Just came upon this find. Gamestop is now selling the PSP Value Pack for $199.99 instead of $250. It's in "select stores". I have a feeling they're just clearing out the stock of it, which means Sony must have discontinued this SKU, which means an additional SKU is probably coming soon (the rumored redesign perhaps). http://www.gamestop.com/gs/weeklyad/current/032307/olfsi_032307-2.asp
With the addition of REMOTE PLAY will this not make the PSP the ABSOLUTELY CHEAPEST route to location free media access there is? (Assuming PS3 ownership of course).
WHEN I get a PS3 I will absolutely be picking up a PSP to go with it.
Just read LiquidJ's Joystiq article on PSP shipping 5 million in Japan.
I definitely agree with the point of the article--that although the DS is beating the PSP, the PSP is still a player in the portable console business. The current prediction to sell 34.72 million units over its lifetime is not too shabby.
However, you can see from the low trading volume that gamers haven't really been interested in the PSP from a news perspective. Even the recent news of a PSP redesign have not sparked the shares.
- possibly better screen. - faster loading - Improved buttons - 8gb Internal flash - Possible touch-screen - Possible built-in camera
I think we will definitely see more sales. Even if it was just the 8gb of built in memory. Combine that with PS1 games playable on PSP & other DLC (demos, tv, and/or movies), and a lot of people will be much more likely to purchase it. Also all that memory will really help it when browsing the web. Some will even just think hey now I don't need to buy any SD cards.
I just saw the PSP redesign story on Kotaku that Joe 80 submitted. I think this will generate more buzz for the PSP but I don't know if it will actually improve sales. I don't think the complaint with the PSP is the hardware but the lack of good portable games. I don't want PS2 games gone portable. Until Sony realizes that, the PSP is going to be weak.
I think we can all agree that 2007 is the year when the PSP either starts moving, or just dies quietly.
Don't get me wrong. It might be around for a few more years, but this year really determines whether it goes in the "successful game systems" or the "failed systems" categories.
I saw a similar Joystiq article today, citing the hardware shipments' massive drop. However, they had an even more dire figure for US shipments, 10,000. With four zeros. That's looking terrible.
On the other hand though, the article points out that sales figures for PSP still holding up, possibly due to a massive backlog of units over the year. Software for the PSP is actually up, showing that it is still very much an active platform.
2
http://psp.ign.com/articles/776/776864p1.html
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