So. How successful/not successful was/is the PSP?

I've had a PSP three times. At lunch, the slim version, and now my Go. I understand and agree with every single thing that people say about it being a failure. The UMD is stupid. Sony is dumb with the GO's lack of support from the developers. Battery life sucks, and it has been hurt by piracy throughout its entire life. 
 
But I also think it's a great and underlooked system. Some awesome platformers, great ports of games, even a few upcoming games that are going to be big (Parasite Eve 3 has me completely hyped up). 
 
So it's up to you: how successful do you think the system will be seen as? Do you go by the sales numbers or simply if you thought the price you paid for it paid off with the software?

It's one of the top selling consoles in Japan and was the top selling console in Japan for 2010, 2009, and 2008. 
 
So, it did alright I guess.

" It's one of the top selling consoles in Japan and was the top selling console in Japan for 2010, 2009, and 2008.  So, it did alright I guess. "

" @KaosAngel said:

" It's one of the top selling consoles in Japan and was the top selling console in Japan for 2010, 2009, and 2008.  So, it did alright I guess. "

But that was mainly due to Monster Hunter, wasn't it? "

" It's one of the top selling consoles in Japan and was the top selling console in Japan for 2010, 2009, and 2008.  So, it did alright I guess. "

It has sold around 60 million. I don't think Sony see that as a failure.

Hardware wise Sony sold 63 million units. Considering that they were entering a market that Nintendo owned that's pretty successful and I think that Sony would be the first to tell you from a hardware standpoint they exceeded expectations. Because of piracy though the hardware success didn't carry over to the software.

I think there are some real gems on the PSP; Peace Walker is fantastic, as is Portable Ops.
 
I have also made some wicked hip-hop beats with Beaterator. In terms of games, I think it has been successful, and I also remember reading that it did/is still doing really well in Asia.
 
 So failure, no: living up to its potential, also no. Relatively successful is my call on the PSP.

They entered the portable market that has been owned by Nintendo and Sony definatly put up enough of a fight with killer games to say it was successful. I have a DS but honestly i think I'm gonna get the NGP over 3DS (however this may change I havent made a set choice yet). Also it sold 63 million? Thats pretty darn amazing.

But hasn't Sony lost money on the PSP hardware? I know Nintendo has notoriously been known for always making a buck on their hardware, but if I remember correctly the PSP cost more than it sold for. With time though I'm sure pieces became cheaper to get though, but the price to the consumer fell too...

It's sold over 65 million units and has a really good library of games imo, so I would say it was successful.  

Between the PSP and the DS an RPG, Strategy RPG, or obscure "weird" game fanatic is set for life.  There are some gems on the PSP, it's a shame the thing never took off like the DS.  As far as how successful it was, hard to say.  It sold a lot but didn't seem to have the cultural significance of the DS.  Although that could just be a Sony vs. Nintendo thing.

It had some pretty good games.

I think it started off being kind of a hit, but over the last several years, it's pretty much been forgotten about. So in the end, while I wouldn't call it a failure, I'd say it's been only mildly successful.

I bought one in '09. Don't regret it, it's got some really good exclusives, like MGS Peace Walker. I pumped 60+ hours into that game.  
 
And as stated earlier here, it's sold crazy in Japan, but not so much in the states. 

It is the most successful non-Nintendo handheld ever, so that's something. 

i would say that it did alright. i do think that UMD was bad. i don't think that it went all the way that sony wanted it to go. they said that there would be movies on it. after a while of a couple of years there aren't advertised UMD anymore. i don't even think there are any UMD movies anymore.

" I've had a PSP three times. At lunch, the slim version, and now my Go. I understand and agree with every single thing that people say about it being a failure. The UMD is stupid. Sony is dumb with the GO's lack of support from the developers. Battery life sucks, and it has been hurt by piracy throughout its entire life.  But I also think it's a great and underlooked system. Some awesome platformers, great ports of games, even a few upcoming games that are going to be big (Parasite Eve 3 has me completely hyped up).  So it's up to you: how successful do you think the system will be seen as? Do you go by the sales numbers or simply if you thought the price you paid for it paid off with the software? "

" It is the most successful non-Nintendo handheld ever, so that's something.  "

Anyone who says the PSP was anything but a success is a fucking moron, straight up.  It has sold 62 million units. 
 

SIXTY-TWO FUCKING MILLION UNITS.

Let's be serious here for a second...out of all the users here, how many know of a friend who has used the PSP to pirate?

" Let's be serious here for a second...out of all the users here, how many know of a friend who has used the PSP to pirate? "

" Let's be serious here for a second...out of all the users here, how many know of a friend who has used the PSP to pirate? "

" @KaosAngel said:

" Let's be serious here for a second...out of all the users here, how many know of a friend who has used the PSP to pirate? "

Honestly around half of all the people who bought PSP hardware probably bought it for pirating or homebrew. "

Considering it was up against the DS, it did very well. 
 
I still argue that homebrew was the only reason to own a PSP. Even without it though, being able to upload movies on a memory stick to watch on plane flights was very cool indeed. What a great screen.

It had some great games :D

" It had some great games :D "

When all is said and done, the PSP is the most successful non-Nintendo handheld video game platform ever by a longshot.

" Anyone who says the PSP was anything but a success is a fucking moron, straight up.  It has sold 62 million units. 
 

SIXTY-TWO FUCKING MILLION UNITS.

 
That is more than any other non-Nintendo handheld has sold combined.  That is more than what both the Xbox and the GameCube sold combined.  That is more than any Sega system sold.  That is more than what both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 have sold. 
 
Yes, it did not sell as much as the DS, which also just so happens to be the best selling video game system of all time.  How does that make it a failure, though? "

In the global market, it was decimated by the DS, but I'm sure everyone knows that. UMDs suck, Go sucks, but there are definite gems on the system.
 
Namely...Lumines and DJMax. That's really about it, IMO.

Got one back in 06'. Twas shit back then, and tis shit to this day by golly.
There really never was a whole lot of homebrew for it, and most of it barely worked at best. Or was useless.
And if my pants are too tight when using it as an MP3 player it changes songs constantly.
Also back in 06' a 4 gig card for the thing was 200 bucks. 
The few games I did enjoy though, were really really good. Portable Katamari alone was worth the purchase of the device.
And I also enjoyed the UMD. More specifically, after the novelty of having a portable PS2 wore off, I started flicking my PSP with my wrist while pressing the eject switch to launch my UMD's at shit. It was always a blast.

I bought a used one 4 years ago for $50 because my friend didn't want it anymore. I bought 1 umd game and 2 download games, all 3 were fighting games. I wanted to play all the platformers shooters and rpg on a tv not on a handheld. I ended up using it as a mp3 player and never buying another game. I was the only person I know who has a psp. I know 15 people who have a ds or dsi. 
I believe the psp was a total failure in my erea of the usa ( Kentucky Indiana Ohio michiganthe places my family and friends live or visit) .

"  There really never was a whole lot of homebrew for it, and most of it barely worked at best. Or was useless. "

" @keyhunter said:

"  There really never was a whole lot of homebrew for it, and most of it barely worked at best. Or was useless. "

This is a complete lie. I had fullspeed GBA, Neo Geo, CPS2 and Mega Drive emulators on mine to name a few. So they were very useful and worked perfectly.  So, what you just said was either laughably misinformed or just a flat out lie. "

" @MysteriousBob said:

" @keyhunter said:

"  There really never was a whole lot of homebrew for it, and most of it barely worked at best. Or was useless. "

This is a complete lie. I had fullspeed GBA, Neo Geo, CPS2 and Mega Drive emulators on mine to name a few. So they were very useful and worked perfectly.  So, what you just said was either laughably misinformed or just a flat out lie. "

I recall them all having terrible framerates to the point of being barely playable. Quality is a factor. I aint gonna play no super robot wars with no fuckin 11 FPS. "

Just because of how much piracy and bad console ports crippled it, I'm saying not very. Regardless of how many units it sold, no one wants to make PSP games anymore. At least Nintendo managed to squeeze some extra sales out of the DS with the DSi and XL plus having a Pokemon game drop so late into it's lifespan. Sony needs the new handheld this year more so than Nintendo. 

" Considering it was up against the DS, it did very well.  I still argue that homebrew was the only reason to own a PSP. Even without it though, being able to upload movies on a memory stick to watch on plane flights was very cool indeed. What a great screen. "

When considering that sales-wise, the most successful non-Nintendo handheld prior to the PSP was the Japan exclusive Wonderswan line, I'd say that the PSP has a fairly good legacy, all things considered. Piracy might have seriously dampened some of its prospects, although ultimately how much piracy pervades a platform is not super indicative of its success, since otherwise the PC would be an entire flop across the board and obtuse stuff like the 64DD would have sold heaps according to that logic. The DS suffers from similarly easy piracy these days, yet original copies of its games can still sell well with the right reception and marketing efforts. Ultimately, I think the PSP's biggest flaw was simply that Sony did not make a handheld that deliberately catered to what the portable video game experience is and what it stands for. Too many people tried to reach for the stars because the hardware specifications allowed it and too few actually succeeded while keeping in mind what makes portable games compelling. The games that were great on the PSP, though, were great for legitimate reasons and there are enough of them on the system that it can hardly be dismissed as a failure. There are lessons to be learned from it, certainly, but pretty much every other portable platform before it never came remotely close in reaching the market penetration the PSP attained, so it did at least some things right.

" It's one of the top selling consoles in Japan and was the top selling console in Japan for 2010, 2009, and 2008.  So, it did alright I guess. "

I like it. My Go serves as a good iPod substitute. I'm interested to see what the Japanese market has for sale.

PS3- 40 million sold = success!
360- 50 million sold = success!
PSP- 60 million sold = failure!

The PSP was a moderate success, but it may end up being more important historically than as a means to profit for Sony. Given the rampant piracy that has been reported, and that game consoles depend heavily on game sales to profit, perhaps Sony might be a little disappointed. However, Sony's portable has done two things; it's established that portables should be only slightly behind the technology of current consoles, and it has proved that there is enough space in the portable market for two consoles. Going forward, you can certainly see the impact of this, as we're going to see the launch of two major portable platforms this year, and it seems that part of the reason why the 3DS is perhaps more technically accomplished for its time than any previous console.

The PSP was a success. It sold 64 million units, it stood up to the giant that is Nintendo, and it produced some really fun games. 
 
Was it as much of a success as the DS? No.  
Was it as much of a success as the PS and PS2? No. 
 
But the PSP didn't flop. It held its own, found a market in Japan and is the highest selling hardware currently in Japan (source:  http://www.gamespot.com/news/6295780.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;5) 

I don't think the PSP was a failure like everyone, or most people make it out to be, maybe on the software side. The PSP has sold around 60 million worldwide, that's a pretty solid number.