Predictions Of Further PSP Release Delay Floated

Thanks to CNN Money for its article discussing the possible further delay of Sony's PSP handheld. According to the piece: "Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told investors yesterday that his company does not expect the PSP to launch in North America until the second quarter [of 2005]." It's explained: "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." The article also comments on possible PSP battery life issues, suggesting "...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."

Comments

Rich man's toy...

[sammaffei]

This has the feel of Sony knows that the PSP is initially going to be quite exspensive ($300+ range). So, they are delaying until:

1. Some required PSP components drop in price (to bring it in as cheap as possible)
2. Get lots of "Gotta Have" titles at launch to drive sales.
3. Build up a feverish demand so that avid gamers will pay the outrageously high price.

I'm voting for 3 personally.

Sony is not going to win the handheld war if the DS can debut at around half the PSP price. Parents are not going to buy the kiddies an expensive handheld that will be destroyed in a matter of weeks. And, right now, kids are the majority buyers in the handheld market.