Mitac wins contract order for PlayStation Portable parts from Sony

Taipei, Nov. 25, 2004 (CENS)--Mitac Precision Technology Corp., a subsidiary of the Taiwan's Mitac Group, recently won a contract supply order from Sony of Japan for mechanical parts used in the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game machines.

Sony has sent about 20 technicians to Mitac Precision's plant in Shunde, Guangdong Province, mainland China, which is expected to ship about 10 million parts sets to Sony next year.

Mitac Precision specializes in precision mold/die development, metal-parts pressing, vacuum plating, and connector production, etc. The company currently runs two plants in mainland China, including one in Shunde and another in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Mitac Precision is expected to challenge an annual revenue goal of NT$10 billion (US$ at US$1: NT$32.6) this year.

Sony is scheduled to launch its PSP, an all-in-one portable entertainment platform, in mid-December and tap the palm-top game machine market, directly rivaling with Nitendo. The PSP will be priced at 19,800 yen, lower than original market expectations, to secure stronger competitiveness.

Currently, Sony contracts Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd. And Asustek Computer Inc. to produce its hot-selling PlayStation-2 (PS-2) TV game consoles. But the Japanese consumer electronics giant unexpectedly decided to release contract orders to Mitac for the PSPs.

Industry sources pointed out that Mitac Precision's rapid heat cycle molding (RHCM) technology authorized by a Japanese partner helped the company beat other rivals to win Sony's PSP order.

Sony estimated that the sales volume of the PSPs would outstrip three million units by the end of March next year. Sony has released contract orders for one million parts sets for the PSPs per month, with 70% of which going to Mitac Precision.