So the DS's worldwide tie ratio is 1.76 games-per-system. And the PSP's worldwide (meaning Japan-only) tie ratio is about 2.6.
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Perhaps, but software sales and tie-in ratios are more important than hardware right now, becasue both companies are trying to convince third parties to develop for their device.
Nope. The tie ratios don't mean squat to the third parties. All they care about is the DS's 5 million software vs the PSP's 1.3 million. And the DS's 2.84 million hardware vs the PSP's 500k. If anything, I think a low tie ratio shows that there's still untapped potential in the installed base.
The tie ratio is mostly good for figuring out profit. And that's pretty much meaningless here, because Sony's going to take a (deliberate) bath on the PSP no matter how good their tie ratio is, and nobody seems to care that Nintendo seems to make more money than God, even when they fail. The only race anybody seems to care about anymore (including the third parties) is the "installed base" race.
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And I think the DS software sales will pick up once the Pokemon DS MMORPG comes along...
Unless it moves hardware units. In which case, the tie ratio would go down. But, considering that Nintendo probably earns money on the DS hardware, does anyone think that would possibly be a bad thing?
Some random thoughts:
Both of those tie ratios are currently really crappy. A typical home console tends to have a tie ratio of around 6-10, and handhelds get something like 4. If Sony thinks they can "revolutionize" handhelds and afford to lose as much money on them as they do on home consoles, they have a long way to go. (Really though, they don't. They just want to pay people to move from Nintendo's "ghetto" into Sony's shiny new neighborhood, at which point they'll show their true slumlord colors.)
Hardcore people buy lots of games. "Casuals" don't carry an entire entertainment center around with them. They buy one game, slap it in the unit, and just carry that unit around. The two groups balance each other out, more or less.
At 500k $200 units, the PSP is obviously "more hardcore" and "less casual" than the 3 million $150 DS units (of course, Sony's low production capabilities have something to do with that).
The tie rate always grows as people who've had the unit longer get more games (even the casuals eventually replace their single games), but it simultaneously gets brought down by new people buying units. Early hardware spurts turn into higher tie ratios later on.
The casuals can slap
two games into the DS. Can we even measure what that's doing for the GBA? I expect to hear a lot of "the GameBoy is a legend and it doesn't count" statements coming from fanboys in the coming years.
The DS needs more triple-A games in assorted genres. But the third parties need to stop treating the DS like a watered down, yet "gimmicky" version of a home console. The touchscreen is sub-par when used as an analog stick. But it's great when used as a touchscreen.