Publishing leviathon confirms development work on Sony"s PSP handheld, while keeping options open on Nintendo"s DS
Speaking to members of the US financial press, EA CEO Larry Probst revealed the company"s early plans for Sony"s handheld. "I would imagine we would do something between eight and 12 PSP titles in the fiscal year (2005)," he said.
EA"s Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson, clearly a well-informed man, went on to speculate on PSP"s price point. "While it"s not our call to make, we think the opportunity for the $149 price point has come and gone," he said.
Probst himself went on to say that EA assume a price of between $199 and $249, with games selling for about $39.99. UK gamers should bear in mind that technology products usually hit our stores at a pound-for-dollar rate.
The engagingly revealing Probst also went on to discuss the schedule for the next generation of consoles proper. "I think one of them may have something to say about next-generation consoles in the next three to five months," he said, possibly reclining in a huge leather chair and gesticulating expansively. "We"re still thinking that 2006 is the launch year, and who knows, somebody may surprise us with an earlier launch period."
Probst was more circumspect on Nintendo"s DS. "It"s a technology we"re evaluating, but we haven"t made any decisions as to whether we are going to support it yet." Well, the bafflingly double-screend handheld was only announced last week, after all.