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[Bloomberg] Sony's PlayStation Portable May Face Games Shortage

E

emerge

Member
July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of Sony Corp.'s first handheld game player, the PlayStation Portable, may be hampered by a lack of new games from Sega Corp. and four other Japanese software makers when the console goes on sale in Japan before yearend.

``We don't know if we'll meet Sony's schedule,'' said Sega spokesman Hirofumi Otsuki in Tokyo. ``PlayStation Portable details still seem to be in development.'' Sony has yet to provide all the details needed to write a new game, Otsuki said.

Sony, which gets two-thirds of its annual profit from its games business, is betting the PlayStation Portable will help restore earnings growth by taking some of Nintendo Co.'s 95 percent share of the $4 billion handheld games market. Still, Japan's four biggest independent gamemakers, Konami Corp., Capcom Co., Square Enix Co. and Koei Co., said they won't offer new games for the device.

``Sony is cutting it very fine,'' said Amir Anvarzadeh, director of Japanese equity sales with KBC Financial Products based in London. ``I don't think game developers are generally very happy with the way Sony has approached PSP.''

The company's profit from operations minus production and administrative costs at its games division fell 40 percent to 67.6 billion yen ($620 million) during the year ended March 31, out of a total profit of 98.9 billion yen in that period.

Sony shares gained 20 yen, or 0.5 percent, to 4,020 yen in Tokyo Stock Exchange trading. They have risen 3.3 percent in the last 12 months, lagging the 18.7 percent increase in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

Development Kits

Sony has yet to send the final development kits for PlayStation Portable to any of its outside game publishers, said Yoshiko Furusawa, a spokeswoman with Sony Computer Entertainment in Tokyo. Sony had already sent the final kits to publishers for its best-selling PlayStation 2 home video-game console at a similar stage before its debut in March 2000, Furusawa said.

Konami, Japan's biggest independent games maker, has said it will release three repackaged games for the PlayStation Portable, including a version of ``Frogger,'' which was first released in 1981.

Redwood City, California-based Electronic Arts has said it will have at least four games ready for the PlayStation Portable's debut, including ``NBA Street'' and ``Tiger Woods PGA Tour.''

Sega had planned one new game for the year-end debut, code- named ``Project S,'' said Otsuki. The company is now unsure of being able to meet the deadline, he said.

Capcom, Japan's third largest independent gamemaker by sales, plans three games including one based on the ``Vampire Chronicles,'' while Koei plans a game based on ``Dynasty Warriors,'' according to the companies.

Square Enix

Square Enix, Japan's biggest maker of role-playing games including ``Final Fantasy,'' which has sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, isn't planning any games for the Sony product, said Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of the Tokyo-based company's corporate planning department.

``We are going to wait and see,'' said Sasaki. ``We don't know what kind of console it will be.''

Sony already delayed PlayStation Portable's U.S. debut from the end of this year until March 2005. The company may delay the Japan debut too, analysts said.

``Sony's main market is the U.S. anyway,'' said Masaru Ohnishi, a games industry analyst with JP Morgan Securities Asia in Tokyo. ``They may not feel too much of a sense of urgency, although their image will be hurt.''

Sony says its schedule has not changed.

`No Change'

``We are aiming to launch the PlayStation portable in Japan by the end of the year,'' said Sony's Furukawa. ``That hasn't changed.'' Sony has also delayed the introduction of its PSX combined games console and DVD recorder, because it may not meet U.S. consumer tastes, Dick Komiyama, head of Sony's electronics unit said in an interview last week.

The PlayStation Portable will let users play games, music and videos and may cost between $250 and $400, analysts and investors said.
Click to expand...

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=agkKFD5Q9dbk&refer=japan

Weren't games once supposed to make or break a platform? 250$-400$? The former is steep, the latter is insane. Ah we'll see.
 
B

BuddyC

Member
*sob*

not in response to the news, which really, was already common sense, but rather the atrocity that this thread will become.
 
D

deadhorse32

Bad Art ™
After the "Hype Train" Milhouse INC present

card53.jpg
 
Alcibiades

Alcibiades

Member
I wonder how long "wait and see" will be for SquareSoft...

If Nintendo launches a couple million DS here in the US by Christmas, it's gonna have quite a bit of an edge...
 
T

Trevelyon

Member
`We don't know if we'll meet Sony's schedule,'' said Sega spokesman Hirofumi Otsuki in Tokyo. ``PlayStation Portable details still seem to be in development.'' Sony has yet to provide all the details needed to write a new game, Otsuki said."
Click to expand...

Awwwh what? no half arsed Sonic shitfest to shove down our throats at launch?
 
P

pilonv1

Member
Doesn't every system have issues with launch titles? Nothing new here, it's just going to be a launch with a few original games, plus a bunch of ports from the usual suspects.
 
C

cvxfreak

Member
I doubt people are going to buy PSP for movie portability, so I seriously hope they have a game ready for the Japanese launch.
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
Wow. I mean fucking wow. I knew Sony would fuck up a bit here and there on battery and price and such, but damn! Oh well, I really want the NDS to be a hit, and apparently with the way they're handling the PSP, so does Sony!
 
S

SolidSnakex

Member
Deg said:
No surprise. The list at e3 seemed pretty desperate.
Click to expand...

Probably because E3 never was for unveiling the games, back at E3 2003 they said that 2004's E3 would just be mainly for the hardware and TGS was going ot be for the games.
 
D

Deg

Banned
Lost Weekend said:
apparently with the way they're handling the PSP, so does Sony!
Click to expand...

I dont believe you of course. I think they are playing the game well. Its about the long term. Not about right now. Right now the consoles arent even out.
 
F

FightyF

Banned
A shortage of games didn't stop the PS2 from outselling the DC when it launched. Because it had DVD playback.

If the PSP has something like MP3 playback...it's gonna sell. :)
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
Wasn't the PS2 one of the cheapest options for DVD playback when it released? PSP wouldn't be the cheapest option for MP3 players, that's for sure. No killer app there. It'll be the cheapest option for UMD movies, if that counts for anything.
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
Deg said:
I dont believe you of course. I think they are playing the game well.
Click to expand...

I think they need to convince the third party community that they are playing the game well. It seems that there are a growing number of companies that believe otherwise.
 
D

Deleted member 284

Unconfirmed Member
Square Enix, Japan's biggest maker of role-playing games including ``Final Fantasy,'' which has sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, isn't planning any games for the Sony product, said Michihiro Sasaki, general manager of the Tokyo-based company's corporate planning department.
Click to expand...

Thats pretty interesting.
 
A

Auron

Member
I find it quite humorous that SquareEnix is backing the DS but won't touch the PSP. Time to sell that stock now Sony!
 
E

evilromero

Member
PSP's lack of AAA launch soft is the least of Sony's problems. I don't think this system can even come close to restoring the level of profits the company needs to sustain its future lead.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Fight for Freeform said:
A shortage of games didn't stop the PS2 from outselling the DC when it launched. Because it had DVD playback.

If the PSP has something like MP3 playback...it's gonna sell. :)
Click to expand...

The difference is that back then, even crappy DVD players were $300. Crappy MP3 players are not $300 right now.
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
BuddyChrist83 said:
*sob*

not in response to the news, which really, was already common sense, but rather the atrocity that this thread will become.
Click to expand...


Your abilities are UNCANNY. ;)

And, yeah, this news is common sense, esp. given the fact that Sony themselves have indicated the likelihood of fewer titles than the PS2 launch for example. "6 to 10" quoting Kaz Hirai.
 
M

MrSingh

Member
Shogmaster said:
The difference is that back then, even crappy DVD players were $300. Crappy MP3 players are not $300 right now.
Click to expand...

except PSP wouldn't be an MP3 player, but a crappy ATRAC player (or it would play crappy transcoded MP3).

But ATRAC at 48kbps >>>>>>>>> lossless WMA compression in terms of sound quality!
 
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