Posted: Fri., Feb. 1, 2008, 4:01pm PT

PSP has its fingers on pulse after all

Sony's multi-media device is a hit with gamers

By Ben Fritz

Sony's PSP may have life in it yet as a multi-media device.

After every major studio agreed to provide movies for the handheld gaming system in its first year, support slowly peeled away due to slow sales. Only Sony and Disney are still releasing titles for the format.

But those titles that did move were those aimed at young males -- the core gamer demo. That's why it's notable that MTV last week became the first new company to sign onto the PSP when most others have dropped out.

Cable conglom will sell titles like "Beavis & Butthead," "Jackass," and "Viva La Bam" in Sony's proprietary format.

Sony has also added other features to make the PSP more attractive, including telephone capabilities that let gamers utilize the PSP to make calls via Internet communications company Skype.

Though PSP sales haven't been nearly as big as the Nintendo DS, it's doing well enough that Sony is looking to start focusing on features beyond games. Not so for the struggling PlayStation 3, which Sony execs are still trying to establish as a game console before they highlight other features.