May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp. and video-game publishers will introduce 34 titles for the PlayStation 3 console in the next year as the company rebuilds sales in the money-losing unit.

The PlayStation 3 games, including 15 developed in-house and 19 from independent publishers, were unveiled to reporters and analysts at the company's San Diego development studio.

Sony's video-game unit, which sold more than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles, is under pressure to increase sales of the new console, ranked third behind Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360. PlayStation 3 contributed to Sony's $562 million fourth-quarter loss, the biggest in four years.

``We got into the business to be successful and we got into it to make money,'' Jack Tretton, chief executive officer of Sony's U.S. video-game business, said in a May 15 interview. ``Now, we've got to make sure we remember why we got into the business and how it applies to the PS3.''

The PlayStation 2, introduced in 2000, made Tokyo-based Sony the undisputed leader in video-game consoles and enabled the company to lock publishers into exclusive contracts for games such as Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s original ``Grand Theft Auto.'' PlayStation 3 so far has shown little potential for duplicating that feat.

Competition

Sony sold 501,000 PlayStation 3s in the U.S. this year through March, compared with Wii sales of 1.03 million, according to NPD Group Inc., a market researcher based in Port Washington, New York. Microsoft sold 721,000 Xbox 360 players. Sony also trails Wii in Japan and Europe.

Wii, priced at $249, has attracted consumers with simple games and a wand-like controller that players swing like a sword or tennis racquet. PlayStation 3, with versions that sell for about $500 and $600, is more popular with hard-core enthusiasts who like its complex shooting and racing games.

Sony, which expects PS3 to be competitive in the marketplace for 10 years, will begin to make money on the machine in fiscal 2009 as costs of chips and other components are cut, Takao Yuhara, Sony's head of investor relations, told reporters in Tokyo today. He said the game unit is expected to lose about $414 million in fiscal 2008, which ends next March.

Price Cut?

Tretton declined to say when PlayStation 3 prices may be cut.

``If that means it's going to cost us more to make than we can sell it for in the short term, that's OK, because it's going to pay off in spades in the long run,'' he said.

As video-game losses narrow, overall annual company profit will double to a record $2.7 billion this fiscal year thanks to television set sales, Sony said yesterday.

Sony American depositary receipts, each equaling one common share, fell 80 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $55.05 at 4:30 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have advanced 29 percent this year.

Most of the new games follow traditional genres such as the action-adventure game ``Uncharted: Drake's Fortune,'' in which treasure hunters battle modern-day pirates in the South Pacific, and the fighting game ``Heavenly Sword.''

In a nod to more casual game players, Sony also unveiled ``SingStar,'' which allows two players to sing along with music videos by artists including U2 and Britney Spears. Players are rated according to pitch and whether they hit the right notes.

Processing Power

During the presentations in San Diego, Tretton and other executives touted PlayStation 3 processing power that produces sharper graphics and more diverse game play.

In ``Uncharted,'' for example, characters display subtle facial expressions that include wrinkle lines when they smile or grimace. In ``Heavenly Sword,'' players may encounter dozens of enemy soldiers, each with the ability to move independently and respond to players' moves.

``Clearly, they're trying to utilize the guts of the machine to try to come up with experiences that will differentiate it,'' said Colin Sebastian, a Francisco-based analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.

With PlayStation 3 sales lagging behind the other new consoles, Sony may find independent publishers reluctant to develop exclusive games, Sebastian said.

A new ``Grand Theft Auto'' game scheduled for release later this year will be available for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The original game was a PlayStation 2 exclusive, Mike Goodman, an analyst with Boston-based Yankee Group, said in an interview.

Marketing Attention

As it introduces new games, Sony also is paying more attention to marketing. Sony last month named Kazuo Hirai to become chief executive of the worldwide video-games business when PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi steps down in June.

Hirai comes to the job with a marketing background and talent for building relationships; Kutaragi, an engineer, is regarded as a visionary who could be difficult to work with, Goodman said.

The new chief will be called on to unify sales and marketing efforts in the U.S., Europe and Asia, Tretton said. Hirai also will focus on keeping independent game publishers such as Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Inc. focused on making games for PlayStation 3 and Sony's PSP handheld game machine.

``We've created great technology and our ability to communicate that and put it in a real-world application, we have to do better,'' Tretton said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 17, 2007 16:16 EDT