PSP Brite Off To A Slow Start In Japan

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Sony revealed the brand new PSP-3000 model - now known as the PSP Brite - at E3, and since then, everyone has been eagerly anticipating the launch, especially Japanese gamers. The sleek handheld has performed exceedingly well in the Land of the Rising Sun in 2008; in fact, it was the best-selling piece of gaming hardware in the country for the first six months of the year.

But things are a little slow in the early goings for the new model; according to PSPFanboy, only 141,270 units were sold in the first four days of availability in Japan. In comparison, when the PSP underwent the second overhaul to become the PSP Slim, that new model sold 250,702 for the first week with about 130,000 in sales on the first day alone. Furthermore, many users are pointing out several visual issues with the new handheld, many of which may not be directly fixable. On the other hand, 141k isn't necessarily a bad number, and sales should rise as we move on through the year; several big PSP games that Japanese gamers typically love are coming out within the next few months. The only question is, can Sony maintain their previous momentum with this new machine? Will the supposedly widespread technical failings knock the PSP from its lofty perch? Japan and many other parts of the world have fallen in love with the versatile portable in 2008...it'd be a shame to take steps backward due to a poor redesign.

Anyway, we'll keep you updated with the PSP Brite's progress, and we hope those reported issues aren't quite as bad as some have made them out to be. Has anyone here tried out the new PSP...? If so, feel free to let us know what you think.

10/22/2008 Ben Dutka

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