Posted May 15th 2008 10:00PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
PSP hardware continues to sell incredibly well, outpacing both the PS3 and Xbox 360 on a monthly basis. April's NPD figures have come in, and PSP sold 192,696 units last month. That's an increase of 5.6% from April 2007, although a significant plummet from March 2008. Considering the lack of high-profile new releases, a drop in hardware makes a lot of sense.
Software sales were at a million units for the month, a respectable figure. However, God of War and Crisis Core quickly dropped out of the bestsellers list, after a brief appearance last month. These two titles are unsurprisingly the top sellers on the PSP platform this month.
Posted May 14th 2008 12:00PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
In terms of software sales, the PS2's enormous installed base led to sales of 154 million units, down 39.5 million on the year but still almost triple the other PlayStation platforms. The PSP only showed minimal growth, however, adding just 800,000 games over last year to a 55.5 million total for the year to March 31. PSP, as expected, performed very well in Sony's annual fiscal report, ending March 31, 2008. Annual hardware sales rose to 13.9 million, an increase of 46% from fiscal 2007. The redesigned hardware provided a lot of momentum in America, and Japan's insatiable taste for Monster Hunter certainly helped Sony's handheld quite a bit.
However, in spite of significant growth in hardware, software sales stagnated. The PSP sold through 55.5 million software units, a growth of approximately 1% from last year. In spite of a slew of major new releases, like Crisis Core, software sales on PSP simply don't perform as well as they should.
Planet Moon has been a strong supporter of PSP, dedicating itself to the creation of exclusives on Sony's handheld. Their titles, Infected and After Burner, tried new things on the handheld, but neither title found the success that they were looking for. "We're very proud of them. We wish they'd found a bigger audience, but I think most people who've made PSP games wish that in retrospect," Planet Moon's Aaron Loeb told Gamasutra.
Sluggish software sales for (relatively) expensive games forced Planet Moon to abandon PSP development, just like many other developers. While they're currently working on Wii games, they do note that PSP may experience a resurrection of sorts. "Interest in the PSP is definitely coming back among the publishers, though. That little puppy just keeps on selling!"
We're certain that many publishers were caught off-guard by the sales resurgence of PSP, after the introduction of the redesigned PSP-2000 and big-name releases, such as God of War and Crisis Core. However, games do take quite a time to create -- it may be a while before we're able to reap the fruits of any new PSP development.
These PSP numbers are absolutely ridiculous. Japan's weekly charts have been dominated by Sony's handheld, and this week is no different. In fact, PSP has outsold DS in a 2:1 ratio this week. The tables have turned, at least in Japan.
It's been a slow time for PSP gamers. After the release of Crisis Core and God of War, things have slowed down quite dramatically for the handheld. Exclusives for the PSP are few and far apart, with releases of Secret Agent Clank and Hot Shots Golf being but a few known titles that will release in the upcoming summer months. SCEE boss David Reeves admitted that software has slowed down on PSP. "Hand on heart, would we like more PSP games? Yes, we would. We really would," Reeves told GI.biz.
Where and when will we see new games? It looks like we're going to have to look towards Japan, where PSP has become something of a phenomenon. The success of PSP in Japan has created a resurgence of PSP development -- localized versions of upcoming Japanese games is what we'll have to wait for. "We've seen in the last six months that because of the success of the PSP in Japan many Japanese developers have got some absolutely phenomenal games. They're not Monster Hunter 2G or things like that, but they are in development and we'll see them over here," he added.
Seeing this sort of mod makes you just want to stop and stare and say some pre-school gibberish like "ooh, glowing thing." While you comfortably ogle idly with desire, we'll continue reporting on this gorgeous add-on. When you're ready to wipe the drool over your chin, read on.
This product you see here is called the XCM Magic Night Glow faceplate. It latches onto the front side of slim model PSPs only and comes in pearl, yellow, blue (pictured), green, pink, and red. Each faceplate glows a different color than its original scheme. For example: the blue one pictured above will glow greenish (also pictured). So far there's no price set yet, but you can find a place to pre-order it over at XCM's website.
Now, just think of all the practical uses your PSP will now have; it's not only a game machine and a music player, but also a nightlight and a rave party glow toy! Sweet.
You know you want it. The limited edition God of War Entertainment Pack is finally available for pre-order. The package includes an awesome red PSP, a copy of God of War: Chains of Olympus, and a number of other goodies, like Syphon Filter: Combat Ops and Superbad UMD. Entertainment Pack, indeed. The pack releases on June 3rd for $199.99. Check it out at amazon.com. We'll update this post when other retailers begin offering the system as well.
When we look at Mat Brady's convergence PSP mock-up, we can't help but laugh and get confused at the same time. This Frankensteinien combination of an iPhone, Windows Mobile device and PSP should be able to play games, browse the internet, play music, and cook you food. This certainly would save a lot of space in our already-bursting pockets. Check out a high-res image here.
Posted May 2nd 2008 11:00PM by Majed Athab Filed under: News
Japanese website Dengeki Online polled its readers on the games they most wanted to be remade. The actual list of titles is not what concerns us, however. What tickles our interest is that the readers were also polled on what system they most wanted these remakes to appear on. Triumphantly, the PSP was the favorite.
This information, while not a really tangible representation of Japanese gaming habits, does paint a rather interesting and perplexing landscape of how things are over there. The PSP is selling hotly, and people are craving for the remakes. There's no doubt PSPs are flying off the shelves due to Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, but is this tie-in with remakes also moving units? Some of the big PSP games are remakes; take Final Fantasy Tactics for example. Perhaps remakes are expected to show up on the system since it's so synonymous with them, or maybe we're just hearing a cry for more games after Monster Hunter's fun expires.
Whatever the reason, hopefully this rekindled interest in the PSP will re-energize developers to make more games (remakes and new IP) for the platform. We seriously need them!
Posted May 2nd 2008 11:45AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
These articles are pretty much writing themselves. Will PSP's incredible momentum ever stop? We don't know -- there just isn't an end to the PSP's domination as of late. Check out the latest weekly numbers from Japan:
PSP - 92,411
DS Lite - 48,796
Wii - 42,435
PS3 - 9,107
PS2 - 7,108
Xbox 360 - 1,283
For those keeping track, PSP sales actually went up this week, and now holds a staggering lead over every other platform with about 1.5 million sales this year. Certainly, the Japanese market is very different from the American one.
Every month, IGN gives each platform a "Game of the Month." Unfortunately, for PSP, this month's award is hilarious.
After an insanely crowded March (with God of War and Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core), the PSP's software library has died down quite considerably. Unfortunately, this drought isn't going to end any time soon. Games like R-Type Command, echochrome, and Hot Shots Golf will fill in the void at times -- but until we see some major announcements (at E3, perhaps?), things are looking rather dire.
Released in Japan, Sony's official PSP cradle is a magnificent thing of beauty. For those that want to use PSP as a mini-theatre of sorts will certainly want to snag this elegantly designed peripheral. The remote will allow you to turn on your PSP, and control every function of the XMB.
For more images of the device, check out our friends at PSP GadgetZ.
Posted Apr 27th 2008 3:00PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Who knew that three years after it launched, PSP would become such a hot property. Do people really love Monster Hunter that much? (The answer is "yes.")
PSP - 85,421
DS Lite - 44,551
Wii - 44,241
PS3 - 7,438
PS2 - 6,545
Xbox 360 - 1,076
The PSP sales are undoubtedly going to make the folks at Sony quite proud. The PS3, though? Not so much.
About a month ago, we posted about a ziplock-like baggie to shield your PSP while you game in the shower. Today, we've got another similar accessory that will keep your PSP waterproof. This one looks more stylish than the first -- with that nice little handle and complimentary suction cup clips which keep the item neatly hanging on the shower wall.
This new bag comes from Cyber Gadgets. It's made from thick vinyl material and is large enough to house both fat and slim PSPs, as well as a TV tuner. The bag also keeps afloat. It's priced at about ¥1280 (US$12.35). To see more pictures of the product, click right here (note: scroll down once at the link).
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 8:20PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
The gaming scene in Africa isn't always on the bleeding edge. But, that hasn't stopped the growing popularity of the PSP in Africa. A GamePro report covers the growing number of "PlayStation arcades" in Sierra Lione, where people are paying significant sums of money to play PS2 games.
Apparently, PSP is also gaining traction (although not to the same degree as its PS2 cousin). Many residents receive their PSP systems as gifts from abroad. Used UMD movies are becoming a commodity, earning about $10 for a used disc. That's probably more than you'll get here in the States.
It's fascinating to see how gaming is developing in other parts of the world. Although gaming is far from a ubiquitous activity for our African friends, it's interesting to see how PSP fits into the community.
Planet Moon has been a strong supporter of PSP, dedicating itself to the creation of exclusives on Sony's handheld. Their titles, Infected and After Burner, tried new things on the handheld, but neither title found the success that they were looking for. "We're very proud of them. We wish they'd found a bigger audience, but I think most people who've made PSP games wish that in retrospect," Planet Moon's Aaron Loeb told Gamasutra.
It's been a slow time for PSP gamers. After the release of Crisis Core and God of War, things have slowed down quite dramatically for the handheld. Exclusives for the PSP are few and far apart, with releases of Secret Agent Clank and Hot Shots Golf being but a few known titles that will release in the upcoming summer months. SCEE boss David Reeves admitted that software has slowed down on PSP. "Hand on heart, would we like more PSP games? Yes, we would. We really would," Reeves told GI.biz.
These articles are pretty much writing themselves. Will PSP's incredible momentum ever stop? We don't know -- there just isn't an end to the PSP's domination as of late. Check out the latest weekly numbers from Japan:
Who knew that three years after it launched, PSP would become such a hot property. Do people really love Monster Hunter that much? (The answer is "yes.")
The gaming scene in Africa isn't always on the bleeding edge. But, that hasn't stopped the growing popularity of the PSP in Africa. A GamePro report covers the growing number of "PlayStation arcades" in Sierra Lione, where people are paying significant sums of money to play PS2 games.
