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Kutaragi Discusses PSP Pricing News
Chris Leyton
28/10/2004
Ken Kutaragi, the father of the Playstation, discusses how Sony came to the important decision behind the PSP pricing…
Following on from yesterdayâs surprise announcement, Ken Kutaragi, President CEO Sony Computer Entertainment, today delivered further details on the pricing of the PSP and the reason behind it.
Stating that he believes the PSP to be worth âtwice as muchâ and citing the Apple iPodâs $300 plus price tag for a device that âall it does is play musicâ, Kutaragi-san believes that they have hit the sweet spot around the $200 mark although he doesnât expect the platform to turn a profit until the fiscal year that begins on April 1, 2005.
In recent months the information surrounding the PSP has focussed on crucial issues such as pricing, battery life and emphasis on the games line-up, with all talk on the movie and music aspects of the device quieting down to a worrying silence. Certainly TVG expressed concerns as to whether movie companies would embrace a new standard after the long-term success of DVDâs, whilst the impact of music on UMDâs has been likened to the failure of Mini-Discs in the commercial market. Sony certainly need the support of rival movie/music companies if they wish this aspect of the PSP to get off the ground, and not finding themselves reliant on the various entertainment labels owned by Sony Corp.
Sadly Kutaragi-san refused to discuss specifics, but did claim that the standard for films was still under discussion with several movie studios, and that a movie line-up and download service wonât be announced for several months.
Moving back to the price point, Kutaragi-san mentioned that an informal survey was conducted at Sonyâs headquarters, in which executives and employees were asked how much they would want to pay for the PSP if they were going to buy one. Because of the machineâs sophisticated features and technology a price-point of $280 was originally mooted, however Nintendoâs announcement of $145 for the Nintendo DS forced a rethink and itâs only because a lot of the PSPâs components are built by Sony themselves that theyâve been able to announce a significantly cheaper price point.
Sony expects to shift 200,000 units within the first shipment, moving closer to 500,000 within Japan before the end of the year, and finally 1 million units by March 31, 2005, just ahead of the formatâs release in the West.
Glyndwr
Date Added:Wed 2nd Jul 2008 17:01
Anonymous
Date Added:Wed 9th Jan 2008 00:31
SD stuff on the Blu-ray discs for PSP viewing.
Anonymous
Date Added:Tue 8th Jan 2008 21:04
Anonymous
Date Added:Tue 8th Jan 2008 18:03
the same size as the Orignal psp but with a hard drive! get the word out maybe they will he... [ Read full comment... ]
Anonymous
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JAZZ-1991
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