Analysis: DS Games Outselling PSP 8 To 1 In U.S.

[Gamasutra looks at the evolving handheld space as part of its NPD analysis, revealing that Nintendo DS software outsold PSP software by an 8-to-1 ratio in the U.S. in March 2010 -- and muses on Nintendo's motivations for launching a fourth simultaneously sold handheld.]

Since our last report, Nintendo has announced that it will launch a successor to the Nintendo DS, currently called the Nintendo 3DS, before the end of its current fiscal year (ending March 2011). The new device will incorporate a screen technology that allows 3D effects with the naked eye and will be backward compatible with the existing Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi.

Should that device come to market on time, it seems likely that Nintendo will have four different devices on the market at the same time that all play Nintendo DS software as well as their own specialized software.

We find that possibility disconcerting, to say the least, especially from a company which has generally maintained a simple line of hardware models.

As we've outlined previously, we also expect Sony to announce a successor to its PSP handheld, probably within the next six months, with the launch at the end of 2010 or early 2011.

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