14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, an ad started circulating on the internet advising PSP owners to trade in their systems for another, they say 'better' system such as Nintendo's DS Lite. That's just plain rude! Is it possible for a successful system such as the PSP, which is constantly getting new titles by the way, to become trade-in material just like that? It's not like those at Nintendo are desperate to sell their latest handhelds, they sell fine without any additional boost, or are they that greedy?
Maybe the answer doesn't lie within Nintendo, but with EB, the ones behind the ad. Let's picture this: they acquire lots of DS Lites hoping they'll sell like candy, but find out after a couple of days that demand isn't that great, not in that area anyway; so what better way to advertise the product than to offer it cheaper, using means like a trade-in for the PSP, a handheld made by Sony, a company that is already in it up to their eyeballs regarding the PS3.
People see the ad, make the connection (that apparently Sony isn't that good of a choice) and go for Nintendo system which they're told it has made record sales. Kids scream Pokemon grabbing mom's and dad's hands jumping up and down and that's it. Next thing you know, the PSP that little Johnny got for his 10th birthday is gone, making room in the child's backpack for a double screened handheld Nintendo product. Nobody's saying 'don't buy the DS or the PSP', but Sony's handheld is definitely not trade-in material.