I think a bit too much credit is given to hacking on the PSP. It's frankly a lot easier to do on the DS, and the larger variety of games makes it more appealing to those that would want to hack. The low sales are due more to the machine being a multi-media device. Some people buy it to play games, other buy it to listen to music or watch movies. DS owners always buy the device for gaming (or educational tools vaguely dressed up as games). The additional software is the focus, therefore the average owner purchases more software.
And if it weren't a multi-media device, it wouldn't sell as well as it does. I have seen a number of people suggest it would have been a greater success if it were simply a gaming device, but it probably wouldn't have done nearly as well. A number of PSP owners wouldn't buy it if they couldn't listen to their mp3s on the go, and those people do still buy software even if it's less frequent. They lower the attach rate, but they improve the volume of sales. Also, those features aren't exactly costly to add as there is little in the way of extra hardware used for those functions.
The biggest problem with the PSP is one it can't shake: The UMD drive. It is more costly than a card reader would be, especially since the device already has one, and it adds pretty much nothing to the experience. It does detract from it, however, since it kills the battery and adds unnecessary loading time. It has given the handheld a bad name at extra cost to Sony. Massive blunder.
You do not have the right to never be offended.
