HAND-HELD GAMING Nintendo gains upper hand as Sony plays waiting game
With Game Boy, Nintendo has dominated the genre.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Seeking to head off a challenge from video game rival Sony Corp., Nintendo Co. said today that its dual-screen Game Boy player will hit U.S. stores just in time for the crucial holiday shopping season.
Nintendo executives in Japan said the DS, its first new hand-held player in three years, will be available in the United States on Nov. 21 with a suggested retail price of $149.99.
That will give the Kyoto-based company at least a temporary jump on Sony, whose own hand-held game player has been delayed until at least the first quarter of 2005.
Nintendo has sold 170 million Game Boy players since the line was introduced in 1989, according to the company. At least a dozen other portable game devices have been introduced since then, and nearly all have died quickly.
Sony's long-awaited PlayStation Portable could prove a formidable opponent.
Scheduled to be available in the United States in March, the PSP will feature a larger screen than those on the DS. Unlike the DS, which is geared exclusively toward games, analysts expect that the PSP will also function as a digital music and video player. Analysts also predict that it will cost as much as $300.