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PSP Update: It's Dominating Japan
Posted by Jason Chen at 5:40 AM on July 8, 2008
Remember the post we had late last year pondering how the PSP could overtake the DS (and the companion piece pondering why it wouldn't)? Well, it's done just that for the first six months of 2008. Famitsu's publisher claims that the PSP has sold 1.9 million units in Japan so far this year, leading the Wii with 1.7 million and the DS with 1.6 million. This is partially due to Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which is a Japan-only RPG that has been moving PSPs like cakes that have been heated somehow. Will Sony be able to keep up the momentum, or will Nintendo be able to churn out a few more Pokemon and Mario titles to reclaim the lead? [Mainichi via PSPhyper via Kotaku]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
HenryRayker
Posted 7:02 AM 8/7/08
@zjgz: From the Wiki, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is an expansion to Monster Hunter Freedom 2 (Monster Hunter Portable 2nd in Japan)
HenryRayker
Jason Chen
Posted 6:50 AM 8/7/08
@zjgz: I think the new one is 2nd G, and isn't out here yet.
Jason Chen
zjgz
Posted 6:25 AM 8/7/08
That monster hunter game isn't only in japan. In the US its called Monster hunter Freedom 2. I got it last week for 15 dollars at game stop
zjgz
praevalesco
Posted 6:19 AM 8/7/08
The PSP hardware is near perfect, they just need the titles. Being able to save .cso files of my "backup" games makes it a must have gaming system.
praevalesco
VideoVampire
Posted 6:18 AM 8/7/08
I think with the custom firmwares out there and guys like DarkAlex always staying one step ahead of the official releases, and the custom firmwares are usually more functional, the PSP is a lot more than a handheld video game, its a fairly powerfull computing device, video player, music player and picture frame, works well a last resort mirror too.
VideoVampire
markarian
Posted 6:08 AM 8/7/08
@DashTheHand: I agree, I was going to say the DS has reached market saturation there. Everybody who is going to want a DS, already has one. The upsurge in PSPs might be Japanese kids who are finally trying to see what the weird black brick is about. When I saw each of the systems announced 5 years ago, I resolved I would get both of them at launch, and I did. The PSP is only useful for Homebrew and has one or two memorable titles, but as an emulation machine, it really shines.
markarian
Rabid Penguin
Posted 6:07 AM 8/7/08
@DashTheHand: Aint that the truth.
Rabid Penguin
tucker
Posted 6:01 AM 8/7/08
PSP's might be selling like jacks of the flap variety, but how is 1.9B vs 1.6B "dominating"?
i'd like to know the overall units sold numbers.
tucker
jehurey
Posted 5:57 AM 8/7/08
DragonQuestIX and Chrono Cross DS haven't been released for the system yet.
What do you think?
jehurey
DashTheHand
Posted 5:46 AM 8/7/08
I think its because Japan as a whole already have 2 or 3 DS's for each person. So the next obvious step is to buy a PSP or three.
DashTheHand
kiseki
Posted 7:37 AM 8/7/08
Overall sales is 22+ million DS vs 9+ million PSP. At the current rate, it'll only take PSP about 25 years to catch up to the DS. So much for domination.
kiseki
itouchgadgetsinappropriately
Posted 7:32 AM 8/7/08
@Monty: why do you have to talk about your ass all the time? :\
itouchgadgetsinappropriately
Monty
Posted 7:19 AM 8/7/08
"If you peek through this hole today at around 3:12 PDT looking at only this area of the sky, and squint a little to the right while standing on one foot -- you can actually witness the monkeys flying out of my ass!"
Monty
strider_mt2k
Posted 8:43 AM 8/7/08
I'm not surprised.
The PSP was slightly ahead of it's time.
That will allow for more stuff to be developed so it can fully hit it's stride, as opposed to the DS Lite, which basically is what it is with little room for growth.
strider_mt2k
Monty
Posted 9:45 AM 8/7/08
@itouchgadgetsinappropriately:
I used to talk about my girlfriend's.
Until she filed that restraining order against me.
Monty
waffleking77
Posted 10:46 AM 8/7/08
Correction: 10.8 forgot my decimal 0_0
waffleking77
waffleking77
Posted 10:43 AM 8/7/08
Sooo, 10000 more a month for the PSP, on average? Gonna have to do better than that to outsell the DS lifetime. Continuing at that rate, it would take the PSP approxamatly 108 years to surpass the DS in Japan alone, according to VGchartz's sales data.
waffleking77
Hello_Newman
Posted 12:16 PM 8/7/08
How can they be selling PSP's with the bundled Heaven vs. Hell when they don't have souls?
Hello_Newman
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Posted 12:31 PM 8/7/08
I love the PSP and all, but truth is: What really impresses me in those numbers is that the DS is STILL selling like that... and Japan giving it as gifts to other coutries representatives...
Also, Chrono Trigger DS, Dragon Quest and Disgaea. I wanna see how those will affect the numbers.
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
atoxic
Posted 7:36 PM 8/7/08
@tucker: Wikipedia to the rescue
Worldwide:
NDS: 70.6M
NDSLite: 51.78M
PSP: 37M
Japan:
NDS: 22,169,761
PSP: 8,574,026
atoxic
Worf
Posted 2:28 AM 9/7/08
So I take it now there are DS's sitting on the shelves now? (it's impressive that the DS can continually sell out years after its release). Then again, Japan must be practically built on DS's by now - new buildings erected with DS's...
That... and considering Sony releases "shipped" numbers while Nintendo actually does "sold" numbers (the former means how many go out the door - if a retailer sends 'em back, and they out the door, those PSPs are counted *twice*, the latter is the number actually sold to a customer).
Worf