintendo in that market.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokeswoman Molly Smith said that Sony was now looking to launch the PSP in North America by the end of the company's next fiscal year, which ends in March 2005.
"So, basically, the U.S. launch is scheduled the quarter following the Japanese launch," Smith said.
Sony said that it wanted to make sure that the PSP would launch along with enough games to drives sales. Major U.S. publishers had been planning to support the PSP with a handful of games by next March, which is also when many U.S. game software publishers end their fiscal years.
"We want to ensure that the product launch is really well supported and that the development community will have time to optimize content," Smith said, "The portable space is a new domain ... and we want to ensure that when this thing is launched that we are able to demonstrate what this thing can do."
Sony's last U.S. hardware launch, of the PS2 console in 2000, was fraught with problems, primarily a lack of sufficient supply to meet overwhelming demand.
NINTENDO COMPETITOR
Nintendo recently announced a new handheld gaming platform, the DS, that will feature two screens. Little is known about it or its games, but it has been viewed as Nintendo's attempt to innovate and maintain market share in the face of the PSP.
Game publishers have said recently they expect worldwide shipments of as many as 5 million units of the PSP by March 2005, though those estimates had assumed a simultaneous launch in the United States and Japan.
Sony has said little about pricing, though publishers are largely assuming games will sell in a range of $30 to $40 and the unit itself will sell for between $199 to $249.
"It's not all that big of a surprise," said Stewart Halpern, analyst at RBC Capital Markets. "It doesn't really do a lot of good to put the platform out there if you don't have a sufficient amount of software."
Halpern noted that Sony development kits, which game developers need to create games for the PSP, had been delivered late.
"For the PSP, we have been skeptical of the worldwide holiday 2004 launch," UBS analyst Mike Wallace said in a note. "2004 numbers are immaterial. As long as Sony is in full production well ahead of holiday 2005, it should not affect numbers in 2005." (Additional reporting by Reed Stevenson in New York)
02-26-04, 01:52 PM
#7
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally posted by the_dude8
how is the n-cage doing?
how is the n-cage doing?
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=344442
02-26-04, 06:29 PM
#11
DVD Talk Godfather
I wonder if its better to release it before the holidays with just a few games to get christmas buyers, or wait until there are more games to drive sales.
02-26-04, 09:21 PM
#12
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally posted by fumanstan
I wonder if its better to release it before the holidays with just a few games to get christmas buyers....
I wonder if its better to release it before the holidays with just a few games to get christmas buyers....
