NPD Report spells a bad omen for the Sony PSP

Word is spanning across the web that recent findings from market research agency, The NPD Group, show the Xbox 360 has overtaken the Nintendo Wii in the number of units sold last month for the first time since 2007.

The Microsoft console outsold the Wii 443,500 units to 398,400 units and many are claiming the new slimline Xbox 360 may be the cause.

However, what's more alarming is how terribly the PlayStation Portable is selling.

The PSP ranked fifth in the hardware list with only 84,000 units sold. Next on the list is the hand held's younger, albeit beefier, brother the PlayStation 3 with 214,500 consoles sold in July.

The 130,500 unit difference is bad enough, but what's worse is Sony's hand held competitor, Nintendo DS, outsold the PSP by 314,400 units and was the second most sold console with 398,400 finding their way to gamer hands last month.

A pitiful display by the five-year-old hand held is awful news for Sony and is likely the result of its overpriced move with the PSP Go and continued popularity and success of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL.

The PSPGo's $250 price tag and wifi dependence has likely turned off gamers who are less accustomed to consoles without physical media - although the Apple iPad may be changing that philosophy. Older versions of the PSP retail cheaper, at $169.99, but that price point is near the Nintendo DSiXL for an older model of the console.

Nevertheless, it all comes down to games. Despite the success of "Metal Gear Sold: Peace Walker," the PSP game library is dwindling almost as quickly as the Nintendo Wii's. Like Nintendo, Sony has been forced to rely on first party titles to keep it afloat such as games from the "God of War" and "Little Big Planet" franchises.

It's time for the Sony PSP to reinvent itself in a different way than the overpriced PSP Go otherwise it will soon be PSP Gone.

Would you buy a $250 Nintendo 3DS? Details coming Sept. 29

The Nintendo announced and showcased the Nintendo 3DS, the gaming giant's next iteration into the hand held foray, at Nintendo's E3 2010 press conference (although it was more or less announced earlier this year) to a bonanza of hype.

Could the hype and excitement for the world's first non-glasses 3D entertainment device warrant a $250 price tag? One analyst thinks so.

Industry analyst Michael Pachter of financial and investment firm Wedbush Securities told CVG any price below $300 will allow Nintendo to quickly sell 10 million consoles. He said Nintendo may also be in a position to sell the 3D console's software for a higher price, from an average of $25 per title to $29, placing it more inline with Sony's PlayStation Portable.

Nintendo will make a formal announcement on Sept. 29 concerning a new product announcement, likely the launch date and price of the Nintendo 3DS according to Computerworld.

The question is, would you pay that much for the Nintendo 3DS?

I felt foolish when I forked out about $500 for my PS3, but we're looking at a price that is nearly equivalent to the $299 PS3 slim models. Granted, the overpriced PSP Go currently retails for $250 so Nintendo isn't that far off, but it seems like the $100 jump from the Nintendo DS's original price point and at least $60 more than the Nintendo DSi XL is a little too far.

What do you think?

Sony's "PSP Go" may be a "Costly" Move

In the coming days Sony will release yet another iteration of its Playstation Portable hand held console the "PSP Go."

The smaller (50% smaller in fact) and lighter (40% lighter) hand held console is attempting to capture the portable appeal of the Apple iPhone and the digital connectivity of the Nintendo DSi. However, at a $250 price tag Sony may be asking for too much.

For those of you who are new to the PSP Go here is an update on its features:

• 50% smaller and 40% lighter than PSP-3000
• 16 GB Storage
• M2 Memory Stick Slot
• Wireless and Bluetooth connection capibilities
• No UMD drive

That last bullet point is ironically the PSP Go's most unique quality and hardest selling point.

The PSP Go will only play digitally downloaded data for all its media content such as music, pictures, videos, and yes, games.

Without a Universal Media Disc (UMD) drive, the PSP Go will be unable to play any physically exisiting PSP games in UMD form. Meaning that current PSP owners will have to either repurchase games through the Playstation Network on the PSP Go/PS3 or through their Windows based PC using Sony's "Media Go" service.

Sony has announced that PSP game publishers will still release games on UMD, so there is little risk for current PSP owners who want to stand by their apparently "immobile" PSP.

At a retail price of $250 that may be a tough pill to swallow for PSP owners and non-PSP owners alike.

You could buy a Nintendo Wii and still save $50 thanks to Nintendo's recent price cut or you could purchase a Xbox 360 Pro for the same amount. Yeck, throw in $50 and you have a new Playstation 3.

The huge price tag for the PSP Go's slick functionality will at best attract tech savvy consumers who do not already own a PSP.

Henceforth, since the PSP Go delivers no graphical improvements, only slightly faster load times, games that only exist in a quasi-imaginary "digital" format, and cost $250, I don't foresee the PSP Go flying off the shelves and I cannot recommend it to anyone.