PSP sales... Lukewarm?

pumbaa

pumbaa

CAGiversary!
Its going to be an interesting Monday to be sure. Apprently... PSP isn't selling as hot as hype would make you think it would. I thought for sure this was going to be another DS like phenom... very very interesting indeed. I hope it certainly sells enough to become a viable platform... I mean I'm sure it already is with the cache the Sony name holds, but I hope strong support will continue. Maybe it'll just take a portable GTA or FF?

Here's some links...

http://psp.ign.com/articles/599/599156p1.html?fromint=1

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/26/2313238&from=rss

It's kind of speculation at this point, but what people are saying around the country is interesting nontheless. I know here in Central Florida... I went to one specialty gaming store and they had a could left in the back casing (not preordered or anything... just sitting there). There hasn't been much talk about it around campus either.
 
Well, since I'm a Nintendo fanboy, I like to see this happen... ;)

Of course, I will eventually get a PSP, but around here, they've been flying off the shelves. Both EB's in my city sold their stock the first two days. (70 at one store, 40 at the other...) I would think it would be selling like crazy.

EDIT: Maybe I will check out Wal-Mart, K-Mart, CC, and TRU tomorrow to see what they have left. My local BB didn't have many left either...
 
The weel will spin faster and faster for Sony and PSP sales will go up.

Lack of adds, wrong release time, and pricey bundle ( I don't think it was good idea to bundle it for $250) and dead pixels reports didn't help with sales ether.
 
ha! if everyone bought a warranty and stood there in the store and switched them out until they found one without dead pixels, Sony would be ruined!
 
[quote name='Rig']Well, since I'm a Nintendo fanboy, I like to see this happen... ;)

Of course, I will eventually get a PSP, but around here, they've been flying off the shelves. Both EB's in my city sold their stock the first two days. (70 at one store, 40 at the other...) I would think it would be selling like crazy.[/QUOTE]


and all Nintendo fanboys will put their Mario toys away and quietly play PSP 8-[
 
It may take a killer app game for the system to sell extremely well.
Had this come out around Christmas, we may not even be having this conversation. In any event, once people see how good the screen looks, and a few triple-A games start leaking out, the PSP's sales will rise.
 
I was at best buy earlier today (well saturday) and they had, I'd guess, at least 20-30. There was tons of them in a display near the checkout, all with security things on them (so you know they weren't empty boxes). Granted, this was a canadian store and things tend to be a bit easier to get here, but still. I love it though. I blame sony for the death, or speeding up the death, of much that I love about games. 2d side scrollers, quirky games, 2d flying shooters, 3d platformers (the mario 64 kind, I hate resident evil and that kind), games based on fun instead of gore, 2d rpg's etc. Granted, some of those would have faded (particularly 2d side scrollers), but sony's focus on mainstream, older, casual gamers hastened that and eliminated categories that otherwise may have lingered on to some extent. I used to think genesis was too mainstream, it's nothing compared to what sony has done. Microsoft is even worse, at least sony throws out games like disgaea and katamari damacy here and there, but sony is the one that sent games in that direction so I blame them more.

I would be personally happy to have remained in 16 bit, 32 tops. The 3d platformers that became popular after mario 64, and many nintendo games are still fun, but that's the only good thing I have to say about newer high tech games. The good ones bring back the style of a day long passed. GBA advance is really the last system that produces the 2d rpg's I love (my favorite genre, I have never gotten into the newer 3d ones), and the fact that sonys entrance into the portable market has forced nintendo to make a much more advanced system, in the ds (which seems to have the style of new games I like, though I don't have one to know for sure), to compete will only make it worse. Basically, leave the portables to nintendo, at least then I still have a market that is suited to me. I just need a tv adaptor, I play portables sometimes, but they hurt my neck so I don't like to that often.
 
I was surprised to still be seeing PSPs in stores today as well. One Target I was in had about 10 of them and a Wal-Mart had another 5 or so still.
 
Well I hate to tell you die hard Nintendo fans out there but there are several reasons why their are PSPs still available:

-no real advertising until a few days before launch: Who were the majority of the customers who bought a PSP on day one: Hardcore gamers (like me).

-It looks like Sony shipped out what they were promising. I don't know if it was the million that they were stating but unlike the PS2 launch (which did not meet demand and was heavily advertised before launch day) but its bet its close

Look, the DS is a good system but the lack of strong lineup is killing it for me. I have 6 games for it and they are all very good but technically and functionally the PSP is heads above what the DS can do. The touch screen so far has shown some decent promise (Feel the Magic and Wario Ware Untouched use the DS capabilities well) and I look forward to what future gameplay opportunites it may bring BUT the PSP is an attention grabber.

For all of you who say 250 is too much for a handheld is understandable but you are getting a lot more for your buck here then just a gaming machine. This is a handheld PS2 (and will show that more and more when developers use the PSP to its potential-as I really hope the DS game developers will also).

The PSP is a thing of beauty. Its technically amazing and unless you truly sit down and play it then please do not judge the system based on its price. For the dead pixel fiascal, yeah there is a problem there that I hope Sony will address (they have but not the way Nintendo has handled them (which is good customer support from Nintendo (as they always have been). Sony did state they will let you return your system to be repaired or replaced BUT they want you to ship the product out AT YOUR COST...which I hope they change that. Otherwise I am extremely pleased with my PSP and I believe word of mouth is going around and the initial shipments of PSPs will sell. This will be a HUGE item during Christmas time. I have been to my local EB play wirelessly with the EB employees and it has generated a lotta buzz in my area.

Anyway, I do think Nintendo will up the ante when they release their new gameboy but I do hope support of the DS will get stronger...I don't want another Virtual Boy (which I still own and play (and get dizzy :)) once in awhile.

BTW, I did pick up Yoshi's Touch and Go and its pretty good
 
[quote name='gmzone']It may take a killer app game for the system to sell extremely well.
Had this come out around Christmas, we may not even be having this conversation. In any event, once people see how good the screen looks, and a few triple-A games start leaking out, the PSP's sales will rise.[/QUOTE]

Funny, that's the same logic that gets picked at when people talk about the DS.
 
I also agree that 250 bones for a handheld system is a bit steep. Yeah, its more than just a game machine, but you have to pay for that too. If I want to play mp3s or movies on it, I have to buy a larger memory stick. 1GB memory sticks cost well over $100. I also have to buy a USB cable for it.

PSP overall is a very slick system, but whether it will be the thing to get this holiday season really depends on what kind of software they have out for it versus their competitors. By this holiday season the DS will be offering online games like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and a bunch more. To me that is a dream come true as these are games I've waited years to play online with friends.

Comparing the PSP to the DS though is comparing apples to oranges, as both are really trying different things. The true competitor for the PSP will be the next Gameboy. Rumor has it that Nintendo will show off some footage of new Gameboy material(Gamboy Evolution?) at this year's E3. If the machine is as powerul, or moreso, than the PSP and offers things like better battery life, I could see many consumers holding off on the PSP and waiting for the next Gameboy. Much like they did holding off on the Dreamcast waiting for the PS2.

The ball is in Nintendo's court now so it all depends on what they decide to do next that could make or break the PSP.

Just to get back on topic, I've seen quite a few PSPs in my neck of the woods. They still sold a good number of them, but they didn't sell out. Guess I won't be getting a decent price for mine up on ebay. Was hoping to get a nice profit off mine to help fund a few more games I want to buy.
 
I was surprised to see about 40-50 at walmart where I live. i picked one up, but I can see why they are not flying off the shelves.i agree with the person that said that the release timing was a little off. Everyone knows that systems should release near holidays to do extremely well especially a handheld unit. I can say that mine has no dead pixels(yet) and it kicks major aaass. Didn't Sony produse and release more than Nintendo did with the DS. I am not sure of this but thought they did, which may also be why they are not as hard to find. Personally i am glad they are not gonna be sold on ebay for 500$.
 
On Avereage how many DS systems did a retailor get for Launch. I beleive around 5 or 10.
Sony had way more product to put on the shelve's. I had my DS B4 launch, & my PSP on launch, but I think around Xmass, you won't be able to find a PSP.
 
[quote name='dschroll']The true competitor for the PSP will be the next Gameboy. Rumor has it that Nintendo will show off some footage of new Gameboy material(Gamboy Evolution?) at this year's E3. If the machine is as powerul, or moreso, than the PSP and offers things like better battery life, I could see many consumers holding off on the PSP and waiting for the next Gameboy. Much like they did holding off on the Dreamcast waiting for the PS2.
QUOTE]

Uggh. Nintendo's DS is looking more and more like the SEGA 32X. If Nintendo plans on releasing the next Game Boy anytime soon (i.e. within the next 12 months), it spells doom for the DS. No matter how much Nintendo protests that it can support two handheld systems, most of its resources will go to the new Game Boy line and support for the DS will dry up. That would make the life span of the DS equivalent to that of Nintendo's other colossal failure, the Virtual Boy - a life span measured in months, not years. Nintendo has to be careful and not alienate its fan base by diverting support away from DS so soon after its release. Sega did that with the SEGA 32X (in preparation for the Saturn's release), and we all know how that turned out.
 
[quote name='Kain Vincent']I saw at least 7 PSPs at my local walmart and at least 4 at my local TRU. Maybe the price is driving people away.[/QUOTE]

This is what I am thinking as well, pretty much every electronic and retail store around my way has 'em in stock. Remember PS2's launch, I did not get a PS2 until a few months later, I couldn't in fact.
I am still stoked about mine however, it is a most amazing device.
 
For me it's because of the pricepoint. I would've picked it up for 150-175 if it was just by itself without so many extras bundled, but at 250 I just can't afford it right now.
 
I have no clue how they were doing at Best Buy here in the Detroit area, but I did swing by Target both on the day of launch and yesterday. The same Target still had some yesterday...it looked like the same amount, but I'm sure they sold a few.

I think the PSP will sell just fine, but the pricing strategy they used for this thing's launch is a disaster....the damn thing costs too much money. Speaking to sales staff at Target on the launch day, the guy said: "I can't tell you how many people said 'No thanks' after I told them the price". Sony needs to have a barebones PSP on the shelves....for lack of a better word, it's unfair to some people because they simply can't afford it.
 
What makes you think that the PSP is ever going to pick up steam?

The price range is its biggest issue. Spending upwards of $300 for the system and a game isn't something that most people can afford, and the fact that the software is all in the $40-$50 range can't be helping sales either. I know that there's nothing to justify spending that much on the system for me right now.

If Sony does drop prices, what happens to all of the games that they've spent millions and millions on in development? If prices fall to speed up sales, is it going to be enough to recoup costs, let alone make a profit?

It also seems that Nintendo has been the most agressive with price cuts on hardware in recent years. When Sony and Microsoft cut console prices, they were responding to Nintendo by doing so. Hell, Nintendo has already dropped the price on GBAs. If a DS price cut will help them to remain ahead of Sony saleswise, there's probably going to be one in the near future.

Good consoles die. Look at the Dreamcast. Considering the software that's currently available, there's no proof yet that the PSP is a good console.
 
Hmmm...$250 for a portable system that plays Twisted Metal, Wipeout and NBA Street at $40-50 a pop and movies on UMDs or $150 for a console that plays the EXACT same games at $10-20 each and DVDs at no extra cost - which I could also hook up to a monitor in my car if I wanted to play games on the go since the system is so tiny.

Why would anyone get a PSP over a PS2 at this point in time??
 
i went to about 3 or 4 places last night trying to find the new timesplitters (sold out everywhere!?!?) and i had the opportunity to buy a psp at every one. yes, I did think about getting one at every store i walked in to, but i already own twisted metal and wipout for me ps2, and those dead pixel reports scared me off. paying $250 for something that itsnt perfect out of the box is unfathomable to me.

as my girlfriend put it last night, maybe the fact that i couldnt find timesplitters, but i could've easily gotten the psp should tell me which one was the better purchase. of course, what do girls know anyway. :)
 
Too expensive. I have a DS, but I'm not a Nintendo fanboy, the DS has major faults, but I like what few games I have. I've been to atleast 5 stores, every one had way too many PSPs to be launch week.
I do want one of these, but before I get one they need to have better solutions for their dead pixels and a lower price point. The games are fine, they have actually have some decent titles.

Personally I'd rather see Sony's hype machine throw a rod this time.
 
As I said before, I think this might be the Halo 2 phenomenon. Something that everyone who wants gets immediately and then sales taper off. I'm sure that when either a) a killer app gets released, or b) the price point drops sales will do better, but honestly you think Sony would have realized the importance of whipping up a hype frenzy by now.
 
In order to justify this price Sony had to educate their customer, explaining what this device can and what it will do in a future. Sony failed to do so. I was at Hasting last night. Customer asked clerk to explain what PSP is and what does it do. Clerk got PSP out of the glass and gave a box to a customer. "$250 for this? you gotta be kidding me?!" he said and gave it back to the clerk. Well..I decided to step in and see what happens. I explained to him how PSP works. He asked me if PSP is good for traveling, cause he travels a lot and need to kill some time on the plain, but he doesn't want to play games all the time. I told him how clear Spiderman 2 movie looks and picture quality is just amazing. In less than 5 minutes it was all done. He said to a clerk " I want a system and 5 games for it and please LMK when movies will come out for it". As you see it wasn't about money at all.


*cough* Sony just had to put the units out 2 weeks before the release date, like Nintendo does, in every store on display for everyone to see and play the demo *cough* I'm sure they were thinking about it, but decided to save money instead.

$0.02
 
[quote name='masha']In order to justify this price Sony had to educate their customer, explaining what this device can and what it will do in a future. Sony failed to do so. I was at Hasting last night. Customer asked clerk to explain what PSP is and what does it do. Clerk got PSP out of the glass and gave a box to a customer. "$250 for this? you gotta be kidding me?!" he said and gave it back to the clerk. Well..I decided to step in and see what happens. I explained to him how PSP works. He asked me if PSP is good for traveling, cause he travels a lot and need to kill some time on the plain, but he doesn't want to play games all the time. I told him how clear Spiderman 2 movie looks and picture quality is just amazing. In less than 5 minutes it was all done. He said to a clerk " I want a system and 5 games for it and please LMK when movies will come out for it". As you see it wasn't about money at all.[/QUOTE]

Wow, you are teh win. Some guy going from not buying it to spending $500 on it, just because some fanboy stranger who happened to be standing next to you tells you his opinion on it? Wow, you must have excellent people skillz!

:roll:
 
[quote name='evilmax17']Wow, you are teh win. Some guy going from not buying it to spending $500 on it, just because some fanboy stranger who happened to be standing next to you tells you his opinion on it? Wow, you must have excellent people skillz!

:roll:[/QUOTE]

"Sranger" is a key word here. He new, clerk will try to "sell" it to him and I was just a "stranger" who had a chance to play with it. When your customer trusts you the sale element is no longer there. It's like telling your best friend "It's a great game, you MUST play it"

Few thing I've learned in this country are :

1.Do not spend smb else's money.

2. Don't look at people's wallets through your empty one :whistle2:D

BTW I'm no fanboy. Gamecollecting is my hobby and I have them all in doubles :lol:
 
I will have to agree.... The price point is the biggest issue rite now... and the bundel package isn't very useful if you wanna take full advantage of the new system.

When I think about I spent alot just to get full advantage out of it.

System: $267 w/ taxes

USB cord: $11

2 GAMES:$95

256 MB sandisk memory card: $53

Screen Protector: $5.00

Total: $431

I spent almost half a grand in less then 1 week.

I shown the PSP to my friends, all of them think it's super cool, but they all said it just to expensive, and will wait for a price drop under $200. I think only the hardcore gamer will jump on board 1st. where the target casual gamer, sony isn't hitting this time.

Only my local EB & Gamerush is sold out of the PSP system, where Walmart, TRU, Target & Best Buy is still full of them. but it took 3 days for my eb & gamerush to get rid of their stock. where the DS only took less then 24 hr.

If sony would release just a stand alone basic PSP system for $189. I doubt the casual gamer will ever jump on board.
 
$250 for a handheld is extremely steep in my opinion. After a price drop or some AAA titles are released sales will likely pick up (especially around the holidays).

Thank god for Gamerush's rather generous trade-in values (especially with the $5 extra). I've been able to pick up a PSP and three games for a grand total of $6.71 out of pocket.
 
[quote name='captainfrizo']$250 for a handheld is extremely steep in my opinion. After a price drop or some AAA titles are released sales will likely pick up (especially around the holidays).

Thank god for Gamerush's rather generous trade-in values (especially with the $5 extra). I've been able to pick up a PSP and three games for a grand total of $6.71 out of pocket.[/QUOTE]

Same. I traded a bunch of Jumpacks and TRU games to EB. I don't really care about dead, not lit up, dimpled or any other pixels, I got system almost for free. It's a great toy! I don't think I would've paid $250+ for it. ( I LIED _)))
 
People who know about the system will decide for themselves if they want it, but they have to know enough about it to make that educated choice whether for or against buying it. Once a person makes up their mind to buy it they'll find the money to get it and the things they need for it. The price is still a factor of course, you can't factor in all the info without the price factor in a ratio of "bang:buck" but if you can resolve that equation for yourself the choice gets easier either way.

Sony's trying to to the "Apple thing." Trying to lure the "high end buyers" not just the "gamers", they're after people who buy Macs and iPods, products usually concidered "overpriced" by the average consumer. They designed it to be pretty and stylish as possible with as many functions as they could that are popular or gaining popularity in today's market. People with the scratch for it should want to blow their cash on it on sheer cool power alone even if a cheaper alternative exists.

Portable digital music and portable video players are big and emerging markets, games are already huge. You get people to buy it on A/V media by having decent ratings in consumer reports magazines or Cnet.com on video and sound quality (harder than it sounds) All they need to do for gamers is prove it's a feasible game player and you do that with more titles which take time to be released.

They'll sell a quarter of a million systems on GTA alone. More when they lower the price on Memsticks.
 
Many people claim DS has no games.

I ask then, what games are coming for PSP?

For me there are none coming and none of the launch titles for PSP are worth $40. I wanted to get Darkstalkers, but after reading the reviews and finding out they fudged the controls and stretched the image to make it fit the display I decided against it. Eventually I will get a PSP, but not for $249.99.

There are many games I want on DS though. A new Mario, Metroid, Animal Crossing, Final Fantasy, Yoshi Touch & Go just to name a few. I am also very satisfied with Mario 64 and enjoy it greatly.



Chris
 
I paid off my PSP with store credit, but I would not have spent $250 + tax, otherwise. Another thing is that memory sticks cost so much damn money, that the video playback feature of the PSP is totally useless to me cause I can't afford a 1GB memory stick. Hopefully those things will go down in price, but why couldn't Sony use SD cards? (I already know the answer: they are greedy bastards)
 
It's interesting that price is the thing thats being talked about so much here. When the price of $250 was revealed... people said "wow, thats a decent price... Nintendo is screwed". Everyone was saying that Sont MUST be taking a loss on every unit. So the price isnt going to go down any time soon.

I wonder if a holiday price drop for the DS would be the nail in the coffin?

I didn't realize that price was going to be such a factor... because I assumed that the "higher" demographic that the PSP is aimed at would be okay with it. Obviously not. The fact that the games are $40-$50 dollars each certainly doesn't help.

You can say all you want that for the price you are getting a "good deal". The problem is that people have an MP3 player (and people usually don't use their PS2 for a CD player), and as far as portable movies go... I dont think anyone wants to buy the same movie twice.

This is going to be REAL interesting to see how exactly this pans out.

Also the commercials ARE cool. BUT they don't show how much value is in the package. It doesnt say that Spiderman 2 is bundled with it. It doesn't say everything you get with it. It doesn't say that theres a memory stick in there as well. It just says "PSP... out now". I think even the DS commercials showed that Metroid Prime Hunters was bundled in.
 
[quote name='pumbaa']... I dont think anyone wants to buy the same movie twice.
[/QUOTE]


I do...I do... I fly a lot.
 
Neither one of these systems is going to "kill" the other one, they'll win or loose their position based on what their respective companies do with them.
 
There are two kinds of people around where I live: those who have PSPs and those who are so jealous after playing one that they refuse to talk about it ;-) j.k.

btw, I think there is enough room on the market for both the DS and PSP. Neither one will kill the other.
 
The fact is neither the DS or PSP have a nice solid line up, they have a few games each that appeal to gamers, but neither really has the killer app. I'd love to get a psp, but I just simply cant afford it, I really wished they had released a core system. I would imagine that during christmas, once more games are out, that both systems will do very well. But I think the DS might do better unless the PSP price goes down. Oh and my gamestop has about a dozen psps left.
 
oh, i was just looking at completed ebay auctions for psp, most people are making profits of less than 20 dollars, that makes me feel good about the asshats that hoard them
 
Why are we talking about how many stores have PSPs anyway? They shipped a MILLION of them it's not a big suprise if a few stores still have them 2 days after launch.
 
[quote name='Apossum']There are two kinds of people around where I live: those who have PSPs and those who are so jealous after playing one that they refuse to talk about it ;-) j.k.

btw, I think there is enough room on the market for both the DS and PSP. Neither one will kill the other.[/QUOTE]

I didn't mean to insinuate that DS and PSP can't cooexist. I just thought that PSP's would be hard to come by... and apprently in a lot of places they aren't.

I figure it'd be interesting to get feedback as to why CAGS think it might not be selling as hyped... or if (gasp) a CAG hasn't bought a PSP... why.

I wish I had the $400 to buy one, a couple o' games, and a fat memory stick to play around with... but sadly I do not. Hopefully... very very soon. I can't WAIT to play Lumines.
 
[quote name='Alpha2']Why are we talking about how many stores have PSPs anyway? They shipped a MILLION of them it's not a big suprise if a few stores still have them 2 days after launch.[/QUOTE]

Exactly, with a million PSP's shipped, Sony's making sure that there should be plenty of PSP's for those that want them when they decide to get one. A system doesn't have to sell every single unit and be hard to find to be a success.
 
Sadly, I think Sony did need a near-to-total sell-out to not seem like a disappointing launch (even if they sell 500 or 800k out of 1M). However, I'm sure they also have fresh in memory the PS-TWO's shortage and the implications of not having your system ready to buy: a few of my co-workers got Gamecubes for their kids... I don't think Sony would want people walking out with a DS or even an SP b/c there weren't enough of their system out there to satiate demand. It's really a catch-22... too many on the shelves = "poor sales" and not enough could = cannibalized sales to other systems.

They may need a band-wagon effect to come into play - the cool person gets a PSP and others follow??? I guaranty Sony's target demographic knew about the PSP coming out. Go to IGN or read any of the magazines and you'll see it EVERYWHERE. Even CNN and major newspapers had a big thing on launch day, so it's not like people didn't know about it. My mother (who is 60) asked me if I bought one. I definitely think it depends on your area as to whether they have them in stock. One of the 'richer' areas of town had just a few of them left at Target while mine a few miles from there still had at least 40. They'll have 41 when I take mine back since BB didn't cancel my order and shipped my PSP for 225$ w/ coupons and credits :). BTW, Best Buy's website still has them listed as SOLD OUT (I'm sure to prevent ppl from using those coupons to get it cheaper).

I bet Sony's European gamers will be the real downers if the PSP sales aren't close to the 1M point - they had their launch snapped from them to have systems for US Launch :(.

BAAAAD T-storms here in GA. Signing off so I can turn my PC off (lightning) :(.
 
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