PSP Go sells 28K units on Japanese launch day
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Nov 2nd 2009 at 11:00AM } 
According to Enterbrain, retailers moved 28,275 units of the PSP Go system during its first day of availability. While that's still a fairly sizable amount of hardware, Japanese gaming blog Andriasang points out that the DSi, which went on sale on Saturday, November 1 (2008), moved 170,770 units during its first two days on the market. We guess that just goes to show, if you want your handhelds to launch with a bang, launch them on Saturday. Also, put two cameras in them. Sounds silly, we know, but it works.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Angusailde @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:02AM
Further proof that Japanese game buyers are marks for anything with Playstation written on it.
INTERNET SUPERHERO @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:06AM
Actually this is pretty horrible for Japan launch standards. The original Xbox and the Xbox 360 did better than this in the first few days...
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/50618/xbox-360-sales-worse-than-original-xbox-launch-in-japan/
Platinum_Skeet @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:07AM
PSPGo is a massive fail all around. It's rare when Japan doesn't support their own product...
R (Planeteers | Power of Penile Pulse) @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:07AM
Funny thing is that I wouldnt be surprised if Sony already broke even on R&D costs. I mean this thing couldnt have cost diddly squat to develop.
I doubt the Go will have any sort of sticking power though. This really seems like it would be the thing that the people that do want it would buy it during its first few weeks of existence, as its really a device for gadget crazy people.
Traceur_Ryuk [Founder of The Anti-EMCB(tm) Brigade] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:38AM
I highly doubt they broke even. The reason it is so expensive is so the retailers get a decent size of the amount made. Most retailers don't make much money on hardware, they make all there money on software. Seeing as this has no physical discs they can sell, they need to make a profit somehow.
Shimrra @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:08AM
PSPGo = Titanic
And we all know what happens at the end of that voyage....
mocax @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:14AM
break into 2 parts when some kid got too excited?
Rein [Prime Minister of the city-state of New Bjork] @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:29AM
An ungrateful bitch drops you into the ocean right after lying to your face?
CtrlBurn @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:00PM
You wish you could get your money and 3 hours of your life back.
Marmot @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:40PM
Built by the Irish?
Hakaisou @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:42PM
Touted as the greatest ever and fails as the worst?
captainprotonx @ Nov 2nd 2009 2:39PM
Comes back to life and eats the life rafts filled with sexy teens?
Tuxy79 @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:14AM
...and no one is surprised.
Martin @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:17AM
Bullshit, I'm shocked. I didn't think it'd get close to that amount of sales.
Ghaleon @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:16AM
Maybe it's a shitty idea and that's why it didn't sell
Arghon @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:17AM
Yah, pretty bad.
I'm currently living in Japan and I showed one of the neighbourhood kids the PSPGo. As soon as I mentioned the lack of UMD, the red flags went up. He told me to stop talking and no longer had interest in the thing. Right beside the Go was a PSP-3000, which he mentioned was superior in all things.
Morisato @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:42AM
Are you working at a Gamestop in Japan or something? Why would a 3k be right next to a Go unless you were in a retail store? It sounds like you were trying to upsell the Go which makes me believe you work for the retail store.
Akronon @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:20PM
So we export our trolls to Japan now? I bet there's plenty of under-the-bridge real estate there, then.
whylekat @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:34PM
Well the Japanese are well known for building homes/apts in areas that wayy too small for such things...
Josh @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:26AM
Less a commentary on the PSPGo and more commentary on Japan's lack of support for downloadable content. There's already been a lot of discussion about how the Japanese feel about paying for items online with a credit card. Sure, you can buy PSN cards, but that already takes away from the convenience of downloading games through PSN.
The business model of the PSPGo was already inherently aimed at the American and European markets. Frankly, all of the negative commentary is aimed more at the price point than the lack of a UMD drive.
shane86 @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:34AM
Is it as overpriced in Japan as it is in the rest of the world?
ColorblindMonk @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:37AM
Put in something consumers will find beneficial out of it, then that failed device will have something to GO for.
Traceur_Ryuk [Founder of The Anti-EMCB(tm) Brigade] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:40AM
All they have to do is throw in a camera and people will eat it up... The sad truth
Azariel_z @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:43AM
Japan and No monster Hunter Bundle?? FAIL !!! as expected...
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:49AM
Going...going....gone. PSP Go go byebye!
ChuckBartowski @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:54AM
what was the launch number in the US.
Rob S. @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:02PM
I second this, does anyone know?
Ignatius @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:12PM
5.
Just 5.
Ryan @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:17PM
Probably not good, considering Sony would rather talk about the 300% sales boost of the previous iterations of the PSP.
CheeziePotato @ Nov 2nd 2009 2:10PM
tree fiddy
Mystic @ Nov 2nd 2009 11:57AM
Also, make good games for it if you want it to sell.
Stevetrop @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:07PM
This might show all three console makers that the transition to a total digital system handheld or other wise may be harder for folks to go into than they think. If this fails to launch and blow up in the runway even before it gets to take off let this be a lesson to them.
JXCgunrunna @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:30PM
I don't think digital distro is the problem with the Go. The PSP Go is the perfect storm for disaster. A clusterfuck of a system, if you will.
The problem as a PMP: I think the fact that i can buy a REAL PMP with three times battery life and half the size for the same price is a mistake on Sony's part. It does not easily sync with computers like the Zune (HD) and Ipod.
The problem as a portable gaming system: Sony intended this to be bought in place of the PSP 3000 but are charging 80's more than the 3000 for less features. The right price point for the Go would have been 150.
The problem as a PSP: Where do I put all my UMD's?
Digital distribution is not a problem at all. Look at Steam, Itunes, and Amazon MP3 as proof.
Orion @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:18PM
It's not about digital distribution, it's about the price. If Sony lowered this by $100 this would fly off the shelves.
I still bought one, and I really am enjoying it quite a bit. However, I can certainly understand what it's downfalls are. I figured PSN will always be around so even if the system isn't doing well, I'll still have games to play. That and I like odd ball systems, hence the avatar...
Massmass @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:33PM
It's both, actually.
A DD only business model only sticks in parts of the world. For the rest of us, it's a nice addition but hardly a replacement to the tried and true and no network sticks around forever.
Frank @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:33PM
Someone showed me a sketch of how an expert Monster Hunter player's finger position would be altered by the PSP Go's new layout.
Maybe it's for the best that the system doesn't succeed there. It'd spare a lot of players quite a bit of physical pain.
Balloonfighter99 @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:02PM
Anybody see that movie "Failure to Launch"?
Me neither.
Shadowfax (PSN: u2fan4894) @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:03PM
There is just something innately disturbing about Sarah Jesica Parker...
Orchard Pear @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:06PM
I find it amusing how all the people that don't have one, piss and moan and cry like babies about how terrible it is.. but the people that actually own one are pleased with it.
Oh well. I guess if you can't afford one, you do whatever you can to make yourself feel better about it.
*hugs his Go!*
Balloonfighter99 @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:10PM
I find it amusing that insane Sony fanboys think that anyone who doesn't buy Sony, must be poor.
f35acepilot @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:38PM
It's almost exclusively the price point that people are angry about. The people who have the money to spare love it (because it is a PSP anyway) but those without that much money don't find it worth the price point.
For me, I'll be sticking with my tried and true PSP-1000. I may buy a 3000 sometime soon, unless Sony allows me to download my dozen UMDs onto a Go.
BPMOmega [XBL, PSN, Steam] @ Nov 2nd 2009 6:40PM
I have over 30 UMD games.
How would getting a PSP Go benefit ME?
What, I got to buy all of my games again? And many of them aren't available on PSN (yet)? A lot of good this does for me!
I could easily buy a PSP Go. Based off of what's currently in my checking account, I could buy 16 of them. That's as many as 2 eights, and that's bad.
Price isn't the issue (even though I think it's severely overpriced), but the fact that all of my PSP games are useless (at least, until it's hacked and CFW allows me to use UMD backups on it).
Mr Khan @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:16PM
They should have boosted it's capabilities for ad-hoc multiplayer, then they would have practically been forced to buy it.
makimak22 @ Nov 2nd 2009 4:31PM
DSi launch in November 2008: when the Japanese economy was in considerably better shape then now....
The DSi was available in Japan months ahead of the rest of the world, whereas the PSP Go was launched in Japan AFTER the other countries.
The price gap is less between the DS Lite and DSi (c/w PSP3000 and PSP Go). Also Sony did not phase out the `older` (3000) model, instead the price is lowered.
Also one fact was frequently overlooked: most of ASIA sourced their Wii/DS from the Japanese domestic supply (because Nintendo does not officially export to most parts of Asia). So sales of Wii/DS in Japan also include a portion which is `exported` to Asia.
3dpenguin @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:27PM
No the reason why the DSi sold so well vs the PSPGo was because the DSi was actually an upgrade, the larger DSi which isn't much of an upgrade will probably sell better than the Go. The Go is like one of those knock off systems which are shipped out of China in the hopes to siphon off a popular market at a cheaper price, only its not cheaper. The Go doesn't offer any real incentive to the consumer to buy it other than its compact nature, which looking at the demand Nintendo has seen for a larger DSi one would assume this is a drawback. The PSP original offers everything the Go does, minus a few smaller features, and supports UMD, which is a major selling point when one considers the amount of content that is out there for the PSP even with its lackluster sales in the handheld market. Many retailers are going to push the PSP 3000 over the go for the reasons stated above, first market retailers make more money off the software than the hardware, and aftermarket retailers make even more money off the used software. The PSPGo was a bad idea before it was even put into production.
solmar @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:11AM
1. And the DSi is STILL selling well, even now.
2. Does this explain the huge difference?
3. The old DS lite is still being sold now, and doing well enough. Also, you're overlooking the fact that the Go ditched the media, and Sony is the one who set the price. The DSi also ditched the media, but only the older GB media.
4. And this doesn't apply to the PSP-Go? Actually, Asian markets tend to prefer units from HK or SG, since they're more internationally oriented. This applies to all consoles/handhelds.
You can try to hash it in any way you like, or bring up a ton of excuses. But like or not, the PSP-Go just doesn't ring a bell for the majority of people, compared to the older models.
Conor @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:08PM
Was it really the "day of the week" or was it the fact that NO ONE on earth ever wanted A DAMN PSP GO?!?!
No Kill Tayler @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:58PM
I own a Go, And I must say that i'm not shocked.
solmar @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:01AM
I find it amusing how people try to act smart by making snap decisions on why people say what they say, even though it may not be anywhere near the actual truth.
If you can afford a PSP-anything, along with the games, then you most probably can afford a PSP-Go.
Jake @ Nov 3rd 2009 4:10AM
First thing, it not about the launch day, it about the system
If I pay for something I want it right now, and not wait until it finish download on the system.
If they want the system to be sell, they must make it hackable, play copy ISO.
Everyone will buy it.