Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. will launch a new portable game console in July called PS one, which will gradually replace its mainstay PlayStation video game consoles, SCE President Ken Kutaragi announced on Thursday.
"PlayStation has sold 73 million units worldwide and we think the product still has a potential. As a result of working on a portable version of PlayStation, we can introduce PS one this year," Kutaragi told a press conference.
Equipped with the basic functions of PlayStation, PS one weighs about 550 grams and is about one-third the size of a PlayStation console. It is priced at 15,000 yen -- the same as a full-size PlayStation.
SCE will also introduce a liquid-crystal monitor for PS one next spring, which will enable users to play video games in a variety of places, instead of having to be connected to their television. However, the game console is not equipped to run on batteries.
SCE will also introduce a cable to connect PS one, PlayStation and PlayStation2 to NTT DoCoMo mobile phones this winter, enabling users to download software programs and exchange data with other users over mobile phones.
SCE launched the PlayStation2 video game console, equipped with a DVD player, on the domestic market in March. It plans to distribute game software, with PlayStation2 as a portal, to homes over broadband cable TV networks in the future.
"We see various activity related to networks going on. A mobile-phone network is the one we can use (for our products) ahead of any other networks," Kutaragi said.
SCE plans to gradually replace PlayStation with PS one. The firm hopes to sell a total of eight million units for PlayStation and PS one during the current fiscal year.