February's NPD figures were released last night, and it looks like Sony's handheld has done respectably well. PS sold through 243,115 PSP hardware units in February. Sony reminds us that this represents a "year-over-year increase of 38%."Once again, it shows the lasting sales effects of the redesigned PSP. Since the introduction of the PSP-2000, Sony's handheld has been performing remarkably well. Add to that the launch of Patapon and Wipeout Pulse and it should be no surprise that PSP sales were strong in February.
As good as February's numbers were, we can't wait to see March's figures. With the release of both God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on the handheld, we're bound to see a significant bump in hardware sales.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-14-2008 @ 1:38PM
Mills and Boom said...
Well I did get mine for the M33 firmware! Wouldn't have a PSP without that, even though I have real PSP games (UMD) I spend much more time on PS1 and other system emulation.
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3-14-2008 @ 2:04PM
PostedOval said...
Two people at my work (real estate company) picked up their first PSPs recently. These are the non-hardcore gamers, which is a GOOD THING IMHO. It means the appeal of the PSP is reaching beyond to those who were original interested in only the DS.
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3-14-2008 @ 2:21PM
TWIMTBP said...
I picked up mine last week, after my Xbox RRoD'd. I got the Daxter bundle, but a bit afraid to try to install CFW on it. Is it safe? Oh and no-one around me has a hacked psp, so how do i even start. I'm a kernel programmer, in case you were going to cast aspersions on my technical ability :D
3-14-2008 @ 2:23PM
Nate said...
Picked up mine last month after seeing reviews for Pulse, and in anticipation of Crisis Core. Got the GoW demo but don't think I'll be buying the game. Just not my cup of tea.
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3-14-2008 @ 2:25PM
Josh said...
I just got my first PSP yesterday...Dexter bundle with silver PSP. I also bought Wipeout Pure and plan on getting GoW and Vice City Stories sometime next week. It's a fantastic device with amazingly good graphics (this is coming from a 360\PS3 owner). My only gripe is I wish there was a 2nd analog stick on the right side for camera movement, I guess I've been spoiled by the 360 controller. Other than that I have no complaints.
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3-14-2008 @ 2:29PM
TWIMTBP said...
I agree, i got SOCOM, which is painful to play with a fixed camera while ure moving X(
Sorely needs an analog stick on the right.
3-14-2008 @ 3:27PM
synonymous said...
Piracy is ruining the PSP!
Oh wait, did that say that sales are up 38%? :P
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3-14-2008 @ 3:41PM
bryansurvive said...
its not ruining the psp. its ruining psp games.
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3-14-2008 @ 3:54PM
synonymous said...
People are obviously buying PSP games if they're buying PSP's. It's not like everybody out there knows what custom firmware is, only a small handful of those who own a PSP do.
3-14-2008 @ 5:26PM
StevenRafael said...
I can't say it's a well known fact, but PSP games don't exactly sell anywhere near as well as they should.
http://www.pspfanboy.com/2008/03/09/ridiculous-psp-piracy-numbers/
PSP software sales are always dragging behind other systems.
3-14-2008 @ 8:59PM
Johnny Lasley said...
What other systems? The DS? Of course the DS is whooping the PSP. It is the most popular system.
I love the PSP, but you can't dispute their dominance. My little nephew loves his DS, and all his friends have one....the little grubbers. But GOW:COO is hype!
3-14-2008 @ 4:03PM
bryansurvive said...
sure synonymous. whatever you say buddy.
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3-14-2008 @ 4:08PM
nomad said...
are those real dreadlocks or paisties? that's not you andrew please tell me no,hehe.
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3-14-2008 @ 4:16PM
pixelator said...
Interesting, but until the software sales in the USA improve (read: are no longer behind ALL current consoles including the PS2).
Remember, NPD doesn't factor LOTS of sales in the USA (like Wal*Mart and other chains) so that figure isn't the de facto sales figure by a goodly amount (nor are other systems).
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3-14-2008 @ 4:42PM
Mills and Boom said...
Wonder if PSP game sales are up 38%. Would kinda give a good indicator for piracy, what with last year just kick starting the CFW's.
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3-14-2008 @ 5:22PM
txa1265 said...
TEH PSP R D0MED!!!!111one
hehe ... now can we FINALLY kick the 'PSP is dead' stories once and for all?
Of course, we COULD say that 'the PSP was the lowest selling system in February!!!' But who really cares - bottom line, the PSP has proven itself a success, has loads of great games, and has shown that the DS and PSP can peacefully coexist and have individual audiences as well as a large shared audience.
As for game sales, I don't think you can dispute that the PSP is the most pirated handheld ever. Perhaps the most pirated system ever proportional to overall sales. But more and more games are coming along and are doing pretty well - and publishers seem to be dealing with that reality and not killing games. So that is a good thing.
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3-14-2008 @ 5:32PM
StevenRafael said...
Lowest selling system in February? Worldwide sales considered, it outsold the Xbox360, and the PS2 if you wanna count that..
3-14-2008 @ 7:08PM
Jeremy said...
Except, more and more games aren't coming along. Go to gamestop and see how many games there are. 21 listed going all the way to the end of the year. 21 is 9 months is not a lot. And it's not just because some games haven't been announced yet - April has all of 1 game listed as coming out.
3-15-2008 @ 8:44PM
Mills and Boom said...
Yea, looking ahead the only game I've got preordered for the PSP is Crisis Core.
It's no surprise with the amount of piracy on the system. No wonder publishers and devs don't want to go near it.
3-14-2008 @ 5:36PM
bryansurvive said...
well all i can say is that im doing my part of not downloading torrents for psp. I like the variety of games as well as their attempts to make the system the best it can be. movies/music etc. make me a proud owner.
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