Jap. Numbers: PSP Slumps, DS Levels Off

The PSP’s Japanese six-month tenure has been tainted by a slow start, beginning with a shortage of units. Now the biggest problem facing the PSP in Japan is poor sales numbers for several weeks straight. For the week of May 23, only four PSP games remained in the Top 50 sales charts. Not a single game managed a spot in the Top 20. Hardware unit sales put the system at 21,996. Compare that to 35,143 for the PlayStation 2.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS continues to sweep across Japan. Nintendo’s Dual-Screen has been a major success, seeing sales of 39,687 for the same time period, after weekly sales of nearly 100,000 in late April. Software sales for the DS have been generally positive. Six DS titles ranked in the Top 20. Two titles ranked in the Top 10. Among the top sellers are three versions of Nintendogs, which has sold hundreds of thousands of units.