Posted Aug 15th 2008 12:00PM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News
All great things must come to an end. The PSP, which seemed like an unstoppable hardware selling juggernaut, finally came down from its lofty highs ... down to second place in Japan. In its place? Well, it's the DS ... Seems like the handheld console wars are back! Hold on, while we get some popcorn ...
Nintendo DS - 60,434
PSP - 58,501
Wii - 38,506
Xbox 360 - 24,962
PlayStation 3 - 9,673
PlayStation 2 - 8,503
Also shaking up the charts this week: the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3. Did something contaminate the Japanese water supply? There's so much drama this week!
Posted Aug 1st 2008 11:45AM by Alan Tsang
Filed under: News
PSP is again on the top in Japan. If you are just looking for some bad news, sales did drop 6,572 units from the previous week, but keep in mind last week's sales were an astonishing 74,052 units. Nintendo's handheld still couldn't beat the PSP, despite the release of Dragon Quest V. Really, can anything stop this pint-sized juggernaut in the land of the rising sun?
Week of July 21st-July 27th:
This week, Monster Hunter faces some competition. One of the big selling points of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G was its free DLC, available weekly for eager fans. Just days after its launch in Japan, Sega is also making free Phantasy Star Portable DLC available. The first thing you're going to kill? A very Monster Hunter-dragon. Do you smell the competition in the air?
While both of these PSP RPGs go head-to-head in Japan with tons of features for fans, we're left here on this side of the Pacific, scratching our heads. Why don't we get this cool stuff too?
Want to be a "chick magnet" in Tokyo? Why not pick up Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G? This ad from PlayStation shows fashionable Japanese females getting together for an Ad-Hoc game of the popular PSP exclusive. Don't you wish you could join them? (Also, why does a game as successful as Monster Hunter need to advertise?)
Posted Jul 25th 2008 11:54AM by Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News
PSP loves two numbers this week in Japan: the number 1 and 74,024. You see, the PSP is still number 1 this week, and it sold 74,024 systems. Yeah, see what we did there? Sales were spurred by a myriad of factors, such as the release of a new Blue system, bundled with the popular 1seg TV tuner. It also didn't help that it was a PSP, which Japanese gamers have confused with crack cocaine, apparently.
Will Sega's Phantasy Star Portable be able to take on Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G? The two games are targeting very similar markets: social RPG games on the PSP. This new ad released in Japan highlights the community aspects of Phantasy Star Portable, but misses what we would've focused on: its acronym. Clearly, PSP is MEANT for the PSP. This is gaming destiny!
We don't think an ad like that would've been too dramatic for Japanese tastes ...
The Japanese don't want one Chocobo themed game -- they want two. And that's exactly what they're getting this week on their PS Store update. Five new PS1 games are available for 600 yen each, and two of them are about Square Enix's notorious yellow mascots. Here they are:
Posted Jul 19th 2008 6:45PM by Alan Tsang
Filed under: News
Can anyone ever be sick of good news? Maybe you guys are tired of hearing how well our beloved handheld is doing in Japan. But we doubt Sony minds the good news, and neither do we. However, we do mind coming up with a new headline for the same good news every single week. Maybe you guys can give us some suggestions in comments ...
Week of June 30th-July 6th:
PSP - 56,998 (559)
Nintendo DS - 48,540 (1,085)
Wii - 41,768 (2,757)
PlayStation 3 - 12,458 (1,901)
PlayStation 2 - 10,405 (1,363)
Xbox 360 - 3,807 (969)
The PSP outsold itself from last week, selling 559 more units. Its big brother, the PlayStation 3, didn't fare so well -- sales fell by almost 2,000 units.
Sony sent out a press release today flaunting the PSP's sell-in numbers in Japan. The portable gaming behemoth has sold over 10 million units since its inception on December 12, 2004. That's numbers for both PSP-1000 models and the slimmer PSP-2000 models.
Also, in addition to the number crunching, Sony has stated that Japan will get a Metallic Blue PSP bundle on sale July 17, as well as a Metallic Blue PSP 1 Seg Pack. "SCE will vigorously promote PSP as a new handheld entertainment system to enjoy a variety of digital entertainment content by enhancing network capabilities and interoperability with PlayStation 3."
Posted Jul 11th 2008 1:15PM by Alan Tsang
Filed under: News
Just as the Xbox 360 is firmly planted at the bottom of the Japanese sales chart, the PSP is once again on top. The nitty-gritty numbers are presented to you below:
Week of June 30th-July 6th:
PSP - 56,439 (2422)
Nintendo DS - 47,455 (1,429)
Wii - 44,525 (3,955)
PlayStation 3 - 14,359 (3,614)
PlayStation 2 - 11,768 (4,095)
Xbox 360 - 4,776 (328)
Seems like video game hardware sales are down in general over in Japan this week. All the current-gen systems reported lower than last week sales. But hey, our favorite portable is still at the top, besting the runner-up, the Nintendo DS, by 8,984 units.
There is really nothing left to say. We're no longer shocked that the PSP is once again champion. Perhaps, even all of you are getting tired of hearing how great things are over in Japan. So, we'll just use this picture to convey how much the Japanese love the PSP.
Week of June 23-29:
PSP - 58,861 (490)
Nintendo DS - 48,884 (12,285)
Wii - 48,480 (7,443)
PlayStation 3 - 17,973 (2,363)
PlayStation 2 - 7,673 (1,327)
Xbox 360 - 5,104 (2,549)
The PSP still holds tight even with a strong boost to DS sales. The PS3 looks like it's slowly going back to its regular numbers, and the PS2 is still amazingly outselling the Xbox 360.
In Japan, PSP is king. Or, at least is has been so for the majority of this year thus far. Ever since Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G hit stores back in late March, the PSP has dominated the Japanese hardware charts. As a result, the PSP has gone off to sell 1,964,461 units for the first six months of 2008 in Japan alone. That makes the PSP, so far, the most successful system in Japan in terms of volume sales.
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has gone to sell 2.3 million units in little over three months. That's quite amazing to say the least. With such successes across the Pacific, we can't help but take notice and reflect upon the current condition of PSP in North America. Where are we going? Hopefully, E3 will provide us all with some answers.
Posted Jun 27th 2008 3:45PM by Majed Athab
Filed under: News
Yes folks, PSP is again number one in Japan. After being knocked out of the top slot last week to second place by big brother PS3, the PSP climbs back to the top with 59,351 units sold. Despite a drop of 5,000 units from last week's 64K total, the PSP is still amazingly way ahead of its competition. Now, how did last week's top draw, PS3, do this week? It shot down to fourth place. It is, however, quite a success in that it's pulling 20K; usually the PS3 generates sales similar to PS2's current numbers.
PSP - 59,351
Wii - 41,037
Nintendo DS - 36,599
PlayStation 3 - 20,336
PlayStation 2 - 6,346
Xbox 360 - 2,555
Sony has created a series of educational videos for Japanese PSP consumers, which highlight all the things players can do with their systems. The first topic on display: getting custom themes onto your system. It's done in an incredibly poorly-acted over-the-top Japanese talk show format. Even with the language barrier, we're sure this is bound to get a few laughs.
Posted Jun 20th 2008 4:30PM by Majed Athab
Filed under: News
Last week we posed the question: "Is the PSP finally knocked out of first place in Japanese charts?" It didn't happen that week; however, we must have jinxed the system because the unspeakable had finally happened this week. PSP has been stripped of its championship title. The hardware to take the top slot would be none other than the PS3.
1. PlayStation 3: 75,311 2. PlayStation Portable: 64,675
3. Nintendo Wii: 45,564
4. Nintendo DS: 39,201
5. PlayStation 2: 7,297
6. Xbox 360: 2,163
The PS3 has shot to the top because of the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. We wonder if the PSP's dethronement will last long ... or will it be just a one-off thing? Given the PSP's proven track record with steady sales week after week for the past few months and the possibility that hype over MGS4 is calming down, we could see a PSP comeback next week. The PSP only trails behind the PS3 by 11,000 units this week -- that's not much of a gap to fill.
Can anyone ever be sick of good news? Maybe you guys are tired of hearing how well our beloved handheld is doing in Japan. But we doubt Sony minds the good news, and neither do we. However, we do mind coming up with a new headline for the same good news every single week. Maybe you guys can give us some suggestions in comments ...
559)
2,757)
There is really nothing left to say. We're no longer shocked that the PSP is once again champion. Perhaps, even all of you are getting tired of hearing how great things are over in Japan. So, we'll just use this picture to convey how much the Japanese love the PSP.
Yes folks, PSP is again number one in Japan. After being knocked out of the top slot last week to second place by big brother PS3, the PSP climbs back to the top with 59,351 units sold. Despite a drop of 5,000 units from last week's 64K total, the PSP is still amazingly way ahead of its competition. Now, how did last week's top draw, PS3, do this week? It shot down to fourth place. It is, however, quite a success in that it's pulling 20K; usually the PS3 generates sales similar to PS2's current numbers.
