The PSPgo has seen somewhat of a mixed reaction. While many find its sleek appearance appealing, it's hard to justify spending $250, especially when the cheaper PSP-3000 can play old UMDs and all the same digital games as PSPgo. Sony has claimed that PSPgo's launch has propelled overall PSP sales up 300% but the company hasn't specified exact PSPgo sales.
Now some data has come in from Australia, and it's not very encouraging. According to The Age, which cites GfK sales figures, the PSPgo sold around 1,000 units since launching on October 1 (yes, that's just one thousand). Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand, followed up and noted that the weekly sales figure was "not under 1000 but it's slightly over 1000." Well, clearly that makes all the difference. (For comparison's sake, the PS3 Slim has been selling more than 10,000 units a week since its launch on September 3.)
The PSPgo sells for $450 Australian dollars versus $300 for the older PSP-3000. Ephraim said that the figures reflect more of a "soft launch" because some major retailers such as EBGames had refused to stock the handheld. This was a major problem in the U.K. as well, where one retailer said the PSPgo would "fail miserably."
Ephraim is not concerned, however. "Clearly we haven't done massive numbers but it's not something that we're concerned about ... because there are still some issues that we need to work through," he said, noting that new features are on the way that will let the PSPgo serve as an e-book reader and video player. Specifically, the Play TV accessory will enable PS3 owners to watch and record live TV, and those who own both a PS3 and a PSPgo can then stream the video to the portable wherever they can access a wireless hot spot.
2 Comments
October 21, 2009
I can't even find PSN cards in the U.S. Come on, Sony. I want to give you money. Help me help you!
October 21, 2009
I'm very curious to see what the hardware sales have been like for PSPgo. SCEA has been eerily silent on that, instead talking about the PSP platform as a whole.