Sony Says It Has Shipped 510,000 PSP Consoles, Exceeding Goal


*Sony Says It Has Shipped 510,000 PSP Consoles, Exceeding Goal* Source: Bloomburg News
Sony Corp., the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, shipped 510,000 PlayStation Portables last year, exceeding its target for the new hand-held game player. Sony sold 10,000 more PlayStation Portables last year than initially expected, Ken Kutaragi, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., told a group of reporters at a gathering of Japanese executives today in Tokyo. Sony's first portable game machine, also known as the PSP, sold out at many retailers in Japan within hours of its debut on Dec. 12. Sony plans to introduce the PSP outside Japan this business year as originally planned, Kutaragi said. The new device, which plays music and video as well as games, is part of Tokyo-based Sony's push to raise its electronics unit's profit margins to 10 percent by 2006. Sony expects by March 31 to ship 3 million PSPs. The gadget is the latest examples of Sony's efforts to combine its entertainment and electronics divisions. A shortage of "semiconductors, is the main problem why production can't match demand,'' Kutaragi said. "I knew that we would be short on hardware but we sold more games than expected.'' Tokyo-based market researcher Media Create Co. estimated last month that Sony sold 171,963 PSPs on its first day of availability.