DS Spanking the PSP in Japan
Sony's dreams of walking all over Nintendo look to be staying just that for a while still - at least in Japan.
The sheer power and sexiness of the PSP had many thinking that Nintendo and its DS would be overwhelmed by Sony, but things haven't gone quite that way. The latest hardware numbers from Japan, courtesy of Dengeki Online and reported by GameSpot, show the DS selling almost twice as much as the PSP.
Both handhelds hit shelves around the same time in Japan but the DS has pulled away, selling 3.2 million units compared to just 1.7 million for the PSP.
So why are the Japanese not getting into the PSP? The answer would seem to be the games. With the GameCube almost dead in the water, Nintendo has turned its full attention to its handhelds, and especially to the DS.
Meanwhile, Sony is coming off a dry spell that saw few new games and fewer that anybody cared about.
The situation outside of Japan is more difficult to pry apart, mostly because Sony and Nintendo are less forthcoming with sales numbers. Still, it seems at the moment that Nintendo has eked out a lead over Sony in both North America.
However, with the PSP recently having the best opening ever for a new piece of hardware, at least in the UK, Sony's fate is far from sealed.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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