PSP Loco Roco Bombs in Japanese Debut
- August 04, 2006 11:58 AM PST
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A financial update on TheStreet.com gives an update on PSP puzzler Loco Roco's disappointing Japanese debut, which was overshadowed by top-selling DS titles.
Loco Roco enchanted GDC 2006-goers with its whimsical style
Sony's colorful Loco Roco, a puzzle game that made a big splash at the 2006 Game Developers Conference, has made a disappointing debut in the Japanese game market.
Loco Roco briefly inflamed debate for its allegedly "racist" stereotypes, a charge Sony denied
TheStreet.com describes the PSP puzzler as "dead-on-arrival" in a recent report on Nintendo's success in the Japanese market. Describing Loco Roco as "a methodically constructed copy of a typical Nintendo title," TheStreet.com notes that the game debuted to "barely 30,000-unit weekly sales" in Japan. Another quirky PSP game, Bleach, debuted to similarly disappointing sales.
The game's poor showing is "particularly galling" to Sony, the article writes, as the game was carefully designed to mimic Nintendo's bright, fun, friendly look and feel. But as the article mentions, Japanese consumers "aren't buying the Sony-in-Nintendo's-clothing act."
There's more bad news for Sony on the Japanese front: the article describes how the PSP has been left on "life support" from older franchises like Monster Hunter and Wipeout. And the DS Lite's explosive sales this summer are likely to "hammer the last nails into PSP's coffin," the article concludes.
Loco Roco for the PSP hits the US in September.
Loco Roco comes to the US in September
Poor Sony. Maybe Loco Roco will pick up when it launches this fall in the US.
But there's no doubt that the DS Lite is taking the wind out of the PSP's sails (and sales). I think Sony should redesign the system as fast as possible: slimmer, sleeker, lighter, and even a slightly smaller screen if possible. The thing is just too big.
