Author Topic: What caused the DS--->PSP shift in Japan? (Read 1554 times)

Jabberwocky · « **on:** April 27, 2011, 10:48:22 PM »

Now, I want some real answers - no "because Nintendo sux!" or "because gamerz moved on from the portable ghetto". It's something that's puzzled me for a while.

I'd say 2008 was the peak of the influx of DS support from 3rd parties. During this time it was almost inconceivable to even imagine the PSP turnaround that the system has experienced in these past couple years. When 2009 came around I started to notice more and more 3rd parties announcing games for the PSP. Most were ports, but then they started to announce new, big production games, and many of the teams that developed DS games before were now moving on to the PSP (Image Epoch, for example - originally a DS-exclusive developer, now they've made more PSP games than any other system). 3rd party support continued to expand and to this day it's still growing.

Now the PSP has greater 3rd party support than the DS ever had in its entire lifespan. It's honestly getting PS2-level support from Japanese developers. I don't think the game industry has ever seen such a turnaround. This PSP shift hasn't just left the DS in the cold, but also its successor, the 3DS. This is manifested not only though weekly sales but also in weekly game announcements - the PSP gets more announcements in Japan than any other system currently. While the 3DS sees a significant surplus of shipments in Japan, the PSP is constantly suffering shortages. I honestly don't know what Nintendo can do to reclaim their former position, aside from maybe paying Capcom for MH exclusivity (even that's a stretch) - which I honestly don't see them doing. At the same time, I have no idea how Nintendo lost their position to begin with.

Did Monster Hunter singlehandedly help PSP rise to the top in Japan? Is it just because certain developers never gave up on the PSP, even when sales were somewhat bleak many years ago? What caused the PSP to cleanly swoop the lead position from the DS in Japan? I honestly can't recall a shift in tides as significant as this.

Again, SERIOUS answers only from SERIOUS gamers like myself. seriously.

Jabberwocky · « **Reply #1 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:05:02 PM »

Quote from: Oscar the Grouch on April 27, 2011, 10:54:01 PM

The PSP is also benefiting from smaller developers abandoning the Wii, and bigger developers pulling back on the HD consoles.

Good point. The high dev costs of HD systems, the severe technical limitations of the DS, and lackluster software sales of the Wii make PSP a more ideal choice for these big but not too big companies like Falcom, Image Epoch, Atlus, and Nippon Ichi.

Van Cruncheon · « **Reply #2 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:12:35 PM »

the ds was giant piece of shit and people are slow

Jabberwocky · « **Reply #3 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:14:07 PM »

Quote from: Van Cruncheon on April 27, 2011, 11:12:35 PM

the ds was giant piece of shit and people are slow

Oh

The Sceneman · « **Reply #4 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:34:29 PM »

fuck who cares just play some games

bork · « **Reply #5 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:40:29 PM »

I'm sure that Monster Hunter 3 and the string of Square-Enix titles released over the past few months have been a big part of the sales spike, too.

Damian79 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:57:25 PM »

The shift is caused by price, lack of good software and uncertainty about its future.

/thread

demi · « **Reply #7 on:** April 27, 2011, 11:59:53 PM »

Majority of them wont come to America anyway, who cares.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Europe is still cool though.

[close]

chronovore · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2011, 09:05:22 AM »

Quote from: dcharlie on April 27, 2011, 11:11:46 PM

Monster Hunter

Pretty much this. People will buy the PSP just to play this. And considering "sony quality" they'll buy another one if when the unit breaks.

TripleA · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2011, 09:37:07 AM »

It's hilarious how people still fail to realize that the PSPs poor support was a direct result of the PS3 launching.

tiesto · « **Reply #10 on:** April 28, 2011, 10:30:41 AM »

Monster Hunter and DS 3rd party sales slowing down...

...but yeah the PSP's turnaround is nothing short of incredible. It went from a system I'd break out once a year to play to my favorite system of the gen. (of course, I'm a massive Falcom fanboy)

Herr Mafflard · « **Reply #11 on:** April 28, 2011, 03:17:56 PM »

Quote from: Van Cruncheon on April 27, 2011, 11:12:35 PM

the ds was giant piece of shit and people are slow

in a nutshell

Olivia Wilde Homo · « **Reply #12 on:** April 28, 2011, 06:38:12 PM »

The DS more or less died, quality software wise, in 2009. The platform was treading water since 2008. Couple that with Monster Hunter and you have the shift.

magus · « **Reply #13 on:** April 28, 2011, 07:22:58 PM »

Quote from: The Experiment on April 28, 2011, 06:38:12 PM

The DS more or less died, quality software wise, in 2009. The platform was treading water since 2008. Couple that with Monster Hunter and you have the shift.

yea i agree with this,wii suffered the same destiny too.... i don't understand why,both console were pretty popular and then *POOF*

DS hasn't even got a nintendo game since rhytm tengoku which was in 2009 (2008 if you go by japanese release date) no actualy that was spirit track but that was in 2009 too and spirit track sucks

magus · « **Reply #14 on:** April 29, 2011, 08:18:49 PM »

plenty like what? i really can't remember anything happens other than minor stuff like that lame fire emblem 2 remake

magus · « **Reply #15 on:** April 29, 2011, 08:37:34 PM »

eh i'm not making any arbitrary exception,it was the only thing i could think and if i'm not mistaken it's just some lame port-up... it would be like going "DUDE BUT THE GBA GOT FINAL FANTASY VI!"

demi · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2011, 10:04:52 PM »

They just released Pokemon Typing!

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #17 on:** April 30, 2011, 01:27:14 AM »

Casual gamers moved on, leaving Nintendo with little but their core audience who don't do much but buy Nintendo games. Conversely casual gamers were leaving the Wii. Developers moved to the PSP where the steady stream of PS2-esque ports and games finally managed to break through with audiences no longer interested with simpler titles.

Nintendo dropped the ball, as they did with the Wii. With so many difference developer houses and second parties under their wing, they failed to offer a steady stream of diverse, consistent content.

Phoenix Dark · « **Reply #18 on:** April 30, 2011, 04:52:03 AM »

Meh, clearly you haven't been paying attention to Japanese trends. The casual market is dead. They pop up every now and then to pick up a "big" title, but that's it. The days of Brain Training type games driving software sales are long gone.

Developers saw Capcom's PSP success and quickly mimicked it.

magus · « **Reply #19 on:** April 30, 2011, 05:43:41 AM »

ahahahahah you know truth to be told i completly forgot about pokemon but you are right about that

Quote

It's a complete remake, unless you remember the NES looking that good.

http://hardcoregaming101.net/fireemblem/fireemblem2.htm
uh it's a remake of this right? heck in fact if i remember correctly people were bitching because it was missing something something yadda yadda

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Author Topic: What caused the DS--->PSP shift in Japan? (Read 1554 times)