Sony's PSP Turns Five In North America With 17 Million Sold

Five years ago today in North America, Sony launched its first entry into the portable video game market, the PlayStation Portable. Sony confirmed Wednesday that the widescreen handheld has sold over 17 million units in the region to date. Worldwide, the PSP has sold over 60 million units. It launched in North America on March 24, 2005, in Japan on December 12, 2004 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. The console has seen three major revisions since its original launch as the PSP-1000, including modifications to its screen, components and weight. The most recent, and most significant revision was the introduction of fall 2009's PSP Go, which changed the handheld's form factor and removed the UMD drive in favor of digital downloads. Sony sells the Go alongside the PSP-3000. "As PSP celebrates its fifth anniversary, the best is yet to come. We’re very excited about the vibrant 2010 lineup," said SCEA SVP of marketing Peter Dille in a statement. In transit-heavy Japan, the PSP and the competing Nintendo DS regularly top the weekly hardware charts. But recently, Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews speculated that the handheld will "experience a slow death at retail" in the U.S., citing flagging sales of the PSP-3000 and overall poor sales of the PSP Go. However, Dille said that the company is "committed to continuing to offer entertainment experiences and immersive gameplay" on the platform. Analyst Jesse Divnich with EEDAR added, "Over the last five years, the PSP system has always reflected Sony’s ability to understand and meet the needs of modern consumers by providing a convergent device."