Short of
Metal Gear Solid 4 in June 2008, it would appear that no exclusive software has really driven hardware sales. Even Sony's flagship holiday title,
LittleBigPlanet, only managed 141,000 units during November.
The PSP hardware business is actually robust and profitable, even though November hardware sales were down year-on-year. Software sales are still miserable. Until it finds a way to monetize the PSP market, Sony will never begin to make the kind of money from its handheld that Nintendo makes from its Nintendo DS.
For its part, the PS2 is still selling well in its 9th Christmas season, but is slowly fading out. Two years ago, or even a year ago, Sony might have been able to point to the PS2 as a solid source of revenue while the PS3 was finding its footing. That is less feasible with each passing month.
If Sony can find solutions to its PS3 and PSP problems (price reduction for the former, much greater software sales for the latter), then it should compete well against the Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS in 2009.
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