14 DAY TRIAL // The PSP Slim has sold about 580.000 units in Japan only and it's only been a month since the release of the new console. Such a large amount of sold copies even surpasses all the sales of the original portable gaming device released by Sony in 2004.
PSP Slim (also known as Lite) features a TV out port and more processing power than its predecessor. The console has just landed in Europe and the US and I'm curious to see the sales figures on the two continents when they're made available. While Sony has been criticized for the lack of new features of the PSP Slim and for the fact that the battery last less than expected, the public's appetite for the petite device hasn't decreased one bit.
It may be Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII that's doing the magic in Japan, boosting the PSP Slim's sales, but that may only stand for let's say 100.000 units, so the rest is all thanks to the advertising campaign and Sony's huge fanbase. Let me give you an example that will make you understand the whole phenomenon: Sony and Square-Enix prepared for sale and pre-order a special bundle pack for the launch of the latest FF VII title. The pack included a PSP Slim branded with the game's logo and some cool drawings, plus the game and some various other accessories.
77.777 units of the Crisis Core bundle pack were available a couple of weeks ago, but the stock got depleted instantly, as the fans couldn't wait to get their hands on yet another adventure of Cloud and Co. Goes to show that the gaming industry works like a clock in Japan, unlike Europe and US (unless you count Halo 3). It might be the appeal of gaming devices or the amount of cash that people are willing to spend in order to add a new console to their collection.