Topic: PSP will have the greatest console launch in History

[oohhboy]

I doubt the price would drop soon enough. They still have to hack thier way into Europe and Oceancia. Units not pushed to America is beening stockpiled for that launch. The dead pixel issue still stands.

They have alreay gutted the other divisions for PSP parts to be made at cost. Although at cost doesn't mean free. It takes time and logistical resources to produce those parts for no real compensation to said divisions. Time is money. Now that Katigua is not the CEO, I doubt this would continue any further.

Regardless if the PSP is beening sold at cost or at a loss on the retail front, Sony as a whole loses money on each unit. Since each part is at cost (With the exception of the screen), PSP price is not going to drop short of some technological miracal during this year.  

[Avinash_Tyagi]

PSP no sell-out: Sony confirms North American figures
Rob Fahey 10:26 08/04/2005
600,000 units in week one, leaving plenty of stock on the shelves

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced official sales figures for the PlayStation Portable launch last month, confirming analyst reports that the system only sold through just over half of its shipment in the first week.

Over half a million units were sold in the first weekend, while first week sales of the PS2 value pack are reported to have driven $150 million through tills - accounting for around 600,000 units, which is in line with estimates from companies including Credit Suisse First Boston.

The figures are healthy by comparison with previous product launches in the space - the Nintendo DS, for example, shipped half a million units in North America before Christmas and took over a week to work through that initial shipment.

However, Sony - used to sell-out launches for all of its new console hardware - may be somewhat disappointed that the PSP failed to sell through more of its initial allocation of a million units.

News that 400,000 PSP units remained on US retail shelves in the week after launch will also rankle with European consumers, who saw the launch in this territory shoved back to ensure that the USA was well-stocked at launch. Europe may now have to wait until September before the system arrives here.

SCEA boss Kaz Hirai dismissed any notion that the launch had been disappointing, however, stating that "the launch of PSP was everything we hoped for, with extraordinary consumer demand driving sales of hardware units alone upwards of $150 million in first week sales, far and away above those generated by any other product in the space."

"In only two weeks, PSP is having an immediate impact across the entire industry as consumers are clearly voting it the product of the year in 2005," he concluded


Gamesindustry.biz



well its official the PSP launch was a relative flop

[Grant10k]

Quote
"In only two weeks, PSP is having an immediate impact across the entire industry as consumers are clearly voting it the product of the year in 2005," he concluded

oh, yeah, clearly...it's only a 1/4th the way though 2005 but obviously it's the product of the year. The must-have handheld that is going to blow away every other product out there for the rest of the year in every field.

Quote
SCEA boss Kaz Hirai dismissed any notion that the launch had been disappointing, however, stating that "the launch of PSP was everything we hoped for

That's not bending the truth, that's flat out lying. Everything they hoped for would be to sell out of every unit, and every game.  If it was really everything they had hoped for, then they would have only shipped 600,000 units in the first place.

[Ian Sane]

"it's only a 1/4th the way though 2005 but obviously it's the product of the year."

Well have any other game systems been introduced this year yet?  Technically it's at least so far the best new videogame hardware of the year.

I think the PSP is just too expensive.  Adding all that extra crap like UMD movie playback was a mistake.  The PSP has a pretty good launch lineup of games and it has that "Playstation" name brand.  Realistically if it was a games only machine and cost the same price as the DS I think it would have had no problem selling out.  You hear people saying things like "the PSP has some games I'm really interested in but I can't afford it" all the time.  The price isn't set for gamers, it's set for gadget freaks.  The problem is the PSP SUCKS as a gadget (UMD movies only) but is good as a gaming machine.  The target market that wants the PSP and the target market the PSP is priced for are different.

[Avinash_Tyagi]

Well they wanted to combat the Ipod and portable DVD players as well, so they couldn't make it just a game machine, also they were probably too worried about going into direct competition with the Nintendo Handhelds, so they made something that was more than just a gaming system.

[Darc Requiem]

The PSP launch was disappointment and they are in full spin mode. Quite simply they thought they'd sell all 1 million units and create a PS2 like frenzy for the PSP. What they forgot is that Nintendo is the name linked to portable gaming and they have to build a reputation there. That, and people are finally starting to become a bit weary of Sony's product quality. Sony gambled and they lost. by allocating so many units to US launch they allowed Nintendo to launch unapposed in Europe. DS promptly sold half a million units and now they have to play catch up in all three territories.  Sony's brand is strongest in Japan, they launched shortly after the DS in Japan and have gotten spanked there. I don't know what they were thinking.  The longer Nintendo stays ahead in the all three major territories the harder it will be for the PSP to hold onto all its third party support. Sony has got to be losing a bundle on each PSP sale, thats why the packed in those inexpensive accessories for an extra $50 to cushion some of the blow. Suffice it to say I'm happy. Sony will have to lose even more money to pay third parties to say on board. By the time the holiday season rolls around the DS will actually have a strong library of titles. If Nintendo can manage to win this holiday season the PSP will be in real trouble.  

[couchmonkey]

It will likely take 1-2 years to develop a game for the PSP.  I highly doubt third parties are going to suddenly pull the plug on games that they've already invested 8-12 months in for the PSP unless the system is a REAL flop. And 600,000 units is not a real flop.  It's just not as super-amazing as Sony hoped.

I think it's way too early to say that Sony is TEH DOOMED.  It's not like the company is going to give up any time soon and the initial sales are solid even if they are below Sony's expectations.  We've barely scratched the surface of the tens of millions of handhelds that Sony and Nintendo could potentially sell worldwide.  Sony may be surprised that it can't just march in and take the market away from Nintendo, but I don't think it's going to give up.  Sony is in this for the long run and a shaky launch doesn't mean much in the long run.

[darknight06]

"I highly doubt third parties are going to suddenly pull the plug on games that they've already invested 8-12 months in for the PSP unless the system is a REAL flop"

Yeah, especially EA and Activison since they both actually created another studio just for PSP development.  

[Darc Requiem]

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
It will likely take 1-2 years to develop a game for the PSP.  I highly doubt third parties are going to suddenly pull the plug on games that they've already invested 8-12 months in for the PSP unless the system is a REAL flop. And 600,000 units is not a real flop.  It's just not as super-amazing as Sony hoped.

I think it's way too early to say that Sony is TEH DOOMED.  It's not like the company is going to give up any time soon and the initial sales are solid even if they are below Sony's expectations.  We've barely scratched the surface of the tens of millions of handhelds that Sony and Nintendo could potentially sell worldwide.  Sony may be surprised that it can't just march in and take the market away from Nintendo, but I don't think it's going to give up.  Sony is in this for the long run and a shaky launch doesn't mean much in the long run.

I'm hardly saying the Sony or the PSP are doomed. I'm just saying that the longer the DS continues to lead in both hardware and software sales the more difficult it will be for Sony. I think the media and third parties assumed that the PSP would run away with the market once it launched at a lower than expected MSRP. The DS continues to sell well and its software has far outpaced the PSP titles thus far, particularly in Japan. One title for either system could change things. But if things continue this way Sony will have X-box like success. They'll move a good amount of systems but lose money because their software sales won't make up for their losses on hardware. I think the DS and the X-box 360 will put a big squeeze on SCEA's profits. The Revolution launching along side the PS3 will tighten the vice even more. Sony can't afford to make the mistakes they did with PS2, they'll have to run a PS1 gameplan to maintain their dominance. If they continue down the arrogant path that Nintendo did, they'll end up at bottom looking up....just like Nintendo did.

[cronotrigger913]

I would love to get a PSP. The screen alone is worth the price, but then I get to thinking about the prices for the actual games. Most are $50! For a handheld game, I barely want to go over $30, let alone $50. It's very understandable to set the price like that (the games probably take as much time to make as any PS2 game), but I'm not spending that much money on a game that I'm only going to put 10-15 minutes into when I get a chance to play it. That money is reserved for my home console games, which in this generation, are getting better and better.

It also angers me that EA loves to put $10 more dollars on the MSRP for all its handheld games. $40 for DS games is annoying. I really want to get Rogue Agent becuase of its touch-pad gameplay, but I know its going to be too expensive.

[KDR_11k]

The screen alone is worth the price? HELLO?!? Have you seen current TFT prices? You can get at least 17 inches for that price!

You're never playing your handhelds at home? I do. When I want to play that GBA game I just do. The only reason GBA games are cheaper is because they're seen as inferior, people won't pay as much for them. And to people complaining about handheld prices: Try comparing the prices of portable DVD players or laptops with their home counterparts, notice which one is more expensive? Battery and screen factor into the price.

Hehe, I just remember what we were told in university: Battery life is the most important thing! Whatever you do, do it with the least battery usage possible. Underclock processors, disable components, use only as much power as you absolutely have to. Sony should have paid attention.

[ruby_onix]

I mentioned this already in the DS sales thread, but this seems like a better place to discuss the PSP side of things.

The latest NPD apparently says that the PSP sold 620,000 units in March. It launched on the 24th, so that's an 8-day total. It sold 1.1 million games, so that's an attach rate of about 1.77 games-per-system.


IMO, that is a really impressive number. Possibly record-breaking. When taken by itself.

But Sony really shot themselves in the foot, by saying and demonstrating that they expected it to sell over a million units in "a day or two". And it's not just that the PSP was an "unreasonable disappointment" by shipping one million units. They clearly illustrated that the PSP sold amazingly well to hyped-up hardcore gamers (500,000 in the first day or two), but then it ran face first into a brick wall.

There's currently "something wrong" with the PSP. Most obviously, that it's too expensive to appeal to regular people. And everyone seems to know it.

If Sony had shipped 500,000 units, they would've been sold out, and Sony might have been able to spin the results and try to attract casuals with the allure of success, despite the high price tag (I think they're still gonna try doing that anyways). I'm not one to advocate artificial shortages, but with the PSP's launch, it seems clear that they would've helped.

IMO, the PSP was simply overhyped.

But then again, if Sony wasn't talking about getting ready for record-smashing million unit launches, it's possible that it might not have even sold 500,000 at launch.

[clevelandst124]

620,000 isn't the record.  I'm pretty sure gamecube has the record.  I believe the gamecube sold out of 650,000 in 3 days.  This got my hope up before the gamecube crashed miserably.  

The short jist is nobody can acurately guess who's going to win the overall battle.  This upcoming Christmas season is the most important toward determining a winner.

However, sony can't be happy with this.  The ds sold over 1.2 M last year.  It was over about five weeks but the difference is that you couldn't find a ds anywhere.  That's not the same with the psp.  I see them everywhere not withstanding I could order one online.  The psp is even going for cheaper than the $250 price brand new on ebay.  The ds would have been worth over $200 used if you had one to give in dec last year.  Sure different seasons play a part but I think Sony is the only current generation system that has not sold out at launch week.  

Also, I'm glad that the EA titles did relatively poorly on the psp.  I was really worried that the support ea was giving the psp would help push the psp with the casual gamers.  It looks like NFS sold over 100k but that none of the other ea titles managed to break 50k.  They may think twice before offering all of thier games to the psp.  And I know it's only been out for a week, but I thought ridge racer was the flagship title for the psp.  And I do believe that the ds ridge racer has sold more US copies than the psp.

[KDR_11k]

The initial sales are inverse-proportional to the total sales, perhaps?

[clevelandst124]

If only there were some equation based on launch week results.  Typically the amount sold at launch has been how much can you get to the table for launch.
Numbers may not be entirely accurate because I'm going on memory.
Gamecube 650,000 complete sell out.
xbox 600,000 complete sell out.
ps2 400,000 complete sell out.
ds 500,000 complete sell out.
psp 620,000, 62% sell out.  

I concur this is only a battle and psp may be on top by the end of the year, but this is definately not a very positive thing for sony.  All the others, not psp, were impossible to get for at least 2 months.  Also the psp game ratio being less than 2 is not something to brag home about.  At least ds had the excuse that it was backward compatible and it only launched with 6 games.