I'd agree with this, I've looked into getting a PSP in the past when I've seen good deals and whatnot, but I was always put off by the games on offer. The PSP's 'best' games definitely do seem to be cutdown versions of console games, and I have little interest in playing something like that when I could just play its big brother on the home console on the big screen TV.

It needs more unique experiences (and by unique I don't necessarily mean new, just a bit of diversity to what is on offer on PS2/3), but it's probably too late now for the PSP in that respect. Maybe next time around...

The two Loco Roco sequels are $7.  The first one (the one I really want!) is still $22!  As soon as that price drops, I'm downloading it.

My current top 3 PSP games:  Gurumin (Pocket sized Zelda!), Hot Shot's Tennis (aka PSP Crack), or Metal Gear Peacewalker (a perfect portable MGS game) .

I'm not sure that anything could have helped the PSP, though.  I looked through the entire library--I mean the ENTIRE library--last week.  What I found were tons of unheard of RPG's, Music Games, Arcade Collections, Fighting Games, Racing Games, Puzzle Games, and Sports Games that would lend themselves perfectly to the handheld experience.  Yeah, it's got the watered down concole games but it's got the good "made for portable" games, too.  Seriously, look at the library!  That's how I wound up with an awesome hidden gem like Gurumin!!  But even then, even though I'm happy with the system and I have some great games, it sucks that the PSP isn't the success that I think it should have been. 

I blame Sony's marketing.

I do not think Sony "gets" the PSP either.  

I own 21 PSP UMD games (plus a good few PSN games) and only 8 of those are unique PSP games.  While this does not particularly bother me, I am not the audience Sony should have been targeting.  I can see the problem here in the West.

 The PSP has many fantastic JRPGs on it (both unique like Crimson Gem Saga and remakes like P3P) but these are not "big" in the west (these type of games with MH are the bread and butter for the system in Japan)  When I look at the library, I do have a hard time seeing exactly what the casual, mainstream (for lack of better words) Western audience would see in the PSP.  

Some of the issues I see with the PSP in the West (selling to new customers) are:

• Lack of real PS3 integration.  The PS3 has been doing very well in the West recently and the PSP could try to ride some of that success.  Why can I not hook my PSP into my PS3 and have my PS3 upscale the graphics for my TV?  Why can I not have the PS3 handle the controller, so I can now use my PS3 controller wirelessly? (yes I know you can with the Go, but this should work for all systems)
• Lack of games targeting the Western Audience.  Remakes, JRPGs, and PS1 classics will not sell millions of systems in the West, at best they will sell thousands.  
• The PSP does feel like the PC as of late.  Many games on the system just do not feel like they were made FOR the system. 
• Price is always an issue and with slumping sales it looks like the PSP needs a price cut. 
• Advertising!  Until very recently, I would not see any advertising anywhere for the PSP.  In massive electronic stores, gaming only stores, the internet, TV and others, I would hardly ever see out in the open marketing for the unit.
• Needs more First Party Western Studio Sony Support.  Not just remakes or reboots or sequels, but it needs new Sony Western IP support.  It is almost as if they are afraid of putting their new IP ideas on the handheld.

I don't know about other areas but every Wal-Mart I've seen (Savannah Ga, Augusta Ga, and all points in between), it's like this:  Huge Wii Section.  Huge DS Section.  Huge PS3 Section.  Huge 360 section.  5-10 PSP games buried in the PS3 section.

Every Gamestop/EBGames I've gone to has been like this:  Huge PS3 wall.  Huge Wii wall.  Huge 360 wall.  Huge DS wall.  PSP games hidden on a little shelf that I can't even find without asking a sales clerk.  It's usually hidden behind the PC games.  All of the games look used, too.  The Gamecube/PS2 sections are better organized.  It's like the PSP is a dead system or something!

 In my opinion Sony just didn't really know what the handheld market wanted, so they took the ideology of what made the PS2 a success (Up the graphics, make 'big' epic games etc) and applied it to the PSP. But it didn't really work and people didn't really care for that experience on a handheld. I think Sony have learnt their lesson in that regard for the next PSP though.

The other thing is I don't think Sony really have the balls to put enough behind the actual handheld games which arn't a God of War or something. When Nintendo launch Brain Training that thing was everywhere, TV ads, priority store shelving etc, they treated it like an A list game and people responded. I'm not sure I can see Sony ever giving that sort of promotion to a game like that, and we've seen Papaton,Invizimals, LittleBigPlanet PSP etc sort of just been forgotton as if Sony doesn't beleive a game like that can sell big numbers :/.

 It looks a long way back for the PSP2 from here as the PSP sort of dug a hole for itself, but it's surely better placed then the PSP was at launch - with no past PlayStation handheld. It's very hard to think what Sony will do with the PSP2 to address this problem though and not just end up recycling more Socom spinoffs :/. I still think a Pokemon ripoff could be huge for the system lol.

It's also "overpriced"

Seriously here in Sweden a PsPGO costs 2700 SEK  compare that to a PS3 wich costs 2900 SEK

That is around 27 US $ difference....

I blame marketing and the lack of a good price drop for the lack of appeal in the western nations for psp

Games like Dead Head Fred or Exit are such great fun games but the lack of advertising has not given them the recognition they deserve..more non port games like Chains of Olympus and the Resistence game should be made for the system...more syphon filter (it worked great on the psp)

Fighters work GREAT on the psp...Dark Resurrection is hands down my most played game on the system...it's better than the console version imo

Daxter, Burnout, Prinny, Patapon, Locoroco, Peace Walker are all amazing games and I hope one day they will get the recognition they deserve,

Thankfully the up coming line up is looking amazing for the psp, Birth BY Sleep, Parasite Eve, Ghost of Sparta are some of my most anticipated games on any console, period. I hope they market those games like hell do a price drop

and for those who say psp should die should seriously gtfo....psp is an amazing handheld, I expect the next one to be better...more handhelds the better I say and 3DS won't stop that

I don't have a PSP, but have often played on my cousins

No game has really made me think 'I must buy a PSP', I think that is the problem.  I owned a DS and Wii from launch, but I bought a PS3 in late 2008 after games like Little Big Planet made me think 'I must buy a PS3'

I think there are a lot of great PSP games and while I do get a bit annoyed by the PS2/ PS3 lite. It is cool that my handheld is capable of those types of games. My DS cannot produce games near PS2 or Wii quality so they had to be inventive with controls, graphics etc. On the PSP developers did not have to be as original because the system was strong enough to run comparable software. 

Without the PSP power we would never have games like Peacewalker. or Chains of Olympus to play on the road and that would be a shame.

*tagged for later read.

I'll quickly say that I always feel games on the PSP try to feed off of the success of main console releases. Take Assassin' Creed: Blodlines for instance.