DS, PSP Could Claim Supremacy in Console Wars

njkid1 passed us another link to a GameDaily article, this one quoting analysts at DFC Intelligence as seeing a sort of usurpation of the console space by portable games. With the DS consistently outselling almost every other system on the market since last year, it's possible that the DS may become the best-selling system 'of all time'. Moreover, portable consoles may actually grow to have a larger market share than their more expensive, high-def cousins. "This comes from DFC's latest report on the portable gaming market, which the firm predicts will exceed $10 billion in worldwide revenue this year, led by the DS. DFC said that the PSP will 'establish a solid position in the marketplace' but that much of the Sony portable's fate will depend on how much effort Sony Computer Entertainment decides to put into promoting the platform over the next few years."

Re:PSP?

[powerlord]

You're right, it is skewing. On the other hand, while the PSP has only managed to capture ~21M in sales (versus the ~40M of the DS), either one has managed to sell more than the Wii, PS3, or XBox 360 combined (so far).

Re:PSP?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a problem with that logic. First of all, I wasn't a programmer on that project. I was working on something completely different. I've never written ANYTHING for PSP. Second of all, not every game has the same things going for it. AAA games get huge budgets, and multiple years to create. If you spend that much time on a project, it's usually going to be pretty good. If you rush a game to market in 8 months, it's probably not going to be spectacular. A small studio without a large budget is going to very rarely create an AAA game.

Re:No shit...

[Anonymous Coward]

One example would be that SquareEnix is set to release Dragon Quest 9 (a premiere series for them, bigger than Final Fantasy in Japan though less so in the US) for the DS. Not an offshoot game or anything, a straight numbered release of one of their biggest franchises going portable.

Re:PSP??

[Anonymous Coward]

21 million.. Yeah, HUGE failure there... I wish I could sell such a disasterous product.

Re:And why the hell not?

[trdrstv]

Somehow, I believe Nintendo is fudging the numbers or the entire online world is corrupt.

Never before have I noticed such an incredible disconnect between reality and the online world.

Consider it regional preferences. What is popular in NYC, may not be popular in Paris, or Tokyo, etc... I personally see Far more DS's and GBA SP's than PSPs, but I understand what is popular in my area isn't representitive of the world.

Re:DS Maybe but PSP??

[Anonymous Coward]

Bigger, Better, Badder is important when you want to play sports, racing, or fighting games on the go. The DS receives and F in all three of those catagories.

Personally, I bought into Nintendo's hype and I own both a DS and a Wii. I play Brain Age and Clubhouse games on the DS, but other than that I can't find another game I want to buy that I haven't beaten already. Furthermore, there aren't any games coming out that interest me until Zelda, which is fall time. The Wii is even worse. I beat Zelda and kicked myself for buying Red Steel. Now I can't find a single player game worth buying and there won't be one until fall time. . .

But then I go to the internet and read about how "Nintendo has all the games," and how the "DS has something for everyone." Right now Nintendo has POTENTIAL, but they don't have the titles. Backwards compatability really saved these two systems for me - my Wii is mostly used for VC and GC games while the DS is mostly used for GBA titles.

Re:Yes, Tetris Worlds sucked. Your point?

[drinkypoo]

More likely the person in question has large hands.

CORRECTaMUNDO! I'm bloody gigantic and so are my hands. In fact googling slashdot alone will probably turn up several hits with me bitching about Microsoft dropping the full-size controller for the S on the Xbox.

And the version of Tetris that I typically play on the SP is the original. The kind where the cart sticks way out.

But he was right about one thing; Tetris Worlds does suck.

Re:What about software sales?

[Frumply]

I got the DS after I've had a PSP for about a year, and I felt exactly the opposite - since I was used to the PSP sleep mode, I was constantly turning off DS games in progress by accident. This is obviously a matter of preference, and while I like the DS's sleep mode now that I know how it works, I still believe the PSP's a little more idiot-proof, as you have to consciously hold onto the power to shut it down.