PSP sees sales resurgence in Japan, but Wii again dominates PS3

While the Wii continues to dominate the Japanese market, Enterbrain reports that the PSP has once again begun to outsell the Nintendo DS.

The new sales tally for March ends a strong six-month run for the DS, where it was for the most part far outselling its competitors. The resurgence of the PSP could be explained by a refocus by Sony on the product, of which the dividends are now beginning to pay off.

A new model of the portable gaming device was released in Japan last fall, which was cheaper and slimmer than its predecessor. The PSP sells for 19,800 yen ($195 USD), compared to 16,800 yen ($165 USD) for the DS Lite.

Sony said upon releasing the new PSP that it intended for the device to compete with Nintendo's portable juggernaut, and the move appears successful from the latest numbers.

415,415 PSP's were sold during March, compared with 255,124 DS's. The two handheld consoles are the only two major players in the market, as Microsoft has no portable Xbox. Monster Hunter Freedom 2G for the PSP became the #1 selling game during the month.

In the set-top console market, the situation was almost exactly the opposite in March. 265,542 units of the Wii sold, compared with only 81,572 for the Sony PS3. The Xbox 360, which long has lagged behind in Japan, recorded sales of 13,172 units.