PSP beating DS ... on New York subway trains
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Jun 25th 2008 at 6:00PM }
The poor PSP has spent most of its life getting kicked in the teeth by the rampaging DS in all major regions; even taking into account its recent strong performance in Japan, there's no doubt that Sony's machine has come in a firm second place. But look, here comes MTV's Stephen Totilo, and he's bearing good news for Sony executives everywhere: the PSP is the most popular handheld in New York City! Well, alright, on the New York City subway. Okay, on the New York subway's "C Train". Hey, the little victories count as well!
Totilo reached this summary through the simplest, most non-scientific method ever: over the course of a year, he mentally tallied up how many of each handheld he saw played on the subway, and eventually counted 67 PSPs, 44 DSes, 6 Game Boy Advances, and 0 Gizmondos. While he treats his findings light-heartedly (as you should), Totilo concludes that this preference for the PSP is due to the typical subway commuter being older and having a higher disposable income and being on the same subway train as Stephen Totilo.
It's a very specific survey.
Totilo reached this summary through the simplest, most non-scientific method ever: over the course of a year, he mentally tallied up how many of each handheld he saw played on the subway, and eventually counted 67 PSPs, 44 DSes, 6 Game Boy Advances, and 0 Gizmondos. While he treats his findings light-heartedly (as you should), Totilo concludes that this preference for the PSP is due to the typical subway commuter being older and having a higher disposable income and being on the same subway train as Stephen Totilo.
It's a very specific survey.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eddie @ Jun 25th 2008 6:29PM
Oh no!! we lost the portable gaming war!!!
Eddie @ Jun 25th 2008 6:30PM
ow no... we didn't. Never mind.
Santos L. Halper @ Jun 25th 2008 6:37PM
This post is about as pointless as the ones about nintendo themed cakes.
Jhongerkong @ Jun 25th 2008 7:03PM
So, you're saying its the most important post on the site?
Reeve @ Jun 25th 2008 7:28PM
Psst, his survey covered the 2 and 3 as well as the C!
Funny thing is, I was talking to my husband about this last night, how on the NYC and NJ trains, most of the non-cellphone gaming I see going on involve PSPs. Rarely have I seen (another) DS.
Kimiko @ Jun 25th 2008 8:23PM
So what is the reason the PSP is outdoing the DS lately over in Japan? Surely no one is watching movies or browsing the web on that thing. Are there any good games for the PSP? I thought all the good ones were for the DS.
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 25th 2008 9:01PM
Three words, my friend:
Monter Hunter Portable.
(Or as it's known over here, Monster Hunter FREEEEEEDOOOOOM)
MHF2 (and its JP-only expansion, 2nd G) have both sold 2M each in Japan alone.
The game is extremely popular (whereas its PS2 predecessors weren't) due to the social aspect of the game. It's a very different scene over in Japan. While we may, generally, like online play, the Japanese (generally) don't. I guess they prefer to see who they're playing with, and not just a faceless username.
That, and FF7: Crisis Core, were a huge boost to the PSP in Japan (oh, and new models sure seem to spur sales; see DS vs. DS Lite). It really saved the system from the oblivion it was once facing.
Salty Soil @ Jun 25th 2008 10:03PM
"So what is the reason the PSP is outdoing the DS lately over in Japan?"
Monster Hunter. It's like Pokemon for the PSP, only instead of cockfighting it's poaching.
That plus it actually sees regular multiple game releases.
Christopher @ Jun 25th 2008 10:36PM
Ha, that's funny...
Lots of people are watching whatever they want on their PSP's with custom firmware. Oh, that's right. Darn. DS can't DO that without buying a flash cart. I could say more, but whatever.
I own both and they both are good devices. Personally, I like the PSP games better.
Jacksons @ Jun 25th 2008 11:54PM
I love both, but unless I just picked up a new DS game, my PSP is the one that comes with me. Having music, movies and games at my side makes long distance travel into something I almost look forward to, which is eerie. I did get to play all the way through Portrait of Ruin on a plane flight once. That was a treat :)