PSP, PS2 Sales Skyrocket

Spurred by the scarcity of the PlayStation 3, hungry consumers are buying all the PSP and PS2 units they can get their hands on. The PSP's sales have shot up by 280 percent over last year, while the PS2 was up a respectable 115 percent. From the Eurogamer article: "Additionally, sales of first-party software are also up, according to SCEA. PS2 game sales rose by 120.6 per cent, with PSP software sales increasing by almost 168 per cent. Sony has yet to publish figures for exactly how many PlayStation 3 units have been sold in North America since the console launched there on 17th November."

Comments

Poor kids not getting what they want...

[JoostSchuttelaar]

Poor kids getting a PlayStation 2 for XMas.... :)

Re:Poor kids not getting what they want...

[soft_guy]

Buying your consoles once they get to be one generation old saves a ton of money. I can't believe that a PS2 today can possibly be less fun than it would have been in 2001. There are more games, plus all the reviews are out and people really know what the best games for PS2 really are.

If you aren't rich, it sounds like a good plan to me.

Re:Poor kids not getting what they want...

[LWATCDR]

You forgot that there are tons of cheap used games that you can buy for a song.

Re:Poor kids not getting what they want...

[eln]

Maybe his parents saved their pennies all year to get him that. Maybe they went all over town collecting aluminum cans to get that money. Maybe the kid got a paper route and paid for it himself.

My point is, you have no way of knowing how he got the money for that, and to condemn an entire system because some kid got something you wanted is absurd.

I grew up in a single parent home, and my mother worked 2 jobs and refused to apply for welfare, and yet I don't remember ever feeling any kind of contempt for anyone else getting something I wanted, whether they were on welfare or not.

Re:Poor kids not getting what they want...

[Kyokugenryu]

I'd cry if I was a kid and had to wait six (!) years to get a PS2 while every single one of my friends had one, and would always talk about how much fun they had playing it. Perhaps this tactic would work for someone who's a casual gamer who enjoys the occasional game of Yahoo! Euchre or something, but for the average person, being a cheap bastard and waiting for a generation to die just so you can save a few dollars is not close to being an appealing option.

I'll put it this way: You say a PS2 can't possibly less fun? Try playing Metal Gear Solid 2 or 3 and knowing what's going to happen at the end. It ruins the experience, because many games in that generation are about a combined effort of gameplay and dramatic experience. Final Fantasy games don't sell like crack because they have good gameplay, you know.

Re:Poor kids not getting what they want...

[LKM]

And how do you suppose that works? A single mother who has to take care of a child and a household, probably has at least one job, and is also supposed to "develop some job skills," and is not allowed to give her kid something to play with so she doesn't constantly have to "parent" him. I happen to know single moms. Juggling a job, a child, a household, some last remnants of a social life, and doing it all alone is not pleasant. You should be glad you had a better childhood than this boy, and you most certainly shouldn't be jealous of the money they get. Trust me, you had it better.

Is this from the PS3

[HappySqurriel]

Just as a question, is this really from interest in the PS3 or could it be something else? I don't know about the PSP but The PS2 has had Final Fantasy XII and Guitar Hero II released in November with Okami and Bully released not too long ago. Could the sales actually be more directly releated to the fact that these systems are providing more gaming content for far less money than any of the "Next Generation" competition? Seriously, with budget games you could buy a PS2 a second controller and 4 or 5 games for the price of a Wii; compared to the XBox 360/PS3 you could probably get close to 20 games ...

Also driven by Walmart

[Erwos]

A big factor in this, I would assume, is that Walmart was selling them for $160 each on Black Friday, with no apparent limit. One of my co-workers bought three - one for him, two for his kids. Combine that with some new, non-sucky games and the prospect of PS3 integration, and it could be the PSP will see a revival of sorts.

It's that time of the year

[medeii]

Spurred by the scarcity of the PlayStation 3...

You mean, "Spurred by the impending holiday." It's highly unlikely that the upswing in PS2 sales has any meaningful correlation with PS3 scarcity; after all, I still don't know a single person who actually plans to get one. The PS2 and PSP, however, are still as viable (and cheap, comparatively!) as they were a month ago.

PSP game sales

[lpangelrob]

So... PSP software sales increased from 100 total units to 268? Or am I being generous?

Hungry consumers?

[WidescreenFreak]

I don't buy the "hungry consumers" line at all. People saw the $600-700 price tag of the PS3 and choked in addition to the extreme shortage of PS3s, so they bought the next best thing. That's all.

I was in EBGames to pick up a Wii yesterday and saw brand new PS2s for $129. The PS2 already has a huge established base of games and it's much cheaper than the PS3. Think about it! You can get a Wii, PS2, and base XBox 360 for the same price as a PS3! I'm still considering getting a PS2 if only to play the Guitar hero series.

I don't think it has anything to do with "hungry consumers" as much as it does people who lost their appetite over the whole PS3 debacle. Instead of buying some $600-$700 gourmet dinner (to keep up the "hungry consumers" metaphor) at an elite restaurant that few people can get into, they came to their senses and decided that not only would a family meal at a quality restaurant be cheaper, it has a better variety of dinners, can hold more customers at a time, and is a much, much better value overall.

If news about a surge in PS2 sales comes as a surprise to anyone, the human gene pool is in need of a bit more chlorine.

Re:Hungry consumers?

[Franio]

Microcenter has a $100 rebate for xbox 360, so:

Wii - 250.00
PS2 - 129.00
Xbox 360 - core system - 199.00
= 578.00

Less than the $599 PS3.

Re:Hungry consumers?

[WidescreenFreak]

yawn

See the replies above. You can get all three game systems for $578, possibly $378 if what I heard about Vonage is correct.

Then again, if you're such a moron that you feel the need to reply under AC, your little rant has no credibility anyway.

Re:Hungry consumers?

[Don853]

You're using the base price of the 360 and the deluxe price of the PS3, so there's a $100 discrepency you're ignoring.

The xbox 360 core (no hard drive) is far more gimped than the PS3 base model.

The rebate [mentioned elsewhere in the thread] is only useful to a pretty limited number of people - Microcenter doesn't sell the 360 online and there are only 19 retail locations in the country, at least according to their website.

The PS3 costs $500-$600, not $600-$700. Presumably you use these numbers to make your argument look better?

There new competitors to the PS2 that were not there last year. It probably wouldn't have surprised many people if the Wii had taken a big chunk out of PS2 sales, because it's not nearly as expensive as the PS3 or 360.

Yeah, otherwise this is an insightful post.

The question is...

[Robot Randy]

How many of the PS2s are being purchased by Grandparents who don't realise that when Little Billy asked for the new Playstation for Christmas, he meant a PS3, not just any version...

I was walking through the local Fry's last night and was wondering why they were stacking the PS2s in the main walkway. Seemed to me there might be a more popular item to stick in the high traffic areas, but maybe they were sold out of everything else.

Re:The question is...

[SomeoneGotMyNick]

How many of the PS2s are being purchased by Grandparents who don't realise that when Little Billy asked for the new Playstation for Christmas, he meant a PS3, not just any version...

The sad thing about this is Little Billy(tm) will obstinately shun the PS2 in front of the Grandparents. Billy is such an ingrateful bastard.

Re:The question is...

[HappySqurriel]

How many of the PS2s are being purchased by Grandparents who don't realise that when Little Billy asked for the new Playstation for Christmas, he meant a PS3, not just any version...

I was walking through the local Fry's last night and was wondering why they were stacking the PS2s in the main walkway. Seemed to me there might be a more popular item to stick in the high traffic areas, but maybe they were sold out of everything else.

I think you overestimate the demand for new consoles (not just the PS3), this is the sales numbers for 2006 up to (and including) October

1. Nintendo DS: 3,152,500
2. PS2: 3,131,500
3. XBox 360: 2,533,500
4. GBA: 2,060,500
5. PSP: 1,889,000
6. Gamecube: 525,500
7. XBox: 424,000
8. Playstation: 9,500

Now, the Nintendo DS was being outsold by the GBA until they released the DS lite ...

The fact is that most people buy a system really late in its life, and that all those people who bought a Playstation since 2000 may now be starting to upgrade to the PS2. Most of the time we think of how average (or below average) our income is compared to everyone we know, when you actually compare your household income to the mean you'd probably find out that you were quite wealthy (the mean household income in Canada is $50,000 meaning that 50% of households make less than that; I expect that the US is very similar). Half of consumers aren't questioning whether they should 'upgrade' to a HDTV, they're thinking whether they should replace their 20 year old 20 inch TV with one of those fancy 32 inch CRT TVs.

Massive Numbers Of Quality PS2 Titles

[RichardMarks]

Just off the top of my head:

Okami
Final Fantasy XII
Guitar Hero II
Bully

are new major releases. And God of War 2 is on the horizon. And then you have the massive number existing PS2 titles - the single greatest game library for a console ever all at cheap prices now. Huge numbers of major PS2 titles can be bought for 19.99 now.

All that for 130 dollars.

And PSP sales are most likely going to continue to go up now that the PS3 has arrived and has so many PS3/PSP connectivity features - remote viewing of your PS3 over wireless and soon remote play of PS3 games on your PSP.

And yet the DS is ignored.

[Lumpy]

The DS is still outselling the PSP. Many stores around here either have discounted old stock DS and are out of the DSLite which is the current model. Yet they still have plenty of PSP's.

Glad to see them sell a bit faster, considering now they are reasonably priced at $199.00 new..

The PSP is a cool device, it feels nicer than the PSP, It simply does not have the games or the game prices to entice parents to buy them.

Re:And yet the DS is ignored.

[drinkypoo]

Umm, I don't think anyone with a job finds $70 to be that important unless they are dirt poor.

Dude, that's hours of work (post-tax) for most people. It's also a sizable phone bill or a medium electrical bill.

$70 is a big deal. Try setting fire to $70 and tell me how you feel about it.

Re:And yet the DS is ignored.

[Stormwatch]

I almost NEVER see anyone play a DS on the subway. Not a day goes by I don't see someone with a PSP. That's the only statistic I need.

"I don't know how Richard Nixon could have won. I don't know anybody who voted for him." - Pauline Kael

Re:And yet the DS is ignored.

[drinkypoo]

You are clearly a college student.

Actually, I work for a living. I have been a college student, though; and I remember those days. It's a good thing I do, too, because if our economy continues in its present direction, we're all going to be eating a lot more ramen before it's all over.

Re:Interestign numbers

[Prophet of Nixon]

Is this a rebuttal or a proof? The tone says rebuttal, but the evidence offered says otherwise...

Gamecube

[pubjames]

I don't see this as odd. I've just been thinking that now would be a good time to purchase classic Gamecube games, so I can play them when I have a wii.

no the numbers are compared with last year

[skiingyac]

I agree the scarcity of the PS3 argument is a bit of a stretch, but the sales figures are compared with last year (according to the summary), so any holiday-related factor is already being considered.

Old dogs don't need to be taught new tricks

[Pojut]

I generally wait a good 3 years or so into a console's life before buying it (except for the SNES...got that for my 11th birthday a couple days after release) The advantages are numerous:

-Large title selection
-CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP prices (example: just got quantum redshift for my xbox for 3 dollars from gamestop. THREE DOLLARS!!!)
-consoles have had their hardware revisions and work better
-gives me more time to finish the games that have been released

I have a 360 (again, a gift) and I am VERY seriously considering buying a Wii, but my Xbox and PS2 get MUCH more action than the 360...Just 8 months ago I finally finished the dreamcast games that I have (all 10 of em...yea, my 'cast didn't get much playtime, but I loved the playtime it got) and am jonesing to buy a gamecube soon.

Then again, if I bought a Wii, I would effectively have a Wii AND a gamecube...regardless, there is nothing wrong with waiting for systems to be around for a bit. I actually encourage people to do so! It will give you much more entertainment, much less money spent (or more for the same amount of money) and allows you to build MASSIVE game libraries for next to nothing.

I'm sure people have way more than this, but between NES, SNES, Game Boy & GBA, Xeye (that's a Genesis and a SegaCD in one case), Dreamcast, N64, Xbox, PS2, I EASILY EASILY have over 250 games...that doesn't include my PC either!

How was I able to afford all this? Not buying them the instant they come out:-)

Re:Irony

[HappySqurriel]

PS3's strongest contender is the PS2.
How sweet is that ?

Not to reduce your obvious excitement, but it is highly likely that through the holiday season the system sales will likely go:

1. Nintendo DS
2. Playstation 2
3. XBox 360
4. Nintendo Wii
5. PSP
6. GBA
7. Gamecube
8. Playstation 3
9. XBox

(I admit that the order could be shuffled, but the "general placement" is probably nearly correct)

Until the Playstation 3's supply increases it will likely be outsold by nearly every other console on the market, and it would be selling in the range of the Gamecube; even if the undersupply reports are false it is likely that the PS3 will be selling in the range of the GBA. It remains to be seen what the PS3 will sell like when the supply issues are worked out, but being that most system sales happen after the system costs less that $200 I expect the $500/$600 PS3 will not be in the league of the $130 PS2.

Must be mistaken identity..

[kinglink]

Ok I can understand the PS2, but I own a PSP and I have to say there's not much reason to give it to a kid. It's great for a inexpensive music player that plays games, but I bought mine for 200 dollars, and 6 games came with it and I still think I overpaid.

280 percent? That's definatly a case of mistaken identity.

Oh, that summary is way way off

[Red Flayer]

That is not an increas eover the past year. FTA:

In a statement, communications boss David Karraker said the top five retailers in North America were reporting a week-by-week rise in PS2 hardware sales of more than 115 per cent over the Thanksgiving period. Sales of PSP units, meanwhile, were up by 280 per cent.

That is not over the past year; that is a week-to-week increase.

Two reasons:
(1) Almost every entertainment good sees a rise in sales post-Thanksgiving;
(2) As others have pointed out, those who could not get PS3 may have opted to get PSP instead (hence the huge rise in sales, rather than the small bump for the PS2).

Newsflash: Company says its products are selling better in the US during the holiday shopping season.

Nothing to see here, please move along.

If people are choking on price, then why eBay?

[SuperKendall]

Although prices have dipped a little, most 60GB PS3's are still selling for over a thousand on eBay - around $1200-$1400 if you are a seller with any kind of reputation.

So if people are "choking on the price" why are they still selling for so much on eBay?

I went into a Target yesterday and asked if they had any PS3. He said they had a shipment a few days ago, but they were gone within a few minutes. If the price is a problem, why does it take minutes to unload them at retail?

There probably is a point at which sales would drop off at the current price. But from the looks of things, that point is probably well over a million units, after which Sony can start slowly giving price breaks (or at least incentives like pack-in games).

Re:Irony

[HappySqurriel]

My estimation method was not particularly scientific ...

I basically eyeballed the October 2005 chart and watched how sales of systems changed over the months of November/December (with particular note of how the XBox 360 vs. XBox sales went) and then applied that to the October 2006 chart ...

As a rough guestimate I would say that the Gamecube will be selling between 500,000 and 750,000 over the holiday period with the GBA in the 750,000-1,500,000 range; depending on how well supplied the PS3 is the Gamecube could outsell the PS3.

My point wasn't necessarily that the "Gamecube would outsell the PS3" as much as the PS3 will likely not be in the top 5 best selling gaming systems in the holiday months of 2006.

Summary Incorrect....

[Psychotext]

The article doesn't say an increase since last year, it says week on week.

"In a statement, communications boss David Karraker said the top five retailers in North America were reporting a week-by-week rise in PS2 hardware sales of more than 115 per cent over the Thanksgiving period. Sales of PSP units, meanwhile, were up by 280 per cent."

According to NPD (US numbers sold, not shipped):
October 2005 PSP = 131,000
November 2005 PSP = 353,000
which gives us an 269% increase for November 2005.

Did everybody just fall for an announcement of a sales increase that can pretty much be attributed to seasonal variations?