PSP beats all-comers in Japan in 2010

Japan is very passionate about its gaming, but Japanese gamers are unlike any others. Which is the only possible explanation for the PSP being the biggest-selling console of the year in the country.

Though the PSP has done OK in the rest of the world, no one has taken it to their heart like the Japanese. For the rest of us, the DS is where it’s at, with the PSP playing a very distant second fiddle. But in Japan, in 2010 at least, the PSP has beaten all-comers.

The latest sales figures for 2010 show that the PSP managed to beat the DS into second place for total units sold by around 10,000.

PSP (all): 2,729,718 (+604.199)
DS (all): 2,719,544 (-1,054,354)
Wii: 1,592,563 (-155,398)
PS3: 1,542,258 (-126,680)
360: 231,258 (-118,405)
PS2: 83,030 (-114,116)

Years ago I would have confidently predicted that the rest of the world would follow Japan’s example and switch allegiance to the PSP. But there has been a definite divergence between Japan’s gaming habits and those in the rest of the world, so this is likely to remain a Japanese trend. Which is unfortunate for Sony.

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• Hirai: Sony’s focus shifted from Japan
• Wii outsells PS3 by 3-to-1 in Japan – PSP beats Nintendo DS
• DSi outsells all in Japan – but why are handhelds so popular?
• Japan: PSP and Crisis Core beat DS and everyone else for 3rd week in a row
• Microsoft releasing new Xbox 360 SKU in Japan in last gasp to gain respectability