Sony's New PSP Campaign Opens with Price Cut

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Sony has announced a price cut in its PlayStation Portable handheld console. With a drop in price from $199.99 to $169.99 Sony has made the handheld more marketable to the 13 to 70 year-old demographic, the focus of its most recent ad campaign.

In the press release, Jack Tretton, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America said, "We have always been passionate about making great entertainment accessible to everyone, and the new price for PSP, as well as the continued growth of the 'Greatest Hits' library, reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting and expanding the PSP community," He's also proud of how well sales have been doing: "We are pleased that we are able to engineer savings for the consumer at this stage of PSP's lifecycle, allowing more individuals to experience PSP for the first time. In particular, we have recently seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price will accelerate that trend"

PSP sales reached 25 million in 2006, just bare edging out the 23 million DS shipment Nintendo managed to sell last year. The PSP appears to be a legitimate challenger for the top position, in the handheld console wars. Sony also sites increased software developer support, and software sales as a catalyst for growth.

According to the press release, "Software shipments increased to more than 90 million units* last year, and the platform is poised for further growth this year with a software release schedule that includes exclusive titles from major franchises, including God of War®, Ratchet & Clank®, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, and Syphon Filter®. The availability of Daxter and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror at $19.99 (MSRP) as part of the "Greatest Hits" program also will generate strong consumer interest and drive software sales."