PSP launch a dud?

by James Ransom-Wiley { Mar 31st 2005 at 5:00PM }

PSP Reality check: according to the Seattle Times, Sony's PSP debut was far from the nationwide sellout celebration it was billed to be. While gaming retailers like EB or GameStop hosted midnight openings, quickly unloading their pre-ordered inventory, other outlets, like Target, have been watching their stockpiles of PSPs collect dust. Apparently, there were more than enough units to satisfy the hype hounds, and now the question remains: will anyone else buy the PSP?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I had wondered about how high the sales really were since release day when I walked into Best Buy midday and they still had some and then found piles of them at Wal-Mart that evening. I think the problem is that so many handheld sales are from parents buying them for their kids (my sister's family has 3 Game Boy Advances for two children), and most parents won't consider putting $250 down for something that their kids might accidentally drop and destroy.

Tyler J. Smith @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think people will still buy it, sure. But, like myself, the price needs to come down a little bit before even considering it. I want to make sure that the PSP is going to have a dominant role in the portable market before buying one, especially if this thing is just going to fade into the horizon like the ol` GameGear did.

Art @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I posted a question about this on another PSP story earlier trying to get a feel how it did nationally. Toy R Us stores in Philadelphia area had about 240 PSPs on launch. The best performing store sold 22. My local store still had 212 as of Sunday. Word of mouth from other retailers like Best Buy said they had similarly disapointing sales.

I still have not seen a commercial for the PSP. I do not watch too much TV but remember seeing tons of ads for the PS2. I think the casual doesn't know or care about the PSP. Plus it did not launch around Christmas and that likely hurt it.

striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

From the reports that I've read (a few dozen at least), it seems as if specialty stores such as GameStop and EB have been sold out since launch (GameStop is also reportedly requesting Sony to send more units as soon as possible), while conglomerate stores such as Wal-Mart and Target have had lots of PSPs to spare. The problem seems to stem from the fact that $250 is more than people are willing to spend on a casual purchase, and the hardcore early adopters chose to go the way of specialty gaming stores while leaving Wal-Mart and the like to deal with your casual consumer.

Tony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I have to really wonder why I should care if Wal-Mart or Target ever sells out of their PSPs. Gaming shops like GameStop seem to be selling them just fine, I could really care less what Target sells.

Seems to me this is my type of machine, with my type of users. Just because the general stores can't sell a PSP doesn't make the launch a dud. Nobody is going to buy a PSP from Wal-Mart until it's already popular.

Scott Canoni @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

After walking around with my PSP for the last week, I have NO DOUBT in my mind that this thing will be even bigger than the iPod craze.

Just wait people, mark my words and get ready for the age of the PSP.

Darrin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think the problem is the retarded bundles stores are trying to make people buy; the stores that sold just the PSP for $250 seem to be sold out. I've been thinking about picking one up for a couple days now, but all outlets that have PSPs in stock want to sell me $100 or more of additional stuff that I don't want. I would be willing to pay $10-20 over retail for the PSP itself, but I won't pay an extra $100 for a MadCatz accessory pack and Ape Escape.

Joey Geraci @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Although you guys might not care if Walmart or Target or ToysRus or Kmart or Best Buy or Circuit City sell a lot of psps, I think Sony cares. I would be surprised if Sony wasn't watching the sales at the aforementioned stores very closely over the next couple of months, and if sales don't pick up, I think we will have another game gear on our hands. Have you guys thought that the types of users such as yourselfs don't buy the majority of portable gaming systems, but parents by them for their children. And those parents aren't attracted to places like Gamestop to buy these for their kids, but they are attracted to places like Walmart and Kmart. If they are not psps, Sony is definitely worried. And so should you.

Places like Walmart and Kmart are also the one that carry a significant number of units. I guarrantee you that Gamestop might have sold out, but they probably only carried a hundred or so units.

Tony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

So, even though Sony has a lot of developer support and a fairly large customer base, they're going to drop support because enough parents didn't buy them for their children? Highly doubtful, this is Sony, not Nintendo. Half of the games in the launch lineup aren't even aimed at children, especially the M rated MG:Acid.

I don't see the PSP as being a child's toy, nor does Sony I'm willing to guess.

LINEZ @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Psp is the best and I will bye one whan I get enough money cuz I plan on maybe getting a job this summer and then stores will be all gone and then maybe I will have to bye my best friends cuz it has dead pixels.

dave @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Hey MACK what is the matter you don't want to sling some poo over this one?

Mojaam @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I'd say it had to do with the $250 price tag.

SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Sony's advertising for this thing stinks. No demo units. One commercial that didn't play until the night of the launch that shows a "hip" and "edgy" 20-something riding around in a shopping cart playing the PSP. I'm sure that a shaky "MTV" style camera is the best way to show off this acclaimed screen.

I think Sony got cocky, and thought they did not need to advertise to sell out. They also thought that people would keep their PSP with obvious defects.

Jon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

The lack of sales at Target and Walmart can be traced to:
1. Bundles for $400 and
2. It isn't Christmas.

longlivethefunk @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I'll get one after the price comes down below $175 and some overlay becomes available for the area over the buttons and d-pad to prevent smudges.

That whole fingerprint thing is nasty.

rene @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I remember last year reading in ign that sony was thinking about a psp with a hard drive was one of the prototypes. I hope the bad sales continue and we get an updated PSP soon. (or a $150 "PSP Shuffle"!!!)

Terrace @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Yeah, NYC has plenty of these. They're everywhere.

Personally, I think the PSP hasn't sold out because it's a device for loners with no friends. If I am going to pay that much for a system and games, I'm going to darn well be able to enjoy it when the guys come over with the beer and pizza. I can get way more gaming fun with a PS2 for that kind of money. And who watches a movie by themselves? At the very least, I have my wife with me when I watch a movie.

JOBOhobo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Why is it every time there is a conversation about the psp some fanboy say it's better than the ipod?
The two units reallly cannot be compared. except in terms of music playback and storage space. both of which the ipod wins at.(unless of course you like the idea of spending $250 for the system, and then $200 for the 2 gig memory stick which would give you 1/10th the space of my 20 gig ipod.)

Vinnk @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

It's the same in Japan. There hasn't really been a shortage of these things, at least were I live, since about the 2nd week of launch. I have also been seeing tons of used ones recently, with the a card telling potwential buyers that the device has some dead pixels. I am guessing not enough dead pixels for a replacement, but the gamers who bought them must have wanted a perfect screen and just sold them while the prices are still high.

Carl @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

My psp has 2 dead pixels, however they dont bother me, with such an extra amount, im debating to go ahead and get it exchanged (I have the best buy warranty thing, so it wouldnt cost me a thing).

Jake @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

This summer there will be an increase in sales, when people have money. And another jump this X-Mas season, the DS launched at around a holiday so the sales were high, the PSP launched in the middle/end of spring when people dont have money forthe most part,taxes anyone?

Play with Yourself @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Loner system. That's a new take on the PSP but very true.

For less than the price of a PSP, you can get a PS2 (or GameCube / Xbox), game, movie and extra controller for weeks of fun with a friend or loved one.

For the price of a PSP you get the chance to play with yourself.

Why pay for that?

Dragon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think the problem with the PSP is that it's targeted towards an adult audience, with the easily scratched discs and the whole thing just being to easy to break. The problem with an adult audience on a handheld is that most adults would rather have a system with a tv, and the kids need a handheld for long trips and to keep themselves from being bored when sitting for too long. Adults generally have more patience, and usually won't pull out a PSP while waiting for their dentist appointment. I know my GBA SP collects dust now that I don't have 10 hour bus trips twice a week.
The only time I'd play a handheld now-a-days is when I'm on the seat of the bathroom, and even then I usually don't, considering most good hand-held games take more than 10-15 minutes of play at one sitting. There's no way I could sit down and play Dynasty Warriors on the pot, unless I had some major issues, and if that's the case I doubt I have time to grab the thing anyway. Plus, Nintendo has exp. with handhelds, I remember reading one game magazine about the GBA when it first came out, and they were testing it's durability. They tried flushing it down the toilet and the thing still worked (not that I think they used the thing much after that...) Basically, an adult portable isn't really going to have a big audience, and I think that's why the PSP's aren't doing that great...

Tony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Online play out of the box for a handful of titles and ad-hoc networking on far more. The PSP is in no way a "loner system".

Danny Lewis @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

PSP advertising? Has anyone seen the latest South Park? It's a giant PSP ad! LOL!

Velorea @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Exactly one PSP game currently has online (over the internet, NOT ad-hoc) play: Twisted Metal.

That is all.

Eric P @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

My local Circuit City is sold out, local CompUSA as well. I don't live close enough to a BestBuy to check their stock, but it's probably the same. To sell 600,000 units within less than a week is pretty good sales IMHO. I think we all remember when Sony upped their production lot to 1 MIL units for the US Launch to keep up with demand. I would say that they have accomplished this goal, which was to get a PSP to everyone who wanted one, not leave people begging at the doors of stores. I also think a key to the reason why a lot were left "collecting dust" was because they were being bundled - an "Adventure Bundle" or "Action Bundle" or "Sports Bundle". I think Wal-Mart was selling it as a "Starter Bundle", and it costs 360 bucks! It's tough to swallow $250 for a gaming device, much less spending more for games and accessories you don't want.

evil latte @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Since the PSP wasn't launched during the holiday season. That will be the real test if anyone is still interested in purchasing one. I'm pretty sure that it will be very well, maybe not as successful as Nintendo products. But the PSP still has alot of time to shine.

I believe most of the purchasing decisions will be made by word of mouth. I still have heart set on one(right now I'm fighting with myself not to get one right away), but I want to wait.

rbmjw @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

sure Target, Walmart and Circuity City have them in stock, but they're bundled with something I don't really need :-(

qwerty q @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

i mostly hope that the psp's disk drive is better than the ps2's disk drive cuz i really dont think many people will want to buy like 3 psps in 2 years because of the drive malfunction like ps2 did.......that can be really annoyin when you are like me and dont have all the money in the world

Anonymous Coward @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I'm a Sony employee with absolutely no relation to SCEA or the Playstation group [it's a huge company] but one thing I noticed was that after several hours of the first day, the Sony flagship store (the one where the launch event took place, my office building) was "temporarily out" of PSPs and continues to be so. I find it hard to believe that this shortage was not manufactured given the surplus, even now, of units available in other outlets. Also there is NO employee purchase option; I am told that when the PS2 came out, employees were able to reserve consoles (for full price). For the PSP, we're on our own. And how about the storefront? The window decoration changes every few months at 550 Madison; there was a special display up for the Seinfeld DVD launch, a brilliant set of online pieces and art by Syrup NYC for the holiday season, but any redecoration for the PSP launch? Unless you count some of the monitors showing a PSP logo, none to be heard of. I was also pretty disappointed that I couldn't even play with a demo unit. Ads? Sure, there are some weak "Wi-Fi Hi-Fi Sci-Fi" posters around the city, but I have to agree with the crowd, this is pretty bare-bare-bones. It feels like they're launching a new boombox or another set of headphones rather than a glorious handheld multimedia revolution.

Maybe it's a miscalculation; maybe they expect automatic success due to their foothold (by no means guaranteed) in the console market; maybe they're putting all this marketing money into developing PS3; or maybe they're just victims of their own hubris. What do I think? They're not trying hard enough to win customers [back] (see any discussion of their portable HDD music players and MP3 support).

Zeo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

If you think it will even come close to the iPod, you're wrong.

someone @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

$199 + Christmas = sales boost

That's to assume Xbox 360 is not taking up too much of the gaming budget.

ebp2k2 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

In the past 2 weeks I've seen the prices of memory sticks (pro duos) tumble by 25%+

hopefully that's a sign of things to come, and sony wising up to realize that cheap memory sticks will spur sales of not just PSP, but also its cameras.

other than the storage issue, what PSP really needs is an update of its firmware... right now PSP does little bit of everything, HALF-ASSED.

Serpentor @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Could Sony's lack of PSP marketing be due to a lack of funds? I thought I saw on BloombergTV that Sony was taking some big losses. Anyone know what Sony's financial situation is like?

All Music Site @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Handhelds are mostly for kids: Nintendo
PSP is too expensive, discs too easy to scratch. So I think Nintendo with their (ugly) DS will sell a lot!

LINES @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

el oh el at LINEZ

Eric @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

No one has mentioned yet that the PSP launched on Easter weekend. For launching during a very religous holidy, I think the PSP did very well. I live in the DC suburbs, and on Friday 3/25 I checked at CompUSA (sold out) before getting mine, the last one left for people who didn't pre-order, at GameStop. I was at an EB later that weekend and they were sold out as well.

This weekend will show a little more about the real success of the launch, but I don't think we'll really know until this winter.

Kamalot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

What is the return rate on PSPs? The sell through numbers mean little if 1/3 of the units are returned for dead pixels.

Chris Norman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I think evil latte hit the nail on the head. Fanboys will pre-order and boost the initial sales of any system. Sony has the advantage of doing strong numbers out of the gate despite competing against two Nintendo handhelds, which will bode well for developers opting to produce games for the system.

However, come Christmastime, Nintendo has quite a bit of flexibility to price down their system and still make a profit. Not to mention that it is likely that the console will have a few killer apps by that time (Animal Crossing DS and the next two Pokemon games are going to get the console into the hands of several thousands of casual gamers).

This is aside from the anticipation/launch of home console systems, which will be competing for the attention and money of holiday shoppers.

I think it will be interesting to watch develop, and I welcome the competition, because it will mean better games for both of my consoles.

Zuriel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I just think that the market is behaving as expected. I didn't think the PSP was gonna sell out as soon as it came out. It was Easter weekend, three months after the holidays, and a lot of people have other priorities than buying a PSP. I'd like to describe this launch as a "soft" launch, one in which Sony is testing the waters, weighting the demand and regrouping to better push and market the PSP once Christmas season comes around. So i dont think the launch has been a dud, i am surprised that maybe there is not as much demand as I initially thought there would be, but I should've expected it. The price point is the big factor in making people decide whether they buy a PSP right now or wait until later. I bet a lot of people are waiting for the holidays and will make their decision then.

Tiger @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I have to agree with the loner system thought. Sure, you can do multiplayer with the PSP, but it requires both guys to purchase a system, along with a copy of the game. So, 600 bucks minumum for any kind of multiplayer action. For that kind of money, a couple of college guys could have a very nice PS2 setup with controllers and lots of games.

Once the game selection for the PSP gets larger, it will be harder to convince others to buy the same game as you have.

If you game with friends, as many of us do, the PSP is not your system. Also, who watches movies by themselves, anyway? Get a life and a few friends if you do.

Jose @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

The online capability can offset the loner appeal. It's not neccesary to have a friend to play online, you only need to connect and find a person that bought the same game, that's millions of people.

OK, this is only a guess because online play doesn's appeal to me.

Cory @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I don't want the PSP to fail, I actually will look at buying it when they improve the build quality, and drop the price a little; but, I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that Sony must be sweating a little bit, especially after all that smack-talk about bringing portable gaming out of the gutter, and putting Nintendo away.

There's no need for that amount of haughtiness, and SCEA's getting their Karmic payback, in spades!

Freddy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

The loner thing does make sense. Not many people in the targeted age group like playing by themselves. And the PSP is not really for children, who have all that time in the backseat of the car. Guess the kids'll probably stick with Nintendo. The PSP? Hmm. Seems like it's just for really rich folks or guys who don't really have much of a life.

Loner @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

The Loner game system? Yeah, about right.

Even IF you do play online with one of the few games that supports it, there is no friend management system like Live to play with people you know. Chatting is a BITCH and poorly implemented.

Sure you are playing with other people, but they may as well just be AI.