With its beautiful screen, visuals on par with some of today’s console games, and multimedia capabilities, Sony’s PlayStation Portable is launching an all-out attack on the handheld market. And the company just dropped the big one: the machine’s price.

Last month when Sony announced that its slick-looking handheld would launch in Japan on December 12, it also revealed that PSP would cost 19,800 yen, which is roughly $185. The news was quite unexpected since most in the financial community had for months been predicting a price of $300. “I was very surprised by the cost of PSP,” admits analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities. “Sony surprised us all.”

And if history has taught us anything, you can expect an even better bargain when PSP heads to the United States. “If you look at any consumer electronics launch, the price of the product in Japan has always been the highest,” says Pachter. “It’ll retail for something lower than $185 over here.” A Sony spokesperson tells us that all details concerning the U.S. launch—including price and on-shelf date—will be revealed some time after PSP’s Japanese debut (though she says that the handheld is still on track to release by the end of March 2005).

So what’s the likelihood that the price could dip all the way down to $150 and go head-to-head with the new Nintendo DS? “I don’t think $150 is very likely for PSP,” says another analyst. “I just don’t see how Sony could justify its business model at that price.” Yeah, and not too long ago people also said that PSP couldn’t possibly cost less than $300....

Is DS in Trouble?

Even with PlayStation Portable ringing up at under $200, analyst Michael Pachter isn’t worried about Nintendo’s newly released dual-screen handheld and its chances for success. “Sure, [PSP] is now in a much better position to compete with DS, but I believe Sony and Nintendo are targeting different consumers with their products. PSP will attract the 17 and older crowd, while DS will skew younger.”

The Battery: It’s a Matter of Life and Death

Aside from PlayStation Portable’s price and launch date, the other big question surrounding the handheld has been its battery life. Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Ken Kutaragi confirmed that a fully charged battery will, on average, last four to six hours when playing games and four to five hours when watching movies. But there’s a catch: He later admitted that those stats will fluctuate depending on the type of game being played. “A puzzle game will last longer [than six hours],” said Kutaragi. “But [a game like] Ridge Racer will probably be shorter than [four hours].” Eventually, Kutaragi hopes that Sony can produce a battery for the machine that will last the length of a flight from Japan to New York City (which usually clocks in at 13 to 14 hours).

Them’s Fightin’ Words

After hearing the news about PSP’s surprisingly low price, Yasuhiro Minagawa, head of public relations for Nintendo, told Bloomberg Japan, “That’s not a game machine. They showed [PSP] at the Tokyo Game Show without any fundamental game software, and you can tell that it’s not complete.” So what was Sony’s reaction to those rather critical remarks? “People who want to play with Pikachu will need Nintendo’s new-style DS machine,” said Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Ken Kutaragi. “But those who want to play our racing game Gran Turismo 4 will need a PSP, right?” We take it Kutaragi is one of those passive-aggressive types....

Fulfilling Another Fantasy

The Final Fantasy VII fanboys must be in their glory. Not only will Square Enix release spin-offs in the form of a CG-animated movie (Advent Children) and a PlayStation 2 shooter starring antihero Vincent Valentine (Dirge of Cerberus) by the end of 2005, the company also just announced a FFVII-based action-RPG for PSP. Unfortunately, all we know is that the game is titled Crisis Core and it will arrive on Sony’s handheld in 2006. Wonder if by that time Square will produce the one thing fans really desire: a true sequel to this PS1 role-playing classic.

Jocks, Jedis, and Other PSP Developments

PSP—like its big brother, PlayStation 2—continues to attract a ton of third-party support. Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst recently revealed that the publishing powerhouse has added two more games (making the grand total six) to its PSP launch lineup, MVP Baseball and FIFA Soccer. LucasArts is teaming up with Ubisoft’s Montreal development house (Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia) to create a PSP title based on next May’s highly anticipated flick, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (the game is heading to Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance as well). Dark Cloud and Dragon Warrior VIII developer Level 5 plans to make an all-new role-playing game for the handheld, and finally, Majesco will bring author Orson Scott Card’s sci-fi universe to PSP with the actioner Advent Shadow.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly.