In this thread we remember Sony's arrogance when it came to PSP vs DS in 2005.

[Urzu402]

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/08/26/so...n-nintendo-ds/

Man those were good times, when the DS wasn't out right destroying the PSP.
I'm not saying the PSP is a bad system at all but just when compared to the DS..... its a flop.

[gepeto]

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/08/26/so...n-nintendo-ds/

Man those were good times, when the DS wasn't out right destroying the PSP.
I'm not saying the PSP is a bad system at all but just when compared to the DS..... its a flop.

As with the ps3 the initial price point killed it. Had it released at a more competitive price point I believe the landscape would be different.

[megasdkirby]

Sony needed the slap in the face...and the punch in the balls...to get rid of anything or anyone that gave it it's arrogant attittude.

They thought they were "invincible" and look what happened. In a way, this reminds me of another company who went through a similar ordeal: Nintendo, specially with their N64. Can't really explain it though.

But I am glad that Sony learned from this experience...at least I surely hope so.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Wouldn't a "flop" be something that couldn't co-exist/subsist with Nintendo in the global marketplace and not periodically,frequently outsell their hardware for months at a time?

By the game hardware history books, since the era of the GameBoy Color/Pokemon and Nintendo's monopoly on the portable retail market there's not been a portable system that's been able to do that over the course of five years much less one that hasn't been discontinued during a similar amount of time for lack of profit/interest.

Just because thing A doesn't outsell thing B doesn't make it a "flop".

Trolling on the PSP in 2011 is exactly the same as trolling on it in 2005.

[megasdkirby]

PSP = Awesome handheld.

Now the PSPGo...that I would consider a terrible flop

This reminds me of how stupid people in GameFaqs would troll and say that the PSP would kill DS, how it was possible to play DS games on the PSP by rotating the PSP screen vertically, each half emulating one of the screens, how the PSP was a "manly" console...and all that bullshit.

Ah, stupid times at GameFaqs. Thank goodness I left there like 4 1/2 years ago.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I'm not saying the PSP is a bad system at all but just when compared to the DS..... its a flop.

How could it be a flop when it is usually the number one selling console in Japan every week and has sold around 60 million worldwide?

[heybtbm]

Wouldn't a "flop" be something that couldn't co-exist/subsist with Nintendo in the global marketplace and not periodically,frequently outsell their hardware for months at a time?

By the game hardware history books, since the era of the GameBoy Color/Pokemon and Nintendo's monopoly on the portable retail market there's not been a portable system that's been able to do that over the course of five years much less one that hasn't been discontinued during a similar amount of time for lack of profit/interest.

Just because thing A doesn't outsell thing B doesn't make it a "flop".

Trolling on the PSP in 2011 is exactly the same as trolling on it in 2005.

Game, Set, Match.

[Urzu402]

I meant its a flop when compared to the DS otherwise its a success just the DS did so much better. Yet when they were first released Sony was so arrogant they didn't even see the DS as competition. They thought they were going to do the seemingly impossible and knock Nintendo out of the handheld market.

[Urzu402]

How could it be a flop when it is usually the number one selling console in Japan every week and has sold around 60 million worldwide?

When compared to over 140 million world wide yea but by itself its not a flop. Also I would think the PSP only out sells the DS because just about everyone and their mother's brother have one.

I happen to own both a PSP and a DS so don't think I'm biased towards Nintendo
Also I have to say it wasn't just on Gamefaqs that the PSP will do better than DS trolls were, they were all over the internet. Even my own brother thought the PSP was going to do better than the DS and liked to rub it in my face.

[megasdkirby]

When compared to over 140 million world wide yea but by itself its not a flop. Also I would think the PSP only out sells the DS because just about everyone and their mother's brother have one.

Tell that to every gamer and parent out there.

"Mom! I want a DS!"

then...

"Mom! I want a DS Lite!"

then...

"Mom! I want a DSi!"

then...

"Mom! I want a DSi XL!"

and soon...

"Mom! I want a 3DS!"

So they will continue to sell. Also, think about how many units are destroyed by kids. I've had many, MANY customers come to the store purchasing a unit because it was either destroyed or lost.

[Baloo]

Sony needed the slap in the face...and the punch in the balls...to get rid of anything or anyone that gave it it's arrogant attittude.

They thought they were "invincible" and look what happened. In a way, this reminds me of another company who went through a similar ordeal: Nintendo, specially with their N64. Can't really explain it though.
.

If anyone thought they were super invincible only to crash, it was SEGA back in the days of the Saturn. Coming off the overtaken market share of like 55% for the Genesis to crash and burn to less than 10% once the Saturn rolled around simply goes to show you can't rest on your laurels in this business. Though SoJ did have a lot to do with the overall fall of SEGA.

Back on topic though, I do remember before both systems came out how a lot of speculation was that the PSP was going to outsell the DS and how much of a better system it was, and now it's being outsold pretty much two-to-one, though it's doing MUCH better than pretty much any handheld console that's gone up against Nintendo.

The only other system I can think of that did even remotely well was the Game Gear, and that only clocked in at about 12 Million Units, a far cry from Game Boy's 100 Million+.

[duffmanth]

The 2 biggest reasons why the PSP sold poorly at its launch were its high price and lack of AAA and original (not PS2 ports) games. While the price has come down steadily over the years and the PSP now has a solid lineup of games, I think it's too little, too late. While the PSP certainly has a lot of great games, they've never come out on a consistent enough basis. It's always been a few big games will trickle out here and there, but then people wait for months in between where nothing but shitty games are released. Also the fact that Sony still hasn't addressed the lack of dual sticks to this day.

[Dangerboy]

The PSP, at least in the US, has been stuck in the shadows because it's a garbage bin of PS2 hand me downs and practically day 1 hacking. The only time I've ever truly sold a PSP (or PSPs) to someone who *wanted* it, and wasn't just buying it out of curiosity was during each new Hack Update.

Hell, we sat on the PSP Gos since launch, and then the hack is proven, and in one day we sell out of them.

I think the bigger problem for Sony (and this includes their systems on all fronts) is that they lost their "voice".

The PSX had Sofia, then Crash Bandicoot.
The PS2 had various mascots, but no true central figure.
The PS3 was just...abysmal. It only took what, 3 or 4 years to at least get the marketing right? (Kevin Butler).

What Sony needs is to stop relying on the gimmicks (PSP is a movie player first! 3D games! Hey we have Wii too!) and get back to the absolute bare bone basics of the original PlayStation 1 days.

They have Kevin Butler for marketing, which is perfect, just don't over abuse him.
Now they just need a true mascot (and mactching games) and company spokesperson who isn't batshit insane like Phil Harrison and *especially* Jack Tretton were / are.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Yes, thing that outsells other thing is clearly a much better thing and makes other thing a thing of lesser quality.

This is always a fact when it comes to video games.

No thing that has not outsold every other thing is always classified as a "flop".

Clearly, this is always true and there are no games or systems considered successful or classics that have not outsold their contemporary competitors and or won their respective console wars.

Also, no game company has ever made a public statement that they will be successful nor should they ever do so. They shal always remain humble before their consumers and in the event that they do fail they should completely remove themselves from the entire industry as an act of penitence for their insolence!

[Steve W]

Do you think the video releases for the PSP might have hurt it? I remember looking at the game shelves in the first year or two of the PSP's launch and they were mostly movies with a few games mixed in, it seems like only a few stores would separate them. I guess that was to make the shelves look fuller in comparison to the DS and it's legacy GBA titles, but to me it just looked like shovelware movies to fluff up their presence in the marketplace.

[G-Boobie]

Yes, thing that outsells other thing is clearly a much better thing and makes other thing a thing of lesser quality.

This is always a fact when it comes to video games.

No thing that has not outsold every other thing is always classified as a "flop".

Clearly, this is always true and there are no games or systems considered successful or classics that have not outsold their contemporary competitors and or won their respective console wars.

Also, no game company has ever made a public statement that they will be successful nor should they ever do so. They shal always remain humble before their consumers and in the event that they do fail they should completely remove themselves from the entire industry as an act of penitence for their insolence!

Frankie wins.

[kupomogli]

Until 2008 it seems that Sony wasn't supporting either the PS3 or PSP much but rather "the features" of the two systems. Maybe being the first time they had two consoles out at a time(not counting the prior generations console,) that Sony couldn't handle it and had to get used to where they were focusing their resources on? It wasn't until 2008 that it felt like Sony was getting their act together and doing something to push the systems ahead. I think if Sony now was Sony back then, then both the PS3 and PSP would be much further ahead than they are now.

Yes, thing that outsells other thing is clearly a much better thing and makes other thing a thing of lesser quality.

I agree. The best selling product can be the worst product, which is why this quote belongs in a Wii thread.

[The 1 2 P]

They thought they were going to do the seemingly impossible and knock Nintendo out of the handheld market.

Actually, I think the correct quote would be "the PSP is going to take gamers out of the handheld ghetto". That was my favorite because at the time Kaz Harai said it Nintendo had already sold over 100 million handheld systems worldwide.

But Sony's attitude for the PSP was the same attitude they had for the PS2 and PS3. They were number one with the PS1 and thought that everyone would bow down and purchase their new systems just because they had the Playstation logo on them. But they learned the hard way that this isn't the case and they are getting alittle better. For instance, I don't remember hearing them say that the Move was going to start outselling the Wii and 360 just because it's a Sony product. They were much more humble with the release of the Move.

[Urzu402]

Actually, I think the correct quote would be "the PSP is going to take gamers out of the handheld ghetto". That was my favorite because at the time Kaz Harai said it Nintendo had already sold over 100 million handheld systems worldwide.

But Sony's attitude for the PSP was the same attitude they had for the PS2 and PS3. They were number one with the PS1 and thought that everyone would bow down and purchase their new systems just because they had the Playstation logo on them. But they learned the hard way that this isn't the case and they are getting alittle better. For instance, I don't remember hearing them say that the Move was going to start outselling the Wii and 360 just because it's a Sony product. They were much more humble with the release of the Move.

I remember someone who works for Sony saying something like "motion controls were for kids" or was that Microsoft? This was before the release of the Move or Kinect and probably around the time the Wii was released.

[Nico87]

Typical Sony. That said, the PSP has destroyed the DS in Japan for nearly a year now.