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To: Daniel My Brother who wrote (16046)	11/23/1998 3:01:00 PM
From: Moonray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25814

Sell those LSI chips: Retail Channel, Analysts Predict Landmark Holiday Season for Videogame Industry - BW, 08:07 a.m. Nov 23, 1998 EST Incredible Consumer Demand for PlayStation Game Console Makes it the Gift of Choice this Holiday Season FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1998-- Heading into the holiday season, several key sources indicate that this will be a vibrant period for the retail sector, prompting retail outlets and industry analysts to predict a windfall for the videogame industry. Sony Computer Entertainment America announced today that demand for PlayStation(R) game consoles has already begun to rise in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. "PlayStation has the entertainment value that consumers want," said Jack Tretton, vice president, sales, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "With the recent price reduction of our hardware and the addition of several new game titles to our 'Greatest Hits' collection, consumers recognize that the best entertainment value is with the PlayStation." Several key sources cite a better-than-average outlook for the retail channel this year. According to the annual Deloitte & Touche/National Retail Federation Consumer and Retailer "Mood Survey: Retail Holiday Outlook," holiday sales are expected to increase between five percent and six percent this year, making it the best holiday season for retailers since 1994. This strength in the retail sector bodes well for the burgeoning $5.2 billion videogame industry. A recent study conducted by the NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y., shows that the videogame industry could enjoy its most profitable holiday season to date. The study predicts that total sales for the videogame industry this year will increase by 24 percent in comparison to last year's record numbers. This boost can only further propel industry leader Sony Computer Entertainment America, whose PlayStation game console is currently winning the videogame war by a 2-to-1 margin. "The videogame market is on fire and the PlayStation market continues to ride its strong momentum, which should lead to a very healthy holiday selling season," said Mike Wallace, a leading industry analyst with Warburg Dillon Read. "In our opinion, 1998 will be the biggest year ever in the videogame market." PlayStation leads the industry in growth heading into the holiday season. In August, Sony Computer Entertainment America lowered the price of the PlayStation game console to $129. Following the new pricing announcement, sales of the console shot up 97 percent for the month of September, giving PlayStation a 66 percent hardware market share in the videogame industry. With a console already in more than one in every eight U.S. households, PlayStation has become a mainstream entertainment option for consumers. "This will be PlayStation's best holiday season ever," added Tretton. "We continue to enjoy a 70 percent market share for software and an unparalleled hardware-to-software tie ratio of more than 7-to-1. With the success of our most recent PlayStation releases like Crash Bandicoot: WARPED(tm), Twisted Metal(R) III, Cool Boar(tm) 3, NFL GameDay(tm) '99 and Spyro the Dragon(tm), we are poised to continue our leadership position in the months to come." The anticipation for videogame success this holiday season is indicative of the maturation of the videogame industry as a whole. As the videogame demographic continues to expand and more game titles reach mass-market popularity, consumers are viewing videogames as a compelling entertainment option similar to music, television or movies. Sony Computer Entertainment America, a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., markets and distributes the PlayStation game console in North America, develops and publishes software for the PlayStation game console, and manages the U.S. third party licensing program. Based in Foster City, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Visit us on the Web at playstation.com Copyright 1998, Business Wire o~~~ O