@Purple Dave: i should clarify though, i ws refering to the 100,000 year "oblonging" average measurement that accounts for the gravitational "stretches" placed on earth depending on the year which are different because of the other planets and shifting axis point of earth. (i studied this as my own little project in grade 7, like 17 years ago, so my facts are probably off. i think its called an anomalistic year?).

EMoShunz

Yeah, except almost all of that stuff has been true for a long while now.

TheCakeIsALie

@firesign: Self esteem has nothing to do with it. Would you ride a little school girl's bike to work?

Noobs-R-Us

@Purple Dave: your right...still bugs me.

EMoShunz

I love the PSP and I think it's doing just fine sales-wise. I even own quite a few more games for the PSP than I do for my DS.

The idea of the PSP eclipsing the sales of the DS is effing insane.

The DS is over 25 million units ahead of the PSP now and it's a cultural phenomenon above even the Wii. Games like Brain Age pretty much have assured the DS of portable domination this generation. That said, the PSP is doing just fine sales-wise and as long as good games continue to come out for both, I could care less which one "wins".

deviation59

Saying the PSP has no games is kind of ignorant right now. I've had fun with many of friends PSPs (I don't have one) While my DS is sitting on my protective shelf (fancy). My point is like many said before, the DS is more for all ages while the PSP seems to be geared to the teens and up. "Dude get your own" anyone? Personally, I don't think PSP can come close to overpassing DS in anyway, shape or form.

G.W.

@EMoShunz:
365.2425, not 365.26. Leap years are still recognized as normal, but the rules are a bit tricky:

Common year = not divisible by 4; not a leap year
Leap year = divisible by 4 but not 100, _or_ divisible by 400; a leap year
Exceptional common year = divisible by 100 but not 400; not a leap year

This results in 97 leap years per every 400 years, but it means we still lag behind the vernal equinox by an average 10.8 seconds per year.

Purple Dave

@Noobs-R-Us: your self-esteem is not the issue here.

firesign

i have both. i actually use the ds more than the psp (both bought during release week) since most of the psp games i've ever played have been crap. of course the psp is great for watching videos, but dammit i bought to PLAY GAMES on and the stuff on the ds has been generally, well, more fun to be frank about it. i want more originals, not just ps2 and ps1 ports. although if they came out with a port of bushido blade that let you do multiplayer i'd be a happy happy boy.

firesign

oh, I forgot to mention I sold my DS because I felt embarrased playing with one in public.

Noobs-R-Us

You forgot to mention that DS games are mostly low res kiddie games. What 30 year old would be caught dead playing with one is beyond me.

Japan is a different market. Their entire culture is based on kiddie stuff, from raping little girls in their school uniforms to Hello kitty. Of course they would choose a kiddie device like the DS.

I think the skinnier model as well as the lower price point really did it. Just like as they price the PS3 lower next year, you'll really start to see the PS3 sales take off.

Noobs-R-Us

OH NO LE DIDN`T.
Is this banhammer monday? Because this shure smells like a trollbait post...

Anyways, I have a DS... spent all night playing it yesterday (Orcs and Elves). PSPs are nice too... I`m thinking of buying it because of some games.

But overtaking? Not gonna happen, sorry.

Thing is: In Japan, it`s easy for people to spend some money on portables... they cost less then what some people will spend buying food for instance.

So, it`s pretty much about games. PSP had a boost on sales because of the titles that are coming out.

Problem is: Nintendo is still king on game titles that sells in Japan. The next million-dollar game for DS is just around the corner.

But I hope this competition keeps on... means more interesting titles on the PSP, and also means that Nintendo won`t get lazy on the DS.

It also isn`t fair to compare DS gamebase with PSP.. simply because there`s 10 times more games on the DS than the PSP. And you know how this works... it gets hard to please all audiences the more games you have.

PSP has great titles, but they are playing it safe so far... releasing stuff that already have a pretty good fanbase.

Sale "momentum" doesn`t say much, though I also think that at this time, PSP and PS3 are looking more attractive than their counterparts.

But you guys also should know that you can`t make judgements based only on that.

Oh, also, I thought that Browser on both portable are equally shitty. I tested both. Emulator support is better on the PSP. Dunno about 1seg tunners... I only know both have them. Videos are PSP only... DS has support for one format, and it sux ass.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

and one reason why it won't happen, at least in japan:
Dragon Quest IV

Waka in Japan

I own both. As long as they both do good enough to continue cranking out decent software, I don't care who "wins".

@pokebud: Well...I do actually agree that by 3 years, the software lineup should look better than it does. I'm not saying it's bad, but it could be much better.

brello

@Torgen:

I'm with you there.

There's some flamebaiting going on around here ...

dead_red_eyes

Kay. I find it very unlikely that this will happen, because Nintendo has pummeled every portable system competitor into the dust. I miss you Game Gear...

And Nomad. Even though I had to change both of your batteries twice a day.

ViewtifulJason

@pokebud: Dude YOU suck!....just kidding...see what flamebait does...

Striderhayasa

@pokebud:

then save your money, get a library card and, quit bitchin.

Evan394

hacked PSP > DS
standard DS > standard PSP

DS and Wii have been releasing 2 dollar shit flash games for 40-50 usd - thats just gonna kill the platforms over time.

Ps3 is gonna die if it doesnt get it in gear...

I have them all, the hacked psp and the 360 are much better than rest of it.

twylight

U know something they both suck, a lot. I have both btw which bought because I prefer handhelds (or did). The GBA had many more "good games" than both of these systems. Zelda was terrible the PSP's only decent games seem to be fighting games, the DS really has no extremely awesome games to play that last longer than 6 hours i.e. New Supe Mario Bros, Zelda etc...actally thats exaggerating a little but still. Honstly they are both insults so are the consoles games are to short or lack them at all. 360 would be great if not everything in it was buggy as hell, and they didn't sell you half a game.

pokebud

@xint: Succinct? That doesn't even make any sense.

Doomstalk

@xint: Sweet?

jacksinn

this reminds me of a commercial:

"hello, I'm a mac" -- "and I'm a pc"

The PSP and the DS are both rad handhelds that I wish I had. I could give two shits about sales numbers or how many people in Japan hav a DS or weather the points presented here by the Giz are valid or flamebait. But at this point in the comments, It's coming down to what you like better. As FanDam pointed out, a lot of the stuff mentioned in the '8 reasons' doesn't matter. What does matter is what you've played and really liked in the past (for the biggest market demographic ready to buy one or the other), the features you prefer (for the medium sized demographic that is on the fence of which one to buy), and the price tag (for smallest the demographic of people who are fulfilling a whish list for Christmas or birthdays). None of these groups gives a damn about number of units sold.

I applaud both corporations for doing so well in this market. They are fiercely vying for our dollars and as a result, we're getting all this cooler and cooler stuff for each device. Personally, I hope to find the PSP under the tree this year.

Evan394

The DS sales decline is good news for me, seeing as I'm the person in the world who doesn't own a gajillion of the fuckers. Maybe when Nintendo rolls out the new design I'll snag one.

DetergentDinners

DS still rules.

timerider42

Two reasons the PSP might not overtake the DS:
1. The DS is more fun. It has two screens and pen input, and you pretty much said so in your conclusion.
2. The DS appeals to a wider audience. Pokemon and Mario for kids. Brain Age for aging adults. Everything in-between for the rest of us.
Not as many reasons as for why the PSP might overtake the DS, but you'll notice these are the same reasons the Wii on top.

sumocat

seriously...?..."take over"?...are you guys kidding? I hope so- because...I'm...I'm confused at why someone would even try to argue that point anymore...

JGab

better integration with the PS3?
but nobody owns those. might as well have integration with a pet rock

Cassifras

Wait, I just read the add-on comment again. Two of those mentioned are the same damn thing (TV tuner), and one is a GPS device? Who the heck is going to use a PSP for GPS?

WarlockSoL

This article is more like "8 ways for Gizmodo to troll on Kotaku". It seems more aimed at getting people to argue than to actually present anything insightful.

Doomstalk

This article is hilarious.

Furious_Liver

Despite the failed UMD initiative, the longer much improved battery life means more replay value for Japanese pr0n UMDs or overall playback from the memory stick.

velglarn

What? This article is a bit one-sided. As pointed out here, it ignores a lot of things to put a positive spin on something that's really nothing special (i.e. the increasing sales that still lag behind DS horribly).

The games comment especially is so subjective. I agree with what others have said here - I can count the number of PSP games I'm interested in on one hand. And that's *with* most of them being remakes. I just don't see how there is really an arguement here. Where is the PSP "killer app?" Sure you can have a lot of "high scoring" games, but does that put any of them in the realm of "system sellers?" I mean, you port a fantastic PS2 title to PSP, you're not necessarily going to score that badly, but it's also not going to have people clamoring for the system.

For everything else, I think Fandam above me covered that well. "Better media capabilities", "PSP Phone" and the like don't interest me. If I wanted all that, I'd buy a friggin' iPhone.

WarlockSoL

@el_gordo: $99 for a DS gets me a-thinking... thats like only $50 per screen!

el_gordo

You guys do realize the DS is still outselling the PSP and that its sales rose last week.

Why don't people do any research and try and understand that the fall months in Japan are always slow

Avinash_Tyagi

If the PSP is going to outsell the DS, it's got a hell of a long ways to go. The downwards trend of DS Lite sales is more likely a result of market saturation than waning interest. They've sold over 20 million units in Japan. That's 1 in 6 people. How many more can you sell before you've sold one to everyone who wants it?

Doomstalk

Does the PSP still have horrible load times that make playing every game feel like waiting for that door to open between areas in Resident Evil on the PS1?

CColdsmoke

Umm...no. While there's not doubt that the PSP has more graphical capability, and maybe more capabilities in general, the higher quality hardware rarely sells more in the general market.

Examples: PS2 vs. XBOX and GC, Wii vs. 360 and PS3.

Benjo

It's good to see so many of my fellow Kotakuites here on my second-favourite Gawker blog!

Don't forget though that the new slim PSP has reduced some of those nasty load times that were plaguing the original PSP.

I'm going to stick with my DS, though. I think the folks at Nintendo are doing a helluva job. They can drop the price whenever they want if sales begin to slack.

The DS will some day drink from the 99-Dollar-Holy-Grail of gaming and people will choose it because it's the best value. I honestly think that the only thing that will dethrone the DS is Nintendo's next handheld. I say three screens minimum on the next one.

el_gordo

@strider_mt2k: dude I hear you, personally other than monster hunter, I wouldn't play PSP. As a multimedia device, it's okay but I don't need a multimedia device, I want a gaming portable. Sony didn't get that memo.

Striderhayasa

I could go into all kinds of reasons why the PSP won't do the numbers like a lot of people believe over thelong haul...(the jack of all trades master of none strategy among them) but the points given about are flamebait reasoning. If any of the given reasons were true or mattered for a gaming portable then the DS wouldn't be the lead in the first place.

Try again, I'm not buying it.

Striderhayasa

@FanDam: In just a short span you just completely destroyed Chen's whole argument.. Congratulations.

Falconfire

I have both PSP and DS and while I like the size of the DS better, I play the PSP a lot more. The DS is more for games that I want to play for 10-15 mins at a time. The PSP has a wider screen, can play videos I convert to it (using PSPWare) and has a good selection of games that I like to play.

chillywilly

@JustClaws: dutch as in from holland, or is that some new slang i don't know. if so, how'd you know they were dutch, the sabot and tulips :P

EMoShunz

Sales figures for PSPs are going up, sales figures for DS Lites are going down. Four weeks is not a trend.

PSP actually has more good games to play. Metacritic reviews games in the US, not in Japan. Furthermore, a lot of the best-selling DS software is not a game at all: Brain Training, Kanji Practice, etc. Plus, you're forgetting that titles like Dragon Quest (IV is #1 this week, IX comes out next year) sell like hotcakes and are DS exclusives.

The PSP has better PS3 integration compared with the DS and Wii. Integration is not a selling point to regular consumers. To date, nothing interesting has happened with integration that gets "regular" people excited. We're outliers.

The PSP has better media capabilities. It does. However, you've not convinced me that "better media capabilities" translates into better sales.

The PSP has better add-ons. See above.

The other points are decent, and I could see how the PSP could outsell the DS, but I don't think it is set in stone. Certainly, it has more of a chance of outselling the DS than the 360 has a chance of outselling any other current-gen system. (The PS3 has outsold the Wii for the past month).

As others mentioned, the PSP is now a decent platform, and its sales will increase. But the points in this article aren't very well thought out.

FanDam

IMHO

I think the future handheld domination of the PSP depends on the potential future domination of the PS3. Most PS3 owners will have or buy a PSP too. The promised benefits in owning both have been around for years, since the PSP was launched, in any case. I think that will continue, and Sony are smart there.

The majority DS owners have bought one becaue of the games, of the unique non-console style gameplay, mind games, and the pocket-play-pocket availability of it. Nintendo should plan to capitalise on the DS to Wii link too. Games like 42 Games should come out on the Wii as downloads, to play against DS owners. The Wii should offer streaming and proxy services to the DS. The DS should function as a Wii keyboard...

I think the PSP still wins the bling wars. I saw a bunch of young Dutch guys the other evening hanging round McDonalds using their PSP as MP3 players. It goes nicely with their baggy jeans, designer style jackets, caps worn backwards, skateboards, and big gold chains. They get to look like Grand Theft Auto "extras", or MTV "gansta" wannabees.

JustClaws

Time will only tell if the new rise in sales for the PSP will add enough fuel to the fire to help it catch the DS; however, your "8 Reasons" are rather lacking in the fact that reasons 1, 2, and 7 are all the same reason "PSP has sold more units recently than the DS" and reasons 6 and 8 are "PSP has better addons".

Next time condense the list to 5 reasons and you'll have a more sound argument as to why the PSP could catch up to the DS. As it is right now... it sounds more like a fanboy argument (not that I am saying you are one) since they always seem to expel hot air to inflate arguments.

darkthanatos

Isn't Nintendo rumored to be coming out with another version of the DS? If/when this happens, everyone will do what they did when the DS Lite came out, buy the new DS to replace the "old" one. Sales will shoot up all again and this list will mean nothing.
PSP has always been prettier, more powerful, and had more features. Now it's a bit slimmer and "sells" a million units in Japan in 2 months so it's going to overtake the DS. Newsflash, DS sold over half a million units last week alone in the US and the PSP did not. Good luck catching up PSP.

Let's not forget about the other underpowered Nintendo console that has less features than it's Sony rival.

jermjerm

my biggest problem with my PSP was that the games where too involved for me. PSP has great games but there are ones that I would rather play on a console. The DS games are easier to pick up for a few minuets and then put back down when I need to start moving again. just my 2 cents

dreux36

The PSP has come a long way since it's abysmal release. There are actually good titles to play! Rejoice!

DigitalHero

This story has flamebait written all over it... Good job Gizmodo! Next time check your facts!

DarkNight_DS

@SAIFDS: side note, it still bugs me that the century leap is not recognized anymore...365.26 days...oh well.

EMoShunz

Let Kotaku handle this kind of shit

kamra

i'm not sure the PSP will surpass the DS. I owned a PSP and sold it along with all the crappy games. The DS is the ultimate gaming machine--all games are INTERACTIVE AND ABOUT FUN....

miocid31

@gokieks:

Same here. I can't think of more than 4 or 5 games for the PSP that I'd want (don't want remakes and ports). It looks nice and all, but if I'm looking for games and not just media features, the PSP falls flat for me.

Gavelwrench

I'm sorry but it's never going to happen.

Atamisk726

Didn't I read a post about a month ago saying that 1 in 3 or 1 in 6 people in Japan have a DS? anyone?

SAKY

"The PSP has better PS3 integration"
...because the ps3 is selling so well?

i love my ds, the psp is too gamer for me. the psp is not a bad system, it just doesn't appeal to me. in our house of 7 we have 3 ds, 1 advance sp, and a wii.

the only reason a ps3 is ever thought about is for my future intent to use it as a blu-ray/pvr/iptv system, and the kids like the kingdom hearts ads.

EMoShunz

I don't think this is likely. It's like saying the PS3 will soon pass the Wii. The DS is so popular in Japan because it does more than just a traditional game system. As long as the PSP is tied to the same button/joystick model it will only catch on with games, not the wider public-at-large.

Pegleg Joe

The DS sold some 1.3 million units last week. The PSP sold about 346 thousand. I don't see how this is any sort of PSP domination. If anything it shows the DS is still king and the PSP with it's horrible software sales is still selling to the pirates and media people. Not exactly a lot of incentive to make new PSP games if they don't sell.

DarkNight_DS

Ok, are the "8 reasons" meant to imply a global overtake or a Japan overtake or a US overtake? #1 and #2 only focus on Japan while #3 only focus on US/UK reviews (just did a quick search for Famitsu reviews in those lists and didn't see any, plus all the game titles are in English). Please clarify.

smitty1123

WRONG DS PWNS PSP on any of the 365.25 days a year.

SAIFDS

I was in tokyo last week, riding the train. I'd have to say the DS wins because everyone is either staring at their phone, or playing on a DS.

parchedmosquito

looking at reason number two:

The last week PSP sales went up 10,000 units, which is still 10,000 units behind the DS and the prior 3 weeks saw the DS up 20,000 units sold on average. Not very convincing. Call me when the PSP overtakes the DS in sales for a month or two.

Nail in the PSP coffin (almost): I think Nintendo will drop the DS down to $99 after the holidays and only after because if last year was any indication you'll be hard pressed to find a Nintendo console sitting on the shelf this holiday season even at $129. Yes the Wii will drop in price also, I think, because MS will be dropping 360 prices (another $50) after the holidays which they (MS) should have done already IMO.

SAKY

@Veltis: He said the number of original games he would play on it could be counted on one hand.

Torgen

After carrying both, I'd have to say the PSP is by far the more versatile of the two, but it's comparatively more expensive memory format and limited card storage holds me back from getting one again, even with awesome homebrew and emulation.

-but that's me also.
At the moment I get more jollies playing with various Operating Systems, and my old rigs and notebook seem to be doing okay there.

strider_mt2k

@gokieks: It was true a year ago, but not anymore, unless you have a lot more finger than us : [en.wikipedia.org]

Veltis

Yeah, fair enough reason why PSP might surpass DS sales. It's not bloody likely, but possible. I think both devices are having pretty healthy time in the market and are in good position to continue on to next generation when the time comes, so it's not a matter of life a dead.

arashi

Funniest thing I read today... dream on... dream on ;) Look at the PSP software sales...

DarkNight_DS

Yeah... I don't think the psp will pass the DS anytime soon. Note that Dragon Quest sold over half a million units in a few days, so I would wait until this weeks figures before passing judgement like this.

altgod

I still love my DS even if the PSP could be better

dude49

I have the DS and the PSP. The PSP is a much more feature-rich device. Your list also forgot to mention built in WiFi browser to go online. The DS had a clunky add on opera browser that was so poor they no longer support it.

I use the PSP with the PS3 and a locationfree base for TV/DVD/VCR viewing. It's essentially a SONY slingbox that sends video/audio to any a/v network device including your PSP. Sweet indeed.

Sora57

Wait, let me get this straight. A month ago the DS had a lead of numerous millions of units over the PSP. Then in the last month the DS sold 65000 more units than the PSP. And the conclusion is that the PSP might pass the DS?

Torgen

So... you actually need 8 reasons...???
I got one word to describe the DS, and it starts with an 'S' and ends with a 'T'
Would you like to buy a vowel?
:0 )

xint

My wife use my PSP to read ebooks too, but right now she read the new Terry Goodkind book (the paper one not the ebook), so I can finally use my PSP again, when she finish the book im going to buy another PSP I have to many good games I want to play on it.

Veltis

The PSP might have more well-received (critically) games, but a pretty sizable part of that are remakes of games available on other platforms. I want a PSP, sure, but the number of original games I would play on it can be counted on one hand. On the other hand (no pun intended), most of the DS games, and certainly almost all of the good ones, have been DS exclusives.

gokieks

One thing I hate about my PSP is that they should have put the power button somewhere far away from my hands when I hold the damn thing. When pushing down the right trigger button with my right-hand's pointer finger, this causes the devices to slightly get pushed down against my palm which causes my palm to push up on the power button. So, on more than one occasion, I've put it into sleep mode while trying to kill someone on Medal of Honor Heroes: 2. This blows.

OLEDRevolution

I think the PSP also wins in the "sex appeal" category. Although the DS might have the cool touch screen, the single, large widescreen of the PSP is pretty drool-worthy. Also, let's face it, people look pretty dorky using a stylus on a tiny fold-up device.

I think the PSP needs to go on yet another diet to make it's form factor more pocketable... but if it does, it stands to crush the competition.

Keebler

I just bought my first psp to use remote play with my PS3. Works like a charm! I'm so impressed by the psp, the screen is great and FIFA 08 is surprisingly really good on it! Watching a movie on it is nice as well. And with the upcoming battery promising 20 hours of life? Worth every penny.

goods

OK, did the PSP sell or ship 1 million units, because back when the PS3 came out Sony was saying they were selling when they were actually just shipping and all their consoles were just sitting in store.
If the PSP does surpass the DS its going to take a long time, DS recently sold 20 million units in Japan alone. The PSP has a long way to go and i just might help it.

eliter1

fair enough

Amiash

I think the DS Lite sales drop in Japan could be attributed to the fact that everyone there owns 3 of them.

bitfactory

I have both, and ever since Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics came out it's hard for me to imagine picking up the DS ever again.

cbandes

@Striderhayasa:

I wasn't going for flamebait, I was just saying that compared to previous handhelds and consoles this gen seems to be lacking in over-all quality of games.

@Evan394:

So what having a negative opinion on something constitutes as trolling in your eyes? Thats just how I've experienced this gen's offering of gaming entertainment. I never said the games weren't fun just that the fun doesn't last and in the case of handhelds the whole point is to make games with exteremely high relpay value (long car trips, class is boring etc), the GBA had a whole ass load of games like that theres maybe two for the DS and PSP.

pokebud

As a (born) Christian, I am offended by the name of player #3... even if his last name is Diaz.

Subterfuge

YEah say this now but I but what about when dragons quest comes out for the ds (the new one not the port)

majortom1981

It'll never happen. Sure PSP is more feature rich... and of course more expensive (and wider in footprint). But like any of the past 4 console generations the winner is the one with the most available software options and right now every game publisher is making an order of magnitude more games for DS than for PSP. Plus Nintendo 1st party titles will continue to be superior in quality to Sony on handhelds for the foreseeable furutre.

Vagabum

@Noobs-R-Us: i agree. if you equate playing a ds in public with riding a girls bike to work, then you have much more deep seated problems than just self-esteem. maybe you should talk to somebody about those gender identity issues.

firesign

I'd like to see more data given to this over more a few months not just 4 weeks. Also the PSP is still not selling software.
The Japanese Software Chart for last week 17/30 titles were DS games. The PSP had 0/30. Link [kotaku.com]

Kinburn

@Striderhayasa: Zelda is for little kiddies like yourself. Gaiden on the PS3 is where the real action is.

Noobs-R-Us

@tomsamson: I think that was Jason's point. Now that the PSP is showing better sales he's saying that he thinks this is where the tide is turning. That's why it's called a prediction.

It wouldn't be useful info otherwise.

Noobs-R-Us

@Noobs-R-Us: dude you don't need a portable you need a therapist.

for the rest of us...Ninja Gaiden DS's demo is the cat's meow and I still haven't played Zelda yet...good times ahead...good times

Striderhayasa

Most "points"/"arguments" in this "article" esentially boil down to "because the psp has sold more in timespan x"
Now purely because of the fact that the ds has sold tons more than the psp for ages and now the psp has overtaken them for a short while within a short while due to some unexpectedly good decissions on sony side its obvious how quickly the sales balance can change from one extreme to another.
Therefore the whole article is nonsense.
(To make it clear i´m no fanboy of any sort as i have both a psp and a ds)

tomsamson

Although time can only tell for sure, the PSP's rise in sales looks like a shiny new model bump. At the end of the day, the factors that put DS above the PSP still exist to begin with.

And to be honest, some of your points are wrong.

2) PSP Sales Up, DS Sales Down: Sure. But a bad week for DS sales is still more than PSP's sales. Every week the gap grows wider.

3) PSP Has Better Games: A poor comparison because it does not take Japan into account. The differing tastes of Japanese and American reviewers aside, Metacritic and game reviewers in general hardly ever review "non-games" well; if you've ever been to a Japanese game store, it sometimes seems like most of the DS's library are non-games. And they sell very well.

4) Better PS3 Integration: Hardly a strong selling point given how weak PS3 sales are. Honestly, if the PSP had better Wii integration it might do better :-)

5) Better Media Capabilities: Hasn't Nintendo virtually proved with both DS and Wii that it's all about games, not media? PSP scores high here for geeks, not for the average Joe. They see us watching videos on our big-screened PSPs, freak out, want one, but when they see how much WORK is required to get to that point they back out.

6) It's Selling As Well As PS2: Somewhat misleading. It makes you think that PSP is on a par with the most successful console of all time. Not quite. Take a look at Sony's own numbers: PSP started off well, and then took a nosedive from which they're only recovering now. The overall numbers prove PSP is not a flop; comparison with the competition proves PSP is still losing the race.

RaviH

I'm pretty sure these are the exact same reasons people said that the PSP would be a bigger seller than the DS when they first came out. People gave similar reasons as to why the PS3 would outsell the Wii. There are many reasons why it might, but that really doesn't translate all the well to actual sales most days.

mastersauce

Seems ironic that the kids seem to go for the PSP whereas the adults seem to go for the DS. Probably down to Nintendo's clever marketing. Y'see with a DS, Nicole Kidman will be all over me like a rash.

Back in the Real World(TM) I (30-something hardcore game nut gaming since about 1975) know loads of people about my age with DSs crammed to the hilt with homebrew and games, and actually zero people over 12 with a PSP. Those are facts, not flame bait. I would add that I do intend to get a cheap 2nd hand PSP with some games one day out of curiousity and probably to get a few killer exclusive titles.

robman84

Three words:

Dragon Quest Nine.

Next question, please!

bassbeast

Daily Tech Round Up — Kids Favor Tech Devices as Toys on geeksugar -- Geek is chic.

The PSP will never overtake the DS, and this is coming from someone who owns both

ssjmichael

@Noobs-R-Us:

That's odd, because I've only seen people in their mid twenties-forties playing DS, with angsty 12 year olds yelling about how they wanted a PSP. As for people playing handhelds on TV, the last one I saw was of a person playing the Game Gear, so I'd hardly take that as a reliable source.

For the record, I'm in my early 20's, and I play with my DS all the time.

Pezdispenser

@firesign: I have yet see a grown man, that is, people over 30, play with a DS in public. Not counting the geriatrics who are on their second childhood.

I have seen lots of over 30 people playing with PSPs though on the subway and bus. Even that character HOUSE on Fox played with one in the first season. Somehow, I think he would look kind of retarded playing Zelda on the DS...

Noobs-R-Us

@Subterfuge: Jesus is a pretty common Hispanic name, actually. Comes from the same root as Joshua. (and is pronounced hay-SOOS) Or were you joking? It's hard to tell in electronic communication.

Petezah

@pokebud: it's cool dude. i was joking. the flamebait remark was aimed towards the original story...not you.

Striderhayasa

What's this? My Kotaku login works here? Sweet! :)

Although the PSP really is a swell system with good games and plenty of features, it really doesn't have any chance of catching up right now. Heck, this last week ending with Black Friday saw the DS selling around 4 times as many units as the PSP. (1.3 mil vs 350k)

Pezdispenser

A PSP phone would be easy to support PSN's downloadable PSP games. They managed to get Syphon Filter and WipeOut Pure as a PSN PSP game download. Why not for the phone?

slingblade

I take offence to the garbage that the PSP has better games.

"according to metacritic, the site that aggregates major game reviews, the PSP has 53 games that are rated 80 (out of 100) or higher, whereas the DS only has 44. "

Well, as has been pointed out a million times this century - reviewers are fkn idiots and scores mean jack.

The arbitrary way in which games are all put to the same tasks is ridiculous. A party game cannot be "completed" so it loses 20 points from revieweres because they can't jack themselves off while speeed-running the game.

It's a ridiculous argument to make with weak evidence.

Let's look at another factor: sales.

The DS had 17 titles in the top 30 selling games in Japan last week, the PSP had 0 - where are these amazing PSP games? Why aren't people compelled to buy them? Oh yeah, because most of them are xxx blandness 1 through 7

This entire post is simply flamebait - and you got me - the DS had it's biggest week ever in America if the sales are slowing in Japan it's because the DS' are still under warranty and 1 in 6 already owns one.

Now it's time for DS to rock the west.

syl1985

They're planning a PSP phone? Hmmmm, dammit already, now I don't know to wait for the N95, the iPhone, or this upcoming PSP phone. SpaceBalls!!

banmojo

Could it just be that most people already own a DS? I mean once you have one you generally don't need to buy another so why not buy a PSP?

-Suffer

Suffer

The DS has Dragon Quest and Pokemon, 'nuff said.

masternater27

@paulca82: There's bigger stylus out there you know, some of them ink-pen sized. The DS is a typical Nintendo system, so unless your -really- abusive with it, you'll not harm the screen. As for innovative, looking at Pokemon Ranger for is a bad idea.

Sixtail

I own a psp, bought one on release. Didnt pre order it or camp out, just happened to be in the mall that day. And they had a few that the pre orders were "cancelled".

I havent owned a gameboy since the sp. I got tired of buying new hardware everytime nintendo looked to boost sales.

I find the psp to be a great gaming system, yes. Its library of qaulity games is lacking. Then again, i have seen very few DS games i liked, i cant stand sequels. Especially when its the same worlds/engine with a new name slapped on the cartridge and characters.

Also, and i dont mean this as a flame, i am not a teenager, with pencil fingers. Holding a stylus just doesnt work for me, its not comfortable or convenient in anyway. And i know personally, i would scratch up that screen in no time, if i had to write on it. And alot of the touch screens uses just arent innovative enough. I saw a video of pokemon ranger i think, where the battle system was draw circles around your opponents until you drew enough to win? Yeah, thats innovation.

paulca82

@Noobs-R-Us: dude I'm 32 and own both as well as PS3, 360 Wii and a good PC...your argument is retarded and has no basis.

Striderhayasa

@Noobs-R-Us: this argument is not logically at all. age has nothing to do with the enjoyment of gaming unless there is some kind of mental defect

Striderhayasa

Lol, flamebait get!

@Noobs-R-Us: Your not looking in the right place, but your posts, along with your avatar give the strong impression your just a idiot troll who has nothing suitable to offer the topic other then "lolz Nintendo is teh kiddies."

Keep your ass over here at Gizmondo, please.

Sixtail

as anyone can probably guess, also i have read somewhere, nintendo will release a new design for ds if they see a significant drop in their sales. also i agree with syl1985, i haven't heard too many must have psp games that made me want to get one, since i can usually find the better version for my ps3. ds actually had titles that made more sense as a portable games like the brain age series

insomniac

One reason why it ain't happening: Dragon Quest 9.

CrimemasterGogo

well when every one already owns one how do you expect to sell more?

odnet

Are you done writing your love note to Sony, Gizmodo? Yeesh. The fact that the PSP is a better media player has never mattered all that much... it's too large for a portable music player and too small and proprietary for video playback. The failure of the UMD format further demonstrate that media is not a strong selling point for the system.

Size DOES matter to the Japanese, but when you really look at the system it's not that much smaller than, or different from the previous model. Once the novelty of the new model wears off, the sales will start to dip. It will sell better from now on, but overtaking the DS is unlikely when that system has such an enormous sales lead, and both systems have only three years before they're obsoleted with a new generation of handhelds.

ManekiNeko

@Veltis: How do you know which games I would want to play? I looked at the Metacritic link for top rated PSP games, and there are not 5 games on that list that I would want to play on the PSP (instead of whatever other console it might have already appeared on, i.e. PS2). And the two that I'd most want to play are remakes of PS1 titles (FFT, SotN).

gokieks

@binaryfiend: "I think once people realize that they need a powerful device to simply keep up with technology"

keep up with technology? there are areas in NA where internet isn't even available. Keeping up with technology isn't the problem since these systems are only meant to last 5-7 years. High Definition media isn't a priority with most people nor do most people have access to it so that's a waste of "keeping up with technology" at this point. While devices that have multiple multimedia functions may be useful for people like you, for MOST consumers, the ones that matter, it isn't. And that is apparent in both comparisons of DS and PSP sales and Wii and PS3 sales. Both of which Nintendo, who isn't keeping "up with technology", is killing Sony.

I'm in no way saying that better graphics isn't important however. It's just that it doesn't seem to be as important a determining factor in what's a good product and not as you think.

NeoAkira

I frankliy would like to see more RPGs and Square titles on the DS.

OtakuboyT

Specially now that Sony is pushing on the PSP with the injured Ps3 on its back...

The PSP is a good machine and getting help from Final Fantasy is excellent, but it doesn't compare to the DS' winning streak.

VakeroRokero

I've owned 2 PSP's, practially every Nintendo hand held available and and internet tablet. In that range I am able to play more full featured good looking games on my PSP, middle of the road casual games on the DS and very casual games on my Nokia 770. I have to say with all those choices the PSP is the one device that I ALWAYS keep with me. I have about 30 games for the sucker as well as a library of over 200 converted movies. I'm a bit of a power user and the DS while fun simply does not satisfy my need for nice graphics. Isn't that what we want? Good games with better graphics. We are entering this new world where devices are all multifunction and multimedia is the name of the game. How long can the DS or the Wii for that matter stand when things are progressing so quickly? I think once people realize that they need a powerful device to simply keep up with technology Sony will begin to see a shift in sales. Lets just look down the road a few years from now when the PSP and PS3 may still be considered "powerful" machine. Can you honestly say that in a couple years the DS or the Wii will still satisfy you?

binaryfiend

The ONLY reason the PSP was selling so well those last few weeks was because of a little game called Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Final Fantasy is a huge phenomenon and VII is the most popular to date. The Crisis Core bundle sold better then anything PSP ever has, so the PSP has that to thank for its unorthodox yet eventual relenting sales hike.

The DS has massive support not just from third parties, but from people all over the world. It's the epitome of casual gaming. Even my mom has a DS! And with games like Dragon Quest, The Legend of Zelda, and of course, the numerous Final Fantasy games, the DS isn't letting up any time soon.

Josh Lanphear

As long as Sony (with Capcom's help, of course) keeps spamming Monster Hunter games in Japan, then they're all set! LOL!

rhugghed

hmm more games that are better on psp than DS? i have yet to play such a game. to be honest, i have more fun playing emulators on my PSP :P thanks to M33 ;)

amped602

I'm not sold. The last sales figures had the DS way up on top again, with a surge of Japanese sales thanks to the new Dragon Quest game (DS Lite @ 116,694 vs PSP @ 75,027). Still, 75k is a very respectable figure. 3 factors give me pause that the PSP still has a ways to go: I still can't buy a PSP at my local drug store; the parents of my kids friends are all buying DS lites with ponies, nintendogs and pokemon; and the PSP is still too expensive!

thomaskr

One in six Japanase People have a DS. That's an amazing number. I can imagine sales the drop.

PSP seems better for the hardcore gamer, more "serious" games. It seems the DS is more of a family-handheld. Look at the highest rated games in Metacritic.

PSP graphics are better than the DS, so your average review will score higher anyway.

Herman

Overtaking the DS in sales rate wouldn't be the same as overtaking the DS. Such an event is a very long way off, even if Nintendo were to just stop producing DSes tomorrow.

Sockatume

@Noobs-R-Us:

"You forgot to mention that DS games are mostly low res kiddie games. What 30 year old would be caught dead playing with one is beyond me."

-

Are you over 30?

No offense, but this comment is pretty clueless, and flat out incorrect. There are many times more DS lites in the hands of people over 30 than there are PSPs, and the disparity is even greater in the public space.

No man over 30 with an actual JOB is going to be playing PSP games. What adult plays Socom or GTA or Ratchet and Clank outside of the house? And women? Forget about it.

You will see many soccer moms, and ladies at offices, who carry DS lites in their purses, who play some brain training, sudoku, puzzles, etc.

If you walk into a major lecture anywhere in the electronics industry, and flip open a DS lite, the picto chat channels are filled with people typing away. If you ever go into a LINE waiting for electronics purchase on launch day, and open your DS lite, there will be tons of adults chatting away.

Seriously, you see 30 year old men or women carrying PSPs around, because they don't have a place at home to play console games? They must be unemployed or living with their parents.

dcartist

Doesn't matter how many PSP games are rated high on metacritic. Many of the PSP games that are rated high are so similar to each other, very well made "me too" titles, and many are not "system sellers" in any way shape or form.

I'd never pick up a PSP while I'm in a house with a console... No game on PSP is going to play better on the PSP than on the console.

-

But I'll often prefer DS games to what I can play on the big screen. It's a different experience.

-

As for the sales issue, those numbers they quote are pretty small.

So PSP2000 sold a million units in 2 months after launch? While being sold at a very small profit at $169?

DS lite sold 4.15 million in under 3 months, and would probably have sold double that if not for supply constraint. It was going for $340 because demand was so high.

dcartist

@Noobs-R-Us: "You forgot to mention that DS games are mostly low res kiddie games. What 30 year old would be caught dead playing with one is beyond me."

you forgot to mention psp games are mostly for people that enjoy violence and think its cool to steal cars and rob people, what anybody of any age with any conscience would want to be caught dead playing with one is beyond me.

See I can think like you too! fun.

Most DS games are pedo trainers, what any non pedo caught dead playing with one is beyond me!

Most psp usage is for piracy, what law abiding pepole caught dead playing with a psp is beyond me.

Lets see what other generalisations can I come up with... Most crime is commit by humans, what anyone would want to be caught dead being human is beyond me. weee Monkays for the win.

Definitely a flamebait post... attracts rubbish comments like above.

charsuipau

Boy, I see my posts have brought out all of the kiddies. Very post-pubescent angst. If you would play more PSP games like Siphon Filter, you might have a better outlet for your anger than ranting like little kids. Seriously, Mario Cart and Zelda is so childish that only children play it. What are you going to tell me next? That Mickey Mouse is for adults?

Noobs-R-Us

@Noobs-R-Us:
Well, when you consider all of the Nazi propaganda and racism back when Mickey Mouse first came out (of course, you wouldn't know that being a toddler and all) then yes, Mickey Mouse is for adults.

It's such a shame adults never existed prior to the PSP's release, maybe we could have stopped Hitler.

Pezdispenser

@pokebud:

no no, please understand, having a negative opinion in my eyes is not trolling.(did I even mention trolling?) with regard to your first post, I was pointiing out that you have every console and handheld for the last 5 years and are obviously not happy with your experience: here's what you said...

"Honstly they are both insults so are the consoles games are to short or lack them at all. 360 would be great if not everything in it was buggy as hell, and they didn't sell you half a game."

My retort: That's pretty much everything on the market now, so put down the controller, and pick up a book.

Evan394

@Kaiser-Machead: I'm sorry, how old are you?

Noobs-R-Us

@Noobs-R-Us: Dude, your naivety is astounding. Do you realize that a very large portion of DS ownership is that of adults? Your talk of low res or kiddie content is silly. As one who still plays his Super NES alongside my PS2, people like you sicken me.

BTW, I enjoy classic Mickey Mouse, and Bugs Bunny pwns you!

Kaiser-Machead

Proof that trumping in graphic and media capability can't hold a candle to what really makes a game console the best: gaming experience. You people who are down on the DS because it seems to "kiddie" for you say all this stuff now, but nothing can stop the awesome power of casual gamer domination. The PSP is just not the ideal platform for time-killing games, but here the DS is ruler of the earth.

Kaiser-Machead

@Noobs-R-Us: Does Gizmondo not have "Ban Mondays" or does Ashcraft's hammer not reach other here in Giz land? Seriously, how did you make it all the way to become a Gawker commenter without getting hit with a GTFO?

Your quite entertaining for a troll with no clue, please carry on with your so called debate.

Sixtail

I've had the psp from day one and it's a system that has a bunch of crapy sequels, remakes, and spin offs to ground breaking games. It's no wonder the reviews are better then the ds. The review is usually something like "well it's not as good as the original but the controls are pretty much the same and the story is pretty much the same so I'll fault it for unoriginal". The system is a bore. If you've played it once... Wait until sony has the balls to put out an original idea and then buy it. As far as a media player ... there are devices that do that well and then there's the sony memory stick, umd, specific movie encoding. One of these days the beta masters figure they'll set the standard by throwing enough crap at the wall.

DeanoDee

I can see what you guys are saying, but this is just good sales for now. And I agree with what the other people are saying such as "everyone in Japan has a DS and more that one". The PSP is just selling in Japan just because it is the new slimmer model of it. Believe it or not, most people in Japan just buy products either because it is a new product or because their is a game on there you can't get anywhere else. Trust me if the Next Monster Hunter game came out on the DS then everyone and their mom in Japan would buy it. And how could the PSP become the best system when they don't have a consistent row of good games coming out. The PSP to me is a good system but it doesn't have that pick up and play aspect. You can't take it everywhere you go and just turn it on for a quick game, you have to wait for the system to load up and that is just to much work. I'll give you guys the fact that the PSP has so much potential, but like everything Sony does they somehow find a way to mess it up. Sony could have done so much with the PSP in the new redesign, people wanted a hard drive and a PSP store where you can buy movies and music. The PSP could be a great system that could easily over take the DS, but Sony has to make some good execution of the products. Games are still a problem, they need to make game experiences that you can't get anywhere else, and if they want a social experience along with it then they need to do that right to. If Sony want to be number one then they need to stop half assing everything.

thehandheldwars

Ironically, I bought a Ds this Tuesday.

I wanted to buy a PSP, but they only had the Star Wars edition at Best Buy.

Now, i'm hooked on Zelda:Phantom Hour Glass!

omgdsl

Sounds like 10k steps forward in Japan, 100k steps back in the USA and UK. The reality is the DS is gaining momentum in the USA and Europe by leaps and bounds.

Sure the PSP hardware is doing better in Japan, but the software sales there are still horrendous. It rarely has more than one title in the top twenty, whereas the DS typically own over half the top twenty.

FishyJoe

@EMoShunz:
Never heard of those, but I do remember a few years back when we had one extra second sandwiched between 12/31 23:59:59 and 1/1 0:00:00 to help keep things straight. The drift is supposed to be about 1 day for every 8000 years, but the real problem is that defining a rigid solution to that drift doesn't take into account the fact that the length of the vernal equinox could very well have changed in the next 8000 years. It seems to be simpler to just do odd changes where needed and hope the regular 400-year cycle doesn't let things get too far out of whack.

@RaviH:
Metacritic data has also been made suspect. Between game reviewers that are known to sway their reviews in favor of advertisers, and the recent firing of a Gamespot employee who gave a neutral review to a major advertiser, how many of those aggregated reviews are honest, and how many are the result of batches of reviews being bought and paid for?

@G.W.:
I'd say the PSP, intentionally or not, is probably skewing more towards the tweens/teens market than teens and up. I don't really see either handheld in public very much, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the PSP feels too much like a gimped console to do well with the working class. If they own a car, they don't need a portable for daily travelling. If they own a regular console (even a PS2), they don't need a tiny version of a regular console for home use, especially as many of the games were ported from one console or another. The DS at least offers a different gaming experience, but its real appeal is clearly to casual gamers, and it could easily overtake the PS2 as the all-time best-selling game system. But the PSP costs less than a full console, so it'll appeal to gamers with limited means, it's portable, so it'll appeal to gamers who commute to work/school, and the media (and particularly Sony ads) have hyped the "cool" factor, so it'll appeal to people who feel a pressing need to be seen as such. That spells tweens and teens. Once they get after-school or summer jobs, they can handle buying a more expensive home console. Once they start to drive, they'll have less need for a portable system. And once they've gotten into college or the workforce, they'll most likely realize how little the real world cares about who's able to keep up with the latest fads and trends.

Purple Dave

Wasn't the great sales of the PSP in that month due mostly to the release of Final Fantasy Crisis Core?

DJTripleRRR

Cute fantasy chen.

brent_w