PSP price: 19,800 YEN! ($185.48); battery life: 4-6 hours

[A Black Falcon]

Partially because of repurcussions of the PSP price announcement?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/22/...13756.html

Sony credit rating cut by Standard & Poor's
Increased global competition in its core electronics business prompts the first downgrade in over a decade.

Today, the globe's preeminent provider of credit rating and risk analysis, Standard & Poor's, downgraded Sony's credit rating from A+ to A. While often considered one of the more arcane aspects of a business enterprise, a company's credit rating has monumental impact on its borrowing power and subsequent ability to secure loans at favorable interest rates.

Osamu Kobayashi, the S&P analyst who outlined the rating change, said, "The downgrade and negative outlook primarily reflect Sony's profitability, which has been strained from product and price competition, especially in its core electronics business, where there is still uncertainty regarding sustainable improvement in Sony's earnings-generating ability."

"Sony has been undergoing major restructuring efforts to reduce fixed costs and increase its overall competitiveness," Mr. Kobayashi continued. "However, Sony's efforts to strengthen its product portfolio, including audiovisual products--a traditional strength for Sony--have lagged behind in an increasingly competitive market characterized by aggressive development and marketing of new products. There is a concern over the negative impact on Sony's market position."

The financial press is citing the earnings report Sony delivered to investors on October 28 as what prompted S&P to reconsider the rating. On that date, the company reported that fiscal second-quarter operating profit at its electronics unit fell 83 percent, to 7.2 billion yen ($69.7 million).

Analysts see the unit's faltering revenues as having put pressure on PSP pricing, announced the same day as its Q2 earnings. When Sony announced that the PSP would be offered to Japanese consumers at a price of 19,800 yen ($185), the industry expressed palpable shock at the diminutive sticker price.

While Sony has reportedly said the downgrade would have no impact on its financing abilities, The Financial Times called the downgrade "an embarrassment."

The last time S&P lowered Sony's credit rating was in 1993.