Pretty much every day, a reader (several really) of TheFeed says that Sony's PlayStation Portable is "teh doomed". Gamers are a passionate and opinionated bunch that often post rash opinions on the Internet. These opinions sometimes lack rational thought and/or solid data to back them up, so it's easy for me to overlook them. It's part of the game and I get it -- I actually love it when readers take the time to share their thoughts, even if I think they're dead wrong. When other writers in the gaming business say that the PSP is "teh doomed", it irks me. One reader of TheFeed showed me this ridiculous editorial by Yahoo! Games' Mike Smith called "Goodbye, Sony PSP". It's one of the dumbest articles I've read in the last six months.
The article suggests that it's the end of the line for the PSP, going as far as to ask, "Time to put this gaming warhorse out to pasture?" While Smith cites November North American sales figures to back up his opinion, he doesn't consider the bigger picture -- the North American installed base and global sales figures are never mentioned. I guess it's hard to say that a system is dying when it sold more than four-million units in North America and 3.5-million in Japan during 2008. Never mind that the PSP has a total installed base of more than 43-million.
Then there's the software side. Let's forget that Monster Hunter: Portable 2nd G was the best-selling game across all platforms in Japan during 2008. Apparently "software support is eroding". I guess nobody bothered to tell Square Enix this information. The company's lineup for 2009 looks awesome. You have Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, and Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday. All four games look fantastic and I have no doubt that at least three of them will sell well over a million copies. Throw in games like Patapon 2, LocoRoco 2, Phantasy Star Portable, Star Ocean: Second Evolution, Resistance: Retribution, and Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?, and you have quite a lot to be happy about with the PSP in 2009 -- and that's just the announced games!
Towards the end of the article, Smith compares the PSP to the Apple iPhone, which is just -- let me think of right word -- stupid. I suppose one way to illustrate that a system is dying is to compare it to a device that it doesn't compete with directly.
Hopefully, I've helped some of you understand that the PSP is hardly "teh doomed". The system is still selling well and there are loads of great games coming out for it in 2009. Think I'm wrong? Well speak up and back up your opinions!
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SeedOfdeatH
Lets not forget the fact that CUSTOM FIRM WARE is available for the psp.. which makes it homebrew heaven.. and enables it to run emulators.... that alone makes it "ageless"
Kingofscarecrows
The DS and the PSP are completely different beasts, look at it closer, the DS is much more of an experiment in new types of gaming offering voice, touch, and now 3D experiences. The PSP is simply a machine that plays portable media, while it doesn't do anything new per say, it does what it does well.. it gives ps2 quality games on the go with little hardware difficulty, and with the inclusion of the GO offers gamers the chance to now own their favorite PSONE titles in a mini bite sized setting {Any system that lets you play FF7 on a train is awesome}
That being said the PSP and the DS have very different target audiences, meaning there would be a difference in sales and expected sales... honestly NO the psp will never match the DS in accessibility and market value, but is it a bad system.. no not by a long shot the PSP is a solid entry in any gamers console library offering a bit more of a tried and true style of game play and enjoyment, Don't get me wrong innovation is nice, but sometimes you just want to sit down and hit four buttons and a directional pad ya know?
Chidoroboo
with that line up its hard to say that the psp is dieing. i my self don't own one but will buy one just for Kingdom hearts BBS. but one must also see what how the 3DS will do compared to the psp. however i do belive that the psp won't die in 2011 or the rest of 2010.
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