Sony PSX dies on the vine

by Ben Zackheim { Feb 24th 2005 at 9:03AM }

sony psx

Oh well, it was sexy, at least. The PSX, Sony's attempt to make a media center game console, has ceased to be. They've stopped production — shattering the possibility of ever getting one outside Japan (easily, at least). Sony had problems with the project from day one. People just didn't know what to do with it. It's a tricky business; this whole "convergence" thing. The console certainly had a lot of strengths, not least of which was a stunning exterior (at least in the pics - never got to see it in 3D). Check out this page on Lik-Sang for a nice run-down of what most of us will never see. 250GB drive, DVD-R/W, Dolby Digital. No mp3, though. Shocking, we know…

Nice try Sony. Better luck with the PS3.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Edgar @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

It�s a tricky business; this whole �convergence� thing.

Consumer electronics move much faster than game systems. New game systems come and go every 5 years. People are always getting a new DVD player, personal video recorder, mp3 player, pda, phone etc.

One of the main problems in grouping everything together is that you have to coincide everyone's need for all of their devices into a single purchasing moment.

If you need a new DVD player, but not a new PVR, why buy both in a converged device that typically does neither as well as individual units?

The same thing is going to happen to the PSP. People may buy it now, but it does not make a good MP3 player, video player, photo viewer, pda, cell phone when compared to other devices. Why carry around such a big all-in-one device when it really only plays games for a few hours? It will quickly fall out of favor as a converged device just like the PSX did.

pOThOLDERS @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

i disagree. i doubt the psp will have the same fate as the psx. just look at the sales difference. loca.

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

I'm not sure where they got this news from - there is nothing on the offical PSX home page (www.psx.sony.co.jp), the apparent source of the info, to backup their claims. The last news release there is from 22 Dec 2004. The Japanese gaming news site also have no mention of this yet. It might still be true but I'd like to see some more evidence.

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

The PSX has also supported direct playback of MP3s since the first firmware upgrade (Feb 2004) and playback of MP3 CDRs since the second firmware ugprade (March 2004). The info Lik-Sang has on their page is for the first PSX series (DESR-5100/7100) pre-upgrades. The current models (DESR-5500/7500) were released in Sept 2004.

Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

I just realized how much the PSX looks like a big-ass mac mini.

Scott @ Dec 18th 2005 8:46PM

Alright, so it looks like the words "production complete" do appear on that page - Oops! However, as this article below states (in Japanese), the statement of "production complete" relates to the current model and not the PSX line in general. The planned number of consoles had been manufactured so production was stopped - there's nothing more to it. Sony plans to continue to produce and sell the PSX and the next model is currently being investigated.

http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2005/02/24/103,1109224033,36691,0,0.html