Brewology

It's no secret that portable gaming machines are wildly popular in Japan. In the last year, three high-profile handhelds have stormed the country, the latest being Nintendo's Game Boy Micro. Now, with all three on the market, various sales charts in Japan are showing some interesting trends.

Recent sales figures provided by Dengeki Online revealed that cumulative shipment of the DS has nearly doubled that of the PSP in Japan since their launch in the country last December. As of the end of September 2005, Nintendo sold 3.2 million units of its DS handheld in Japan, while Sony Computer Entertainment shipped only 1.7 million units.

The latest issue of Famitsu showed that the line-up of games seems to be the main factor for the PSP's sluggish sales. While four DS games ranked in the top 10 sales chart for the first half of FY 2006, the best-selling game for the PSP, Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 Ubiquitous Evolution, trailed behind at 35th place.

A private survey conducted by the magazine further showed that only 15.3 percent of PSP owners are happy about its game line-up, and 46.2 percent see it as the biggest issue regarding the PSP. On the other hand, 46.1 percent of DS owners are satisfied with the line-up of their handheld, and the number of owners complaining about the lack of games remained low at 24.2 percent.

According to the survey, the biggest issue for DS owners is the machine's design, with 31.3 percent of Japanese gamers complaining about its size and weight, especially since the handheld is often played with one hand holding the stylus. On the other hand, PSP owners see their handheld's design as the second-best selling point, following its various hardware functions. However, hardware functions are also the selling point for the DS, with 61.8 percent of owners saying that they like its touch-screen controls.

While the Game Boy Micro has been a successful hit in Japan since its debut in September, its sales seem to be gradually settling down. Famitsu reports that the handheld has shipped 200,000 units in its first three weeks of release. But the week of September 26 saw a decline of 45 percent, as the handheld's sales dropped from the 52,048 units sold the week before down to 28,721 units.

A private survey published in the magazine showed some mixed figures for the Game Boy Micro, as 46.9 percent of surveyed gamers said that they had no interest or plans in picking up the handheld at the current time. The unit's price seems to be the biggest sales roadblock for the miniaturized Game Boy Advance, with 83.9 percent of gamers saying that its quality doesn't justify its price. The Micro sells in Japan for 12,000 yen ($105), which is only 3,000 yen ($26) less than the DS.

24.7 percent of gamers said they would consider purchasing the Micro when its price drops, while 22 percent said they're currently interested in picking up the handheld. The top incentive for buying the Game Boy Micro is its chic style. With multiple answers allowed, gamers planning to pick up the handheld voted its design as the top reason for purchase at 80 percent, followed by its size (54.3 percent), and face plates (36 percent).

PSP_man wrote:dear god!!!

DS is making more sales than PSP!!! are u f**k kidding me?! DS will own DS ANY day wtf this is gay here check it out

Terdinglage wrote:its cheaper and they are the japenese, what do you honestly expect...

PSP_man wrote:oh yeah, sorry i made a little floaw up there lol i DID mean " PSP will own DS ANY day"
lol sorry bout that

anyway, necro, i disagree with u.
PSP has made ALOT of games considering the time period of its release it is doing very good for itzself.
DS has been released for way longer than PSP and it doesn have as many games as the PSP does. so for now say give it some time and stores will be littered with PSP games.