TOKYO – Sony Corp. is pulling the plug on its
hand-held PlayStation Portable video game machine after 10 years.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment company has been
pushing the successor machine, PlayStation Vita.
Tokyo-based Sony said Tuesday that PSP shipments ended in
North America in January, will end in Japan this month and later this year in
Europe.
Discounts on Vita and downloads are offered to Japanese PSP
owners, but are still undecided for those overseas.
More than 76 million PSP machines were sold, as of two years
ago, the last time a tally was taken. The PSP went on sale in December 2004.
Machines devoted to games are struggling against the
popularity of smartphones and other devices. Sony reported a $1.3 billion loss
for last fiscal year and is expecting to stay in the red this year.
Some analysts say the Vita has not sold in significant
numbers. Sony does not release the cumulative global unit sales of the Vita and
combines it with PSP tallies.
Sony's handheld game machine also faced stiff competition
from Japanese rival Nintendo Co.'s 3DS. But Nintendo has also struggled to keep
momentum going for its game machines.
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