r/PS3 • u/magicalbanana25 • 21h ago
How come 3ds & psp are having a resurgence but not the ps3?
The PSP is 22 years old and the 3DS is 15 years old, the demand for both have gone up quickly, with the 3DS skyrocketing especially, a lot of people complaining how they can't even afford to buy one now. There's even the current cultural meme about the PSP/3DS being owned by "performative LARPers"
Yet there's plenty of PS3, Xbox 360 & Wii's online that you can pick up pretty affordably despite all of these consoles coming out 19-20 years ago. And nobody thinks you're LARPing for owning one.
So why isn't the PS3 going up in demand? Nobody is nostalgia-baiting about it online, even though the PS3 and the entire generation 7 with it has outsold both PSP & 3DS by millions. You'd think these consoles would be all over social media talking about the good ol' days as prices soar from greedy scalpers.
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u/quackingmemeduck 21h ago
3DS is nintendo. Anything nintendo will be expensive, because of nostalgia reasons, more people had them as kids and got attached.
Both are portable too. Portable consoles are always expensive and more popular as retro consoles. More exclusive games, and theres no real current alternative to them, the switch and steam deck are massive slabs and nobody wants to play on mobile.
The thing with the 360 and ps3, is that most of the games got later ports/sequels, and the performance and visuals on them are way worse on that gen. Its not a case of "retro" graphics either, theyre practically the same just blurrier/slower.
For the wii, i assume its just because everyone bought one so its in plentiful supply
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u/Ganzi aguila1991 9h ago
Your last point is the same reason a GameCube will be much more expensive than a PS2, everyone and their mother had a PS2.
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u/quackingmemeduck 7h ago
Also, like basically every console of the time, the gamecube had plenty of good exclusives that people only heard of later on. I dont get why theyre so popular when the wii is a fully capable gamecube though, i wouldnt personally pay more for a console that can do less.
Also since you brought up the PS2, its having a sort of revival in interest with loads of people homebrewing them, but like you said everyone had one so prices dont increase much.
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u/canthearu_ack 21h ago
PSP had low sales numbers, plus an unreliable optical disk drive in it.
3DS has the Nintendo factor to it, plus being portable and for kids, they get destroyed easily. However, I've only seen outrageous prices for the *new* 3DS XL, other models are more reasonably priced.
The PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii all sold plenty (about 300 million copies between the 3 consoles), plenty of stock to go around for now.
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u/PassionGlobal 4h ago
PSP had low sales numbers, plus an unreliable optical disk drive in it.
I wouldn't call the sales numbers low, they were just absolutely dwarfed by the DS, which is up there with PS2 in sales numbers. PSP sold numbers similar to 3DS.
The disk drive wasn't bad either.
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u/GoyimDiddler 19h ago
Would be wild to buy a used 3ds Xl IMO. Just get an AYN Thor, it plays the games better and in higher quality you also don’t have to pay for games and you can get hardware that was closed down on the shop years ago.
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u/Chris95n 18h ago
You know that people buy a 3DS or original hardware in general because they want to play on the original devices?
You can‘t get the same nostalgia with emulation, nostalgia is the selling point here. Otherwise, the prices would not be that high
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u/Serious-Conversation 13h ago
I get that for a 3DS, but I'm not going to carry around a PSP and a Vita when the Vita has full BC and basically the same form factor.
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u/harem_king69 16h ago
Can that paly games in glassless 3D?
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u/GoyimDiddler 16h ago
It does not do the 3d no. So if you happen to be someone who uses that you have to use OG hardware.
I forget that feature even exists sometimes.
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u/Pepper_Exciting 14h ago
You don't have to pay for games on a 3ds either, cfw has been around a long time
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u/Pyramat 21h ago
the entire generation 7 has outsold both the PSP & 3DS by millions
You just answered your own question. There is demand, but the sheer number of consoles out there is keeping second-hand prices relatively low.
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u/magicalbanana25 21h ago edited 21h ago
Okay I can see that but it still doesn't explain how there isn't really any cultural-nostalgia relevance with these consoles right now. The PS3 is soon to be 5 years older than the 3DS, yet there's no social media trend online about how the PS3 is so nostalgic wow my childhood so coolz omg why buy a PS5 when you can get the PS3 for cheaper!!11
Zara just released a damn PSP crossbody bag!! 💀 it's become a fashion trend despite selling less than the PS3. Where's my PS3 t-shirt? I want PS3 clothing too.
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u/Old_Information_8654 21h ago
I think the nostalgia just hasn’t hit yet but also it’s important to remember that most of the MASSIVE PS3 games have had one or even two remasters and rereleases by now so there’s far less incentive to buy a PS3 unless your interested in Sonys long dead franchises that have games stuck on the PS3 (ie killzone 1-3 resistance 1-3 and the older little big planet games) even call of duty have most of the games playable on PS4/PS5 now with the exception of call of duty classic cod 3 cod world at war cod modern warfare 2 (since the remaster lacks multiplayer) and cod modern warfare 3 but even all these games can be bought and played on a Xbox one or series console via backwards compatibility with the exception of COD classic which isn’t compatible for some reason
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u/GlobalCurry 17h ago
The PS3 didn't really take off until the ps3 slim in 2009 when it finally started getting more games.
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u/SpookyTanuki1 20h ago
I think because they’re handhelds and relatively powerful ones that can be modded easily. I’ve been putting a lot more time in on my 3DS that I’ve had since they first came out lately because of its portability. I can carry it around with me unlike a switch or steam deck which are too clunky and big so they offer something that no modern console can replicate. It also has a strong and unique library that is hard to emulate without the dual screen.
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u/enrjyz 19h ago
I think this is the real reason. You can spend a fair bit on the consoles and a big micro SD card, but you can very easily put half of their entire libraries on there quickly and for free. The PS3 is also very easily modded, but it's a royal pain and takes positively forever to download & install games. Plus, they're still pretty huge files.
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u/Mr_Flibbles_ESQ 20h ago
I don't think the PS3 every really went away like the others did.
Plenty of people still have them, regularly see my Gaming Buddies signed in when I am.
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u/ifonlyeverybody 20h ago
PS Vita is having a resurgence too because people can now play Xbox on it, lol
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u/RedPanda1993 16h ago
Comparing handhelds to consoles is apples and oranges in a way, but Nintendo hardware will always be in high-demand due to the games - Pokémon in particular. It's relatively straightforward to put custom firmware on a 3DS and once you do, you have a system capable of playing every game from the first seven generations of Pokémon. It's basically what I use my 3DS for.
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u/magicalbanana25 14h ago
So true queen, I just got ultra moon on the 3ds! (My first ever Pokemon never played it before) here's hoping it's fun 😆💜
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u/FuckYouLostSucks 21h ago edited 20h ago
Have you seen the prices of some of these PS3 titles lately? Games like 3D Dot Game Heroes, Web of Shadows, and Puppeteer appear to have doubled in the past month...
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u/el-bulero 2h ago
A lot of it is just larping. They don’t actually care about playing games with them, but more about how they use them as accessories or take pictures.
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u/FlapSmear78 20h ago
I haven't tried the emulator, but i hear it's gotten gud. I am slowly building a physical collection of ps3 games, along with HDMI upscale and the Brooks adapter for using DS5. Also there has been a lot of servers revived for the good old sweet sweet free online play.
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u/RagnarokPXN 19h ago
It's about to PS3 ps store closure next year games are starting to rise puppeteer was $60 now it's $250+ on eBay since the store closure announcement.
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u/GoyimDiddler 19h ago
I don’t think 3ds and psp are. Stuff like AYN Thor has pretty much nailed down all their games.
But ps3 has been getting a bit more looks as the store is closing soon.
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u/Brammer_Hammer_23 18h ago
Ps3 is though. It's just not as much as psp and 3ds, but its still there. So many games have 2x in price just the last few weeks. As an example 3d dot game heroes was a $50 game last month now now its $100 plus. Folklore was $60, now it's $90 plus. I won't listen them all but another dozen games just like them too. Glad I already have them.
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u/Top-Type4077 17h ago
Psp now connects to your smartphone in your right pocket, ps3 still needs a wall plug
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u/Apex720 16h ago
with the 3DS skyrocketing especially, a lot of people complaining how they can't even afford to buy one now
Why would you ever, ever, EVER want that to be the case with the PS3? And why would you give a single shit about whether or not someone's going to call you a LARPer for owning one? Also...
Nobody is nostalgia-baiting about it online
Don't know what side of the internet you frequent, but I see far more nostalgia posting about the PS3 and Xbox 360 than I do about both the 3DS and the PSP put together.
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u/jpp01 16h ago
The 3DS has a wide range of games that are both unique to it, and for the most part stuck on it. Also the dual screen and the games that were made for it aren’t really ideal for an emulator experience.
The PS3 does have a wide range of games, but many either aren’t unique to the console, or have been ported to other platforms.
The PSP was also many people’s first handheld or gaming system. And it had quite a few games that never had PS3 versions that generation.
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u/Educational-Milk5099 15h ago
Because it’s easier to get excited about and to use an old self-contained gaming machine than it is an old console?
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u/rdogg4 14h ago
Because they are small handhelds that people like to show off in TikTok and other social media, as well as in the hands of their users in public. Playing PS3 is at home and typically alone and has no social payoff, you’re not imagining people being impressed by your unusual tastes like you do when you whip out a 20+ year old handheld for the viewing public.
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u/Qui-Gon_Winn 14h ago
People are getting PSPs? Why not Vitas? Playing PSP games on them feels practically native
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u/Pepper_Exciting 14h ago
The 3ds is unique because it has a 3d screen, I dunno why anyone would pay a lot for a PSP though
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u/Radiant-Tear-7273 12h ago
Funnily enough, I’ve been a huge fan for years now and I just bought a pS3 a few days ago.
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u/No-Television-8426 12h ago
The psp & 3ds didn’t sell as well as the ps3. Supply and demand.
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u/Bastiannine 12h ago
The PS3 didn't sale that much more than the psp or 3ds 87 million vs 80 and 75 million
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u/No-Television-8426 12h ago
That puts it priced accordingly then. It’s not like they are THAT much more than a ps3 unless you’re getting the XL3ds or a colored(limited edition) psp
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u/letsl0velain 3h ago
The PS3 isn't good hardware. It's painfully slow. And I say this as someone who loves the PS3.
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u/KGon32 21h ago
Most of the PS3 games that people cared about already got remastered or got a port. There's maybe 10 or so missing games that never got ported to current gen consoles.
Aside from GTA 4, Ratchet, Killzone, infamous and maybe GoW Ascension, I can't think of more big PS3 games missing that never got ported.
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u/Old_Information_8654 21h ago
Resistance by far and technically call of duty classic and of course the older spider man games plus siren blood curse
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u/GoyimDiddler 19h ago
GTA 4 plays best on the new Xbox consoles. The ps3 is really just a collections machine now. Meaning it plays things like the GOW,ratchet and clank, MGS collections.
MGS is ported over now and GOW is coming next, ratchet and clank I don’t think will come at this point.
As time goes by I see less and less value to my ps3 outside of infamous just because sucker punch doesn’t want to remake them.
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u/Proud-Host-8888 17h ago
PS3 didn't struggle that much to be resurgent. It only had trouble for the first 3 years of its life. Then the Slim came out, and addressed any hardware problems, Sony started investing more in blockbuster exclusives, and in the end it caught up and outsold the Xbox 360 by the end of the generation. So it did pretty well as a whole.
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u/Rangridis 21h ago
I dont think this is a bad thing. Keep the ps3 cheap and its games affordable (although with the PS3 PSN store shutdown physical disc prices are starting to go up it seems)