Nintendo Readies Game Boy Micro

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Nintendo Readies Game Boy Micro

 

By Jay Wrolstad

August 19, 2005 11:50AM

 

While Nintendo has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in portable gaming, with some 90 to 95 percent of the market, the company has rival Sony hot on its heels. Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) went on sale this spring and rang up some $150 million in sales in the first week it was on the shelves.

 

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Entertainment specialist Nintendo has gone back to the Game Boy drawing board yet again, this time introducing a scaled-down version of the device and touting the new Micro edition as a more stylish offering than earlier Game Boys.

Game Boy Micro, priced at US$100, measures just 4 x 2 x 0.7 inches and weighs a mere 2.8 ounces, about the weight of 80 paper clips. Performance has not been compromised, though, as the device has the same power and plays the same titles as earlier Game Boy Advance models.

 

The new device also features a 2-inch screen and buttons that glow. Players can expect delivery of the Micro in September.

 

Sony Issues Challenge

 

While Nintendo has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in portable gaming, with some 90 to 95 percent of the market, the company has rival Sony hot on its heels. Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP) went on sale this spring and rang up some $150 million in sales in the first week it was on the shelves.

 

And, unlike Nintendo, which continues to deliver gaming-only portable products, the PSP has Wi-Fi , music and video capabilities.

 

Yankee Group analyst Michael Goodman questions the rationale behind introducing a smaller version of an existing device. "This is not much different than what they offer with the Nintendo DS. I can't see where the demand is," he said.

 

Too Small?

 

Goodman suggested that smaller might not be better when it comes to gaming platforms. "There is a minimum optimum size, and I think they have passed that threshold with the Micro," he said.

 

The analyst also noted that Sony, with its PSP, has staked out a different audience than the kids who comprise Nintendo's primary following. "Sony is aiming more toward adult gamers in their multifunctional devices and in the games that they offer," he said, comparing the PSP approach to the tack the company took with its original PlayStation console.

 

"Nintendo may be way ahead at this point, but the balance could shift in the next year or two, given how well the PSP is doing," he said.