The PSP2 has not yet been officially announced, but that hasn’t stopped industry analyst Michael “Bullet Hammer” Pachter from declaring it stillborn. He thinks Sony’s next attempt to revitalize the handheld will fail hard.
“I think the PSP was dead on arrival and I think the PSP2 is going to be dead on arrival,” says the smooth talking analytical fox. “We’re approaching saturation in the handheld market. We’re starting to see DS hardware sales crack, the iPod Touch is cutting into the handheld market. It looks to me like young kids are just as happy playing with the iPod Touch.
“The 3DS will prolong the handheld market for manufacturers, but ultimately I think handhelds are in trouble. What’s the difference if you play Tetris on an iPod Touch or on a DS? Well, you pay a buck on the iPod Touch and you pay $20 on the DS. After the 3DS has had its little rush I think the handhelds will continue to decline.”
Despite Pachter often being wrong, I do think he makes a point about the iPod. When the PSP first launched, I snapped one up because of everything it did. I have an iPod Touch now that does everything the PSP does more efficiently and without the constant Firmware updates. Not to mention I can buy games more suited to portable play for chump change, and sometimes for no money at all.
While I hope the PSP2 is amazing and I fully plan to get one, I’m nowhere near as excited for it as I was the first PSP, thanks to a mixture of Sony burning me in the past and Apple trumping the PSP in almost every way.
