Sony Computer Entertainment America Answers Consumer Demand For PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable) With One Million Unit Launch Shipment

Retail Gears Up for Biggest Consumer Product Launch of 2005

News by GamesIndustry.biz Contributor

Published on March 2, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 1, 2005 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. today confirmed its plan to increase the initial launch shipment of the highly anticipated PSP^TM (PlayStation^® Portable) handheld entertainment system to one million units. Extraordinary consumer response to PSP on a global scale has led to the company making an upward revision in preparation for its North American launch on March 24. This figure is part of the company's overall three million-unit worldwide shipment estimate by the close of its fiscal year ending March 31.

The company will release a single-SKU configuration called the PSP Value Pack for a suggested retail price of $249.99. In addition to the revolutionary PSP hardware, the PSP Value Pack contains an unprecedented added-value package of accessories and entertainment content, including 32 MB Memory Stick Duo^TM, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case, wrist strap and cleaning cloth, game/movie/music video sampler UMD disc including multiple non-interactive game demos, and for the first one million PSP Value Packs shipped, a special UMD video release of the feature film Spider-Man^TM 2 from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

PSP is also host to an unsurpassed line-up of 24 titles available in North America during the launch timeframe. With a library more than triple that of its closest competitor, and an additional 23 titles currently in development in North America, PSP will launch with a broad cross section of entertainment genres and support from publishing leaders Activision, Capcom, Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, Koei, Konami, Namco, and Sony Online Entertainment.

"Moving into this new year we knew that PSP has the potential to become the consumer must-have' product of 2005 and beyond," said Jack Tretton, executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Having one million units available on day one demonstrates our commitment to getting a PSP in the hands of as many consumers as possible right out of the gate."

PSP released in Japan on December 12, 2004 and is already a runaway hit, with more than 1.18 million units shipped to date. As a key device for the company, PSP sets a new standard as the first truly integrated portable entertainment system designed to provide consumers with a comprehensive entertainment experience, including games, music, movies, communication, and wireless networking. Featuring graphics rendering capabilities comparable to its sister product, the PlayStation^® 2 computer entertainment system, PSP brings an unparalleled gaming experience to a portable platform, allowing users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality, full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PSP also allows for digital photo display and supports digital music playback in both MP3 and ATRAC formats.

PSP features an unmatched 4.3-inch, 16:9 wide screen TFT LCD that displays full color (16.77 million colors) on a 480 x 272 pixel high-resolution screen. PSP also comes complete with built-in stereo speakers, exterior headphone connector and diverse input/output connectors such as USB 2.0, and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless LAN, enabling users to connect to the Internet and play online via a wireless network. Up to 16 PSP systems in the vicinity can also be connected to each other directly in ad-hoc mode, allowing for wireless head-to-head competition. In addition, wireless capabilities will allow software and data to be downloaded to a PSP and saved onto a Memory Stick Duo.

PSP also adopts a newly developed proprietary, compact, but high-capacity optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD^TM ) as its storage medium. UMD is the next-generation compact storage media, only 60mm in diameter but can store up to 1.8GB of digital data more than three times the data held on a CD-ROM. A broad range of digital entertainment content such as high quality 3D games, music, movies, video clips and other programs can be distributed on UMD. To protect this content, a robust copyright protection system has been developed for UMD.

About PSP^TM (PlayStation^® Portable)

PSP^TM (PlayStation^® Portable) is a new handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. With graphics rendering capability comparable to that of PlayStation^®2, PSP features a 4.3 inch wide screen, high-resolution TFT display. PSP also adopts a newly developed compact but high-capacity (1.8GB) optical disc, Universal Media Disc (UMD^TM ), as its storage medium. With a wide range of accessories and connectivity options, including Memory Stick Duo, USB 2.0, IR port and Wi-Fi wireless LAN, PSP is the new entertainment platform from PlayStation.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation^® and PS one^TM game console, the PlayStation^®2 computer entertainment system and the PSP^TM (PlayStation^® Portable) handheld entertainment system. The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era. PSP is a new portable entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PSP handheld entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

PlayStation and the PlayStation logo and UMD are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PSP is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, ATRAC3plus and MagicGate are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

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