Sony is considering building a mobile phone of the PlayStation Portable. It would be the PSP combined with a Sony Ericsson phone. A team may be put together for this project starting as early as a month from now. This type of device won’t be available for at least a year from now.
This would be an interesting way to challenge Apple considering that the iPhone company makes substantial revenue through game applications sold on iTunes. Game publishing companies Electronic Arts, SEGA, Capcom, etc. are all very active in creating games for the iPhone and Sony PSP. Aside from selling games on the PlayStation Store, Sony will be selling TV shows and movies.
As of this past February, Sony announced to have over 20 million users on the PlayStation Network and sold above 50 million PSP devices.
Sony European Product Manager Adam Grant has given away some of the details about the Sony PSPgo. The battery life on the Sony PSPgo has not been improved much since the PSP. The cables of the PSPgo are actually different from the PSP.
“We have adopted an embedded battery to realise a smaller and lighter PSP system,” stated Grant. “The battery life is equivalent with the current models meaning approximately 3 to 6 hours for gameplays and approximately 3 to 5 hours for playing back videos.”
Sony has also changed the specifications of the cables on the system. ”We have reduced the size of the USB connector and introduced multi-function features which has allowed us to obtain a smaller and lighter PSP,” added Grant. “As such the peripherals for the current PSP models do not currently work on PSPgo however we are considering introducing a special attachment that can connect current peripherals to PSPgo.”
Three of the new functions in the PSPgo include:
- Game sleep: THe XrossMediaBar can be used while suspending gameplay temporarily
- Bluetooth: Gives the ability to use wireless headphones to listen to music, games, and videos
- Clock and calendar application: The clock and calendar application can be found when the sliding panel is open or closed
According to Chinese website VGSky.com, a lime green colored Sony PSP may be on the way. The lime green PSP-3000 was spotted in a factory in China. However it is not known whether this will be a prototype or actually be sent into production.
There are several potentially interesting colors on the way to U.S. soil. This includes the carnival set (radiant red, vibrant blue, yellow, and dark green) as well as lilac.
Several weeks ago, Microsoft claimed to have about 17 million active users on Xbox Live. There are about 28 million Xbox 360 units that have sold so that makes it about 60% of those who own the console are also on the online service. Basic services are free and the advanced online feature is about $50 per year. About 56% of those who own use Xbox Live pay for the service.
Recently a Microsoft document somehow leaked to the press and revealed that about 56% of the 28 million consoles sold pay for the service. That is about 15.7 million people paying and it comes out to be about $784 million revenue for Microsoft.
Yesterday Sony announced that they have about 20 million users on the PlayStation Network. This includes people using the PSP and PSIII. The PSIII has about 20 million units sold The PSP shifted about 50 million units worldwide. The Playstation Network has about $180 million in download sales to date. Its unclear how much the Playstation Network makes from an overall standpoint.
Based on these numbers, it seems like that the console wars are pretty close in terms of converting users from playing in the living room to playing with people online. And both companies are making a healthy revenue doing so.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. has found a way to get young girls interested in their device. Sony announced that they have created a PSP in lilac color and it comes bundled with a Hannah Montana rhythm game. The PSP comes with a 2GB memory stick PRO Duo and stickers. Ubisoft is creating a Petz line for the PSP later this year for kids to “create and care for cute, furry pets chosen from many different breeds of dogs, cats, horses, hamsters, dolphins, tigers and bunnies.”
