PSP third in sales, yet first in quality
by David Hinkle 
{ Jun 30th 2006 at 4:00PM }
Jason Anderson, director of research for the International Development Group (IDG) revealed his company's predictions for the future of console and handheld sales. In commenting on everyone's favorite handheld, Jason said that while the PSP has been, and looks to be for the immediate future, third place in terms of sales behind Nintendo's DS and GBA, the handheld looks like it will be reaching 14.4 million gamers in 2007 and 17.6 million by 2008. Anderson also gauged the overall quality of games on each platform, using Game Rankings to compile average scores for each system's games. In this manner, the PSP blew away all other handhelds, and closely resembled the results seen for home consoles such as the PS2, Xbox and GameCube by maintaining an overall quality percentile just below 70.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MegaMatt @ Jun 30th 2006 6:30PM
The reason it blew all other handhelds away and closely resembled the results seen for home consoles is because the only "good" games on it can also be found on home consoles. Good work.
george @ Jun 30th 2006 6:38PM
you wouldn't belive how pissed i was when i learnt they were selling white psps here, after i imported from japan!
oh well.
Player1 @ Jun 30th 2006 7:38PM
Oh, I didn't realize Lumines was on consoles yet. Or Syphon Filter: ark Mirror. Or Daxter. I guess GTA:LCS just came out. So yeah, I guess you are right, they do end up porting the "good" games to cosoles. Good work.
Elric @ Jun 30th 2006 8:08PM
Well I think I'd rather a few AAA titles like Mariokart online, Tetris online, Metroid online, Final Fantasy online and Brain Age/Big Brain Academy than a larger supply of average games. Wouldn't you?
Skyler Jermyn @ Jun 30th 2006 9:33PM
Yeah. PSP games are so awesome. That's why they sell so well. Count the psp games on this list:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/top-sellers/-/videogames/468642/ref=pd_ts_tb_f/103-6737152-5823868
If you can't find one, feel free to try the next page...and the next.....and the next.
Fact: Not many people are interested in full priced watered-down ports of games that were designed to be played while sitting on your couch at home. Take these kinds of games from the psp library, and then see how the quality comparison runs down.
Brian @ Jun 30th 2006 10:56PM
Yeah, because none of the DS games have console versions.
Skyler Jermyn @ Jun 30th 2006 11:25PM
Nope, none come to mind actually. You must be thinking of the full blown sequels to already established franchies, like Mario Kart, Metroid, Castlevania, etc. A sequel isn't the same thing as a port though. It's like the difference between the DVD release of a movie, and the sequel to that movie. Not that it would be possible to port a console game to DS, or that I would want them to.
These sequels are in addition to brand new properties like Phoenix Wright, Meteos, the brain training games, etc.
I think Tycho from penny arcade put it best:
"The games hitting the DS now in their major franchises aren't the filthy ports with a few bonuses tacked on I feared would dominate the machine - they're actually the legitimate sequels, definitive versions that replace the old ones in terms of features and I daresay fun. The new Animal Crossing game for the DS is Animal Crossing II, with the multiplayer that was clamored for. The Mario Kart that is out for the DS is the new Mario Kart. Not the "portable version," not the constrained subset. It's the most robust offering in the franchise."
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/12/26
Colin @ Jul 1st 2006 1:03AM
That is stupid, you can't judge a console by ALL the games on the system, they should have taken, like, the best 50 or so to see how the scores stacked up then.
Duscrom @ Jul 1st 2006 1:58AM
Oh Jeez.... Nintendites are so aggressive about thier system. It's funny, the Gamecube excelled at one type of game, the Xbox excelled at another, the PS2 beat them both because they gave the gamer a choice.
The comment that said "You can't count all the games" I tend to disagree, yes you can.. you should. Sometimes I want to play a console game while laying up in my bed, or when I have to go out of town, and cant bring a console with. Weather or not they "Belong" on a handheld system is not the point. I should be able to have a choice. The perfect system has that. But if I gotta go out of town, I bring both my DS and PSP. Because there are just some games that are deeper then DS games.
Don't worry, just because I like the PSP dosen't mean Nintendo is going to go out of buiesness and Shiggy is gonna commit Hari Kari. Quit being so damned agressive towards people who like the PSP.
Colin @ Jul 1st 2006 2:48AM
I own a PSP and a DS, I like both of them, although I tend to play non-Lumines games on my DS and watch movies and browse the internet on my PSP. I don't really count my PSP as a gaming machine.
Tiago @ Jul 1st 2006 7:33AM
Your comments: The PSP still lacks quality games for a portable, which in turn the DS
hasn't.
Too many developers took the stance of "Looky, another
PS2, let's make more monies with ports".
Things are starting
to shape up with more and more better games coming.
Maybe thePSP won't beat the DS, but it's been a hell of a ride and I'm glad to take a part in it.
pixelator @ Jul 1st 2006 11:49AM
DS Fanboys reign supreme at PSP Fanboy yet again.
The DS has plenty of watered down ports (Rayman, Mario 64, Ridge Racer, etc. etc.) and sequels that don't really add much if anything to the series franchise gameplay, like the new Super Mario, Mario Kart, Castlevania, etc. But why do the last three games turn up highly rated? Because they're good sequels/ports and people love these franchises.
I for one don't get the whole 'PSP is third' sales bit, anyway. Maybe in Japan, but it has enjoyed a strong sales gain on the DS since the initial head start Nintendo had from Nov-Mar 04/05. Usually, one considers that as higher sales. From what I've seen of NPD since then, the two systems have been neck and neck. Are they talking about overall sales? Ridiculous - the GBA has been out for years longer.
In the end, IDG is a company like Gartner and the other industry pundit/analysts - they have a bunch of people playing paper football and making up figures based on conjecture or, in some cases, nothing at all. These firms are notoriously full of shit. Just like the Nintendo fanatics.
At least someone's starting to wake up and see that 'all those filthy ports' are good ports of good games. PSP could use more original titles? Sure - but that's a problem every console has.
lolersticks @ Jul 1st 2006 3:51PM
It's the same argument about airplane/cars. Since there are fewer airplanes, most all of them are of high quality, with only a few faulty ones thrown in. There are a fuckton of cars, so cars are going to have an overall lower quality average because of the mass number of mediocre ones, even if there are really excellent ones from, say, BMW that would blow the planes' quality out of the water.
Airplanes are like games for the PSP, and Cars are like games for the DS. The DS may have many more great titles (BMWs, Mercedes', etc) than there are great PSP titles (Boeing, Cessna), but the overall score is brought down by the mass number of budget titles for the system DS(Dodge Intrepid, Civic, Ford Rangers, etc). As someone else said, take an average of the top 20 for each system or something, these results are flawed and meant only to appease one site's fanboy readership.
Zach @ Jul 1st 2006 7:26PM
The only reason that the PSP won in the so called quality of the games is that the PSP has only a fraction of the games that the PS2 or Xbox or any other console or handheld out there. Therefore they have'nt had as many screw-ups. I personaly think that the PSP currentlly has no good games for it, yet.
OyoyoY123 @ Jul 1st 2006 11:51PM
hey #2. Whaddaya mean by "you wouldn't belive how pissed i was when i learnt they were selling white psps here, after i imported from japan!"??????
Are we getting the white PSP here in the NA?? or do you live in Europe???
(SIGH!! IWANTWHITEPSP)
plagiarize @ Jul 2nd 2006 11:01AM
average score isn't a stupid way of looking at it... but average games don't sell systems. the reason the ds is globally outselling the PSP is because of the number of system selling games. the PSP has a few of those two, don't get me wrong, Daxter is awesome, Liberty City Stories was pushing systems (though probably not anymore).
the DS has many more AAA titles.
most of the games made in the west are crap though, and if you love your sports games and your socom type of games, then the PSP is the no brainer choice.
one thing though, Mario 64 wasn't a watered down port. it had better graphics, more levels, four playable characters and a bunch of minigames thrown in.
the ds has enough crap ports to highlight without highlighting the good ports.
GenocideTwitch @ Jul 2nd 2006 12:41PM
The DS has been out much longer then the PSP the GBA has been out much much longer then both systems combined, that being said the sales ratios compaired between the first 6 months after release of each handheld will inevitably let you know where each system is headed.
both systems have good games to play on them (only talking about DS and PSP from here on out) but as far as quality, and choice of use is concerned..the PSP wins hands down.
DS has: Games...
PSP has: Games, Movies, Music, Internet..ect ect..
You cannot judge these systems by where they stand sale to sale ratio at the present time there are to many factors. (such as the amount of time after launch "insert game name" for the DS was released for the system compaired to the same ratio "insert game name" was released for the PSP system.
if you score the systems together on this the DS has a hefty unfair and biased advantage of the PSP simply due to the fact that the DS is older.
all you need to do is look at the first 6 months after the inital release for each handheld that will give you the numbers they SHOULD be being scored with.
as for myself -PSP all the way, it's way more versitile.
-GenTwitch
wii the people @ Jul 3rd 2006 1:05AM
These facts of the case are these: The PSP has very few original, high quality, well-received games, the control scheme is poor at best and the load times are utterly abysmal. These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed. Now the PSP fanboys are gonna try a little magic trick. They're gonna use a little misdirection, they will astonish you with tales of "units shipped" (not "units sold") and they will dazzle you with official sounding statements like "deeper games", "good games coming soon" and "multimedia is better". They will have no proof, none, mind you but it's gonna be entertaining. And in the end all the misdirection in the world will not be able to divert your attention from the fact that the DS outsells the PSP in every market, the DS has generally better games and at best the PSP is a far distant second. These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed.
SuicideNinja @ Jul 3rd 2006 12:02PM
"Oh, I didn't realize Lumines was on consoles yet. Or Syphon Filter: ark Mirror. Or Daxter. I guess GTA:LCS just came out. So yeah, I guess you are right, they do end up porting the "good" games to cosoles. Good work."
Everyone always spews those games out to retort. I've played them all and don't like any of them. I'm really glad a room mate bought those, because I wouldn't have been happy to drop cash on them.
Aside from those, what else? I'm still waiting for the Final Fantasy 7 stuffs myself.
Big Rob @ Jul 5th 2006 4:28AM
You really can't knock Nintendo when it comes to handheld games. They absolutely have the portable gaming market on lock. You get the feeling that no one else is as interested in providing a mobile gaming experience as Nintendo. The GBA and DS are just the best for gamers. But I'm not a gamer. Games are a diversion for when I'm not doing something else, and I tend to get a quick fix, then I'm finished. What I really like about the PSP is the other stuff you can do with it. I listen to MP3s on it more than anything else. Listening to podcasts and audiobooks are wonderful ways to spend time when you can put your fingers on automatic and not have to do a lot of deep thinking. On the subway, I can catch a quick episode of Doctor Who. When my wife is shopping and I'm waiting, I can hop onto the internet (if the place offers wifi, which more and more places do). As a result, I actually use a PSP far more frequently than I do the Gameboy or the DS (which I also have) because of the non-gaming functionality. I can do all these things on a PDA, true, but the PSP's price is so much lower than those, making the device therefore so much easier to replace if I break it, which is always a fear with portable devices (along with theft).
So the PSP is a useful solution for some of us, and I can only hope that companies learn from its successess and failures and deliver us more innovative and useful entertainment devices.
Flamer @ Jul 5th 2006 7:42AM
PSP is terrible for it's multimedia features. It's the only place I think it really lacks. PSP gets the most gaming use out of me. I whip out my GP2X if I ever need portable homebrew. And my DS Lite..eh, it looks pretty on top of my shelf.
Flamer @ Jul 5th 2006 7:45AM
PSP is terrible for it's multimedia features. It's the only place I think it really lacks. PSP gets the most gaming use out of me. I whip out my GP2X if I ever need portable homebrew. And my DS Lite..eh, it looks pretty on top of my shelf.
And why did someone quote a web comic like Penny Arcade to back up their bullshit opinion? The news at Joystiq is slow, but there are sites for you Nintendo hounds.
Mobat @ Jul 6th 2006 12:54PM
The figures are not bad in anyway. Yes Nintendo is selling more consoles world wide, with a lower price and a large selection of cheaper games it makes sense.
One point that is being missed is the PSP is not out of the race, its not going to die a slow death like the Lynx or the Game gear. The figures are not insulting Sony there just showing that they haven’t toppled the current hand held giant.
Do I agree with there average for games, yes I do over all PSP has a higher review average. They do have less games then DS or GBA. But they don’t have games like Frogger and Care bears. So as an average to me it makes sense. Would the results be different if you compared the top 50 reviewed games for each system? I think so because statistically with less selection it is hard to keep a higher rating.
pixelator @ Jul 7th 2006 2:03PM
"PSP is terrible for it's multimedia features. It's the only place I think it really lacks."
Just goes to show that no matter what, someone is always unhappy or willing to bash something, regardless of how good it is.
"The GBA and DS are just the best for gamers."
For the types of games they offer - which isn't always the best for ALL gamers. Few people these days, amidst all the Sony bashing (deserved and not) seem to be able to make the distinction between the genres.
"The PSP has very few original, high quality, well-received games, the control scheme is poor at best and the load times are utterly abysmal. These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed."
And this is the typical Sony-bashing hateboy nonsense. Every review site disagrees with you, end of story. 'Undisputed' my ass.
"And in the end all the misdirection in the world will not be able to divert your attention from the fact that the DS outsells the PSP in every market"
Not hardly. The PSP even outsold the DS in the Japanese market for several months early in their lifecycles, and it has traded first place with each other in the USA market since both were made available here. Your 'facts of the case' are not only disputed, they're 100% incorrect.
"one thing though, Mario 64 wasn't a watered down port. it had better graphics"
I disagree about the graphics. It didn't port well to the DS, IMO. The controls were horrible and I lost interest in it within hours, despite the added content.
"Everyone always spews those games out to retort. I've played them all and don't like any of them."
Who cares if YOU don't like Syphon, GTA or Daxter? Doesn't mean they're not good games, nor does it mean there aren't many other good ones, like Katamari, Loco Roco, Race Driver/TOCA, Outrun, MGA2, Megaman and others - all AA+ titles recently released.
In the end, the DS doesn't lack ports, doesn't lack BAD ports, and doesn't even have a higher ratio of good to bad games than the PSP. End of story, and that is what's 'undisputed' (except by the Nintendo fanboys and Sony bashers, naturally).
Flamer @ Jul 8th 2006 2:01PM
"PSP is terrible for it's multimedia features. It's the only place I think it really lacks."
Just goes to show that no matter what, someone is always unhappy or willing to bash something, regardless of how good it is.
------
Wow. So instead, I should've just stated that it was flawless?
I love the PSP. That's why I said it gets the most use out of me, and why I visit this site daily. I was hardly bashing it, I just think the multimedia features are crap and prefer not to use them. I still think it's a great system.
big n @ Aug 9th 2006 1:49AM
we're talking about GAMES here, not multimedia functions, thats why ds wins
shutup pcgarbage @ Aug 11th 2006 1:22PM
AHAHHAHHAHHAHAHA psp is teh suck! analog stick sucks....battery sucks....interface sucks....just a huge pointless mp3 player that is always watched by big brother. Sony FTL!
ohh i dont like DS either sooo cant flame me on that..
bye n00bsaucers!