Forget Console Wars, Handhelds are where it's at

[udisi]

A funny thing occurred to me today. Everyone is watching the next generation console war, but what I noticed is that Handhelds outsell every console by tons. If you look in Gamestop and ebay, Handheld games hold their value better. So the thing I asked myself is, why don't preople pay attention to Handhelds more. They sell more, and the games seem to remain popular longer, etc, etc.

Here are the stat totals through the end of 2007 and Life to date sales

Handhelds

DS: 8.50 million (17.65 million)
PSP: 3.82 million (10.47 million)

Consoles

Wii: 6.29 million (7.38 million)
Xbox 360: 4.62 million (9.15 million)
PS3: 2.56 million (3.25 million)

Hell even the PSP which gets little respect at retail and has even been called a failure in some circles outsold the PS3 for 2007 and really was only 800 k units behind the 360. Look at the DS. Everyone talks about how the wii can't be kept on shelves and is stomping the competition, but the DS makes the Wii look like the PS3.

Hell even take the PS2 numbers from 2007

PS2: 3.97 million (41.12 million)

The PS2 is probably one of the most successful consoles ever. The DS was on the market for 3 years in NOV. The PS2 had been out 7 oct 26th. The Wii is on pace to sell as many units as the PS2 in the same time frame!!!!.

This just blows my mind. Here we have companies seemly fighting a bloody war over the secondary market in gaming.

The PSP had about a 8 month head start on the 360, but if you give the 360 it's average 400k units a month they did last year, had they launched at the same time, the 360 would have about 12.3 million units and the "Failure" PSP would have 10.5 million. That seems a pretty slim margin between a successful system and a failure system.

The last thing this showed me is how bad the PS3 really is doing. They had moved 3.25 million units life to date through the end of 2007. Where as the DS in it's 3 full year outsold it better than 3-1.

It's late here and I'm probably rambling, but it just peaked my interest when I finally relised how much more Handhelds are sold.

[heybtbm]

Handhelds and the games are cheaper than consoles, so they sell more. Doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

I think the reason people "don't care" is simply because of the superior experience you get with a console game vs. a handheld. Handheld games have their place, but they'll never replace the console experience. I'll take my couch, the 360 controller, and my LCD TV any day over cramping my hands on the DS while squinting at a dinky little screen. To each their own.

[WanganRunner]

I think that the sales numbers are, in fact, proof positive that people are "paying attention to handhelds".

The PSP is most certainly not a failure, it's a very successful system by normal standards, it's just not the mass cultural phenomenon that the DS has become. It was always designed to be a higher-end piece of hardware for more demanding users anyway, and you pay a premium for it being a multimedia device as well as a handheld game console.

I own both and enjoy both equally. I play either one 5x as much as I play any of my consoles, although this is due in part to the fact that I have a long commute on the train.

Hell, I tote my vintage handheld gear sometimes. I'll be on the subway playing Game Gear or playing Link's Awakening on my Game Boy Light. w00t.

[G-Boobie]

I think that handhelds are naturally taking more of the market as gamers with jobs, school and/or families search for some way to keep playing their games in their dwindling free time.

I play my DS and PSP far more than my consoles just because I take them with me to school and work. I think this is true for a lot of people.

The reasons handhelds aren't getting as much raw coverage as home consoles are pretty basic. Both are perceived as 'spin-offs' of the company's home console by the media and gamers alike, which reduces the expectations and investment consumers have in them, and the software tends to fall on the 'port, gimmicky, or dumbed down' side of things.

All of course in my opinion.

[Wirestone]

I think the software picture and perception is changing rapidly. Nintendo has been a big part of that -- from 04 to 06, or thereabouts, they devoted a lot of first-party attention to the DS. Not just Brain Age, either -- they put out Nintendogs, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime: Hunters, etc. All of those were as well (or better) received than their console games from the 'Cube era.

That then persuaded a lot of folks -- like Square, for instance -- to put some serious resources into DS development. But the bar for entry is still low enough that you can have quirky breakout hits like Cooking Mama. It's perhaps the most robust platform out there.

[Leo_A]

What are those handheld numbers for? US sales? The DS and PSP have both sold far more than your numbers indicate during their life. And the PS2's total sales are something like 120 million, not the 40 million your numbers indicate.

[udisi]

I believe those are US numbers only, but this article show that the DS has outsold the PS2 in Japan in lifetime sales

http://kotaku.com/338740/ds-overtakes-ps2-lifetime-sales-in-japan.

Here's the numbers for the GBA too

the Game Boy Advance series has sold 80.72 million units worldwide, of which 43.02 million are Game Boy Advance SP units.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I think the reason people "don't care" is simply because of the superior experience you get with a console game vs. a handheld. Handheld games have their place, but they'll never replace the console experience. I'll take my couch, the 360 controller, and my LCD TV any day over cramping my hands on the DS while squinting at a dinky little screen. To each their own.
I sit on my couch playing my DS all the time and don't particularly find the DS any less comfortable than a console controller. It even has an LCD screen just like your TV and the screen is probably just about the same perceived size given the different viewing distances.


...word is bondage...

[smork]

Hell, I tote my vintage handheld gear sometimes. I'll be on the subway playing Game Gear or playing Link's Awakening on my Game Boy Light. w00t.

My NGPC is the only handheld i've toted on my commute for a few months now. Gets a few looks amongst all the DS people.

[tom]

Handhelds are the only hardware where Nintendo actually has most sales in Europe