Sony cuts price of PlayStation Portable by $30
SAN FRANCISCO - Sony Corp. said yesterday that it was cutting the price of its PlayStation Portable gaming device by $30, to $170, amid intense competition among game-console rivals, particularly Nintendo Co. Ltd.
SAN FRANCISCO - Sony Corp. said yesterday that it was cutting the price of its PlayStation Portable gaming device by $30, to $170, amid intense competition among game-console rivals, particularly Nintendo Co. Ltd.
It is the first time Sony has officially lowered suggested retail prices on the PSP since its debut in March 2005. Video game publishers and financial analysts have urged Sony to slash hardware prices in recent quarters.
The cut comes two months after Sony's gaming unit posted a third-quarter operating loss of $443 million, largely because of hefty costs for the launch of the PlayStation 3 video game console.
Sony's PlayStation Portable competes primarily against Nintendo's Game Boy and DS. Despite being launched in 2004, the DS - which some retailers sell for as little as $130 - outsold every console in the United States in February, registering 485,000 units sold, according to market researcher the NPD Group Inc.
Nintendo also has been a formidable player in next-generation consoles, traditionally a Sony stronghold.
The Nintendo Wii, released in November, sold 335,000 units during the month, followed by Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 with 228,000 units and Sony's PlayStation 3 with 127,000 units.
Jack Tretton, president and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., of Foster City, Calif., said Sony's price cuts were an effort to make the game more affordable to young gamers.
"We have recently seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price will accelerate that trend," Tretton said in a statement.
