The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said the PSX is a "crossover" between game machines and consumer electronics devices. Its game controller can be used to quickly search and select functions.

The PSX, which has a hard drive that can store data, goes on sale in Japan this year and is planned for introduction in the United States and Europe early next year, said Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

He refused to give a price.

The PSX enters a fiercely competitive video-game console market, which includes the Xbox from Microsoft Corp. and the GameCube from Nintendo Co.

The unveiling of the PSX was the highlight of a presentation by Sony executives outlining a new strategy to calm investor jitters after the company in April reported a worse-than-expected loss of $945 million for the January-March quarter.

That sent Sony's shares sharply lower in what the Japanese media dubbed "the Sony shock."

Sony repeatedly has promised to generate profits through futuristic gadgets that download entertainment for the network-linked home, allowing Sony to exploit both its electronics and entertainment divisions. It said the PSX was part of that vision.

Sony has music and movie units, as well as a video-game business. The PlayStation 2 is the No. 1 video-game machine, with 52.5 million sold worldwide.

The company recently announced that it will begin selling a portable PlayStation 2 called PSP next year. The PSP is designed to rival Nintendo's popular Game Boy handheld device.