What is Sony Doing with the PSP?

[petewhitley]

Um, what? The DS has been ahead of the PSP in sales since Nintendogs was released, which was April.

In Japan the DS and the PSP are neck-and-neck (DS 1,071,450 vs. PSP 1,000,071) for the year (thanks to Nintendogs and purty colors). In the States the PSP is absolutely killing the DS in system sales at this point, something in the 5 to 1 area for May. At any rate, both the DS and the PSP would benefit from a greater selection of games, but a lack of games several months after launch seems to be becoming the norm rather than the exception amongst hardware launches these days. I don't see many PSP owners on this board complaining however; the emu/multimedia functions and several quality titles already out are keeping most of us busy.

[Mayhem]

You're forgetting though PeteW that the DS is ahead of the PSP anyhow in overall sales in the US. And given the DS has sold over a million now in Europe and there's still another 2 months to go until the PSP is out, I can't see the PSP overtaking the DS here either.

[petewhitley]

Nintendo got the system out on the market for profit, and it worked like a charm. I don't think they give two hoots about the average Joe complaning about their system lineup. They did their job by getting one game out at launch, with a few more the following months later. Neither system had good games at launch. Sure some were fun, but they are mostly average. Super Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic were great games, but nothing to buy the system for. The same applies to WipEout Pure and Ridge Racers. Fun games, but are you really going to buy a system to play some racing games? The PSP beat the DS out in quanity, sure, but half of the launch titles were watered down PS2 sports titles that weren't worth the $50 admission price.

The PSP hype is over and done with, since it launched we've gotten one good game, Hot Shots Golf. The DS drought was bad and all, but hey, guess what? Nintendo had no competition, so they didn't care. Now that developers are finally getting games out the door, the DS is getting treated with a handful of great games like Bomberman, Kirby and Meteos (the DS' answer to Lumines) while the PSP continues to go through its drought. Everyone I know with a PSP is extremely bored with their games, and the majority of them are too casual of gamers to get into the emulation aspect of the system.

I think people are beginning to realize how absolutley worthless the movie UMD's are too. $20 for a movie that can only be watched on the PSP? Hey I enjoyed watching Spider-Man 2 and all, but see there's difference between that and everything on the market - it was free. Portability is nice and all, but movies are so much more appropriate on a TV, or at least a larger screen. Again, I like the idea that I have the choice if I want to buy a movie, but I'd rather just that money go towards a game, or the actual DVD instead.

Scratching the screen to hell? What system are you playing? The stylus doesn't scratch the screen, the delicate PSP screen is the one to be worried about, it's extremely prone to fingerprints, dust and scratches. The clam shell design on the DS prevents all of that.

And maybe the launch titles really fit your interests, but I can't play puzzle games, and sports titles for months on end. You'll understand what I'm saying as this drought continues.

I think you fail to understand the handheld audience. Little kids are the majority of the buyers, and they'll gobble up kid friendly stuff like dog simulators, rather then the destroy all Grand Theft Auto's.

Damn man, almost the entirety of your post was complete and utter hyperbole. I'd retort but it's completely unnecessary to start a flame war about these two systems again.

[CreamSoda]

I like the PSP and all but right now I hardly even play it.

I know every system has it's slow points but I'm sick of all these mostly ports games.

Right now I only like Metal Gear Ac!d and Twisted Metal: Head On

[dbiersdorf]

In Japan the DS and the PSP are neck-and-neck (DS 1,071,450 vs. PSP 1,000,071) for the year (thanks to Nintendogs and purty colors). In the States the PSP is absolutely killing the DS in system sales at this point, something in the 5 to 1 area for May. At any rate, both the DS and the PSP would benefit from a greater selection of games, but a lack of games several months after launch seems to be becoming the norm rather than the exception amongst hardware launches these days. I don't see many PSP owners on this board complaining however; the emu/multimedia functions and several quality titles already out are keeping most of us busy.

For the year? Yes. But the DS is still 1,084,723 units over the PSP since they were both launched.

As for the US, in May they were pretty much neck and neck

PSP = 250,000
GBA/DS = 279,000

The DS sold around 220,000 of those, which shows that the DS has quite a bit of momentum, compared to the PSP which at that point was on its second full month of release.

[petewhitley]

You're forgetting though PeteW that the DS is ahead of the PSP anyhow in overall sales in the US. And given the DS has sold over a million now in Europe and there's still another 2 months to go until the PSP is out, I can't see the PSP overtaking the DS here either.

I predict we'll see it by Xmas in the States.

[petewhitley]

PSP = 250,000
GBA/DS = 279,000

The DS sold around 220,000 of those, which shows that the DS has quite a bit of momentum, compared to the PSP which at that point was on its second full month of release.

You've got your numbers backwards on the ratio of DS-to-GBA sales. The DS sold less than 60,000 of those systems.

[neotokeo2001]

Just a side note about the whole "PSP is dead" issue... The PSP spanked the DS in sales over in Japan last month so I wouldn't go as far as to call it dead. Sony will get the ball rolling soon, I hope anyway.

..................Sales Last Month....Total for Year
Nintendo DS............35,083..........1,071,450
PlayStation Portable..21,901..........1,000,071

Sony started the year outselling the DS by a huge margin. For the last 3-4 Months the DS has been out selling the PSP. The DS is way ahead in software sales per unit (the average number of games each DS or PSP owner has bought.)

[Gamereviewgod]

I think people are beginning to realize how absolutley worthless the movie UMD's are too. $20 for a movie that can only be watched on the PSP?

So why have all but two major movie studio's announced releases? Why are there so many new ones each week? Why have over a million UMDs been sold?

They're hot. Probably hotter than even Sony expected them to be. Do I know why? Hell no. I don't see the point either, but that comment killed your entire post.

[dbiersdorf]

PSP = 250,000
GBA/DS = 279,000

The DS sold around 220,000 of those, which shows that the DS has quite a bit of momentum, compared to the PSP which at that point was on its second full month of release.

You've got your numbers backwards on the ratio of DS-to-GBA sales. The DS sold less than 60,000 of those systems.

No, Mercury News reported that, and it's not confirmed.

[SoulBlazer]

I bought three games for my PSP with launch -- Lumines, Metal Gear Acid, and Untold Legends. None of them are ports and all are good games I'm still playing.

Combine that with all the movie and clip watching I've been doing on it, using it as a MP 3 player, and emulation, and mine gets a lot of use.

I finally picked up a used DS last week because some good games are coming out for it in the second half of this year. It came with the Metroid demo and I bought two more games for it -- Sprung and Wario Ware Touched. I'm enjoying those games a lot also, but just because the PSP can DO more for me it's being used more. Yes, I'm using the DS to replace my GBA, and playing GBA games, but each week the PSP still gets a little more use time.

You're right, right now neither system has much coming out, but some great games are planned for release, espeicly with the DS (I imagine the PSP will hit a surge of games around Christmas and next year). I'm using both systems and I'm happy with both systems. The games will come as long as we're patient.

[dbiersdorf]

So why have all but two major movie studio's announced releases? Why are there so many new ones each week? Why have over a million UMDs been sold?

They're hot. Probably hotter than even Sony expected them to be. Do I know why? Hell no. I don't see the point either, but that comment killed your entire post.

Link me to a reliable source that claims 1 million UMD sales and maybe I'll believe you.

Companies put movies out there because it's easy, and cheap. It's a quick buck.

[AlexKidd]

I don't see myself buying a psp game for quite some time. I'll probably buy another system when there's a price drop to play Ys. Right now i'm content with my psp's use as a widescreen turbo express.

[Lothars]

I think we will see the PSP beat the ds in sales in the next couple months

just give it time. but with Nintendogs i could see the ds selling alot for a while for that game.

[gepeto]

To me it is simple. 250.00 was way too much to ask for a handheld in the american market. The market has its limits. Parents have a hard time forking over 250.00 with no games. . Forget parents adults have issues with it. Ea's outrageous 49.00 games did not help the situation at all. I knew in my heart this would happen. I remember the 3do. When I go to the gamestores I see people salivating over the psp but when they get smacked with the price-- Game over.


I hope sony learns its lesson. You can quote me on this one $300.00 is the price limit for Ps3. If Sony releases at 399.00+ I guarantee after the launch hype, systems sale will drop faster than the virtual boy forcing sony to quickly drop price to 299.00 or lower just to stay competetive. Nintendos knock from the top came with them being greedy forcing companies to go with the cartridge format to control the dollars. They like sony was expecting the consumer to back them up. They was horribly wrong. Consumer loyalty swicthes at the drop of a dime. All the bells and whistles are good but the bottom line is we want reasonably priced games along with a reasonably priced console.

I haven't bought a pspgame since launch. I go to the store and see more umd movies than games.... VERY SAD.

I just bought a 512 memory Stick and I am currently loving playing MIke Tyson punchout Via emulator. Forget the game axe. This at least justifies my paying for it. I just hope psp drops to 149.00 and the games drop to 29.99 to 34.00. So it can cacth on.

[Gamereviewgod]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9731

My numbers were off. I apologize. However, 200,000 is nothing to whine about, not to mention they estimate much higher, possibly half a million (as of late last month), which is where my numbers mixed up. My fault.

Companies put movies out there because it's easy, and cheap. It's a quick buck.

And they wouldn't unless they knew the buck would be made.

[LiquidX01]

Just a side note about the whole "PSP is dead" issue... The PSP spanked the DS in sales over in Japan last month so I wouldn't go as far as to call it dead. Sony will get the ball rolling soon, I hope anyway.

..................Sales Last Month....Total for Year
Nintendo DS............35,083..........1,071,450
PlayStation Portable..21,901..........1,000,071

Sony started the year outselling the DS by a huge margin. For the last 3-4 Months the DS has been out selling the PSP. The DS is way ahead in software sales per unit (the average number of games each DS or PSP owner has bought.)

Maybe...But I do remember reading somewhere that those numbers also included the different color DS's that Nintendo released. Nintendogs and those colors are really the only thing fueling those DS sales. What is Nintendo going to do when that hype dies down? Release more limited edition crap?

[petewhitley]

PSP = 250,000
GBA/DS = 279,000

The DS sold around 220,000 of those, which shows that the DS has quite a bit of momentum, compared to the PSP which at that point was on its second full month of release.

You've got your numbers backwards on the ratio of DS-to-GBA sales. The DS sold less than 60,000 of those systems.

No, Mercury News reported that, and it's not confirmed.

So the Mercury News broke it. Not a big deal, it's not confirmed by NPD because industry insiders pay for those numbers. It's been confirmed by other sources.

[Gamereviewgod]

Ah ha.. here's what I was looking for:

http://www.homemediaretailing.com/in...=25&image.y=15

http://www.homemediaretailing.com/in...=25&image.y=15

Five movies with a 100,000 copies each. That's from the home video industries main voice.

[boatofcar]

I just want a web browser. I couldn't care less if the system is a success, because I have an emulator that is more reliable and more portable than a Ben Heck custom job. If there are great games, so much the better, but the only reason I bought a PSP was because I knew someone would hack it up.