1. Nintendo Wii - 714,000 units
2. Nintendo DS - 414,000 units
3. Sony PSP - 192,000 units
4. XBox 360 - 188,000 units
5. Sony PS3 - 187,100 units
I found this statistic amazing. Not only did the Sony PSP outsell both the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3, but the Nintendo DS sold more units in April than both the 360 and PS3 combined! Wow! That's an amazing statistic. Now I know that there are a lot of kids out there with a Nintendo DS. In fact, I believe that every single kid in the US has one, if not two. But I had no idea it was this large! And how about the Sony PSP? I would never in my wild imagination think that they would outsell either the 360 or the PS3, let alone both of them.
This made me think a little bit about my own PSP and how much I use it. Now, I've owned my PSP for what seems like forever. I have probably 15 games for it, ranging from the original Lumines to brand new Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core. And for most of the games I have, I love each and every one of them. I even have a bunch of movies that I can watch on my PSP and when it comes to travelling, there really isn't a better portable entertainment system. I absolutely love it! 
And I've seen how many kids play their Nintendo DS's, and its obvious that they love them as well. so here is my question. Why isn't portable gaming getting the press that it deserves?Seriously. It looks to me as if this is truly where the money is being made in the video game industry. The systems are selling like hotcakes and the users seem to love the systems that they use, so what gives? I think the answer is the stigma of portable gaming. Think about where you have seen people playing video games in public. Is there any situation where that is looked at favorably?
For the Nintendo DS, the only times I've seen that played in public is with kids under the age of 13. Despite what Nintendo is trying to tell us in the commercials, I don't know anyone who owns a Nintendo DS and is over the age of 15. For the PSP, I've seen definitely older gamers, but no one over the age of 25, and it's always either on a bus or on a train. Have you ever seen anyone pull out a PSP in a restaurant or waiting for an oil change? Uh no.
Personally, I only play my PSP in my bedroom behind a closed locked door. A couple months ago I actually started carrying my PSP with me to work and out on the town to see if I could actually find times to play. The result was that I could actually find a time to play, but it would look ridiculous. Can you just imagine the scene? I'm sitting at a bar having a few drinks with the 30yoGF and she goes up to go to the bathroom. While she's gone I turn on my PSP and when she returns I'm half way through the 1st quarter of a game of Madden. Uh, I don't think so. The 30yoGF is very understanding when it comes to my video game playing, but she isn't that forgiving.
Recently, Apple has announced downloadable software for their Iphone, which includes games. There really hasn't been a lot of talk about this, but I believe that this is going to be huge. If the games are comparable to the PSP or DS and you can actually play the games without actually looking like you are playing the games, I think people will jump all over it. If I was Sony, I would be particularly worried, because they are going directly after the Sony PSP customers.
Will it be a Sony PSP killer? I don't think so. But if the games are good enough, you will definitely see those console sales numbers fall dramatically. And then maybe I might be able to get in a couple snaps with Tom Brady while the 30yoGF is in the restroom. "Oh sorry Sweetie. I was just checking my email."
Until next time,
- The 30 Year Old Gamer
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