Top 5 selling PSP games of all time
by Alan Tsang 
{ Dec 1st 2008 at 2:00PM }
Gamasutra just published a comparison report between software sales on the PSP and the DS in the United States. Not surprisingly, the DS is faring better -- the PSP has released 396 titles with an average of 133,000 units sold per title while the DS has released 653 games with an average of 163,000 copies sold per title. In terms of the average number of games per hardware unit sold, the ratio is 4.8 on the DS and 4.2 on the PSP.
The NPD Group also provided the data on the top 5 selling games on each device. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories takes first place with 2 million copies sold. We suspect the Rockstar sandbox title sold unusually well due to a combination of the popularity of the GTA franchise and a certain little exploit. Lastly, every title on the list are comparatively ancient (the newest game is GTA: Vice City Stories, released back in the end of 06), which doesn't bode well for the PSP. Wanna know what other games made the list? They are available for you right after the jump.
The NPD Group also provided the data on the top 5 selling games on each device. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories takes first place with 2 million copies sold. We suspect the Rockstar sandbox title sold unusually well due to a combination of the popularity of the GTA franchise and a certain little exploit. Lastly, every title on the list are comparatively ancient (the newest game is GTA: Vice City Stories, released back in the end of 06), which doesn't bode well for the PSP. Wanna know what other games made the list? They are available for you right after the jump.
Top 5 Selling PSP Games (March 05 - Fall 08)
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories -- 2,000,000
- Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition -- 1,100,000
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted -- 1,100,000
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories -- 950,000
- Star Wars: Battlefront II -- 809,000
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben @ Dec 1st 2008 2:04PM
Interesting. Note for those that are not aware, these are only American sales, not worldwide (which I suspect would alter the charts significantly).
Zack @ Dec 1st 2008 2:06PM
Ahh, no wonder I didn't see FF7: Crisis Core up there... again, best game for the console ;) Long Live Final Fantasy VII !!!
drdre74 @ Dec 1st 2008 2:18PM
Yeah and no Monster Hunter 2 which i thought sold like 2 milli!!
-slycooper_rocker- (lorddshadow the amazing) psn: shahanasalam @ Dec 1st 2008 5:20PM
not in america. pretty much just in japan.
DJCUEBALL @ Dec 1st 2008 2:32PM
Hmm... no God of War?
Zippon @ Dec 1st 2008 7:30PM
Oh, it was illegally downloaded (thanks, CFW!) more than 2 million times....but these figures are apparently based on SALES..... :-(
(cue the CFW user comments that say THEY only use it for legal purposes....which clearly negates the impact of all the illegal downloads)
1337stra @ Dec 1st 2008 8:03PM
That's why LCS is so high ha! surprised Lumines isn't there.
TheHater @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:47PM
GoW:PS2 + Worse Graphics + Slow Downs = GoW:PSP
Low sales, check.
What I don't understand is why people are buying Midnight Club 3.
Zippon @ Dec 4th 2008 1:07AM
>GoW:PS2 + Worse Graphics + Slow Downs = GoW:PSP
>Low sales, check.
Why do so many morons completely ignore the fact that the PSP is a ***PORTABLE*** gaming device? Durrrr.
"Yeah, I expect PS3 graphics and speed in the palm of my hand. You know, like the DS Lite...uh, the iPhone....the, uh, uhhhh....oh, I guess nothing actually comes close to the PSP in portable gaming power....."
TheHater @ Dec 8th 2008 11:52AM
@Zippon
Never said I expected more from the PSP. I'm just stating the facts.
Playing the same game over again with worse graphics doesn't bother me a whole lot, but the slow downs do. At least optimize the game to run on the system.
Smokey @ Dec 1st 2008 3:01PM
yeah, id rather check out the global figures, just the states sales isnt really indicative of the state of the psp...
TechNick @ Dec 1st 2008 3:28PM
I could have sworn I saw somewhere saying Daxter sold around 2 million?
required @ Dec 1st 2008 3:19PM
PSPfanboy, Gamasutra??
Metacritic lists 493 titles. Also note that there are titles in the PS store that are not listed including PS1 titles.
In other words, their article is a bit fishy.
Ben @ Dec 1st 2008 4:59PM
I'm pretty sure these are only American-released PSP games, although I wasn't aware there were so many PSP games released in America. It seems like those missing 150 or so are some of the best :-/
Extinction @ Dec 1st 2008 3:31PM
So the vaunted DS which sold more than 2 times the number of systems only sells 30,000 more games on average? Only 0.6 more games owned per person?
DS = 87.10M/163,000 = 1 game sold per 534 DSs
PSP = 40.27M/133,000 = 1 game sold per 302 PSPs
Seems PSP games are selling far FAR better than fantrolls/publishers/websites give them credit for.
Jeremy @ Dec 1st 2008 4:53PM
Not really, given that DS games probably cost 1/4 to make (if not less),and the DS gets a gigantic amount of shovelware that the PSP doesn't.
arishateshotmail @ Dec 1st 2008 5:33PM
your grasp of statistics is extinct. Put down the abacus and leave the numbers for more capable people. Total number of games sold:
PSP = 52, 668, 000 (396 x 133, 000).
DS = 106, 439, 000 (653 x 163, 000).
We are given the RATIOS of how many games are sold PER console. PSP = 4.2 games per unit, DS = 4.8 games per unit.
To calculate the TOTAL systems sold, take the total number of games sold divided by the ratio:
PSP 12, 540, 000 units sold (52 million/4.2)
DS 22, 174, 792 units sold (106 million/4.8)
The question you are asking is how many units do they sell PER game. Because more games are sold than units, the number of consoles sold PER game will be LESS THAN 1. So the units sold per game is:
PSP = .238 (12 mill units/52 mill games)
DS = .208 (22 mill units/106 mill games)
For every 100 games sold, the PSP sells 24 consoles, while the DS sells 21. For every 1000 games sold, PSP sells 238, the DS sells 208. Get the picture? The difference is marginal.
Extinction @ Dec 1st 2008 5:39PM
"your grasp of statistics is extinct"
No, your grasp of literacy is extinct, I wasn't calculating the average amount of games each person owns. I was calculating the inverse of it pretty much
"Get the picture? "
Yes, the picture is you didn't read my post at all.
arishateshotmail @ Dec 1st 2008 6:09PM
oh i read it in great detail. just because it makes sense to you doesn't mean it is mathetically correct. If you read my post, i wasn't calculating the number of games people own either. The original post gives us the data. 4.2 and 4.8. "I was calculating the inverse of it pretty much" No you weren't. Pretty much. The inverse of this can ONLY mean the number of consoles sold per game. That is the only inverse possible of the number of games sold per console. You tried to calculate this but had no idea how to do it, which is why you ended up with "1 game sold per 534 DSs" In no walk of life does that make ANY sense. You can't take the total units sold (which you also got wrong considering these are not global numbers) and divide with an average without knowing how many titles are invovled. Go back and redo Grade 8 Algebra in grade 8, and take this to your math teacher and he'll help straighten you out.
Extinction @ Dec 1st 2008 8:49PM
"The original post gives us the data. 4.2 and 4.8. "I was calculating the inverse of it pretty much" No you weren't. Pretty much."
Yes, I was. The inverse is how not what you said.
If you release a game on DS, 1 out of 534 DS owners will buy it
If you release a game on PSP, 1 out of 302 PSP owners will buy it
"In no walk of life does that make ANY sense"
Yes, it does. For those will basic literacy skills.
I would have been glad to politely explain it to you if you weren't so rude before. But you decided to be a jerk.
"Go back and redo Grade 8 Algebra in grade 8"
If you go back and take grade 1 literacy.
Extinction @ Dec 1st 2008 8:52PM
*is not how you said it
arishateshotmail @ Dec 2nd 2008 2:15AM
for someone harping on literacy you did a terrible job communicating what numbers yoiu were trying to calculate. You did not calculate the inverse of what was presented, i already presented this info. Your last post was a little clearer. BUT you still used the wrong numbers. You have to use the US PSPs sold and not the global, because the averages are national not global.
SO:
For every 1 PSP game released, 94 PSP owners will buy it.
For every 1 DS game released, 134 DS owners will buy it.
Your numbers are way off. Can you hear me now?
tigris67 @ Dec 1st 2008 3:39PM
only one of those games I have ever played is the last one. Loved battlefront.
Angel Mass @ Dec 1st 2008 4:13PM
Really? Star Wars: Battlefront II above games like God of War? Locoroco? Crisis Core? Monster Hunter Freedom? wow people is weird lol
Daniel @ Dec 1st 2008 5:12PM
You have to keep in mind that Battlefront was in one of the first bundles for the PSP Slim.
Shoyz @ Dec 1st 2008 5:17PM
And I'm pretty sure it was the only way to get a White PSP in the States
-slycooper_rocker- (lorddshadow the amazing) psn: shahanasalam @ Dec 1st 2008 5:30PM
@ Daniel
that was a different star wars battlefront. this is battlefront II released about 1 or 2 years before renegade squadron which is what you're talking about.
@ Angel Mass
locoroco didn't sell anywhere near what is should have. and the rest...who knows?
wantfryzw1ththat @ Dec 1st 2008 5:30PM
honestly, why isnt god of war or monster hunter 2 on the list? i think there should be a list for the top 5 psp games, based on reviews and such. not a list for the top 5 selling games that are based on numbers cuz a lot of people but the gta games cuz of the fame of the series and other crap. but honestly, a bunch of racing games on the list seems like crap to me. just my opinion people. im not saying racing games are bad. im just saying that there are better games.
roy @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:14AM
where'? SOCOM FTB 1? that sold over 1m in the us. bogus list.
danknugz @ Dec 1st 2008 6:32PM
to be "extinct" something must have existed to begin with.
So always remember.....
"arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics.... even if you win, you're still retarded!"
nuff' said!
arishateshotmail @ Dec 1st 2008 6:47PM
you're right, I gave him too much credit.
btw, it's not about winning, there's no prize, it's about not littering boards with bad information that so many others read. When you see information that misinforms, and you can correct, don't you at least try?
TM @ Dec 1st 2008 6:43PM
interesting. now do worldwide sales, That will probably remove a few of those games off the list.
Cody @ Dec 1st 2008 6:46PM
I got the top 4, I think GoW should be on there though.
Khaled @ Dec 1st 2008 6:49PM
I thought that God of War would be on there.
Cory @ Dec 1st 2008 7:14PM
I own zero of those games. hmm...
PSN: Erdie @ Dec 1st 2008 8:29PM
You and me both.
Cory @ Dec 1st 2008 9:21PM
i was interested in the GTA games but never picked them up. Funny thing is that i own like 20 other PSP games.
Jeremy @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:25AM
I think God of War flopped, actually. Amazon.com is now selling it for $15. Most people liked it, but said it was too short (like 4-5 hours?)
Anyway, Star Wars Battlefront II was extremely popular at the time it came out, and IMHO at least, it's a very good port.
Jeremy @ Dec 2nd 2008 12:26AM
Even now, it's still at #12 on Amazon.com's PSP sales list. PSP fans love Battlefront II
Hashbrown Hunter @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:01AM
Holy crap. This is very, very bad. This is just even more proof that the PSP's piracy scene is worse than any other consoles/handhelds. NFS Most Wanted?! AHHHH!
Kia @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:50AM
Heh, I don't have any of those games. No wonder I rarely use my PSP... better games please!
Shin @ Dec 3rd 2008 12:01AM
haha, this is stupid :D
This is the "top 5 selling" not the "top 5 played"
A year before there was a programming code in Liberty City Stories, which helped the hackers to make hacked PSPs, that time everyone wanted GTA:LCS that's another reason why the selling was so high XD
Also the people who own hacked PSPs, play more games than the others who use the legal way.
Also the better the game, the higher its price... GTA and these "top 5" games were relatively cheaper than like Crisis Core or God Of War :P
Mazrael @ Dec 3rd 2008 10:03PM
hm, I own none of those.. I've Myst, Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command, FF: War of the Lions, Tekken Dark Ressurection.. echocrome demo & Japanese Phantasy Star demo.. thats all the games I've ever got for it since I bought it last December..
Muhammad Sabeeh Ali @ Dec 4th 2008 2:59PM
I own 24 PSP games you can check the list at vgchartz (sapient2k7)
Tales of the world Radiant Mythology is the only one I have bought used. Most of my PS1 and PS2 collection was bought used.
However, most of the games I usually play on my PSP are my PS1 games (that look horrible on my HDTV but look great on my PSP)
PSP is my PS1 Portable and PS2 lite (for the PSP originals).
Muhammad Sabeeh Ali @ Dec 4th 2008 3:06PM
To clarify, I don't think piracy is as rampant as we are led to believe. Have you ever tried to install a custom firmware? I have and it was no picnic.
If there are hundreds and thousands of people (in fact millions if the numbers are to be believed) who can do this then I would be really surprised.
Legend @ Dec 12th 2008 12:14PM
I've never noticed any slowdown in GoW. But then I do have a haxed psp. Even if you don't intend to pirate games it's worth it to get the haxed firmware on it for the ability to increase/change your processor speeds.
Case and point. ATV Offroad Fury looks graphically horrible at the standard processor speed. Bump up the processor speed, however, and the game looks really good. Lines are cleaned up and the textures are nowhere near as blurry. This might also be why I thought GoW was an incredible game graphically. Load times were also hardly noticable.