Sony Targeting Nintendo’s Market with PSP

Senior Marketing Manager at SCEA’s PSP division John Koller spoke recently to GameDaily about the current state of their business in the portable gaming space.

While Nintendo took home the top two positions in last month’s NPD numbers, the PSP had one of its best months with just over 221,000 units sold during the period. “The PSP is a fantastic growth platform for SCEA and we look at it as a significant revenue driver for us as we continue through the year and beyond,” Koller explained.

Sony’s handheld has found its way into the pockets of an estimated 20 million worldwide, considerably less than that of the DS (40 million). “We do look at the DS as a competitor on the gaming side but we also look at what Apple’s doing with iPod and what Microsoft’s doing with Zune and even what some of the mobile phone companies have been doing with their products, so we can make the PSP that much better,” he said. “I think where the PSP has the opportunity to gain the most traction over the next few years is really in the teen and younger demographic, which Nintendo traditionally has carved out.”

As for the system being a significant source of revenue, a positive internal outlook has the company expecting big things. Koller said that the company had “seen a big volume increase from the price drop, and management is very pleased with where we’ve been and where we’re going. From a revenue perspective, the PSP will be a very important contributor to where the final numbers stack up for SCEA and SCE overall at the end of the year.”

To read the full interview, click the link provided below.