March 25, 2005

Sony Hardware PS2 and PSP to Stay at $149 and $249 for Rest of 2005

Sony Computer Entertainment America President and Chief Executive, Kaz Hirai, has gone on record the company plans to keep the price of the PSP and PS2 the same through the holidays due to strong demand outstripping supply.

That is a bummer for those like me who was looking forward to picking up a stand-alone PSP. Currently the PSP is only sold in an outrageous $249 bundle, which includes a copy of Spiderman 2 UMD movie, case, and memory stick rammed down your throat. Also a price cut for the new slim-line PS2 doesn't seem to be in the cards any time soon either.

"Demand for both (Playstation 2 and the PSP) is far outstripping supply," Hirai told Dow Jones Newswires. "They should stay at these prices for a good long time - the holiday season and beyond. And that doesn't reflect demand there," Hirai said. "We were supply constrained, because we had to divert much of that supply to the U.S. for launch." Source: Dow Jones