Sony uses piracy as scapegoat for PSP failures, claims to have a solution

[Zeus]

Sony has gone on record to claim that piracy is their biggest problem on the PSP and explains why games don't sell well on the system. Moreover, they are claiming that they 'think' they have some answers about how to tackle piracy. What do you think, is piracy really thwarting game sales on the PSP or is the proposition all wrong?

<blockquote>“I think we had a great lineup last year. The biggest problem that plagued PSP was piracy; we have not been able to slow that down. We think we have some answers going forward, but we're not ready to talk about that publicly at this point. So we're working on fixing that, because that's been a big problem. Publishers, when they put out good games, are not getting the same sales results that they got a few years back. So piracy's been a big issue and we're working on that very diligently to bring about some solutions," he said.</blockquote>

News Source: <a href="http://www.industrygamers.com/news/psp-to-see-big-big-titles-this-year-promises-sony/" target="_Blank">IndustryGamers</a>

[megamania2004]

and the DS????
rs

[showstopper]

and the DS????
rs

Exactly.
When game sales are down its piracy.
When game sales are up piracy never gets mentioned.

The fact is that the Wii and the DS are hacked the same as the PSP and their game sales are massive.

[beterweter]

don't they learn anything?

poeple have been complaining about the overal layout from this system,the thing aint even fun to handle.

[Nomad121]

Exactly.
When game sales are down its piracy.
When game sales are up piracy never gets mentioned.

The fact is that the Wii and the DS are hacked the same as the PSP and their game sales are massive.

Actually its the same with the Wii and DS, many devs such as Ubisoft and EA have mentioned shifts in attentions to the PS3, Xbox etc because their games don't sell very well on the Nintendo system.

Sure the Wii and DS always dominate the top 10 charts, but notice that they are all first party game. Can you name a recent 3rd party Wii or DS game that has hit the charts?

[morcar]

the problem with the psp and bads sales is simple ... its cuz no one gives a **** about your shitty hand held console sony.

Just handling the thing is a nightmare and personaly i dont like the wide screen either. Its a pointless hand held and always will be.

[Radament]

Exactly which PSP title should i buy?
MHF 1&2 are like the only decent games on PSP.

[kcvfr400]

Exactly.
When game sales are down its piracy.
When game sales are up piracy never gets mentioned.

The fact is that the Wii and the DS are hacked the same as the PSP and their game sales are massive.

I read an interview with Martyn Brown of team 17 and they said the ds is not viable due to pircay so its not just as simple as you might think.

I think the psp is great but its aimed at those that would have the knowledge to pirate and many of the games are too long for handheld digestion and price at start was full ps2 prices. If it was aimed at the audience of the ds who might not have a home console then it might have done alot better. Its not like it lacking in great games but most are not quick play.

[mallinersha]

"We asked Dyer if the somewhat perplexing PSPgo launch was a way for Sony to address the piracy issue, and he said it was certainly a part of the strategy at the time. “We wanted to find a way to give the consumers what they want, so if they didn't want to go to a retailer they could stay at home and download [games and content]."

We all do that without the GO

[Trashcat]

PSP library after 5 years is pathetic maybe thats why. Look how hard sony's internal devs are working for the ps3 yet they did almost nothing worth mentioning on the PSP, and if sony has no love for PSP then who will?

[DEDDOA]

Selling the go alongside the standard PSP is just poor marketing, either they should have not bothered witht he Go or dropped the standard version.

that said the games are the biggest weak point of the system for me. I for one am not a fan of playing big screen games on a small screen, and that is what most PSP games are. it seems unlike the DS, few major games are actually designed for a small screen. Throw in the pricing, when a game is onthe PS2 as well as the PSP, the PS2 one is more often than not, cheaper.

i gave up on the PSP a long time ago, I still have my launch model, but have no idea where it is now or if it even still works (screen was flickering at times last time I tried it). It's a shame as it's not been out that long, the UK one was out only a couple of weeks before the 360, but it's already looking like it's had it's day a long time ago.

[grapeape]

A crappy selection of games, poor customer service for those with hardware problems and a nearly useless updated model that actually discouraged upgrading for existing owners...but sure lets blame piracy.

Hell I fixed my "psp failures" by trading it for an ipod touch...between that and my DS I dont miss my PSP much, my son still has his, but if I asked him where it was I doubt he would be able to find it, I havent seen him play it in months.

[Signa]

Arguably, there are some pretty good games on the PSP, but after all this time, I can't be bothered to care. The only games I ever play on my PSP is emulators. SNES and PSX had far more attractive lineups after all these years than something current. Even one of the PSP's best is Daxter, and I just don't have fun playing it. It's a beautiful game, but it feels like they were trying to copy Jak and Daxter 1 and failed. J&D1 was the worst of the series, so failing to meet that leaves you with a hollow version of one of my favorite series from last gen.

[wrathchild]

If anything piracy has kept the PSP alive.

[CharmedonWB]

Actually its the same with the Wii and DS, many devs such as Ubisoft and EA have mentioned shifts in attentions to the PS3, Xbox etc because their games don't sell very well on the Nintendo system.

Sure the Wii and DS always dominate the top 10 charts, but notice that they are all first party game. Can you name a recent 3rd party Wii or DS game that has hit the charts?

The DS has had about 40 3rd party titles hit 1M sales status...find me another system this gen that has done better