Sony on track to double videogame player sales

Source - reuters

Analysts predict that the PSP's long-term prospects are good, but where the iPod is praised for its stunning ease of use, some PSP players have told Reuters that games are slow to load on the device and that its left thumb-operated mini joystick can be awkward to master.

Clearly there is not the intoxication or hysteria that there is with the iPod, said Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, who is among those betting on the PSP's success.

Sony Computer Entertainment America President and Chief Executive Kaz Hirai told Reuters in October the company's goal is to double its install base by selling between 2.5 million and 3 million additional PSPs in North America by year end.

Um, let's clear something up, shall we?

The iPod didn't get ahead because of it's "Stunning Easy of Use". It didn't get ahead based on features, price, or performance. Seriously, there was only a span of about 2 months in 2002 when it was even a competent competition in the market.

The reason for iPod's success can be summed up in two words, "Apple Shills". *ALL* of the Apple users out there, which are about 5 percent of the computer users total, ran out to buy the iPod, just like they run out to buy ALL of Apple's garbage. THEY made the iPod a smash hit in a tiny niche market with very few sales to begin with. Well the total number of Apple users is very small, compared to the number of MP3 players out there, Apple users are a HUGE market.

The PSP on the other hand has to prosper based on the value of the hardware and software in a totally fair and equal market. So for the PSP to reach the sales numbers of the iPod, it would have crush all other competition. And as we all know, it certainly has that potential. But right now the price is just FAR too high to reach the mass market. The DS manages to get by with a tiny selection of unique games and a MUCH better sale's price. Otherwise, as much as I love my own DS, it's inferior in every way to the PSP.

It would help, *ALOT* if Sony would support the homebrew community, rather then try to smash it to little bits. Maybe some kind of "Legit" Homebrew program? Once people see how powerful the PSP is and how many things you can do with it, they will see that the price is justified. But Sony can't possibly add all of the features the Homebrew people can, and have already done. Without Homebrew, the PSP's potential will never be fully realized.

And what is the deal with comparing the PSP to the iPod anyways? That is the world's lamest comparison, and I'm personally sick of hearing it. The iPod just plays low-quality music and really crappy videos. The PSP does internet access, console-quality video games, high-quality music, near-DVD Quality movies, and with a little Homebrew magic; Emulators! That's not even including future access to Massively-Multiplayer video games, the PSP-Radio for Shoutcast access, Talkman for a voice activated language translator, the list goes on and ON!

It's like comparing a calculator to a desktop computer. I swear, Reuters says the stupidest things sometimes.