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Game Boy Micro ready to battle tiny PlayStation

TOKYO Nintendo, the largest maker of hand-held game players, said Thursday that it would start selling its smallest player next month, as Sony prepares for European sales of its PlayStation Portable after releases in Japan and the United States.

The Game Boy Micro will go on sale in Japan on Sept. 13 for ¥12,000, or $109, Nintendo said in release on its Web site. Sales of the device, about the size of a cellphone, will start in the United States later in the month and in Europe in November.

Nintendo's dominant share in the hand-held game device market is threatened by Sony, which will introduce its PlayStation Portable, or PSP, in Europe next month and expects to sell 13 million units worldwide in the year ending next March 31. Nintendo is third in the $6.2 billion game console market behind Sony and Microsoft.

Game Boy Micro has the same processing power as the bigger Game Boy Advance and plays the same 700 or more game titles.

The player, small enough to fit in trouser pockets, measures 4 inches wide, or 10.2 centimeters, 2 inches tall and 0.7 inches deep. Micro's 2-inch screen is less than half of the PSP's display.

The device will sell for $99.99 in the United States starting Sept. 19, Nintendo said in a release Wednesday. Sales of the player in Europe will begin Nov. 4 at €99.99, or $123, said a spokesman, Ken Toyoda.

Identifying the market for the Micro is "a little challenging" because the game player's price is between the more expensive Nintendo DS and the older Game Boy Advance, said Defibaugh at Credit Suisse.

The Game Boy Micro will go on sale in Japan on Sept. 13 for ¥12,000, or $109, Nintendo said in release on its Web site. Sales of the device, about the size of a cellphone, will start in the United States later in the month and in Europe in November.

Game Boy Micro has the same processing power as the bigger Game Boy Advance and plays the same 700 or more game titles, the company said.

Resource: Herald Tribune

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