24 May 2004 By Samantha Loveday Sony and Nintendo could face a shortage of key parts for their new PSP and DS machines, according to a new Reuters report. Surging demand for mobile phones and digital cameras has created a shortage of LCDs (small liquid crystal displays). This could be a problem for the two format holders - the DS offers two, three inch screens, while the PSP promises a 4.3 inch monitor. "When we started thinking about a product with two screens, we didn't expect LCD supply to be so tight," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Reuters. Sharp, Nintendo's main LCD supplier for the GBA, is planning to boost output of small and mid-sized panels - however, this capacity is not expected to come online until the next business year, beginning on April 1st 2005. Sony is planning to manufacture PSP in house, while Nintendo is likely to outsource DS assembly to Japanese companies with factories in China. Sony has said it will ship three million PSPs in the business year to March 31st, but with supply being tight anaylsts believe hitting this target will be difficult. "There's a high likelihood that Sony won't be able to make it," Hiroshi Kamide from Tokyo's KBC Securities told Reuters. Taken from SPONG
