SanDisk Introduces Flash Memory Storage Card Line for Video Games (PSP)

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/Jan/1105945.htm

LAS VEGAS --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 6, 2005 -- SanDisk's New "Translucent" Look Memory Stick Pro Duo Cards Targeted At Sony's New PlayStation Portable (PSP) Console

SanDisk(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK) announced today that it is entering the portable video game accessory market and introduced a line of flash memory cards targeted at the $25 billion dollar video game market. The announcement was made at a SanDisk press conference at the annual Consumer Electronics Show where SanDisk is demonstrating products in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall, Booth #31438.


SanDisk's entry into the video game market comes as companies that manufacture portable video game consoles develop devices that include slots for standard flash memory cards. The company has adopted unique game packaging and redesigned the "look and feel" of the cards to spur sales among younger consumers.

Christina Day, SanDisk product marketing manager, said, "The new generation portable game consoles now incorporate digital audio players, video players and photo viewers. Our flash memory cards are a natural fit with these products as game users need incremental storage for their music, video and photos. Consumers also can use the cards to store their game content such as trailers and demos, game levels and to download and store any data from the included WiFi connectivity of the PlayStation Portable PSP(TM)."

She explained, "the addition of these features to the new generation of portable game consoles is driving the demand for high capacity, expandable flash memory cards. We think the sweet spot initially for card capacity will be around 128 to 256 megabytes (MB) as that typically will be needed to store game levels, music and other non-gaming features of the machines. As the world's largest supplier of flash memory cards, SanDisk is well positioned to accelerate the growth of this market."

SanDisk initially is offering the new game cards in Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) and SD(TM), one of the most popular card formats. Sony's first handheld game device, the PlayStation Portable, has just been introduced in Japan and uses Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. International Data Corp., a leading market research firm, estimates that 8.8 million PSPs will be sold in 2005. Other popular portable game machines, such as the Tapwave Zodiac and the Gizmondo, have slots for SD cards.

The Memory Stick PRO Duo cards in game packaging will be sold in capacities ranging from 128MB to 1 gigabyte (GB) with suggested retail prices from $39.99 to $159.99. SD cards for the game market will be sold in several capacities from 128MB to 1GB with suggested retail pricing of $34.99 to $104.99. The cards will start shipping to stores this month.

SanDisk's new game cards will be sold in many of the 93,000 retail outlets worldwide where SanDisk-branded products are sold. The company also intends to sell the cards through new retail channels for SanDisk products including game and toy stores and video outlets.

SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.

SanDisk's product images can be downloaded from www.sandisk.com/about/media.asp#photos.

SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com.

SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the U.S. and other countries. SanDisk is an authorized licensee of the SD trademark. Memory Stick PRO Duo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are trademarks of their respective holder(s).
 
Miburou said:
What exactly makes these "for video games"? And what gaming device uses SD cards?

Did you even read the article?

"Other popular portable game machines, such as the Tapwave Zodiac and the Gizmondo, have slots for SD cards. "
 
Miburou said:
What exactly makes these "for video games"? And what gaming device uses SD cards?

1) Because they say so, presumably they'll be packaged as "for video games" and will be carried in the video game sections and at EB & Gamestop.

2) From Above: "Other popular portable game machines, such as the Tapwave Zodiac and the Gizmondo, have slots for SD cards. "
 
No surprse about smaller sizes expected to be popular.

GBA uses allsorts thanks to the cartridge slot. There's actually an mp3 player for sale in the UK for GBA! I'll see if any support MMC.
 
koam said:
What's the diff between duo and pro duo? Will both work in my ericsson? It supports duo.

PRO DUO are smaller. But they come with a big adaptor that makes them work with DUO. But DUO are probably cheaper b/c they're bigger.
 
Suerte said:
Did you even read the article?

Skimmed.

sonycowboy said:
1) Because they say so, presumably they'll be packaged as "for video games" and will be carried in the video game sections and at EB & Gamestop.

So just like how some DVD movies back in 2001 had "compatible with PS2" stickers on them? I can't wait to hear arguments where someone is trying to sell someone a Pro Duo for their PSP, and the other replies "but the packaging does not say it's compatible with PSP like the ones at EB do".
 
Deku Tree said:
PRO DUO are smaller. But they come with a big adaptor that makes them work with DUO. But DUO are probably cheaper b/c they're bigger.

Thanks, my bad, mine uses pro duo.
 
Deku Tree said:
PRO DUO are smaller. But they come with a big adaptor that makes them work with DUO. But DUO are probably cheaper b/c they're bigger.

I think you got your terms mixed up. Duo is the name given to the smaller memory sticks, whether they're Pro (faster) or plain.

CVXFREAK said:
$159 for 1GB? Count me in!

You can already get them for $118 (I just placed an order yesterday).
 
Deku Tree said:
PRO DUO are smaller. But they come with a big adaptor that makes them work with DUO. But DUO are probably cheaper b/c they're bigger.
This is wrong. PRO is the speed, DUO is the size. Both regular DUO's and PRO DUO's are the same size, but the PRO is faster.
 
This is probably good, they drop prices pretty fast while giving some good quality. I have a SanDisk card for my TapWave and it's great.
 
Arcticfox said:
This is wrong. PRO is the speed, DUO is the size. Both regular DUO's and PRO DUO's are the same size, but the PRO is faster.

Oh sorry. I thought it was bigger becuase my Pro Duo cards for my digital camera all come with a (relatively) huge Duo adaptor. If they're the same size, I didn't see how the duo adaptor can work. But it doesn't matter. Thanks for the info.
 
$159.99 is only the suggested retail price, they'll be available for much cheaper. This is good news in that they will easier to find now.
 
kpop100 said:
$159.99 is only the suggested retail price, they'll be available for much cheaper. This is good news in that they will easier to find now.

Yeah, I just checked and the MSRP on the 1GB Pro Duo is $199.99, so that's a nice drop. But don't videogame stores like EB usually offer little to no discounts on accessories?

Deku Tree said:
Oh sorry. I thought it was bigger becuase my Pro Duo cards for my digital camera all come with a (relatively) huge Duo adaptor. If they're the same size, I didn't see how the duo adaptor can work. But it doesn't matter. Thanks for the info.

You're still getting your terms mixed up. Duo means the smaller memory sticks, so yours didn't come with a Duo adaptor, it came with an adaptor to make it work with non-Duo devices.
 
Miburou said:
Yeah, I just checked and the MSRP on the 1GB Pro Duo is $199.99, so that's a nice drop. But don't videogame stores like EB usually offer little to no discounts on accessories?
For Best Buy and Circuit City employees, this could be good news though.
 
Miburou said:
Yeah, I just checked and the MSRP on the 1GB Pro Duo is $199.99, so that's a nice drop. But don't videogame stores like EB usually offer little to no discounts on accessories?.

True, online prices might be nice though.

BTW did you get your PSP?
 
Miburou said:
You're still getting your terms mixed up. Duo means the smaller memory sticks, so yours didn't come with a Duo adaptor, it came with an adaptor to make it work with non-Duo devices.

I'm not sure what it was used for anymore (or why I'm still talking about it) but it is called a "Memory Stick Duo Adaptor".
 
Deku Tree said:
I'm not sure what it was used for anymore (or why I'm still talking about it) but it is called a "Memory Stick Duo Adaptor".

Because the adapter is for MS Duo, it's converting it to the standard MS size.
 
kpop100 said:
True, online prices might be nice though.

BTW did you get your PSP?

My PSP (and the three games) has been somewhere in Canada since the 30th. Now they tell me it's at Canada customs, and I just know they're going to charge me tax for it.
 
Sorry to ask this for what is probably the 100th time, but what's the best online store to order a 1GB Memory Stick Duo from? I was just at Circuit City tonight, and they were selling 512mb stick for $135, which seemed way too high.
 
Interesting that the smallest size they will be selling is 128MB. Makes the PS2 8MB Sony card and Nintendo 1059 memory cards look like big rip offs now.
 
Miburou said:
My PSP (and the three games) has been somewhere in Canada since the 30th. Now they tell me it's at Canada customs, and I just know they're going to charge me tax for it.

what games you end up getting. did you get mojipittan?
 
kpop100 said:
what games you end up getting. did you get mojipittan?

Yeah, I got Mojipittan, Lumines and Ridge Racers. I kind of regret not getting MGA, but the plot would've been lost on me anyway.
 
Miburou said:
Yeah, I got Mojipittan, Lumines and Ridge Racers. I kind of regret not getting MGA, but the plot would've been lost on me anyway.

PM me about it when you get it and sink a little time into it. I might pick it up myself.
 
gaming-ms.jpg


sd-famiily.jpg


Yuck!
 
Miburou said:
Using froogle.com, I've found some for as low as $60.

a 1GB card? link please. I'd order today even though I won't get a PSP for two months for that price. The lowest I've seen is that $118.xx from sparco.com or something like that.
 
sonycowboy said:
a 1GB card? link please. I'd order today even though I won't get a PSP for two months for that price. The lowest I've seen is that $118.xx from sparco.com or something like that.

Oh, sorry, the 512MB in his post threw me off. Yeah, I also ordered from sparco.com, so I guess that's the cheapest for a 1GB.
 
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