Sony, Nintendo Pursue Different Paths





Sony Corp. introduced a smaller and lighter PlayStation Portable game machine and Nintendo Co. unveiled a slate of new games for its Wii console, as the two companies pursue diverging strategies to capture the attention of videogame market.

Sony's new PSP Go device is designed to download games, movies and music, as the company seeks to distinguish itself in the increasingly crowded market for handheld gadgets.

Nintendo, meanwhile, introduced new titles such as an upgrade to its popular Wii Fit exercise game and a new Super Mario Bros. title, as it faces slowing demand for its Wii console after years of scorching growth.

It is not clear if the announcements, made at the E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles, will excite videogame fans. The Nintendo crowd was largely silent, mustering little more than polite applause. The audience at Sony's event was more boisterous, and cheered a few of Sony's upcoming games.

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft Corp. all are highlighting new offerings at the convention to keep players loyal to their platforms. On Monday, Microsoft unveiled its Natal 3D camera, which senses the motion of a player's body and is meant to compete against Nintendo's Wii controller.

Nintendo's DS handheld dominates the portable gaming market, having sold more than 100 million units since its 2004 launch. Sony's PSP has sold more than 50 million units, and the company expects to sell another 15 million units by March 31, 2010.

Sony's new PSP Go will come with a slide-in controller and a slightly smaller screen than the current model. It includes wireless capabilities and more memory, so users can download games and other content to it instead of buying packaged games.

Sony is pushing its online PlayStation Network, which the company wants to make into a destination for downloadable games, movies and music, much like how Apple Inc.'s iPhone has created a market for simple mobile phone applications.

Sony says the new PSP is 50% smaller and 40% lighter than the current PSP-3000 model, which will continue to be sold. The PSP Go will go on sale in the U.S. and Europe on Oct. 1 for $249 or 249 euros. It will be available in Japan on Nov. 1 for 26,800 yen ($277). The PSP-3000 now costs about $170 in the U.S.

At its event, Nintendo also teased a new piece of hardware called the Wii Vitality Sensor, but revealed few details except that it could gauge a player's pulse.

索

尼(Sony Corp.)推出了更轻巧的PlayStation Portable游戏机，任天堂(Nintendo Co.)为其Wii游戏机推出了多款新游戏，显示这两家公司为吸引游戏市场的注意而采取了不同的策略。

索尼的新款PSP Go游戏机可以下载游戏、电影和音乐，这家公司希望在竞争越来越激烈的手持设备市场中突出自己的特点。



Getty Images



索尼游戏部门总裁平井一夫在展示新款的PSP GO



与此同时，面对Wii游戏机在多年强劲增长后需求的放缓，任天堂推出了深受欢迎的Wii Fit健身游戏的升级版和新款超级玛丽(Super Mario Bros.)游戏。

还不清楚在洛杉矶E3视频游戏大会上宣布的这些消息是否令游戏迷们感到兴奋。任天堂的追随者除了礼节性的鼓掌之外基本没有更多表示，现场的索尼观众反响更为热烈，对索尼即将推出的几款游戏发出了欢呼。

任天堂、索尼和微软(Microsoft Corp.)都在大会上突出展示了它们的新产品，以保持玩家对其平台的忠诚度。周一，微软发布了Natal 3D摄影机，它可以感受到玩家身体的运动，将成为任天堂Wii控制器的有力竞争者。

任天堂的DS游戏机主导了便携式游戏市场，自2004年推出以来已售出了1亿多部。索尼的PSP总共售出了5,000多万部，索尼预计到2010年3月31日之前还将再售出1,500万部。

索尼的新款PSP Go游戏机将配有滑动控制器，屏幕也小于目前的型号。它还包括无线功能和更大的内存，因此用户可以下载游戏等内容，而无需购买成套的游戏。

索尼正在主推其PlayStation Network网络，希望能够成为下载游戏、电影和音乐的场所，同苹果(Apple Inc.)的iPhone为简单的手机应用程序带来的市场非常相似。

索尼说，新款PSP比目前的PSP-3000游戏机要小50%和轻40%。PSP-3000还将继续销售。PSP Go将于10月1日在美国和欧洲上市，售价分别是249美元和249欧元。日本市场将在11月1日开始销售，价格为26,800日圆（合277美元）。目前PSP-3000在美国的售价约为170美元。

任天堂还在会上展示了一款名为Wii Vitality Sensor的新硬件，但除了能够测量玩家的脉搏外，公司没有公布其它细节。