10 Million PSPs Shipped Worldwide

Sony handheld hits first major milestone.

Posted by Staff
Sony proudly announces today that it has shipped 10 million PSPs. The shiny little wonders are flying off the shelves, and somewhat surprisingly, this is the fastest that any PlayStation has sold in Sony’s history of making games consoles.

Two and a half million of the shiny handhelds have sold in Europe so far; that’s only since the launch on September 1. The UK launch, if you remember, was promising, but though Sony has had no problems shifting the consoles, selling games has been more of a problem. The main criticism levelled at the PSP at the moment is a lack of software. This is borne out by the figures, with 19.6 million units of software shipped globally. It doesn’t take a mathematical savant to work out that that’s fewer than two games per person, showing that despite the many games available worldwide, few of these are seen by early adopters as being worth their while.

In other PSP news, Sony is to release the so-called ‘Giga Pack’ in Europe on November 21. The value bundle, which will retail for £214.99, takes its name from the 1Gb memory stick that comes with it, as well as the inclusion of a battery pack, AC adaptor, USB cable, stand, and the machine itself. You can’t keep playing Lumines forever, you know. Fans of fighting and stealing are no doubt looking forward to GTA: Liberty City Stories, but we’re best buds with Jack Thompson now, so we’re putting all that behind us.

So, dear reader, which other forthcoming games do you think will silence the software naysayers? You know where you can have your say...
Companies:

Comments

Greg2k 21 Oct 2005 11:29
1/15
Yeah I'm pretty sure they've shipped 10 million PSPs. It's just that people aren't buying them, so retailers are having plenty on display (at least outside Europe).

If they want to boost sales they could make a Basic bundle, with only the system and charger. If they keep on making the bundles more expensive, it's difficult for them to see increased sales.
warbaby 21 Oct 2005 12:08
2/15
they have "shipped" 10 million PSP's, what percentage of that number is actually sold, i know for a fact that at every retailer in town, has a nice display of stacked psp's behind a glass door. I'm actually surprised about the amount of software sold, I have only bought a single PSP game, but i thought for sure that it would be higher, i guess to goes to show that the gamers arent happy with what they see... GTA will be crazy though, and you will get the idiots who rave about it and the PSP, with such quotes as "PSP is the best" "DS is for gays"...

I'm not sure how many people are actually into UMD emulating and the downloading of ISO files, but that could contribute to the number of games sold, I mean if you can get a game for free, why in the hell would some one buy it?
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I'll Eat Your Soul 21 Oct 2005 12:27
3/15
I only decided to buy a PSP when I discovered that Burnout Legends was being released and a new Lemmings was on the way.

The PSP line-up is looking lacklustre for a while to come other than those two and maybe Lumines.
config 21 Oct 2005 13:47
4/15
Guys, there's this thing called "stock in channel". It's fine balancing act between under- and over-stocking each outlet. Under-stocking is bad because it could mean lost sales. Over-stocking is bad because it means stock is tied up where it's not needed (and it's bad for a retailer because that stock represents capital tied up in boxes that aren't shifting)

Put it this way; why would Sony keep shipping product to retailers that have no need for more stock?

Last I heard, and this was about a month ago, there were still under-stock issues in the US. The UK launch went okay with just about the right amount of stock, as far as I can tell - probably because early adopter demand had been slaked by importing from the US.

This figure of 10m isn't going to be very far from the true number of SKUs sold.
Joji 21 Oct 2005 21:10
5/15
This is more Sony bs. Shipped doesn't mean sold so don't be fooled by that big number.

Last I heard the DS was still ahead of PSP in sales worldwide.

Sony, have been smoking that endo weed again?
Ditto 21 Oct 2005 21:43
6/15
Joji wrote:
This is more Sony bs. Shipped doesn't mean sold so don't be fooled by that big number.

Last I heard the DS was still ahead of PSP in sales worldwide.

Sony, have been smoking that endo weed again?


I'm not so sure.

I'd say the PSP is outselling the DS worldwide, although I don't have any figures to back that up. The sales in America and Europe have been very strong.

And the best point is that I know several people who have gone into a shop to buy a DS and walked out with a PSP. The PSP, for most people, is the better product.
LUPOS 21 Oct 2005 22:00
7/15
Adam M wrote:
The PSP, for most people, is the better product.


most people aren't exactly what I would refer to as smart.
*checks for spelling mistakes*

so there!

:)
_________
warbaby 22 Oct 2005 05:17
8/15
LUPOS wrote:
Adam M wrote:
The PSP, for most people, is the better product.


most people aren't exactly what I would refer to as smart.
*checks for spelling mistakes*

_________


/100% agree... I hear people telling me their PSP can play DVD's, and that their friend puts PS2 games in his PSP...

And besides its "cool" to own a PSP, get caught with a DS and your a social outcast with kiddy games...

I want to see sony drop the handheld ball, not because I don't like the PSP, because i dont like sony and what they do to their customers, luckily they have a rabid fanbase so far gone into the abyss, that they eat the cheese after its gone moldy.
OptimusP 22 Oct 2005 12:13
9/15
10 Million is impressive if it wasn't for around 3-4 million wasn't rotting (i know ,those things can't rot...i think) in stores stocks.
For the record, Sony shipped 2.5 million PSP's to Europe but only sold a million (they're own official word) in the same period. Sony BS? absolutly, good thing that Spong has the courtesy to say 10 million shipped instead of sold as many (bigger) sites haven't done but screws it up again by saying 2.5 million sold in Europe while even Sony says a million sold...yeah!

It is to bad sales numbers from the US (bloody NDP) and Europe (bloody market that actually consists of 15 smaller markets) are so hard to come by. Only Japanese numbers come in weekly and they say DS is whooping PSP's ass and GBM+GBA sales beat PSP sales, but then again Japanese are smarter gamers then us (seriously, if there dumbasses in our midsts that claim running PS2 games on their PSP by spinning the disk on their finger in fornt of the PSP laser, says enough).

Only sales numbers i know of the US are from august and those didn't had DS numbers. GBA (185000 units) was beating the PSP (150 000)though, so comparing it with the japanese numbers (i'm just using historian logic, so calculate a error margin in of 10-25%) i'm geussing the DS sold in august around 260 000 in the States.

Europe is a huge black hole when it comes to salesnumbers.
dmgice 23 Oct 2005 14:55
10/15
OptimusP wrote:
Only Japanese numbers come in weekly and they say DS is whooping PSP's ass and GBM+GBA sales beat PSP sales,


Yeah, the NPD TRSTS doesn't even list the PSP as of their last reports. I think the reason, is that Sony is trying to leverage the device as competition for the PDA and PMP crowd.

My opinion on the PSP is that it really is not worth the money. In order to want to buy a system, I have to have enough games out and/or available for it soon that justify the price of the system.

The 100+ GBA games I own say I should own a Game Boy Micro. So, I do and the thing is pretty much always attached to me. It has a little white neckstrap/handstrap that it uses to cling to me all the time, and if I am asleep. It is plugged in. If I am awake, the unit is either in my pocket, or sitting near me like a faithful puppy. It really is a bit sad. I decided to play through Final Fantasy I & II again while waiting for IV. To put it in simple terms, the unit is really a Game Boy Parasite. It is stuck to me, draining me of sleep, and thirsting for more games. I bought it Sigma Star Saga and special ordered Shining Force. It hungers for more though..

The 300+ GB/GBC games I own say I should own a back lit GBA SP. So, I do. I rather enjoy it! The price is $70, so I need three games at $30 to justify the purchase.

I own a Nintendo DS. Games on the system average $40 per game. For a total of 4 games to justify the purchase. I own twice that amount and my list of games I want is much longer.

I paid $120 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color and games cost $30. To justify that purchase, the following four games were on my list. I own a total of nine NGPC games.

1. Metal Slug 1st Mission
2. Sonic Pocket Adventure
3. Match of the Millenium
4. Card Fighters Clash

The average PSP game costs about $50. The system sells for $250. So, I have to have five games I want for it that are exclusive to it and that I would definately pay full price for. I wish people would use a system like that to justify their purchases before blindly buying a game because of the hype.

For the PSP, this is my list.

1. Final Fantasy: Crisis Core (Maybe...)
2. Popolocrois
3. Suikoden 1 & 2
4. Breath of Fire III (I own I & II on the GBA. Makes sense to keep on with it, right?)
5. Landstalker

Yeah, my taste in games is very RPG oriented, for the most part. I justify my PS2 with the several dozen RPGs it has. Although my Game Cube is justified by Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and others. Oddly, a lot of the games that justify my Game Cube are either Nintendo made, or -for some weird reason- are the same games I justified my Dreamcast with. I have not bought an Xbox and will not be buying a 360 because I have yet to find the games to justify the price. The PS3 will probably take about a year or so to justify itsself with games. The PS1 justified itsself with Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7, Xenogears, Vagrant Story, DDR, Parappa, Symphony of the Night, and a few more. I actually bought one rather late in its lifespan. The easiest justification of any system I purchased would be the SNES. When I bought it, I paid $70 for a bundle with Super Mario World, and Mario Paint. The store that was selling it had a special where I could get a game for half price if I bought a system because the base was closing and they had to liquidate the stock at that store. The game I nabbed for the half price was Super Mario All-Stars. I got Mario Paint goodness with two controllers and more game than I knew what to do with. My purchases for the system since then, were -of course- Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Donkey Kong Country I - III, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, Demon's Crest, and more.
dmgice 23 Oct 2005 15:12
11/15
config wrote:
Put it this way; why would Sony keep shipping product to retailers that have no need for more stock?


A lot of retailers -particularly large ones- answer to a main office that chooses stock. The companies lobby these main offices to get their stock on floor. If the pay-ups are good, dead stock will remain on floor until eventually discounted off.

Sony also does not allow RETURNED stock from stores. Remember what happened to Dreamworks with stock for Shrek 2? Dreamworks lost a bundle off of that one in terms of retailer returns. Sony does not allow stores to return product. That is why a lot of smaller businesses shy away from the PSP.

Sony also has minimum order limits on the PSP. You either order in 50+ or none at all, irregardless of if they can send you that amount. You can not run a small store and say: "Well, I want to just order in about two units." Sony will tell you a minimum of 25 to 50 must be ordered in.

Sony also bullies people into buying dead stock. For example: They may impose limits on game software that can be ordered in dependant on how many PSP units the retailer buys. For example: Halo 2 was supposed to be a huge seller in the USA. Stores had to order an additional stocking order of 20 to 30 more Xbox units to recieve the game for sale on its launch. The more units ordered in, the more likely they were to get a chance to purchase more stock of the game.

Yes, it sounds dirty and underhanded. But, eh. Buying in stock is like betting on a horse. The PSP has a lot of hype and the horse looks like a winner. But after the race, the stores with glue in the stables will have to suffer a loss to remove the product from their shelves.
codeninja 23 Oct 2005 23:10
12/15
Nintendo always release "sell through" numbers and Sony release "ship" numbers. Back at the beginning of this generation Nintendo gave a few million poly number as realistic figures whereas Sony gave out 20 million poly number with single pixel polygons. Wether we like it or not, people love BS and Sony knows how to play the game.

BTW none of people that are know who has PSP plays with his PSP for more than a couple months while they're all too busy playing their favorite DS games.

Since software is where the money is for the companies, selling more softwares (Nintendo) is always a better sign than having bloated hardware sales figure (Sony).

Still big chunk of great console games are coming from Japan, and recent announcements from various Japanese developers including Square-Enix indicates that they started to lean toward DS rather than PSP despite of the best effort of Sony's marketing hype machine. It's the game that matters, right?

If Sony wants to sell PSP as non-gaming multi-media device, they can do it except they'll find themselves scraping for quarters under the sofas.
kid_77 24 Oct 2005 10:25
13/15
OMG!! SONY R TEH LIARS!!! 10Mil??? LOL ROFL!! THEY'RE GATHERING DUST IN TEH SHOPS! PSP pwned

etc.

etc.
OptimusP 24 Oct 2005 11:15
14/15
Just for the record, the NPD has not so long ago decided to give the sales numbers for September. The hardware sales are as followed
PSP:146 000
DS: 168 000
GBA (GBA Sp + Micro): 185 000

Similiar to Japan, the PSP is losing its innitial salesspike also in the States while the DS keeps it sales stabilized. Expect both to go up because of the holidays.
Comes the question why the PSP loses its spike and the DS keeps shifting on a good stabile number. Answer: games, DS now has a good flow of good quality and fresh games coming out, something you can't really say about the PSP, apart from the new GTA.
tyrion 24 Oct 2005 12:25
15/15
kid_77 wrote:
OMG!! SONY R TEH LIARS!!! 10Mil??? LOL ROFL!! THEY'RE GATHERING DUST IN TEH SHOPS! PSP pwned

Well quite.

In other news, it appears that CentreSoft (UK distributor for PSP hardware) is listing the PSP value pack as "on order"

I'd say that if the official distributor has no stock, the thing is selling well.
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