Sony PSP Go launches in Japan

The Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) Go mobile handset quietly launched in Japan over the weekend, with a one-day sales tally of 28,275 units sold, according to compiled numbers.

Based off sales data collected from 3,500 retailers, according to Enterbrain, the disc-less version of Sony’s PSP gaming  console is off to a relatively quiet start.

The original PSP has sold 12.8 million units in Japan and 55.9 million across the globe.  The PSP Go first launched in the U.S. and Europe about one month ago, offered in stores and online along with the PSP-3000.

The 24-hour sale of 28,275 PSP Go units is significantly less than the 170,000 units of the Nintendo DSi unit and 140,000 PSP-3000 units sold on the first day.

Although Sony is hoping its newest model PSP will help spur hardware sales, the relatively quiet PSP Go launch isn’t a complete surprise.  Unlike other major console launches, there were no special midnight events for the PSP Go in Japan, as interested consumers could just go into the store at a regular hour and easily purchase the new device.

The disc-less PSP Go is an innovative concept, but game retailers have been relatively hesitant to adopt the capability.  Anyone interested in acquiring a new game for the PSP Go must download it directly from Sony, similar to how Apple controls iPhone games in its AppStore.

Despite a slow launch, Sony still anticipates selling 15 million handheld gaming units from April 2009 to March 2010.  Every sale is important for Sony and Nintendo, as the Apple iPhone and other mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular devices to play video games on.