But retailers said the product would be a welcome addition to the popular PlayStation family which enabled Sony to take the home-use console market by storm as a new entrant with the launch of the first version in 1994.
A combined 170 million units of all PlayStation versions have been sold worldwide so far, according to Sony.
"The PlayStation series has always sold well. I think the new portable console will also be a hit," said the sales manager at TomoTech electronics store in Akihabara, who identified himself only as Higuchi.
"Generally speaking, new portable products always appeal to consumers wanting to show off new gadgets to friends. I think the PlayStation Portable will give game players another opportunity to do that," he said.
But until the price is announced, software makers cannot decide what resources to commit to the PSP business, said analyst Oka. "Only then we can forecast whether the PSP will have a good range of game titles."
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