Japan's Sony Corp is expected to unveil a smaller version of its popular Playstation 2 game console on October 26, The Hollywood Reporter said on its Web site, citing retailers and industry analysts.
Sony Computer Entertainment declined to comment, but the conglomerate's game unit will be holding a briefing in Tokyo next Tuesday to explain its business strategy and industry watchers expect it to unveil the new product then.
Ken Kutaragi, known as the father of the Playstation, will be at the briefing.
Called the PStwo, Sony's new console will be 30 percent smaller than the current PlayStation 2, but is expected to retail for the same price of $149, the entertainment trade paper said in an article dated September 15.
Sony's expected move prompted Take-Two Interactive to push back the release of its "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" video game by one week to October 26 to coordinate with the launch of the PStwo on that date, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Industry watchers say there have been some shortages of the PS2 in the United States in the past several months, stoking speculation that Sony was deliberately clearing shelf space for the new game machine.
"The rumour mill will start to grind and very often what comes up is that if there are really no production issues it is likely that Sony is clearing the channel for a new product," said a Tokyo-based game analyst.
Sony enjoyed success with the PSone, which was introduced as a smaller version of the original Playstation game console.
"If they are trying to prolong the PS2 product cycle to mimic what the PSone has done for them, I think it's a pretty good idea," said another industry analyst.
