John-ShepardThere was a time, just over a year ago, when the Nintendo DS owned the handheld world and the PSP was so far behind, some wondered if Sony would actually just concede the fight. But as the PlayStation 3 has risen, so has the PSP.
As you can see by the latest assembly of sales charts , 2008 has become the PSP's best year ever…and we've still got over a month to go. Thanks to the immense success of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in Japan, solid sales of God of War: Chains of Olympus in the U.S., and great sales of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII worldwide, the PSP has snagged a 31% market share. Its 2008 total of 3.1 million is the best ever, the overall total of nearly 11 million sold doesn't look too shabby against the DS's 24 million – trust us, the gap used to be much larger – and it certainly helps that Sony has released yet another upgrade to their handheld. While the PSP-3000 has run into a few technical issues, it has sold quite well since its launch. As the site says about Sony, "they stood up to Nintendo in their house and punched them in the mouth. The handheld market is no longer exclusively Nintendo's." Well, with the added ability to access the PlayStation Store directly, amongst several other significant firmware updates, the PSP has certainly come into its own.
Of course, as is the case with any video game platform, software ultimately drives sales. And provided they can keep spinning out the must-have titles, the PSP will continue to climb.
I bought my PSP this year, and it's one of the best purchases I've made. If you want to play a classic JRPG on it I'd recommend Popolocrois. It starts off slow but once you get into it's good.
I will be purchasing one for Christmas this year. Looking forward to it. My Emirates Airline miles are going to come in handy, as I can trade a few in for a new PSP3000. I can thank my employer for those!
Q!
"i Am HoMe"
Emirates? You travel to the Mideast?
No, not readily… bit nervous going there; rather I use Emirates to travel between Singapore and London. Why? Because I don't like landing at Heathrow Airport; and find landing at Gatwick Airport for more convenient. The tickets are also reasonably priced.
I haven't traveled on Emirates for about 3 years; I have about a month before my miles expire… what a way to spend them hey?
Q!
"i aM hOMe"
I like the variety in flight attendants, too…
yep PSP is da best. i have a question. how come ppl still buy DS ? it has the dumbest gameplay/controls/graphics.
There's nothing wrong with the gameplay and controls. There are some really good games on the DS, most are just aimed at kids though. I wouldn't mind playing Chrono Trigger though.
it pains me to see some of the games that come out for the DS. I'm not saying that there are no good games, but the vast majority are complete crap. If a game does good on the DS, than it will have at least 5 spin-offs, and 3 other games will copy its style, and has several spin-offs or sequels.
Anybody for a good game of "My quit smoking coach"?
PSP is definitely a must buy imho, although many may think otherwise. Yeah there are only a few great games atm, but, like the PS3, it is capable of so much. I use the internet radio just about all the time as well as store video content from the PS Store, now that I recently got a 16gb mem stick. =)
Last edited by Daedusian on 11/23/2008 10:56:27 PM
PSP rocks. Even though I have a ps3 and 360, the damn thing still surprises me how good it is.
tbh i never really use my psp, it has so much potential but i have never really gotten into it. but that may change when i get custom firmware on there.
Just a side note. If you look at that last chart, you will see that it's not the psp that got better, its the DS that got worse (compared to 2007).
I mean between 2007 and 2008 there isn't much difference, the large difference is between 2006 and 2007, that's when sales for the psp nearly doubled.
Oh, and aren't those only Japanese sales?
Last edited by Dan on 11/24/2008 6:04:29 AM
Can sum1 here plz tel me what AAA games are on psp because i want to buy one now
Crisis Core is amazing! My Wife got the red GoW: Chains version. I barely started using it and was amazed at the quality of it! It is like a portable Ps2!
When are we all going to learn that we can't count Nintendo into any of these sales figures? If Nintendo slapped their red logo on a cuisinart and called it the "chop" then they would control 87% of kitchens in the world. LOL
J/K but seriously this is great news for the PSP. Now with the sales rising and market interest up maybe Sony will be exerting more force into making some killer titles for their little handheld that has been neglected far too much.
PSP may not be selling as much as the DS but the same goes for the Bugatti Veyron and the Chevy Corvette. Bugatti Veyrons aren't selling as much as Chevy Corvettes but the Bugatti is still a lot better. The same goes for the PSP and the DS.
somebody please, what about the screen on the psp300? Is it that big a deal? Would I be better off getting the red god of war bundle?
psp owners, please respond!
I would get a god of war bundle, if they are still around
If you want a PSP right now then get a GOW bundle (what Jed said). But if you're in no hurry then wait for the touch-screen PSP to arrive some time in our future.
thanks guys.