Another headache for Sony: falling PSP sales

[wraggster]

News via ITworld (http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5051/061027sonypsp/)

As if the laptop battery recall and stumbles towards the launch of the PlayStation 3 weren't enough for it to deal with, Sony Corp. said this week that shipments of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game device are well below expectations.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the unit of Sony responsible for PlayStation products, expected sales this year to be below 2005's levels, but they now appear to be falling much faster than initially anticipated -- and much sooner after the launch than was the case with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.

The PSP was launched in Japan on Dec. 12, 2004, and 3 million units were shipped by the end of March 2005, according to figures from Sony. In the financial year from April 2005 shipments jumped to 14.1 million units as the machine went on sale in North America and Europe. For the current fiscal year, from April 2006, Sony initially said it expected shipments would decline to 12 million units, but this week revised that figure to 9 million units.

Part of Sony's problem has been strong competition in Japan from Nintendo Co. Ltd. and its Nintendo DS handheld. The DS has differentiated itself from the competition with a unique double-screen layout, a touch-sensitive panel and an innovative software lineup.

For example, the "brain training" game has proved particularly popular with businessmen in their 40s, 50s and above because the software presents a series of puzzles that are said to stimulate and improve brain functions. That's helped expand sales of the handheld to a group of people that have never been gamers before.

"If you look at the availability of software, there are a lot of games for the PSP but are not particularly successful," said Hiroshi Kamide, director of the research department at KBC Securities Japan. "You don't see any million-seller games for the PSP but you do hear about them for the Nintendo DS."

The latest game software sales rankings in Japan bear this out. Seven of the top ten titles for the week from Oct. 16 to 22 were Nintendo DS titles. The most popular PSP title ranked at number 19, according to data compiled by Media Create Co. Ltd.

"The big problem is that while it's a wonderful-looking machine with a great display, the games are not so different from those you play at home on the PlayStation 2. Most of the software is knock-offs of PlayStation 2 titles and that won't do Sony any favors," said Kamide.

It's a point with which Sony appears to agree.

"Clearly on the software side, any real killer title will galvanize the sales. There have been a number of titles that have been terrific, but not the one title that defines the product," said Robert Wiesenthal chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America, in a conference call with financial analysts Thursday.

The quick drop in shipments of the hardware is also out of line with the pattern established after the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 went on sale. The PlayStation didn't register a drop in shipments until its fifth full year on sale, while the PlayStation 2 managed to avoid a slide in shipments until its fourth year on sale. Shipments of the PSP are dropping in only the second full year since release.

To stoke demand, Sony will be looking at how to widen the device's appeal beyond hard-core gamers.

"We are preparing the wiser use of the PSP for the future and also the releasing of a number of software [titles]," said Takao Yuhara, Sony's head of investor relations, during the conference call. "We are always looking at the PSP business expansion."

The PSP includes a number of additional functions such as a Wi-Fi adapter and Web browser, and in recent months Sony has added new features such as GPS (global positioning system) through an add-on GPS receiver, and the ability to subscribe to RSS (really simple syndication) feeds.

[Anger]

Hmmm am i the only one not wondering why its happening?

lik-sang = dead due to sony.
sony sales slow and profits fall = due to death of lik-sang. (at least in part)

i think this is the tip of a very large axe shaped iceberg hanging over sonys neck. :D

[emuking]

killing lik-sang kills most psp sales so it was obvious sony would be screwed if they shut down lik-sang and they did, sony is so incredibly stupid, R.I.P sony or at least till you rise from the dead again like always

[Adrenalin]

Hmmm am i the only one not wondering why its happening?

lik-sang = dead due to sony.
sony sales slow and profits fall = due to death of lik-sang. (at least in part)

i think this is the tip of a very large axe shaped iceberg hanging over sonys neck. :D

:D !!!

[Makaveli777]

This sucks I want things for ps3 to be the best they can because Im really looking forward to it. I also want a Wii but ps3 is what I want my traditional system to be not xbox 360.

[Cap'n 1time]

liksang may do alot for parts of europe, but i dont see how killing liksang would damage sony on a global scale, but who knows.

[meanguns]

Hmmm am i the only one not wondering why its happening?

lik-sang = dead due to sony.
sony sales slow and profits fall = due to death of lik-sang. (at least in part)

i think this is the tip of a very large axe shaped iceberg hanging over sonys neck. :D

Hey Sony! Guess What’s up? You’re so screwed!

I won't be buying a ps3 due to link sang! There seems to be a lot of pissed off people out there! HUH? Sony!

I am just one of those people who are boycotting your products, I was thinking of buying one of your big screen TV’s but that definitely is not going to happen now!

Now lets talk about what you can do to increase sales, what will work and what won’t. Consider this, I bought a PSP so I can play older computer games on the Go like Commodore 64 and Apple stuff. Stuff I liked when I was a kid! In addition to playing these games I bought quite a few UMD’s just because I already had your PSP system.

Unfortunately for you I can’t play all of the UMD’s out there because I won’t sacrifice the reason I originally bought the PSP for! I won’t update it ever!

Wannna sell PSP’s Sony? Let us do what we want with the system. Let us use it’s full potential, and allow others to do the same! Stop what you are doing and allow the downgrading of the PSP allow homebrew to work on all PSP’s.

Take it from me, You won’t stop what’s going on but, sometimes it’s better to befriend your enemies in some cases than to try to destroy them. Join us and allow link-sang back into business and forgive and forget. Allowing homebrew and opening up new business avenues will only increase sales of the PSP propelling the system to new unexpected heights!

What you did to link-sang is nothing less than a shame, although, what we do or say won’t put you out of business, believe me you, it will hurt you! This is just the beginning, I promise!


:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[the_eternal_dark]

It's no surprise that sales are down. Where are the good games? I forgot, most of them are available here for free! Sony, just release a NEW Resident Evil for the PSP and have it tie in to a PS3 version, or better yet, do a Gran Turismo game with that functionality. This could be Sony's ticket to get back into the market big time, their own version of Pokemon so to speak.

Sony never listens to us though.

[animekid4]

www.sony.justgotowned.com
Hey Sony! Guess What’s up? You’re so screwed!

I won't be buying a ps3 due to link sang! There seems to be a lot of pissed off people out there! HUH? Sony!

I am just one of those people who are boycotting your products, I was thinking of buying one of your big screen TV’s but that definitely is not going to happen now!

Now lets talk about what you can do to increase sales, what will work and what won’t. Consider this, I bought a PSP so I can play older computer games on the Go like Commodore 64 and Apple stuff. Stuff I liked when I was a kid! In addition to playing these games I bought quite a few UMD’s just because I already had your PSP system.

Unfortunately for you I can’t play all of the UMD’s out there because I won’t sacrifice the reason I originally bought the PSP for! I won’t update it ever!

Wannna sell PSP’s Sony? Let us do what we want with the system. Let us use it’s full potential, and allow others to do the same! Stop what you are doing and allow the downgrading of the PSP allow homebrew to work on all PSP’s.

Take it from me, You won’t stop what’s going on but, sometimes it’s better to befriend your enemies in some cases than to try to destroy them. Join us and allow link-sang back into business and forgive and forget. Allowing homebrew and opening up new business avenues will only increase sales of the PSP propelling the system to new unexpected heights!

What you did to link-sang is nothing less than a shame, although, what we do or say won’t put you out of business, believe me you, it will hurt you! This is just the beginning, I promise!


:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
I PLAYED MY SMASHGPSP MORE THEN I PLAYED UNTOLD LEGENDS!!!!!!SONY IF YOU CANT BEAT A BUNCH OF COOL NERDS(double negative)THEN GOSH
YALL SUCK!!!!I GOT A DS AND I STILL PLAY IT MORE THAN MY PSP....ALTHOUGH I HAVE BEEN PLAYING MY PSP MORe THIS MONTH SINCE I GOT EMUS!!!!IN YO FACE!!!!!!!!(i am currently hooked on co-co=cola):D :D :eek:

[Anger]

liksang may do alot for parts of europe, but i dont see how killing liksang would damage sony on a global scale, but who knows.

well the way i see it is this. sony released traditionally in japan first, then usa then finally us euros. now i know there doing it differently this time but when the psp was launched the stock sold out instantly - i would say most likely because of pre-orders and overseas suppliers selling the console to the desperate people that live abroad and cant officially get one. i was one of them. now lik-sang is gone, there new 2 zone strategy might just offset the extra sales they will now lose because of the ruling, but it will still affect the sales while sony still neglects at least one zone. now thats not to say there isnt other overseas resellers but they will be afraid of that almighty ruling in sonys favour. maybe im wishfull thinking but i really would like to see sony lose a huge amount because of lik-sang sales - that would be justice.

[quzar]

Hmmm am i the only one not wondering why its happening?

lik-sang = dead due to sony.
sony sales slow and profits fall = due to death of lik-sang. (at least in part)

i think this is the tip of a very large axe shaped iceberg hanging over sonys neck. :D

Ummmm, you do realize these numbers represent sales over a quite large period of time, not the week or whatever that lik-sang has been shut down right?

[Paradok]

liksang may do alot for parts of europe, but i dont see how killing liksang would damage sony on a global scale, but who knows.

I have to agree. I'm as mad as anyone about Lik-Sang getting shut down, but I had never even heard of them until after I'd bought my PSP. I'm sure there are lots of other PSP owners out there who are angry about Lik-Sang's closing, but if the people in question are already PSP owners, chances are they're not going to buy a second PSP, and thus their purchasing choices shouldn't hurt PSP sales. I'm from the US, so I don't know, maybe Lik-Sang is a better-kown name in the UK, in which case PSP sales there might be affected. But globally, I doubt Lik-Sang's case will make much difference in sales.

[Veskgar]

I find it funny and a little sad that SONY is just know waking up to the fact that they need to come up with meaningful uses of the PSP's capabilities. This includes the number 1 focus..... GAMES!

Luckily now we are seeing some pretty good games released. But still no "killer-app" - I was solely a PSP user for a LONG time. But I was sick of seeing games that seemed like more fun released on the DS Lite so I bought a DS Lite.

SONY needs to learn from that kind of lesson and use it to their advantage. Create unique PSP-ONLY games that are so good, so creative, & so fun that the many DS Lite owners will say, "Maybe I should pick up a PSP".

The PSP has a lot of potential and lucky for our community homebrew has helped take advantage of that potential. SONY seems to bent on preventing the many kinds of uses that homebrew allows when they should be adopting it into their own strategy.

I sense BIG EGO!!!

Admit your faults SONY and start utilizing the PSP instead of bragging about it. If the PSP is the dominant hand held gaming platform in terms of hardware specs, then lets see the software start using it. Some of the stuff that is just now becoming capable with the PSP (downloadable eBoot games & demos) should have been available on the PSP's launch day. 2 years on and SONY is just now figuring out how to use & market the PSP correctly reflects very poorly.

[ab88]

The only reason I bought a PSP was because of homebrew, PSP games suck, they are boring or lame, crappy ports (I can count all the good PSP games out there with one hand...).
Sony is just protecting itself from piracy I know, but still they are stupid non the less...

[cal360]

It's sonys own fault quite a few of the sales go to people seeking homebrew and sonys trying to kill that off and the PSP has only a few games that I actually like.

I now see more people playing the DS and the only people I see playing the PSP who don't know about homebrew are most of the time playing GTA or using there PSP as an MP3 player

[808]

Wasn't there something recently saying for every two iPods sold there was a PSP sold?

Where the hell are these figures from? :S

[Kamon]

I'm pissed, i was thinking of buying something from Lik-Sang until Sony destroyed them!!

[Chaos_X]

I've said before: I have a DS Lite (and a DS if it counts) and I've had a hell of a better gaming experience with it. Sony needs to realize what we've realized for a long @$$ time. The true potentail of the PSP. The only great, creatvie, fun game out for the PSP as far as I know right now is LocoRoco, I've only played the demo and I love it. I have 3 UMDs only:
Need for Speed: Most Wanted 510
DragonBallZ: Shin Budokai
Family Guy: The Freakin' Sweet Collection (Video)

Why? Because there is nothing that has interested me for the PSP besides using it for multimedia and homebrew purposes.

[shrimpidy]

It's no surprise that sales are down. Where are the good games? I forgot, most of them are available here for free! Sony, just release a NEW Resident Evil for the PSP and have it tie in to a PS3 version, or better yet, do a Gran Turismo game with that functionality. This could be Sony's ticket to get back into the market big time, their own version of Pokemon so to speak.

Sony never listens to us though.

Resident Evil would be sweet. The controls for it would fit on the PSP pretty well. I think that would be a killer app that the PSP needs. As for Sony, "U can suck my dog for what u did to lik sang and lol for screwing yurself over." Sony's losing a lot of money.

[mib_]

It's very simple. My kids can have a DS because it's 1/2 the price of a PSP. The PSP is too expensive for them to break after 6 months. All the other kids also have a DS, but they want a PSP.. I hear the same thing from other parents: it's too expensive, and not a toy for a 7 year old. Just like the iPod, the PSP is for adults and not for kids.

[Paradok]

I have 3 UMDs only:
Need for Speed: Most Wanted 510
DragonBallZ: Shin Budokai
Family Guy: The Freakin' Sweet Collection (Video)

Why? Because there is nothing that has interested me for the PSP besides using it for multimedia and homebrew purposes.

The only commercial game I have for PSP is GTA:LCS, and that's only because at the time that I bought my PSP, the GTA exploit was the only way I could run homebrew on it. Had I bought my PSP six months or so later, or if I'd known to buy a 1.5 PSP in the first place, I probably wouldn't even have that. I've actively looked for commercial games to play on my PSP, and really, there isn't anything for me. The few games that hold any interest for me at all are just ports of PC games that I already own, not worth paying an additional $50 each for.

[Anger]

Ummmm, you do realize these numbers represent sales over a quite large period of time, not the week or whatever that lik-sang has been shut down right?

yeh, i was just trying to make a point that it will affect sales as lik-sang seems to have been doing a lot of buisness. it isnt just sonys sales however that will be affected by this as other products were sold there (of course). it shall be missed.

[jwilds73]

Sony really failed to have good titles avaiable with the PSP launch. And the UMD movie price point was insane. It's a great system but I rarely boot up an official game (and don't own one movie) I get more enjoyment out of older simple games through emulation or homebrew. Look at all the potential the PSP has and what it is capable of through homebrew programs. Sony is selling the PS3 on raw potential but look how they hamper the potential of their PSP. You will buy your PSP and PS3 only where Sony wants you to and you will only play the software Sony wants you to on it. Atleast that is how they would have it. And for me that isn't enough.

[Veskgar]

You will buy your PSP and PS3 only where Sony wants you to and you will only play the software Sony wants you to on it. Atleast that is how they would have it.
Very nicely put and it seems oh so true. Unfortunately, almost 2 years after the PSP first debuted, it may be too late for SONY to just now show us how to get the most out of the PSP. Homebrew has shown us much more than SONY has and has been consistent with quality and frequency.

But I am not willing to accept the PSP as being down for the count. Ideally we will see a comeback and a perfect merger of homebrew, functionality, & great commercial games.

Heres hoping... Come on PSP, find your second wind.

[Datahax]

i think this is the tip of a very large axe shaped iceberg hanging over sonys neck. :D

Axe Shaped Iceberg? :confused: Call me old fashioned but I still prefer the "Sword of Damocles"

[Cap'n 1time]

Still on the topic of lik-sang, I am from the US and it is just now dawning upon me that Europe is still a large piece of the market (im just a little bit slow perhaps). Would you euro's say that a large population has been making purchases from lik-sang? I cant help but feel some of you are either rolling around in the Sony hate or are supporters of the lik-sang business practices and aren't really lik-sang customers.

[the_eternal_dark]

Resident Evil would be sweet. The controls for it would fit on the PSP pretty well. I think that would be a killer app that the PSP needs. As for Sony, "U can suck my dog for what u did to lik sang and lol for screwing yurself over." Sony's losing a lot of money.

My idea is they release it like 4-6 months before a PS3 release that way we can play through it and earn some really cool stuff, transfer it to the PS3, play around in that game, earn more things for the PSP version, download new content (missions, areas, monsters), and a GOOD multiplayer option (RE:Outbreal:mad: terrible idea) that allows inter-console online play (Quake for PSP style).

I hope Sony is reading this. I want a piece of the proffits for my idea! :D

[nhlhockey]

The DS doesn't even compare to the PSP. They should just suck up the loss and lower the price of the PSP to be comparable to the DS. The DS is like a rusty 1972 datson and the PSP is a brand new ferrarri.

[the_eternal_dark]

The DS doesn't even compare to the PSP. They should just suck up the loss and lower the price of the PSP to be comparable to the DS. The DS is like a rusty 1972 datson and the PSP is a brand new ferrarri.

Ferrari? What, you couldn't afford a Lamborghini? (car enthusiast joke, guys)

Does anyone who says the DS is crap actually have one? Sure the PSP is an all around mediaplayer and has more power, but does the PSP have any decent commercial games that aren't ports of present PS1 or 2 games? That is why Sony is having a hard time with it, no good software (don't count the homebrew). And Sony is already taking a loss, lowering the price would hurt them for a long time if sales don't pick up.

What does everyone have against Nintendo anyway? "They only make kids games". I call bs.

I have both and damn it if some one is bashing one or the other constantly.

Besides, Datsuns are pretty fun little cars. Why diss a classic? (joke)

----DS is a Honda Civic CRX. Lots of people have them, think they're awsome, and they do get the job done. Not that anyone would brag about getting one from their mom.----

----PSP is a Tommy Kaira R-34. Hot, slick, handles like a dream, and everyone wants one. Even the used ones are still expensive.----

Now, why can't we all get along without bashing a toy? They both rule, and without both, we'd only have the GP2x and NGage (or something) to compare and bash, but we know who is right and who is not. This is turning into Xecuter vs Xenium all over again. (If you don't know, look around.)

[Lodis]

Still on the topic of lik-sang, I am from the US and it is just now dawning upon me that Europe is still a large piece of the market (im just a little bit slow perhaps). Would you euro's say that a large population has been making purchases from lik-sang? I cant help but feel some of you are either rolling around in the Sony hate or are supporters of the lik-sang business practices and aren't really lik-sang customers.

I am from the Uk and I have been a Lik-sang customer for ages. I have purchased alot of Psp UMD's from that website as well as a Psp, accesories (official and unofficial) and memory sticks.

My most recent order from Liksang was GTA-VCS UMD (pre-order) which was cancelled due to Liksang closing down.

I am not happy about this because Liksang were simply excellent, always delivered on time, helpful customer service, value for money and now they are gone.

Sony have not done themselves any favours at all and I have already seen (pirates) people on forums using this as an excuse. If anything, Sonys actions will just fuel a fire. They will continue to shoot themselves in the foot but when they realise that they should have just embraced the shoe, it will be too late.

[mesosade]

lol why am i not surprised. SONY are really tripping over thier own feet. OH and thnk goodness that bloody spammer ain't here :D

[PSPCulture]

Hey Sony! Guess What’s up? You’re so screwed!

I won't be buying a ps3 due to link sang! There seems to be a lot of pissed off people out there! HUH? Sony!

I am just one of those people who are boycotting your products, I was thinking of buying one of your big screen TV’s but that definitely is not going to happen now!


Guess what, Sony really doesn't care if you boycott its products or not - in reality you are very small fish in a very large pond of people spending enormous amounts of money on electronic consumer products. Ok, so you buying brand A instead of brand Sony should hurt Sony's bottom line, but the chances are you'll still be buying a product that contains some elements of technology that Sony has licensed out to third party manufacturers.


Now lets talk about what you can do to increase sales, what will work and what won’t. Consider this, I bought a PSP so I can play older computer games on the Go like Commodore 64 and Apple stuff. Stuff I liked when I was a kid! In addition to playing these games I bought quite a few UMD’s just because I already had your PSP system.

Unfortunately for you I can’t play all of the UMD’s out there because I won’t sacrifice the reason I originally bought the PSP for! I won’t update it ever!


Great, you spent a large sum of money on a product to be able to play 20+ year old games on it. At least you researched the electronic products available before buying your PSP, and I assume you decided that the PSP fitted in with your emulation plans perfectly. Which it does, because it does emulation and homebre wvery well.

(Or did you, because your second line contradicts this by saying you already had a PSP system? This means you purchased your PSP and then found out about emulation).

Either way, the majority of people purchasing PSP's today still have absolutely no idea about homebrew. Most people who own a PSP will never know about homebrew.



Wannna sell PSP’s Sony? Let us do what we want with the system. Let us use it’s full potential, and allow others to do the same! Stop what you are doing and allow the downgrading of the PSP allow homebrew to work on all PSP’s.

Take it from me, You won’t stop what’s going on but, sometimes it’s better to befriend your enemies in some cases than to try to destroy them. Join us and allow link-sang back into business and forgive and forget. Allowing homebrew and opening up new business avenues will only increase sales of the PSP propelling the system to new unexpected heights!

What you did to link-sang is nothing less than a shame, although, what we do or say won’t put you out of business, believe me you, it will hurt you! This is just the beginning, I promise!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Sony will never officially allow homebrew to exist, or in any way legitimise it, because it serves no purpose other than to remove potential income. If everyones busy playing pirated games on the PSP's, or playing 20+ year old emulated games, they are not out buying the games for the system that make Sony money.

Everyone talks about Sony like its some evil corporation, out to screw everybody over in an attempt to dominate the world with their consumer products. They are not. They are a corportation that has a single aim - to make money. If this means shutting down companies that are supplying products for less than the regional RRP, then thats what they will do. You and I can complain about the problems with Lik-Sang shutting down till the cows come home, but it isn't going to change the fact that Sony are protecting their revenue model.

The only thing that truely affects the sales of the PSP (and other relatively expensive toys) is the amount of money circulating in the economy. At the moment there are countries (USA, UK, most of Europe) that are seeing some economic slowdown and spiralling debt, where the amount of free cash becomes less and debt increase. In these situations, luxury items that are not essential are normally the first things to be canned from the shopping list.

If Sony really wants to sell more PSP's, it needs to cut the price by 40-50% in the run up to Christmas, and hope that the public can sustain its spending patterns and its increasing debt. A few decent games would be great as well, but its the cost of the system that is the issue, not the games, not the attempts to kill homebrew, not the closing of Lik-Sang.

[Vega]

It won't just come down to a Christmas Price cut. Many people have already made up their minds and will not get a PSP, and instead go for DS. Even if Sony cut the PSP price... DS is still very affordable. And now with Sony basically banning any type of imports... its only going to get worse for PSP.

As much as we all love our PSP's.... there comes a time when you have to face it... more people want / own a DS (or both)...

Shame the mainstream dont even get a taste of PSP homebrew... in my eyes... it makes all the difference.