Archived from groups: alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance,rec.games.video.sony,alt.games.video.sony-playstation2,alt.games.video.sony-playstation,rec.games.video.nintendo (More info?)
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/18/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm
Another delay for Sony's PSP?
Activision CEO predicts Game Boy competitor won't hit U.S. until as
late as June 2005.
August 18, 2004: 3:38 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Sony, which has already delayed the U.S. launch
of its PSP (PlayStation Portable) from the 2004 holiday season to the
first quarter of 2005, might be forced to push back the handheld
gaming system even further, according to the CEO of a major video game
publisher.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told investors yesterday that his company
does not expect the PSP to launch in North America until the second
quarter, according to an analyst note from P.J. McNealy of American
Technology Research. That could conceivably push the system's launch
back to June 2005.
Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) disputed Kotick's statement.
"We have not discussed or given any indication that an adjustment to
the PSP launch window is on the horizon," said Molly Smith, director
of public relations for Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Wall Street, though, is skeptical of Sony's timetable.
"We have maintained that it has been at best a 50-50 proposition that
Sony will make its scheduled holiday 2004 Japan launch, and any delay
in the Japan launch would likely push the North American launch out of
the March quarter," wrote McNealy. "We believe the next significant
update from Sony (including any possible schedule changes) will come
in late September at the Tokyo Games Show."
Boasting roughly the same graphical quality as the PlayStation2, the
handheld PSP will play movies and digital music in addition to games.
Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, when
introducing the machine in 2003, called "the Walkman of the 21st
century". Games and other forms of entertainment will be stored on a
new device known as the Universal Media Disc, which Sony said will
hold three times as much data as a CD-ROM.
The PSP will play games, movies and music.
While the system has received significant consumer and developer
interest (nearly 100 publishers have committed to make games for it),
Sony has not been particularly forthcoming with several details.
Foremost among those has been the PSP's price. Most analysts and
executives expect the device will retail for somewhere between $199
and $349, but Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell caused a stir in June when he
predicted the PSP would retail for as much as $500.
Battery life remains a big question mark as well. In May, Sony
predicted gamers would be able to play for roughly 10 hours before
having to recharge the device's lithium-ion battery. Listening to
music, it said, would result in a battery life of approximately eight
hours. And when it's used as a portable movie player, the PSP's
battery would last 2.5 hours.
Developers were openly skeptical of those numbers immediately. And
those putting games together for the system say Sony has urged them to
avoid streaming game levels from the Universal Media Disk, to lengthen
the system's battery life. (Peripherals such as CD drives, which are
similar to the UMD, drain batteries faster.)
The PSP was originally scheduled to go on sale worldwide this holiday
season. In February, Sony pushed back the U.S. launch of the system to
the first quarter of 2005, but said it still planned to launch on
schedule in Japan.
Software publisher earnings aren't likely to be greatly affected if
the system does get further delayed. Electronic Arts (ERTS: Research,
Estimates) and Activision (ATVI: Research, Estimates) have modest
sales expectations for initial games, said McNealy. And THQ's (THQI:
Research, Estimates) guidance included no revenue from PSP software
through March of next year.
Any delay could only work in Nintendo's favor, however. Its GameBoy
Advance is the machine to beat in the portable gaming market – and
many industry insiders question whether Sony will be able to assume a
market leader position in the field. Meanwhile, Nintendo remains on
track to release a second handheld gaming system this holiday.
The Nintendo DS will feature two screens and a touchpad, and will
include Wi-Fi capabilities. In addition to proprietary software, the
DS will also be backward compatible with all previous GameBoy titles.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/18/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm
Another delay for Sony's PSP?
Activision CEO predicts Game Boy competitor won't hit U.S. until as
late as June 2005.
August 18, 2004: 3:38 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Sony, which has already delayed the U.S. launch
of its PSP (PlayStation Portable) from the 2004 holiday season to the
first quarter of 2005, might be forced to push back the handheld
gaming system even further, according to the CEO of a major video game
publisher.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told investors yesterday that his company
does not expect the PSP to launch in North America until the second
quarter, according to an analyst note from P.J. McNealy of American
Technology Research. That could conceivably push the system's launch
back to June 2005.
Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) disputed Kotick's statement.
"We have not discussed or given any indication that an adjustment to
the PSP launch window is on the horizon," said Molly Smith, director
of public relations for Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Wall Street, though, is skeptical of Sony's timetable.
"We have maintained that it has been at best a 50-50 proposition that
Sony will make its scheduled holiday 2004 Japan launch, and any delay
in the Japan launch would likely push the North American launch out of
the March quarter," wrote McNealy. "We believe the next significant
update from Sony (including any possible schedule changes) will come
in late September at the Tokyo Games Show."
Boasting roughly the same graphical quality as the PlayStation2, the
handheld PSP will play movies and digital music in addition to games.
Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, when
introducing the machine in 2003, called "the Walkman of the 21st
century". Games and other forms of entertainment will be stored on a
new device known as the Universal Media Disc, which Sony said will
hold three times as much data as a CD-ROM.
The PSP will play games, movies and music.
While the system has received significant consumer and developer
interest (nearly 100 publishers have committed to make games for it),
Sony has not been particularly forthcoming with several details.
Foremost among those has been the PSP's price. Most analysts and
executives expect the device will retail for somewhere between $199
and $349, but Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell caused a stir in June when he
predicted the PSP would retail for as much as $500.
Battery life remains a big question mark as well. In May, Sony
predicted gamers would be able to play for roughly 10 hours before
having to recharge the device's lithium-ion battery. Listening to
music, it said, would result in a battery life of approximately eight
hours. And when it's used as a portable movie player, the PSP's
battery would last 2.5 hours.
Developers were openly skeptical of those numbers immediately. And
those putting games together for the system say Sony has urged them to
avoid streaming game levels from the Universal Media Disk, to lengthen
the system's battery life. (Peripherals such as CD drives, which are
similar to the UMD, drain batteries faster.)
The PSP was originally scheduled to go on sale worldwide this holiday
season. In February, Sony pushed back the U.S. launch of the system to
the first quarter of 2005, but said it still planned to launch on
schedule in Japan.
Software publisher earnings aren't likely to be greatly affected if
the system does get further delayed. Electronic Arts (ERTS: Research,
Estimates) and Activision (ATVI: Research, Estimates) have modest
sales expectations for initial games, said McNealy. And THQ's (THQI:
Research, Estimates) guidance included no revenue from PSP software
through March of next year.
Any delay could only work in Nintendo's favor, however. Its GameBoy
Advance is the machine to beat in the portable gaming market – and
many industry insiders question whether Sony will be able to assume a
market leader position in the field. Meanwhile, Nintendo remains on
track to release a second handheld gaming system this holiday.
The Nintendo DS will feature two screens and a touchpad, and will
include Wi-Fi capabilities. In addition to proprietary software, the
DS will also be backward compatible with all previous GameBoy titles.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram