Sony predicts that its PSP handheld will make losses initially but will enjoy a lengthy lifespan of up to 10 years.
According to a recent Reuters report, Sony does not expect to make any money from its PSP handheld during its initial sales period because of both the development costs already incurred and the price of PSP components and manufacturing. Sony is, however, predicting a lengthy 10-year lifespan for the PSP system--giving it plenty of time to climb out of the red and into the black.
"If you"re saying "Day one, are you going to be profitable on the hardware?" then probably not," said Kaz Hirai, U.S. chief executive at Sony Computer Entertainment during an E3 interview. "Hopefully, this will have a 10-year lifecycle, at which point I"ll look back and say "Yes, definitely profitable.""