The DS may also be selling better because it has more, better games. The PSP is personally my favorite handheld I've ever had, but there are only a few games on it I like. I have 4x as many games on my DS. The PSP is the better handheld, but the DS has a better library of games.

It has a wider variety of quality games for various audiences. This is true. The PSP has plenty of quality games, but they are typically for the core playstation audience who already owned a PS2. You could technically call it a mini PS2.

no you guys are right, and I did kind of get off track. I just start typing and don't stop sometimes. What defines a core and casual game is not important in this thread, what is important is indisputable evidence that the DS has substancially more casual games than the psp, the fact that the ds's library is completely overwhelmed with casual games is NOT the point of this thread, so I appologize for getting off track.

Console sales this generation are not entirely about games, as I tried to state earlier.
It's a factor of a multiple of influences including, but certainly not limited to

advertising
pricing
popularity amongst peers
ease of use
brand recognition
ease of development*
saturation of shovelware
quality core games

quality core games are definitely the least important aspect in what drives a console to gain the type of sales the DS has. While they have a lot, the majority of titles on the platform do not, at least in my eyes meet this criteria.

Proof of this lies in the sales themselves, asssociated with metacritic aggregate scores, which should of course be taken lightly, compared with the titles that are generally considered to be core amongst the gaming community.


Grand Theft Auto: The Chinatown Wars --> Sales 600k, the lowest of any GTA game by a long shot, Metacritic average the highest of any other DS game, and an excellent portable title.

Chrono Trigger --> Sales about 900k, not bad, but this is a huge thing to happen.. sales so low that SE decided not to make a squeal based on the performance of this title.

Advance Wars --> about 300k sales for each, 90 metacritic.. a very awesome game.

Castlevania: Dawn of sorrow, order of eclessia --> 300k and 240k respectively, amazing games.. platform DEFINING titles.. horrid sales. PSP Remake sold 210k, pirated (according to my data) 600,000 times.

The World Ends with You: The JRPG of last year, amazing game as well, huge fan base.. 430k sales. Won game of the year for the DS.

Elite Beat Agents: only 240k sales.. another fantastic game.



anyway, the list goes on.

Core games on the Platform that do not have Zelda or Mario in the title simply do not sell. Because the majority of people who own the DS do not own it for core games. and THAT is why it sells so much more than the PSP, that is what Sony is "doing wrong" with respect to sales. Gaming is no longer about gaming. Gaming is no longer a nerd niche hobby, it is a popular thing to do. If you don't own a 360, a ds and a wii, or at least some of the three, you're not a cool kid in school anymore. It is peer pressure, everyone buys the same as their friends, and all the young kids are playing the transitional casual games like brawl, halo, madden, etc. games that offer incredible depth but are still party or casual games.

No ones going to brag about getting kills in resistance, even though it is an infinitely better game than Halo.

No one is going to be talking about all the awesome times they've had playing patapon in that target group.

If sony wants to regain sales over the ds, they need to attract that base of users, and as far as im concerned, its impossible.

Sony has lost nothing, not even with the PS3. They came out late and expected this all along.
The PSP is a massive success, with 50million units sold and a host of amazing games on the list for 2009/2010.

Clean up the piracy, push the PSPgo, get developer loyalty back, get more casual games at cheap prices and sony can make a push on the sales. They'll never have the brand recognition that the DS has, but they can certainly draw more sales.

I like sony's strategy, they have a long lasting platform that will cater to the only people who will continue to buy games, the core.


Everything is opinion based of factual numbers, i tried to keep this post on track as much as possible, I hope I did okay?

So my having a PS2 should increase my interest in the PSP's library?

Or Or... maybe, just maybe.... the DS's library is so huge, and incredible, that easily surpasses the psp one... therefore, more people enjoy playing the DS more than the psp.

And also, the DS has more variety in it's library = more people buying it.

@digitalentourage

You're so wrong on so many levels - it hurts... btw wanna bet on GTA:CW sales?

lolita is the only girl i've ever seen with a psp actually.

The real appeal to the PSP is its a cool gadget. Gaming is not the top priority obviously from software sales.

Reason why? Nintendo handhelds always win the market. Did Sony lose though? No. They are still a massive winner in the handheld market because they are the first company to ever go against a Nintendo handheld and hold as much of the market as they have.

@Hawk : yeah definitely. If you really like PS2 games, PSP is definitely for you. I agree with the 'mini PS2' name.

@mai : 'you're wrong' is not an answer, please tell us more, give us the reasons you think he's wrong, he made a long explanation after all, even using numbers

@maynard : there are more casual games on DS... but hardcore games ? there are many on both consoles, PSP already has a great library like the DS has. The real next MGS, or Gran Turismo, will even give the advantage to PSP in hardcore games. That's definitely not the reason DS sells more. Every hardcore gamer I know prefers the PSP over the DS.

19 DS games got 86 or more on Metacritic vs 16 PSP games. Hardcore libraries are already roughly on par, with much more incoming on PSP (gran turismo, gta, lbp, mgs peace walker...)