Europe Might Have To Wait for PSP

According to rumors based on a comment from a Sony (NYSE: SNE) spokesperson, the company has chosen to satisfy the American market's hunger for its new PSP (Playstation Portable) and delay the launch of the product in Europe and parts of Asia, a move one analyst said made strategic sense.

"Over the long haul, Europe can be expected to account for over 30 percent of the portable market," David Cole, president of DFC Intelligence, told TechNewsWorld.

"However, with the launch of a new system like the PSP, Sony is very supply-constrained. It makes sense to do a U.S. launch first because the U.S. is one unified market as opposed to Europe, which is more challenging because it is several diverse markets. Sony would probably like to launch in all markets at once, but logistics just make that extremely difficult."

US Launch March 24

The hand-held console, which can play music and video files as well as games, will be available in the United States on March 24, but only as part of a $250 "value pack," Sony said.

The bundle comes with 32 MB Memory Stick Duo expansion card, headphones, battery pack, A/C adapter and a package of game demonstrations. The first million packs will also contain a copy of the movie "Spider-Man 2."

PSP uses Sony's proprietary Universal Media discs (UMD) for storage, and the movie will be in that format. The unit will play MP3s and MPEG4s, but files must be stored on UMDs.

Sales Figures

The PSP debuted in Japan in December, where consumers snatched up 200,000 on its first day of release. By the beginning of January, that number was above half a million.

Japanese sales of the rival Nintendo DS were at 1.3 million, but in a weekly comparison, the PSP outsold the DS in late January for the first time.

Nintendo's DS costs US$199 and has been out in the United States since November.

Rumor Mill

The rumor stems from comments made by Japan-based Sony spokesperson Kenichi Fukunaga, who is reported to have said that "because demand for PSPs is surpassing production capacity, we are now reconsidering the timing of sales in Europe and Asia."

It could be months after the U.S. release before the PSP is released in Europe and the rest of Asia.

"By summer, we will be able to manage to meet global demand as our production capacity will be raised to two million units a month," Fukunaga said.

Sony said 24 PSP games would be available within two weeks of the launch. Prices for the games will start at $40. Nintendo DS game prices start at $30.