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Sony PSP Sales Way Up
WeAz writes "According to an article via Yahoo's news service, Sony is reporting that they have sold 800,000 PSP units since the system's release last month. Demand for the system is so strong that there's already a shortage arising. To combat this, Sony 'would increase monthly PSP production by 100,000 units to one million in April, as it prepared to launch the product in the United States and Europe.' Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment's CEO said that monthly production of the PSP will eventually rise to 3 million units."
Sony has not sold 800K units. Sony has shipped 800K units.
They aren't "sold" until they're in the hands of consumers.
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
- Nintendo talks about its long battery life superiority.
- The DS will feature a brand new series in 2005: Mario DS, Metroid DS, Zelda DS. Followed by 2006 series of Mario 64 DS, Metroid DS, Zelda DS.
- In 2008, Nintendo plans on releasing DS-more-color and DS advanced.
Good point. Sony seems to be talking only about future production and future demand.
On the other hand. Sony is currently shipping 100,000 PSPs per week, and if they really do plan to launch in the US and Europe anytime soon, they will need a hell of a lot more than that. Even a million a month is only 333,000 for each region.
If they really care about making a dent in DS market share, they will need more than 80K/week output in the US.
Yeah, except with decent resolution, competent hardware, a usable form factor, and the fact that it's coming from a well-established gaming division. I'll consider the PSP's battery life+UMD-shooting a draw with N-Gage's horribly convoluted game changing requirements.
The resolution thing still confuses me. My Nokia 3660 has better resolution than the N-Gage.
Also, I'm not a Sony apologist. If anything, I'd probably fall into the Nintendo fanboy category. I have a Gamecube, GBA, GBA SP (original GBA given to younger brother), and a DS. The dismissal of the PSP as "another N-Gage" still struck me as inexcusably trollish.
Also, the lack of good games on the DS so far is still disappointing.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
I would actually argue that the Playstation 2 appeals less to the true 'hardcore' gamer than any other system. Nintendo caters to the old-school (note that I didn't say 'skool') nostalgic gamer due to it's franchises, and after the death of the Dreamcast, most of the hardcore console gamers went with the Xbox (yes there are other good games besides Halo 2), at least from what I've seen of that former crowd, of which I was one. Mostly because of the fact that Sony pretty much killed the Dreamcast due to initial marketing hype and developer pinching (EA and Squaresoft to start with), to which they are, of course, entitled, but nonetheless, it left a sour Sony taste in many gamer's mouths. No doubt about it, the PS2 succeeded as well as it did because the PS1 was 'cool'. And 'cool' is not what brings the true gamers, as you put it. Games are. And I'm talking about quality, not quantity (which the PS2 obviously has).
I don't own a PS2 because there's not a single game I want for it that I can't get on another console (at least in the long run), its graphic capabilities retained much of that 'PS1 look', and it doesn't have a good online system in my opinion, and the majority of it's top selling games (like the GTA series that you can get on an Xbox as well) don't really interest me. Pretty much all my gaming is done online now, and normally exclusively with people I've known to play games or argued with on message boards for years. I still have no interest in the PSP either, besides the fact it's a cool looking little gadget, simply because I have no interest whatsoever in any of its games. Wipeout? Metal Gear card-battle? Yet another good-yet-overrated Spider-man game? No thanks for now.
PlayStation2 is THE gaming system for the true gamer
I've been playing video games since pacman. I resent statements like these.
the cosmos in 20 words or less: thumbuki.com
Yes, the lack of good DS games is extremely frustrating. I was an early adopter of the DS, and I know Nintendo does wonderfully innovative things. The DS is a great product, but it seems it might have been rushed just a teeny bit to combat the PSP. It seems like the PSP is also suffering from the same problem at the moment. Maybe if everybody just slowed down until everything was ready we would all be better off. One can dream.
I still think there is room in the portable market for two consoles. This wasn't true when the previous game boy competitors came to market. There is a lot of people gaming now a days though, and I think their tastes are different. Enough so to create *at least* two portable console markets.
-- I have fans? Wow.
"Sony PSP Sales Way Up"
Yeah, I mean, at this time last year they had sold, what, zero? I'd definitely say sales are up.
WHAT? This would be a reasonable criticism against the Gamecube (and you're entitled to your opinion), but essentially what you're saying here is that the XBox is the ONLY console with a good online system? PS2 online is exactly as good as the game's creator makes it. The fact that Sony hasn't stepped in the middle of it all to offer standardized tools and interfaces in exchange for a slice of revenue every month is a reasonable decision. Microsoft's approach is reasonable, though I personally find the subscription model unappealing, it is competitive. For people who play online regularly, XBox Live is worth it, but not so much for infrequent online gamers. Sony's approach is less convenient, but is pretty good considering it's free. Some people don't WANT to pay each month just to use the network adapter that they have on their console - I'm glad they have a free online system, even if you think it isn't 'good'.
Seen any BadMarketing lately?
I'd contest that the PS2 lacks 'hardcore' appeal, or really that 'hardcore' appeal matters. The PS2 has had many games that could be described as Hardcore, from Final Fantasy Online to Devil May Cry to Rez. The PS2 has had a lot of great exclusives in it's lifetime. Ratchet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid, ICO, Katamari Damacy, the Silent Hill series, Tekken, Onimusha, Kingdom Hearts, Xenosaga, Hot Shots Golf, *Plug* Amplitude, Eyetoy: AntiGrav */Plug*
The PS2 did well during it's early days because of Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid 2, Gran Turismo, Tony Hawk, Max Payne, SSX, Final Fantasy, Virtua Fighter 4, and a bunch of other great games. It also ran uncontested during a period of the console cycle when people were in a buying mood. The Dreamcast died because it launched at a dead spot during people's buying cycles. People had just got PS1's En Masse, and asking them to switch again to a moderately more powerful system was just foolish. People weren't ready. On the other hand, if you had Dreamcasts that would put you at ripe for a new console about when the XBox started strutting it's stuff, which makes sense. I don't recall any of this so-called developer pinching... Any links?
But no system is without their exclusive must-try games. The GameCube has the astoundingly great and totally original Metroid Prime, an excellent Treasure title in Ikaruga, a great Zelda, Resident Evil 4, Pikmin 2, the highly original Harvest Moon series, the excellent and gimmocky Crystal Chronicles and 4 Swords Adventures, Donkey Konga, Wario Ware, etc. No hardcore gamer that appreciates the art can afford to ignore the gamecube.
The Xbox's online capabilities are excellent, but remember that even with XBox live, only 10% of all gamers ever bring their console online. It also only pushes about 50% more polys than the PS2, which when it comes to gaming terms is not a significant difference. The XBox does have some great exclusives, such as Halo, Ninja Gaiden, and Crimson Skies, but I don't need to convince you of that. I do really hope that with the next generation of hardware, everyone emulates XBox's online capabilities. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to the headache of implementing and debugging all of that online capability, but oh well. All for the fans.
But really, everyone defines 'hardcore' as something different. To me the hardcore gamer has all three of the current platforms, and most of the past ones as well. I'd consider someone hardcore if they owned a SuperGraphix, a Final Fantasy Wonderswan, or possibly just a Neo Geo. A Dreamcast, Virtual Boy, Jaguar, or 3DO bought after they were obviously dead systems might also suffice if there were mitigating circumstances. Most of the publishers I've talked to consider hardcore players to be owners of two systems, who spend over X hours a week on videogames, and who buy more than N titles a month. You, apparently, are defining hardcore people as those whom you see on XBox live. Hence, if you're trying to appeal to "hardcore" people because you think they buy more games, you really need to break that down into the demographic that you think that you're getting. If you're trying to appeal to "hardcore" gamers because you think that only they will understand your genius design, then you need to look at why your system is so impossible to use (MOO3, anyone?). If on the other hand, you're trotting out the name of the 'hardcore' gamer because you want some cred for your argument, you need to find a better backing. Who are these hardcore gamers, specifically, and what is it about the [ NES / SNES / Genesis / TG16 / Sega CD / 3DO / N64 / Saturn / Playstation / Jaguar / Dreamcast / PS2 / XBox / Game Cube / PS3 / XBox 2 / Game Tetrahedron ] that makes them feel that it [ Roxxors / Suxxors / Blows 'yo Mamma / Is going to rule over all ].
And in summary, a Penny Arcade cartoon.
The ______ Agenda
All you have stated may very well be correct, but are really irrelevant, and is a straw argument since it doesn't at all address the points the parent made nor my challenge to them.
Only the last sentence you stated is glaringly wrong "at least be responsible enough to know that you have the facts, before you digest them as such."
Since we are talking facts, let me restate my original posting and the parent.
1. Damn near every unit shipped has been sold. This is the history of the PSP. This is why there is a pending shortage. (ok you have me this last sentence, it doesn't refute my point)
2. Even in Japan, its been difficult to find one even weeks after release.
3. The parent assumes there is salable stock in warehouses and stores that is unsold. Normally, the parent would have a point, but that does not apply here.
Let me restate the parent I was responding to:
(Parent stated)
1. Sony has not sold 800K units. Sony has shipped 800K units.
2. They aren't "sold" until they're in the hands of consumers.
Now, are you going to tell me that anything less than nearly all of this 800k are *not* in the hands of consumers ?
Thank you for talking about Sony's past history of engineering shortages, it is quite interesting and would be a good topic in its own right, but please bring the discussion over to how many of those shipped are in consumer's hands.