Archived from groups: alt.games.video.sony-playstation2,alt.games.video.xbox,alt.games.video.nintendo.gameboy.advance (More info?)
This is news for GAMERS so don't go accusing me of Trolling.
Sony, Nintendo Wow Games Fans with New Handhelds
Wed 12 May, 2004 06:14
By Ben Berkowitz and Daisuke Wakabayashi
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp. threw down the gauntlet to handheld
video game leader Nintendo Co Ltd on Tuesday, unveiling its new
PlayStation Portable (PSP) with far-reaching multimedia capabilities.
Not to be outdone, Nintendo took the wraps off its own new portable
game machine, the dual-screened DS that promises to intensify a
budding war in the handheld game market.
"PSP will enter an already crowded marketplace, but one with many
opportunities," Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive of Sony
Computer Entertainment of America, told a packed audience at a
downtown studio complex here.
At stake is a market that Jupiter Research forecast this week would
grow from $1.6 billion in revenue in 2003 to $2.7 billion by 2009.
Both DS and PSP offer wireless connectivity for multiplayer gaming and
feature bright, wide screens.
Games on the PSP are almost as high quality as on Sony's PlayStation 2
console and the device also plays music and DVD-quality movies.
"As a gaming machine, I'm not as excited. For someone looking for a
multi-functional digital entertainment device, it may look quite
attractive," said Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities in Tokyo.
Nintendo's DS features two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive,
and can play games from its current Game Boy Advance series.
Kyoto-based Nintendo's success against other machines, often more
technically advanced than the Game Boy, relies heavily on alluring
software franchises such as Pokemon and Mario.
UNBEATEN AGAINST NINE COMPETITORS
The company said it would continue to count on such titles to fend off
challengers to its portable market dominance.
"Nine serious competitors have made a run at Game Boy Advance in the
last 15 years, but nine have failed," said George Harrison, Nintendo's
senior vice president of marketing.
One of those, according to Nintendo, is mobile phone leader Nokia
Determined to stay in the games business, despite the poor performance
of its first gaming phone, the N-Gage, Nokia announced eight new
titles for its successor, N-Gage QD.
The PSP is the most significant hardware release in four years for
Sony's game business, which accounts for two-thirds of the
conglomerate's profit and has helped offset heavy losses from its
mainstay electronics business.
And the challenge from Microsoft Corp's Xbox and other game consoles
has not gone unnoticed. The company said it would cut the price of its
premier PlayStation 2 console by up to 25 percent in the United States
to match the Xbox.
Sony's Ken Kutaragi, known as the father of the PlayStation, calls the
PSP the "Walkman of the 21st Century," and analysts say that like the
Walkman cassette and CD players of the last century, its success will
depend greatly on the price.
Neither Sony nor Nintendo gave any details on pricing, though
conventional wisdom in the industry has it that the DS will end up
somewhere around $149 and the PSP $50 to $100 more.
"(Nintendo) says it'll be affordable, but there is so much
functionality that it's going to be quite a challenge for them to get
the price below $150," Kamide said.
The handheld is becoming an increasingly important earnings generator
for Nintendo. Its GameCube console has also faced stiff competition
from the Xbox.
GameBoy Advance shipped 18 million units in the past business year to
March 31, powered by demand for new Pokemon games. Analysts forecast
that Nintendo makes 35 cents in profit for every dollar worth of
GameBoy software it sells.
Nokia's QD is expected to be less expensive than the PSP and DS
because of mobile carrier subsidies, and the company has managed to
attract commitments from the largest game publishers in the industry,
adding Atari Inc and Capcom Co Ltd this week.
This is news for GAMERS so don't go accusing me of Trolling.
Sony, Nintendo Wow Games Fans with New Handhelds
Wed 12 May, 2004 06:14
By Ben Berkowitz and Daisuke Wakabayashi
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp. threw down the gauntlet to handheld
video game leader Nintendo Co Ltd on Tuesday, unveiling its new
PlayStation Portable (PSP) with far-reaching multimedia capabilities.
Not to be outdone, Nintendo took the wraps off its own new portable
game machine, the dual-screened DS that promises to intensify a
budding war in the handheld game market.
"PSP will enter an already crowded marketplace, but one with many
opportunities," Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive of Sony
Computer Entertainment of America, told a packed audience at a
downtown studio complex here.
At stake is a market that Jupiter Research forecast this week would
grow from $1.6 billion in revenue in 2003 to $2.7 billion by 2009.
Both DS and PSP offer wireless connectivity for multiplayer gaming and
feature bright, wide screens.
Games on the PSP are almost as high quality as on Sony's PlayStation 2
console and the device also plays music and DVD-quality movies.
"As a gaming machine, I'm not as excited. For someone looking for a
multi-functional digital entertainment device, it may look quite
attractive," said Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities in Tokyo.
Nintendo's DS features two screens, one of which is touch-sensitive,
and can play games from its current Game Boy Advance series.
Kyoto-based Nintendo's success against other machines, often more
technically advanced than the Game Boy, relies heavily on alluring
software franchises such as Pokemon and Mario.
UNBEATEN AGAINST NINE COMPETITORS
The company said it would continue to count on such titles to fend off
challengers to its portable market dominance.
"Nine serious competitors have made a run at Game Boy Advance in the
last 15 years, but nine have failed," said George Harrison, Nintendo's
senior vice president of marketing.
One of those, according to Nintendo, is mobile phone leader Nokia
Determined to stay in the games business, despite the poor performance
of its first gaming phone, the N-Gage, Nokia announced eight new
titles for its successor, N-Gage QD.
The PSP is the most significant hardware release in four years for
Sony's game business, which accounts for two-thirds of the
conglomerate's profit and has helped offset heavy losses from its
mainstay electronics business.
And the challenge from Microsoft Corp's Xbox and other game consoles
has not gone unnoticed. The company said it would cut the price of its
premier PlayStation 2 console by up to 25 percent in the United States
to match the Xbox.
Sony's Ken Kutaragi, known as the father of the PlayStation, calls the
PSP the "Walkman of the 21st Century," and analysts say that like the
Walkman cassette and CD players of the last century, its success will
depend greatly on the price.
Neither Sony nor Nintendo gave any details on pricing, though
conventional wisdom in the industry has it that the DS will end up
somewhere around $149 and the PSP $50 to $100 more.
"(Nintendo) says it'll be affordable, but there is so much
functionality that it's going to be quite a challenge for them to get
the price below $150," Kamide said.
The handheld is becoming an increasingly important earnings generator
for Nintendo. Its GameCube console has also faced stiff competition
from the Xbox.
GameBoy Advance shipped 18 million units in the past business year to
March 31, powered by demand for new Pokemon games. Analysts forecast
that Nintendo makes 35 cents in profit for every dollar worth of
GameBoy software it sells.
Nokia's QD is expected to be less expensive than the PSP and DS
because of mobile carrier subsidies, and the company has managed to
attract commitments from the largest game publishers in the industry,
adding Atari Inc and Capcom Co Ltd this week.
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