GS: Tell me about the PSP. Who are you aiming that product for?
AH: We think it is the early-end adopter of entertainment product and content. That puts it very firmly in our experience in the 18 to 34-year-old male category. But I think we’ve learned from the PS2 experience that there is a huge potential market in the teen’s area. I think it’s the biggest single segment on PlayStation 2 now, and has been, interestingly, very present right from the launch.
GS: Which tells you what?
AH: What I think it taught us is that there has been a shift. If you read any of the data, it will tell you that teens have more disposable income, more of their earned income, and more interest in entertainment than they ever had before--and we saw the benefits of that.
The traditional approach in terms of launching platforms would have been: for PlayStation 2, that $299 is a prohibitive price point for the teenage market, so it’s definitely going to be older adults with more disposable income.
GS: And?
AH: Well, clearly not so. Therefore, if you look at the opportunity for PSP and for mobile entertainment platforms, I think the benefits are even greater. Who is the age segment that is on public transportation and doesn’t have a driver's license and has time on their hands? It’s going to be the teen market. So, almost in equal measure I think, it’s going to be the usual suspects--the core of our audience that will buy this thing initially, but I also think that the teen market could be huge for us.
I happen to be very bullish about the potential wrap-up of PSP overall. I think given a couple of other trends: the fact that people are, almost to the degree of fashion items, prepared to invest and re-invest in portable devices that they take with them--this could be a faster wrap-up than we’ve even seen on any of our home platforms to date, and that’s very exciting.
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