From the Associated Press:
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS September 2, 2008, 5:21AM ET text
size: TT Sony unveils improved PlayStation Portable
By YURI KAGEYAMA
TOKYO
Sales are improving in Japan for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation
Portable handheld video game machine, and a beefed up version with a clearer
display is expected to add momentum, a senior executive said Tuesday.
The portable game machine faces tough competition from
Nintendo DS -- the handheld machine from the Japanese manufacturer of Pokemon and Super Mario games. Nintendo also has a big hit in the Wii home console
that's battering Sony's PlayStation 3 in sales.
The revamped PlayStation Portable with the improved
liquid crystal display and a built-in microphone will go on sale Oct. 16 in
Japan at the same price of the previous model 19,800 yen ($180), said Shawn
Layden, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan.
The machine called PSP-3000 is also being promised for
the U.S. and Europe next month.
Layden said the PSP was gaining popularity in Japan,
nearly doubling in sales for this year's first eight months compared to the
previous year.
People are increasingly using it to listen to music,
watch video and access the Internet on the go, he said at a Tokyo hotel.
"The PlayStation Portable can be called a
PlayStation Personal," he told reporters. "It has become a lifestyle
tool for owners."
Sony also unveiled a service planned for later this year
in Japan that will allow several PSP machines to play games together, even if
they aren't in the same room, by connecting to the Internet through PlayStation
3 machines.
Layden said details will be released later.
Competition among game makers is intensifying ahead of
the year-end shopping season.
Sony has sold about 41 million PSP machines globally --
10 million in Japan.
Nintendo has sold 77.5 million Nintendo DS handheld
devices worldwide, nearly 23 million in Japan.
On top of that, Nintendo has scored success with its
predecessor GameBoy series, selling more than a 100 million GameBoys cumulative
worldwide.
On Monday, price cuts for Japan were announced for
Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 home consoles. The Xbox 360 has been struggling in
Japan, a market dominated by the locals, Sony and Nintendo.
Microsoft doesn't disclose how many of the cumulative 20
million Xbox 360 machines sold worldwide were Japan sales. But it is widely
viewed to be fewer than numbers sold elsewhere.
The Wii console has been popular, selling 29.6 million
worldwide so far. PS3 sales have lagged at fewer than half of the Wii at 14.4
million.
Also shown Tuesday was footage from game software planned
for the PlayStation Portable later this year, including "Gundam Vs.
Gundam" from Bandai Namco Games and "Dissidia Final Fantasy"
from Square Enix Co. Both are part of a game series that are extremely popular
in Japan.