PSP Slim Debuts To Big Sales in Japan

The PSP Slim debuted in Japan on the 20th to some 250,000 unit sales. The unit also got a significant bump with the release of Final Fantasy: Crisis Core pack. Gamespot reports: "The PSP Slim has now sold a total of 326,645 units in Japan, as of September 23, 75,943 of which coming from the Crisis Core bundle. The handheld was first unveiled during this year's E3 Media and Business Summit. According to SCEA president Kaz Hirai, the new device is 33 percent lighter and 19 percent slimmer, and it also packs a more efficient battery, is faster at loading games, and features video-out capabilities. According to Enterbrain's tally, the combined total of the PSP's new and old model currently sits at 6,217,664 units since the original first went on sale for the island nation in December 2004. "

Comments

Misnomer

[Tetsujin]

It's not really "slim" - it should be "PSP slightly less chunky". :)

Re:Misnomer

[Cerberus911]

Have you seen the first one? I like to think of the new one as anorexic.

Re:Misnomer

[XxtraLarGe]

Have you seen the first one? I like to think of the new one as anorexic. Apparently, /. seems to agree with you. First time I clicked on the article summary, it said "Nothing for you to see here. Move along..."

All this, and yet...

[SwordsmanLuke]

I still get more mileage out of my PSP playing homebrew and old ROMS[1] than any official PSP releases. (Although Lumines is great.)

[1](NES/SNES/SMS ROMS of games I own, for the legally concerned.)

Re:All this, and yet...

[donaldm]

I have never been a fan of hand held game machines and that includes Gameboy, Colour Gameboy and Gameboy Advance since I always find he screen too annoyingly small which actually gives a migraine after about an hours play. My eldest son recently purchased a PSP and a few games and I found that I could actually play for sometime on the PSP without getting a headache. One nice feature was the size which does fit my hands and not cramp them like other hand helds's do and my hands are average size.

One thing I suggested to my son was he get a plastic stick-on screen protector and he has done that (IMHO this is essential if you get a PSP or any hand held game machine for that matter). I was also surprised that he actually put home-brew on his PSP which he did successfully and now he has so many games (most quite legal) that it is impossible to play them all although he does like to get the odd PSP game (most are PS2 ports) on occasion. He can also backup his memory card (2GB) to his PC if it gets too full. From my perspective I find the PSP is well engineered and surprisingly comfortable to play although IMHO the black one is a fingerprint magnet (that is why my son got the white one). In all honesty though I still prefer a console game over a hand held but then again each to their own.

Oh lawd

[Riddler Sensei]

I like the picture of the Gameboy associated with this article. Cheers.

Ummm...no

[fistfullast33l]

Try looking at the side-by-sides with the PSP, Slim, DS, and DS Lite before you try and make a joke. Slightly smaller than the PSP, but definitely thinner than the DS Lite. And everything beats the original DS.

Re:Ummm...no

[Speare]

I know they're proud to have shot 999 frames with that camera, and they're not trying to match Apple advertising standards, but can they maybe... I dunno... work at getting a slightly better photo?

Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[Tetsujin]

Try looking at the side-by-sides with the PSP, Slim, DS, and DS Lite before you try and make a joke. Slightly smaller than the PSP, but definitely thinner than the DS Lite. When you say side by side you ain't kidding... All you can see in those shots are the side of the machine. :)

I don't care if it's thinner - it's too frikkin' big. Making something that big a fraction of an inch thinner doesn't amount to much when it comes to storing the thing. We're talking about the smallest dimension of the machine, and they made it a little smaller. Talk to me when the thing isn't so frikkin' wide...

But mostly I'm just pushing your buttons (except the square button - I hear that one's cheaply-built) - so don't take any of it too seriously or you'll get a headache. If it makes you feel any better, I'm happy to acknowledge that the PSP is a damn nice machine, and its game library is getting better all the time. I just think it's funny that the "smaller" PSP is... pretty much the same size as the old PSP.

Re:Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[E-Sabbath]

Yes, but that's the closed DS/Lite you're comparing it to. And I am a bit sad they removed the power eject from the Slim. No more ninja stars!

They did fix the square button, I hear.

Re:Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[Stormwatch]

They did fix the square button, I hear.

Until they rename the buttons to A, B, X, and Y -- I'll still regard them as broken.

Re:Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[fistfullast33l]

I've owned the PSP for a while and never had a problem sliding it into my jeans pocket. Besides, I'm willing to let it be longer so that I can have the widescreen, which is great for movies and games alike. The DS has the annoying two screens and from what I hear, the second screen is used mostly for status that a simple start button press could show instead. And hte square button is a bit funky on the old PSP but I heard they changed it around for the Slim.

Re:Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[DDLKermit007]

Yes, he is comparing it to the closed DS-Lite...WHEN STORING IT. It's much easier to store than either PSP. When you actually use it, you could care less what the size is, and is honestly a benefit in the DS-Lite's case.

Re:Fat PSP vs. Fairly-chunky PSP

[KDR_11k]

The DS has the annoying two screens and from what I hear, the second screen is used mostly for status that a simple start button press could show instead.

Sometimes yes but not always, many games use the top screen as the game view and the bottom screen as a control panel. For some it acts like a mousepad with buttons, for others it can be e.g. the control panel of a mech or an excerpt from your spellbook.

No way! Seriously?!

[Seumas]

A Sony videogame system selling in big numbers in Japan?! I don't believe it! No way!

Re:No way! Seriously?!

[Seumas]

Yes, pointing out obviousness is trolling.
Fucking morons.

Snide comments beget more

[BlackCobra43]

What, you mean like how the PS3 is crushing Wii sales?

Oh wait...

Maybe how the DS was already being submerged under PSP sales!

Hmmm...

Re:Snide comments beget more

[jandrese]

Yeah, darn those non-Japanese Wiis and DSes. I can't believe the gall of whomever makes those things.

Not small enough?

[lpangelrob]

Sheesh. It seems like everyone's cashing in on the mini/nano/slim name these days. More power to them; people are buying.

Me personally, I'm waiting for the PSP Ocular w/ embedded rootkit!

Re:Not small enough?

[tepples]

Sheesh. It seems like everyone's cashing in on the mini/nano/slim name these days.

Except Eminem appears to have given up his slim name. Rumors are that the ending of "Encore/Curtains Down" represents Eminem killing off the Slim Shady character.

But we have come a long way from the "bigger is better" attitude of the Atari Lynx designers.

Re:Not small enough?

[ozsynergy]

Sony had very clear motives on this one, they want to stop homebrew and custom firmwares.

By releasing the slim it gives people an incentive to buy it (new features),
it also forces (in a nice way) retailers to sell off their old PSP fat stocks.

And its worked pretty good in some areas, the new PSP has made it harder to run homebrew (by blocking the 1.5 Firmware) its also reminded the market that the PSP is out there.

On the down side for Sony the custom firmware runs happily allowing backups to be played.

I wouldnt be surprised if other manufacturers use "Slim" models primarily to "fix" their product

but where are the mines?

[tepples]

I still get more mileage out of my PSP playing homebrew and old ROMS[1] than any official PSP releases. (Although Lumines is great.) Great for the gameplay, or great for modding 3.50 firmware PSPs?

[1](NES/SNES/SMS ROMS of games I own, for the legally concerned.) What kind of copier did you use to dump them from your cartridges? (UMG v. MP3.com)

Re:but where are the mines?

[SwordsmanLuke]

I'm not sure what you're getting at in your post, but on the chance that you're interested:

Great for the gameplay, or great for modding 3.50 firmware PSPs? Great for the gameplay. I own both Lumines games for the PSP. I also have a GBA (and a DS, and a GBA-Micro and...) though I have not pursued the necessaries to play homebrew/ROMs on it.

Honestly, I purchased the PSP to play the upcoming Castlevania release. (I'm a fan of the series. Sue me. ;) Since I purchased the PSP well in advance of the game being released, I wanted something to do with it. And I discovered that most of the action for the PSP was happening in the homebrew scene, so that's where I went for entertainment. After about 6 months, I own 12 PSP games and only play three (Lumines 1 & 2, and Gunpey) with any regularity. However, I play NES Dr. Mario and SNES Super Metroid on it more than anything else.

What kind of copier did you use to dump them from your cartridges? (UMG v. MP3.com) I didn't. I used the internet to find ROMS of the carts I own. As for UMG v. MP3.com, IANAL, but it appears to me that the court ruled that MP3.com didn't have distribution rights - as opposed to their customers not having fair use rights. I may be wrong (and if so, please correct me), but to my knowledge, the courts have (deliberately) not ruled conclusively on what constitutes fair use, but it is generally held that consumers typically have the right to own (though not distribute) a copy of IP they have legally purchased. Thus, (again, if I understand correctly) if I own the physical cart, I believe I have the right to own a dumped ROM which I can play on my PSP (or computer, or what-have-you). If I do not own the cart, no more rights to the ROM. (I'll leave the scenario of a broken/lost cart to the courts, because I also know that evidence counts for alot.)

I'm an avid fan of video games (I own 24 distinct systems and over 400 games) of all kinds and I believe in supporting the industry by buying my games, but I also believe that I have the rights to do what I want with the property they sell me. (If this changes, let me know so I can buy my tickets out.) 8^)

My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[maynard]

I bought a launch PSP. Still have it, though the only use it gets is from homebrew. Unfortunately, I don't have time to waste lately, so it sits collecting dust. I honestly thought Sony would wake up to the demand for an unlocked PSP and/or at least public dev tools. No way.

So now that Apple is trying to force the same mess down it's customers' throats with the rolling incompatible iBrick updates, I'm pleased to have learned the lesson of the PSP: don't waste your money. It's just not worth the trouble.

Re:My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[Dogtanian]

I honestly thought Sony would wake up to the demand for an unlocked PSP and/or at least public dev tools. No way. Then, with respect, you were naive.

I'm sure Sony were always aware that there was a certain market segment who'd be more likely to buy a PSP if it weren't locked down. And I'm also sure that they balanced this against their dream of being able to wring extra money from the (far larger number of) ordinary users for every little bit of content and extra functionality.

You made the common /. mistake of forgetting that your views were probably only representative of a niche user-base versus the mass market that Sony intended.

Of course, it didn't pan out as well as Sony would have liked (films on UMD, for example), and I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. However, it probably made sense at the time, and I don't expect to see them changing their minds soon.

Re:My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[SwordsmanLuke]

Then, with respect, you were naive.

I'm pleased to have learned the lesson of the PSP: don't waste your money. It's just not worth the trouble. And now you're a cynic. Welcome to Slashdot! You'll fit right in!

Re:My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, you realize his UID is almost half of yours?

Re:My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[SwordsmanLuke]

*sigh* Yes, but the damn line was too good to pass up.

Re:My PSP saved me from buying an iPhone

[DDLKermit007]

Huh? The iPhone & PSP have jack all shit to do with each other. The PSP is a bulky game system that wants to be a movie player so very badly, and the iPhone is just that. A PHONE, and an iPod. Stop drinking the haterade (yes, I just said haterade).

64MB memory.

[uolamer]

Main thing about the slim to me is they doubled the ram from 32MB to 64MB. I recently played with a few hacked ones, was a bit impressed with them, so i waited for the slim to come out and got that one instead of buying a fat one. The right tools and in about 20 seconds its hacked, 4GB memory card and some bandwidth.. etc etc.. thx sony.. but the ps3 still needs some games.. bad.

Re:Fat PSP vs. big-boned PSP

[Tetsujin]

I've owned the PSP for a while and never had a problem sliding it into my jeans pocket. Besides, I'm willing to let it be longer so that I can have the widescreen, which is great for movies and games alike. Oh, no question, it's got a great screen. All 130555 +- 5 pixels worth. Having a large device is the price you pay, I guess. It's neat that the new version of the PSP is almost every bit as large as the old one.

And the square button is a bit funky on the old PSP but I heard they changed it around for the Slim. My crack about the square button was just a joke. I remember people complaining about it when the PSP came out, but I don't honestly know if that was just belly-aching or what.

What you can't do with a PSP pointing stick

[tepples]

Great for the gameplay. I own both Lumines games for the PSP. Lumines I can understand. But Disney's Lumines II? Do you listen to Sonny and Cher? ([1] [2] [3])

I also have a GBA (and a DS, and a GBA-Micro and...) though I have not pursued the necessaries to play homebrew/ROMs on it. You should; you'll like DS homebrew. There's a lot you can do with a touch screen that you can't do with a pointing stick. For example, all these were drawn on a DS.

I used the internet to find ROMS of the carts I own. As for UMG v. MP3.com, IANAL, but it appears to me that the court ruled that MP3.com didn't have distribution rights Then neither do the ROM sites, as they don't even try to verify that the downloader owns or possesses the cartridge. But I asked about cart dumpers not only for the legal reasons but also because I want to try my hand at developing homebrew for some of those older systems without relying entirely on emulators.

Re:What you can't do with a PSP pointing stick

[SwordsmanLuke]

But Disney's Lumines II? You're thinking of Meteos. I'm talking about Lumines.

...you'll like DS homebrew I believe you, as I said, I just haven't taken the time to pursue it. The PSP is the first system I've really pursued homebrew on, purely because that was where the most interesting things were happening on the system. The DS has had enough good titles to keep me happy, so I haven't really looked elsewhere to get fulfillment from my entertainment dollars. (That said, though, the pics on that site were awesome.)

bvg is Disney

[tepples]

You're thinking of Meteos. I'm talking about Lumines. Outside of Japan:

• Ubisoft published Lumines (PSP).
• Nintendo published Meteos (DS).
• Disney published Lumines II (PSP), Lumines Plus (PS2), Every Extend Extra (PSP), and Meteos Disney Magic (DS). At some points in its existence, Disney Interactive Studios went by the name "Buena Vista Games".

Re:bvg is Disney

[SwordsmanLuke]

Interesting. I was not aware of that.

Noobz

[n3tcat]

Does anyone know if this is compatible with the pandora battery hack?

Re:Fat PSP vs. big-boned PSP

[fistfullast33l]

It's a pretty legit complaint - the square button on mine is a bit loose. You can kind of see inside the PSP to the connection where the button sits. If any of the buttons are going to fall off, it's that one. I don't remember it being like that when I bought it though.