NPD has reported that PSP software sales dropped by 40% during the month of July, while Sony,s handheld competitor, the Nintendo DS, drove up software sales by 354%. The contrast between the two big companies is attributed to the apparent lack of hot titles for the PSP as compared to major DS hits like Brain Age and New Super Mario Bros.
Hardware sales of the handheld machines from Sony and Nintendo also followed the same pattern, with DS hardware sales up 358% when compared to the same period last year, and the PSP dropping sales by 20%.
In previous news reported earlier this month, an analyst predicted a price drop for the PSP due to lagging sales. P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research said, "There is a price cut coming in the second half of the year [because the PSP] has lost momentum. Nintendo has had a great run since it launched the DS Lite and Sony needs to regain some ground."
Sony later denied these reports and said, "Currently we have no plans to cut the price of the PSP at this time.”
However, with the NPD report showing the PSP going into a potential tailspin, Sony may have to eventually respond with lower pricing if they are to boost sales of their handheld gaming console.
