Gamestop: "Story is far from over on the PSPgo"

Sony's slow roll out of the PSPgo has been "by design" and the story is far from over for the digital handset, according to Gamestop exec Tony Bartel.

Following the release of figures from the console's Japanese launch over the weekend - it sold 28,000 units in its first day - Gamestop's exec VP of merchandising and marketing told IndustryGamers that Sony had never planned a big launch for PSPgo.

"I think that, by Sony's admission, you can tell by the small marketing that was done for this, that their mentality was more of a slow roll than a major launch. This was clearly different than the way that Nintendo approached the DSi, and I think that was by design.

"I think the story is far from over and being written on the PSPgo. I think Sony knew it was going to be more of a slow build as opposed to a right out of the gate huge release. I'm not sure that anyone that spent a lot of time working with Sony on the launch was really surprised by the way that it's gone so far."

Official figures from the US launch of the handheld are yet to be confirmed, but Sony has said it led to overall PSP sales growth of 300 per cent.

US sales of the PlayStation 3 are in far less dispute, with the console reaching the hardware sales top spot during the month of September.

Nearly 500,000 units were sold during the month, reports IndustryGamers, while in Japan the console's sales have grown by 707 per cent since its price was dropped.

And in Bartel's opinion, its success in the US won't be limited just to September.

"We continue to see the [price drop] giving strong momentum to the PS3," he said. "Obviously we had a strong surge when they initially dropped the price, and there was a lot of excitement around that, but we still see PS3 sales as very strong through October as well."