PSP sales are declining faster than Sony had anticipated which is being put down to the overwhelming success of the DS and the lack of a defining title on the console.

Sony expected to sell 12 million units financial year starting April 2006. These estimates have now been dropped to nine million.

Software is considered a big part of the problem with the handheld. "Clearly on the software side, any real killer title will galvanize the sales," re-assures Robert Wiesenthal, chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America.

But he goes on to admit: "there have been a number of titles that have been terrific, but not the one title that defines the product."

Hiroshi Kamide, director of the research department at KBC Securities Japan, also cites software as the key problem for Sony. "If you look at the availability of software, there are a lot of games for the PSP but are not particularly successful... You don't see any million-seller games for the PSP but you do hear about them for the Nintendo DS.

"The big problem is that while it's a wonderful-looking machine with a great display, the games are not so different from those you play at home on the PlayStation 2. Most of the software is knock-offs of PlayStation 2 titles and that won't do Sony any favors," he concludes.

[Source: Digital Arts Online]

June 4, 2007