Ds Selling 5 Mil Units? I Call Shenanigans

[RoboJoe32]

Basic story, I say "I wish I had a PSP" on an online game, guy suddenly goes "Why do you want one of those people are returning them and DS has sold 5 million units already" Me thinking in the back of my mind "What an idiot." asks what his sources where, and he directs me to this (really poorly made page with no backup links)

http://www.lunabean.com/news/000826.php

I call shenanigans, even a portable super computer that could cure cancer and aids would have trouble selling 5 million units that fast.

 

[markusdragon]

Well, they'd reached 2 million by December 22, so I wouldn't be suprised.

Although that page just says the predicted sales figures and not the actual sales.

 

[junker]

ah, i hate the ds! where's the real next gameboy at!

 

[bast525]

uh oh... should we duck and take cover again?


For real though, the only thing I know for sure about sales is what I just read about sales in Japan, that the DS has sold total about 1.8 million units specifically in Japan. The PSP has sold just over 1 million units in Japan so far. This last week (or was it month? I can't remember!) was the first time the PSP sold more units in that given time period than the DS... before that the DS was consistently ahead in sales up until that point. So the PSP is starting to catch up but still significantly behind... 800,000 units lead is nothing to sneeze at.


If this is true (the source was Gamespot.com if I remember right, so I suspect it is), then it makes sense that the DS may have sold 5 million units worldwide by now. I'm pretty sure last numbers I heard for US sales was in the 1 or 2 million range.


About what the guy told you about people returning PSP's... he must be referring to the fact that so many people had had problems with defects and were wanting to exchange them, which was very true... lot of people just can't stand dead pixels

As far as people trading PSP's in though, I started a thread the other day commenting on how I walked into a local game store and saw a lot of used DS's which had been traded in for sale, but no used PSP's as of yet. Of course, the DS has been out about four months longer so this doesn't really say anything about people like one or the other better. So no one get all pissed off please for me posting this!!

 

[Axeman]

Hmmm - so just becasue it's sold 5 million units, it's better? Dont think so!

Thats like saying a Lada is better than a Farrarri just becasue more of them have been sold...

 

[Mark]

It was 3 mil worldwide many months ago, wel before the Europe/Aussie launches, so to be honest I'd be surprised if it hadn't sold that many yet.

 

[Apeiron]

Bast- In your topic about traded DS's you demanded back up sources that they have sold more units. Now your admitting its soldnearly double in japan and saying thats nothing...I'm not flaming or trying to start an arguement but I just find it a bit odd

 

[kotd]

How can they sell more PSP when theres none in the f#$%in stores. Haven't you heard? theres a constant shortage in Japan, in December when the DS sold most its units there were only 200,000 PSP's which sold out in a few hours. On the other hand DS's are piled in every store and with all that the PSP is only behing 800k units.

Yes I'm saying thats nothing as well.

The 5 mil figure? I'd agree its probably fairly accurate. Well its at least how many are lying in stores + the sold ones.

 

[bast525]

Bast- In your topic about traded DS's you demanded back up sources that they have sold more units. Now your admitting its soldnearly double in japan and saying thats nothing...I'm not flaming or trying to start an arguement but I just find it a bit odd

​

If you're going to quote me to try and make a case how I'm behaving 'a bit odd', at least quote me properly. Specifically, about that other thread, Mark had made a claim that the DS "was the best hardware launch, ever" or so he said he 'believed', but *I* found it hard to believe. He wasn't just saying the DS had sold more units than the PSP. He then corrected himself to say it was the best hardware launch ever in the UK, but never did provide any sources (not that it really matters much). Now I have never said the DS has sold badly, or that PSP has sold more... yeah I've said it's a better system IN MY OPPINION but I've never said it has sold better, just that I THOUGHT it WOULD sell better. Hell until recently I really didn't know how good sales had been for either except at the local gamestores, HARDLY an accurate way to gauge worldwide sales. I WAS surprised to read that Gamespot report that the DS was doing so much better than the PSP in Japan. And I didn't say the DS selling double in Japan was *nothing*, I said it was nothing to sneeze at... that's a metaphor, a way of saying, that it's no small thing, it's a big deal, and it is... considering there was not nearly as big a gap between the DS and PSP in Japan, that the DS has sold twice as much is a pretty big deal, congratulations Nintendo. Good hopefully this means that big Japanese developers like Capcom and Konami will now be very encouraged to make great games for the DS and I wont regret holding on to mine with no games all this time

 

[Apeiron]

Bast, I wasn't trying to make a "case" against you, thats why I didn't quote you. I also said I'm not trying to flame or start an arguement.
Sorry about that nothing to sneeze at, I completely misread it
And no I hadn't heard theres a shortage in japan, most sites I've been on have Japanese psp available so I guessed they would be available in stores out there too.

 

[yaustar]

Japan has sold 1.8 mill units which leaves 3 mill for the rest of the world...
http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=5285

5 mill doesn't seem too far off...

 

[mattmagoo]

Just got EDGE and it says "With over four million DSes sold so far" its a new issue so i expect the article was written 2 or 3 weeks ago

so i reckon just inder 5mil to be accurate

 

[KickinWing]

but what are they considering sold, is it 5million sold from Nintendo to its distributors, or 5million sold to consumers. I can understand 5 million sold to distributors but not consumers.

 

[mattmagoo]

well, EDGE has written it to be 4mil sold to consumers

 

[bast525]

anyone know about how many PSP's have sold worldwide so far? I know the first million in the US are sold, new shipments w/o the Spiderman 2 UMD have been popping up in places, and per that Gamespot article there were just over one million sold in Japan... so at least 2 million? Anyone have a better number?