The last year of the PSP brand?

 

 

[Via MarketingCharts.com.]

 

Although I disagree with a large share of Michael Pachter’s predictions, his claim of smartphones eroding the handheld market seem valid. As of this year, I am a smartphone owner. According to Digital Trends, I am not the only consumer who has decided to make this technological leap. Aside from my new gadget, there were close to 10 years prior to the purchase where Nintendo — and subsequently, Sony — had their opportunity to convince me to buy a handheld device. As a gamer, I’m assuming I’m not the norm.

 

I have a PC with Steam loaded and a current-generation console attached to a high-definition television. In my case, buying a handheld specifically for gaming would be the epitome of excess. Most PSP owners I know are either Sony super fans or the PSP is their only current-generation console (including non-handhelds after 1999).

 

I’ve painted this picture to illuminate the problems the handheld market has in general. It is hard enough to convince a consumer that he need yet another device in his pocket that isn’t his phone. This works two-fold against Sony, as their marketing endures a product-consumer relationship rollercoaster ride that hadn’t rebounded until a certain, fictional Sony executive became the company’s go-to mascot. 

The PSP and PSP Go are genius devices. I say that reflecting on previous generations of handhelds. If you took someone from the 1950s in a magical time machine to the present day and plopped a PSP in his hands, I’m pretty sure a user-interface-related brain aneurysm would follow. With consumer confusion and piracy hindering such a unique system, its almost an achievement the device has made it this far.

Brand management for the PSP has to be fairly difficult considering that a majority of consumers who know of the product also know of the console's biggest flaw. It will be interesting to see how Sony moves away from the piracy aspect of the PSP in 2011.

 

As someone who has been raised off of the original Game Gear and Game Boy and seen their successes (and failures), the PSP shouldn’t just be selling well in Japan. Make no mistake, this isn’t a "doom and gloom" article. The PSP is definitely a success in my eyes, but I also think The Story of Riki-Oh is a popular movie amongst film goers. General perception use to be Sony’s druthers — what happened? The slow uptick of high schoolers and college students buying a handheld device in order to pirate and play is a strange kind of success.

Seeing the most recent Monster Hunter game boost sales of the PSP in Japan while the PS3 posted less-than-amazing numbers for the consumerist holiday Black Friday leads me to further conclude that Sony’s brand has gone from mass appeal to market niche. So when I say this is the last year for the PSP, I am predicting (based on statistics) that the handheld device will be that weird table we’ve all seen at conventions. The one that sells those obscure Thailand DVDs but is so inconveniently placed out of sight of general foot traffic.

 

The audience is definitely there for the PSP — just that 70 percent of said audience lives in Japan. If anything, the handheld will fade away into obscurity, which was the PSPs forte anyway. With rumors humoring the worst kept secret of the PSP2 being able to mimic early PS3 game graphics, this seems like a move that will further enable my fandom of the brilliant minds over in Sony’s engineering department.

However, this will likewise solidify the PSP brand as an envelop-pushing doodad that’s further losing touch with a generation who clearly wants simplified experiences. Seriously? Do you honestly think a handheld device needs to produce PS3 graphics in order to house fun and appealing games to the consumer? I have no qualms on companies offering alternatives to a market that demands choice, but I’d argue that the handheld market isn’t demanding (en masse) a wide variety.

Check out those controls. We have come a long way from the D-pad also doubling as an attack button.

 

I also have humored the fact that some devices and trends run their course. Remember Tiger handheld games? Although Tiger clearly didn’t innovate as much as Sony’s PSP, the trend then is still the trend now. The market dictates a leader. The rest pick up the scraps. With the growth of gaming we’ve seen, so many ideas explode and similarly fizzle. If the PSP2 and PlayStation Phone are successful in 2011, it will be because of the price and the idea conveyed to the consumer. Having iPhone/iPad games catch on and market leader Nintendo pushing a new handheld out this year isn’t helping. 

Since the launch of the PS3 in 2007, every year following has been the purported the year of Sony. “This is the year they get it!” And this is the year the consumer gets it. Fans can’t help themselves. As an enthusiast for good games, I can’t help myself, either. I want competition, and for this industry and this culture to function, competition is necessary. I want a tooth-and-nail fight to the finish, but I am also very logically oriented.

Sony's Ericsson brand has seen better days. Could the PSP Phone be the catapult to success?

Sometimes you have to come in second to value what it means to come in first. Sony has nominated to not have their sales numbers shown by the NPD group this year. Absolutely normal for a company having decent sales, but nothing earth-shattering when compared to the competition.

When you openly decline on promoting how well your company is doing (with reputable facts) to the know-it-alls in the journalism space, be prepared for more leaks. Be prepared for more consumers and industry types digging for the information. But more importantly, be prepared for future cynicism in the perception of your products. The PSP and the rest of Sony Entertainment have come a long way since mid-2000, and it would seem with every progressive step there have been few-but-costly stumbles. Here’s hoping for a miracle for the PSP.