Things are not looking for Sony's handheld. After what appeared to be a successful resurrection with the redesigned PSP-2000, things have slowed down significantly for the system. EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich noted that sales of PSP have dropped quite a bit from its previous highs. In fact, it sold 17% less systems in May 2008 as it did in May 2007. Momentum is significantly dropping.The outlook for PSP is going to be much worse before it gets any better. According to Divnich, "this trend will likely continue, as we do not see any significant PSP titles in the short-term pipeline that could drive hardware sales in Sony's favor." The PSP software drought certainly isn't going to help.
For one reason or another, PSP software sales are also significantly lower than on any other platform. Divnich noted. "Furthermore, PSP software has consistently been last in software unit sales among the next-generation consoles and handhelds. Additionally, the PSP was the only console not to have a title in the top 10 of unit sales, even the PS2 managed to creep into the top ten with sales from Iron Man." So long as PSP software continues to flop, publishers and developers will have no need to create new content for the system.
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 3)
6-13-2008 @ 6:18PM
jitty said...
@ Don
Yep, I got my psp on the US launch March something 2005. But after about 2 years, when I got my PS3, I stopped using the PSP a lot. Then about 6 months after that, I got my mp3 player and basically stopped using my psp completely. It's not that the psp is not good but I simply learned that I don't like playing video games when I'm out. I'd much rather listen to music or enjoy my time out.
And psp software is similar to console software and console software is much much more enjoyable IMO. So my psp became useless as a game machine and as a mp3 player.
6-13-2008 @ 3:00AM
Lulu said...
It's funny how PSP outsells every other console in Japan but does poorly in the US.
I wonder what went wrong here.
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6-13-2008 @ 6:24AM
min said...
America sucks? And Japan is a little more tight on their hackers.
6-13-2008 @ 4:40AM
Glyn C said...
It's such a shame, I think the PSP is great, I just yearn for more suitable games. I personally think the best genre for the PSP is pick-up-put-down strategy games. I bought Theme Hospital from the PSN and transferred it to my PSP, I couldn't stop playing it! I used to play it on the PC many moons ago, but it was great on the PSP. Brilliant game and clearly suited to the PSP experience. I've just bought Red Alert to see how that goes. As far as I can see, the only decent strategy game planned for the platform in the 'near' future is Tom Clancy's End War. And that's miles away.
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6-13-2008 @ 8:35PM
Zippon said...
D'oh! You got me all excited by mentioning Theme Hospital. "How did I miss that on the PSN? I'll go get it right now!"
Alas, I am in the US, and you are....in the UK? :-(
I'd buy that download in a heartbeat.
Ah, well. I'm enjoying the hell out of R-Type Command. That'll have to do for now.
6-13-2008 @ 7:45AM
Joe said...
I think the future for the PSP will start seeing more downloadable games. That way the games are harder to pirat. Also who says the PSP sells bad in the US. The US has had the most PSP sales out of all the big three system areas.
The hardware in the life time of the PSP has sold the most in the US then Japan. So saying the PSP sells bad is not true. It just is having a slow down right now. Again I want to say I see download games being the future for the PSP. There are even plans to get third party members to bring games out just that way. To name one is Galaxy's End. That is if Novastrike sells well that is.
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6-13-2008 @ 10:10AM
Keith said...
get capcom to release a psp resident evil and software sales problems will be a thing of the past. don't blame piracy. the ps2 has even greater piracy problems and its software is still going strong...
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6-13-2008 @ 10:14AM
Keith said...
oh and i almost forgot - how about that Grand Tourismo Portable which sony promised 3 years ago? Put on hold in favour of Grand Tourismo 5 on ps3 that where! Maybe they should get their priorities right first.
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6-13-2008 @ 10:26AM
MrC said...
Is piracy killing the PSP. Probably. Here's my problem, though. People (myself included) are going out of their way to install custom firmware not because they want to pirate games, but because they really do want to run other software. They want a halfway decent implementation of flash. They want a shoutcast streamer that has some semblance of control (as opposed to the offered ones that do not). They want an e-book reader. The PSP is capable of all of these, but Sony hasn't offered up the goods. So, instead, people hack their way in, and once your in, the door is open to piracy.
The solution, my friends, is a free or accessibly-priced SDK.
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6-14-2008 @ 7:23PM
Ryan A said...
Piracy hasn't even entered the equation for me. What's lacking are games that really grab my attention. Golf and racing? Seriously? Doesn't SCEA have any clue what the hell people want out of the PSP?
6-13-2008 @ 11:13AM
Nate said...
"Things are not looking for Sony's handheld"
...you guys forgot "good", right?
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6-13-2008 @ 1:43PM
Neuromancer said...
Yeah I noticed that too.
I like to think they're talking about horrible, unspeakable things from man's worst nightmares, relentlessly hunting their PSPrey in the dead of night.
6-13-2008 @ 11:23AM
Brittany said...
I actually think that it's USED games sales that are killing the PSP. Everyone here should know how ridiculous EB's profits are... you go in sell back a psp game for like 5 bucks, they turn around and sell it for 16.99 - That's all profit for them and the developer doesn't get a cut of that money at all.
Because of that I always try and buy games NEW so I can support the developers that I like.
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6-13-2008 @ 12:24PM
Yomachaser said...
The thing killing psp here is that Sony America DOES NOT TRY! The japanese arm of the company puts in 100x time effort making 1st party games, keeping the psn/pc store flooded with new content and push great games like Monster Hunter 2ndG with bundles and strong ads.
Our PSN is full of garbage like ridge racer and the entire focus seems to be on linking features to the PS3 and pushing the hell out of that.
If for just for one second SCEA tried hard to give the psp a distinct image/focus (as opposed to trying to appeal to greed and envy in the get your own ads) the psp would succeed.
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6-13-2008 @ 12:55PM
Sean Capisonda said...
I'll try to be more optimistic here when it come to the state of the psp.
we've got the god of war bundle recently released in NA, the Crisis Core Bundle released in Europe soon, and the Madden Bundle coming soon to NA. To say that Sony isn't putting in at least some effort in to selling their portable is a lie. May was a slow month for the PSP in general but I don't see that trend continuing to be that drastic in next month hardware wise at least. And the last I checked there were like 35 million psp sold thus far in it's history albeit pales in comparison with the DS but is equal or greater than 360 and ps3 sales combined. They way I see it the market is somewhere in between the DS market and the next gen consoles market.
When it comes to software, I admit that the psp is a bit thin right now. But the only thing that keeps me hopeful, is the square enix games upcoming, continued success in japan (hopefully leading to some NA ports of games coming out of there), and continued support by Sony itself (getting good developers to make games they are willing to publish, increased functionality of the system via firmware, and more peripheral like gps, keyboard, camera etc)
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6-13-2008 @ 12:55PM
acefondu said...
It's not piracy. The PSP was the #1 selling system for a few months with the release of Monster Hunter. So gee...could it be a long stretch of shitty games? Yes, I sure think so.
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6-13-2008 @ 12:56PM
blindelf said...
Well we all want our favorite systems to do well and have a bright future, thats just human nature.
I think people need to ask themselves how many games do you need to love enough to buy and play the heck out of in order to justify buying the hardware?
10? 15?
For some people it might be 5 games...
I'll say this: if the PSP really does start to truly go under, I'm buying a bunch of kick-ass underappreciated games in the bargain bins and an extra system or two when they drop to a hundred bucks...
This is WAY too cool a piece of hardware to let go of...this thing will have a cult following for the ages, and not just the hackers...
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6-13-2008 @ 1:45PM
Neuromancer said...
I agree, I love this system and just got it so right now there are plenty of games for me to get from the back catalog. But the future doesn't look too bright from what I hear.
6-13-2008 @ 2:14PM
Binaryfiend said...
Does anyone else smell a new model coming? The signs are slowly starting to point to that no?
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6-13-2008 @ 2:27PM
bryansurvive said...
piracy you say. i dont think so anymore. just like keith said and so have i. ps2 has had piracy since the start. you can just rent them from blockbuster and burn. psp is probably the next best thing to have happened to me. they just need to bring in the mascots of playstation im sure something positive will happen.
mascots included: resident evil, devil may cry, crash, final fantasy, maybe some dead or alive, remake of silent hill. anything to cheer up this drag. maybe even some grand tourismo.
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