PlayStation Portable will start in red says Sony

Sony does not expect to make money on its new PlayStation Portable handheld games console at launch, because of the price of components and initial development costs, says the head of Sony's US games unit.

Kaz Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, also said the company would need to have a minimum of six to 10 games available at the PSP's launch, both from its own studios and from third-party publishers.

But, Hirai said, it would not need that many games at launch if it could identify one or two breakout hits, "killer apps" that would drive consumers to buy the hardware just to play those games.

"It could be as little as six titles, maybe with one or two great killer [applications]," Hirai said in an interview on the sidelines of E3.

Sony plans to launch the PSP, its most significant new game hardware in four years, this year in Japan and early next year in North America and Europe.

It has not set a price for the unit, which will also play music and movies, though most in the industry expect a price between $199 to $299.

"So if you're saying, 'Day one, are you going to be profitable on the hardware?' then probably not," Hirai said.

"Hopefully, this will have a 10-year life-cycle, at which point I'll look back and say, 'Yes, definitely profitable'."