Those damn Japanese are at it again with their never-ending obsession with the Nintendo DS Lite. Last week, it seemed the PSP was possibly staging a comeback, but a surge in DS Lite sales that almost topped 200,000 nipped any thought of that in the bud.- DS Lite 196,719
(19,866)- PSP: 41,289
(1,315)- PS2: 26,547
(96)- GBA SP: 3,051
(822) - Gameboy Micro: 2,031
(265)- Xbox 360: 1,204
(1,042)- Gamecube: 940
(99)- DS Phat: 934
(596)- GBA: 23
(14)- Xbox: 6
(5)I'm tired of thinking of reasons to why the DS Lite is handing the PSP its ass. Sony is going to have to do something to turn the momentum back in its favor very quickly, or any thought of winning in Japan will be lost. Maybe Sony can start by getting some games on its system that will compete with the DS Lite's. Oh well, there's always next week, right?
(Via PSP Advanced)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-19-2006 @ 4:30PM
pixelator said...
The PSP has some games coming down the pipe that should do the trick, but even a title like Loco Roco isn't making much of a dent ATM. I think a system redesign, repricing and some of the upcoming titles might help, but for now I think the likelihood of the PSP ever really dominating the DS in Japan is pretty slim.
Not that Japan is a do-or-die market, either. Do we care if the XBOX 360 only sells 1000 units a week over there? Not especially. It's the worldwide figures I care about in terms of the longevity of the system, and they're still looking good, overall. With more games, pricing and redesign, I think the world sales fight is far from over.
Reply
8-20-2006 @ 10:56AM
Kaiser Soze said...
"With more games, pricing and redesign, I think the world sales fight is far from over."
Maybe they will sell more units if there were more great games for the PSP. But I dont think it is going to take market shares from the DS. A couple of big sellers are on their way to DS in the very nearby future. The very much hyped and anticipated Final Fantasy III will soon hit the stores. This will drastically increase the sales of the DS (if that's even possible any longer). Then Yoshis Island 2 will arrive, and somewhere in the future, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will smash hit, and sell like cold Carlsberg in the Gobi Desert. But who cares about market shares? PSP still sells well
Reply
8-20-2006 @ 1:21PM
pixelator said...
"Maybe they will sell more units if there were more great games for the PSP."
No, that alone isn't going to do it - the PSP already has more higher rated games according to all the major review sites. What it needs is higher PROFILE games.
I agree there's still several titles for the DS that will make a big splash, but you never know if any of the upcoming original or character-based PSP games might rise to the surface. Vice City Stories could pick up where LCS left off a do some chart topping of its own.
So true, it's NOT essential that the PSP dominate the handheld market in order to continue to deliver good, entertaining games. I wouldn't say either the XBOX or Gamecube were total failures or lacking in a full library of good games - and they were both _distant_ second/third to the PS2.
Reply
8-21-2006 @ 4:11PM
Kaiser Soze said...
So true, so true Pixelator. Actually I was sure that a game like LocoRoco was going to be one of these new profile games. But has anyone heard from it since it's debut? Unfortunately no. And I mean unfortunately. Cause' it was so new, and fresh... And, sigh, CUTE
Reply
8-22-2006 @ 7:02PM
Karaoke Ninja said...
Sure, Final Fantasy III is coming out for Nintendo, but Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is coming out for PSP and that's a -new- FF game and not a port. Considering Final Fantasy's continued popularity (and FFVII in specific) I think there's a good chance it will make an impact and be sufficiently high profle, right?
Also the GTA games have -never- been in popular in Japan, no matter how popular they are in the US and Europe. I don't really know why, but FPSes have never been anywhere near as huge in Japan as here either.
Reply