PSP Not A Sellout Hit

MilenCent writes "We're starting to see our first mainstream media reports on the PSP's (lack of) sales performance, from the Seattle Times: "But while Sony is touting the rollout as a success -- and many retailers did sell their entire stock -- the event might not have been the complete blockbuster that was expected." In summary, the article says that more systems were sold than not, that dedicated gaming stores were more likely to sell out than department stores like Target, and that the biggest reason gamers didn't pick it up is likely its price -- which wasn't helped by some retailers' sale condition that customers also purchase games, which could raise the price to nearly $350. Will demand pick up once the unit is out there and seen by people, or will it take a price cut before the system sells satisfactorily?"

Comments

-sigh- the psp crusade.

[AzraelKans]

Seriously guys, you are taking this too far. It seems slashdot is in a holly crusade to make the psp look like second to dirt. First the dead pixels issue (heres a hint: 80% of the people wont even notice the dead pixels and YES sony is fixing them) , that article about "retracting new users" because someone disassembled one. (big deal!) the other "lukewarm welcome" what are you talking about? the system sold out in several stores. (the DS didnt sold out in any store here or in Japan that I know of) there were people freezing in the cold to get one, there is a strong following for the psp. Weither you like it or not.

The only real "crime" the PSP has commited is to become a BEATING competitor for the Nintendo handhelds (yes the PSP has more sales than the DS) so what? the DS still has enough sales to keep Nintendo not worried and working on DS games (And even GBA) besides (and Ive saying this all year) the PSP is not meant for kids, so thats a huge target that N is still strong for.

Besides why the heck are you worried about the DS? Nintendo for better or worse is releasing a new handheld by the end of this year. So the "handheld king tittle" remains to be disputed.

Re:This is surprising?

[AlexMax2742]

I'd like a cut of your jib. The price is what killed it for me, plus all the propritary formats and the fact that I have no idea where any Wi-fi hotspots are around my hometown. Lumines did sorely tempt me, though. I'm a sucker for puzzle games.