Sony Cuts PlayStation Portable Price to Boost Sales

Sony Corp., the world's biggest maker of video-game consoles, cut the price of its PlayStation Portable a second time to attract younger players and win sales from Nintendo Co.'s DS handheld player.

The suggested retail price will drop 15 percent to $169.99 from $199.99 starting today, Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said by telephone.

Sony has sold 7 million PSPs in the U.S., fewer than the 9.9 million DS units sold by Nintendo, according to market researcher NPD Group Inc. Nintendo cut the price of the DS player to $129.99 from $149.99 in August 2005. The average PSP owner is 24 years old. DS owners tend to be children and young teens, Tretton said.

``We can start to reach down to that younger consumer,'' Tretton said.

The PSP was introduced in the U.S. in March 2005, about four months after DS. Sony reduced the price from the original $249.99 last year, Tretton said.

Sony is also introducing games for younger and casual players, including ``Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters,'' about a space-age mechanic who teams up with a robot to save the galaxy from an evil ruler, Tretton said.

Sony American depositary receipts, each equaling one common share, jumped $1.24, or 2.5 percent, to $51.09 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have gained 19 percent this year.

Sony has shipped 25 million of the devices worldwide, with hardware and games accounting for about $3 billion in sales, Tretton said.