How the PSP Got Its Groove Back

It's no secret that the PSP isn't very popular in the U.S., or pretty much anywhere except for Japan. Before NPD stopped reporting monthly hardware sales numbers in October (which you can read about on Joystiq), PSP sales were usually notoriously at the bottom of the chart. Gamasutra reported in August, for example, that the PSP sold 79,400 units, trailing the PS3, Wii, DS and Xbox 360 (which all cleared between 226,000-356,000 units) by a longshot. Sony's handheld system continues to sell like gangbusters in Japan, however, as demonstrated by IGN's monthly reports on Japanese sales charts, which continually show the PSP at the top of the list. Kotaku also recently reported on a TGS survey that found the PSP as the third most widely-owned system (after the PS2 and Nintendo DS) and the most frequently-played console among participants.

Why so many PSP sales in Japan? We could come up with all sorts of conjectures, such as smaller housing and increased commute leading to an attractiveness of handheld rather than console systems, or franchises like Monster Hunter appealing to Japanese markets and pushing units more there than in the U.S. As a fan of all things Japanese, I'd rather content myself with thinking that because everything in Japan is awesome, like attracts like, and so everyone owns a PSP.

G4tv.com

The biggest complaints that are leveled at the PSP are that it doesn't have any games and that the "only do everything" mentality it shares with the PS3 leads it to be spread thin without doing many things well. UMD's haven't become the new popular way to watch movies, most people have iPods to listen to music with - except for the 10 people who own a Zune, I applaud you - and smartphones have made the web browsing and multimedia storage functionalities of the PSP seem outdated by comparison. Yet, with its game library that draws upon new portable entries in big franchises, quirky new IPs, and fantastic ports and remakes, I think the PSP still represents the best gaming experience available on a handheld console.

I know that half of our readers probably just checked out because of that sentence, but for the three people still reading, stick with me here. A handheld gaming console is normally for portable use, meaning that a lot of people who have one use it to play games while commuting, traveling, or hanging out in bed, although it's not one of their main home consoles. By its nature, the scope of its gaming platform is smaller than that of a PS3, Xbox 360 or even Wii (zing!), providing compact and sometimes bite-sized experiences that are easy to jump into and out of while on the Go (couldn't resist, and not sorry). The complaint that there "aren't any games" on the PSP is an attempt to reconcile handheld and home console release schedules, which are incomparable.

getavideogame.com

Let's say the PS3 and Xbox 360 get two to three blockbuster releases each month, or four to five in busy seasons - Fallout: New Vegas, Fable 3, Rock Band 3 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 are certainly doing a lot of damage to wallets everywhere right now - and the Wii gets one or two a year (double zing!). These consoles are meant to be for primary home use as your main gaming platform(s). The PSP, on the other hand, is designed as a secondary gaming device for when you're not at your home console, and receives a triple-A title maybe once every month or every two months.

Some of these titles are new, portable installments on existing franchises, like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. There are dozens of awesome games like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Killzone: Liberation, and Valkyria Chronicles 2 that offer solid handheld gaming experiences that are only available on the PSP. Games like LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers have gotten the PSP treatment for release in coordination with or after their console counterparts, and although not all of the portable versions are great, a lot of them are definitely worth playing. In addition, some favorites like Final Fantasy have gotten true fan service in spectacular prequels and crossovers, such as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and the franchise-spanning fighter Dissidia: Final Fantasy.

TotalVideoGames.com

The PSP also has a bunch of quirky and fun new IP's that take advantage of the system's design and give Sony's handheld a good deal of personality. The LocoRoco and Patapon franchises come to mind as charming games that manage to be funny, engaging and challenging while fitting the PSP's pick-up-and-play mentality quite well. Other lesser-known games like Jeanne d'Arc demonstrate the depth of gameplay available in the PSP's strategy-RPG catalog.

Of course, the PSP is well-known for its ports, especially from the PSOne and PS2. Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and the Disgaea series are incredibly detailed strategy-RPG's from Sony's console library, and there are a ton of PSOne classics that are available on the cheap from the Playstation Store. It's also got the likes of Puzzle Quest, N+, Lumines, and a bunch of other games that should be on your shelf (or in your pocket), like the port of the PSN's PixelJunk Monsters.

Acegamez.co.uk

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the PSP has an extensive library like the Nintendo DS or even the iPhone, but the quality of games on Sony's system completely outshines those of other handheld systems. The iPhone and Droid OS's have some fun pick-up-and-play entries for sure, but nothing on the scale of a Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Resistance: Retribution or even a Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, and for every great game on the DS there's at least twenty pieces of shovelware (I'm not talking about you, Nintendogs). As for the iPad, well, we'll just have to wait and see about its potential as a gaming platform, but for now, the $499 price tag for the absolute best Plants vs. Zombies implementation EVAR is still a little steep.

For those who were early adopters, I totally hear your complaints that the system was overpriced when it first came out and that you've played all of the games out there for it, even the PSP Minis. There's also no question that Sony isn't supporting the system like it should, and that it needs a new marketing campaign - Bobb'e J. Thompson is pretty hilarious, but Marcus Rivers doesn't seem to be moving PSP's off of store shelves. If the PSP phone rumors on Engadget and the PSP2 pics on VG247 are to be believed, then Sony may very well be turning its attention towards its new projects and letting the PSP go the way of the Dreamcast, becoming another awesome system that gets more play in the used and hardcore enthusiast markets.

GamersGlobe.co.uk

Seriously though, regardless of these issues, the PSP is still the best handheld gaming console on the market. Like we said, it doesn't have an enormous library comparable to a home system, or the DS or iPhone, but as a secondary console it really shouldn't be judged against your main gaming platform, and has way more quality games worth your money than the shovelware present on other handhelds. There's also a ton of deals going on that will appease your wallet if you're in the market for a PSP, and if you're wondering what games to get, read this article again, and stop skimming. You can also check out Kotaku's article on "Should You Buy a PSP?" for some great answers to questions you might have before diving in on a new system.

The title of this article should really be, "How the PSP can get its groove back if you go out and buy one, Sony supports it better with more games and appropriate marketing, and expectations about its games are shifted more towards a handheld mentality rather than trying to compare it with home consoles. Oh and also, the PSP2 is most likely in the works, but it's going to be expensive and won't come out for another year or so, so get a PSP now, play all of these awesome games, and upgrade later," but that actually sounds better as a strapline. Go buy a PSP!

If you're cheap like us, check out these deals

At STRGamer, we pride ourselves on relentlessly encouraging each other to spend money while looking out for the best deals on whatever we're peer-pressuring one another to purchase. We're always scanning the interwebs for the best ways to save money on binge shopping, and have put together a small list of sites that you may want to check out if you're looking to do some gamer shopping this weekend. Now you can pressure your friends to buy things too!

Weakonomics.com

Welcome to the Circus of Values:

Cheap Ass Gamer - Great aggregate site for deals across all systems, check out their Black Friday/Cyber Monday Roundup

Gizmodo - Daily deals on games and all types of tech/gadgets, Black Friday page with all the ads you could want

Kotaku - Insane Gaming Deals that you should check out, you already read this site anyway

Joystiq - Big, Bad Black Friday page, they also just posted that PopCap is offering all of its PC and Mac games for 50% off until November 29, so GO BUY EVERYTHING

Engadget - Great deals on all things gadget, with several Black Friday roundups

There's a lot of crossover here, so you could probably choose any one of these lists and spend prodigally to your heart's content.

Happy shopping!