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The Total War series (and most 'grand strategy' games - think Civilization, Hearts of Iron, Europa Universalis, Galactic Civilizations II and so on) also has a very viable game where there are winning and losing moments - and you can still play the entire length of the game, not win but have plenty of winning and losing moments, and have a very fulfulling experience.
It's when you get into the character driven, story-heavy experiences where things like this get tricky, as for each different permutation of what could happen when someone succeeds or fails, there's often a need for a whole other set of game assets and plot points. It's like how in the Bethesda games you can fail many of the quests, but there are only a few points where key changes make a difference to the way the story unfolds.
The other issue is that if you were able to have a game where there really was meaningful and balanced consequences for actions, then it could quite easily take the player from the 'exciting' track and into a less exciting course of action, leading to many people not necessarily enjoying themselves. Say, in an RPG, you spend too long on side quests and the main quest line carries on without you, for instance, or you fail to protect the contact that gets you into the port, so you don't manage to sneak on board the cruise liner, and the person you're supposed to be spying on sails off into the sunset and you're stuck doing odd jobs back on land. Just some thoughts :)."
- less hours spent on handhelds on average than home consoles;
- PSP games are console games on the go, and generally take as long (or longer) than a console game to complete, and have more replay value than more 'normal' handheld games; and
- the big one - piracy.
However, on hardware alone the brand is hardly dead. Note while total sales have been falling, the 3DS (a clear competitor, particularly with Ninty's focus this time on more 'console-like' game experiences) is only months away, and everyone knows a PSP2 is on the way as well - in these situations, sales do generally tail off a bit.
What I think the issue with this (and many other commentaries on console market shares) falls foul of is failing to adapt to a post-PS2 world. The last two generations, there's been a clear, out-and-out winner, and everyone else has been in their shadow (although I'd note that the original Xbox, with total sales far below those of the PSP now, was never considered niche). So many people seem to think that a console is only successful if it's blowing the competition away.
This isn't true - a console (handheld or home) is successful as long as it has a vibrant userbase (which the PSP has), a good range of games (which the PSP most definitely has - it's got a deep catalogue, and the best-in-class handheld games in many genres, from platformers to shooters to flight action to driving), and is making the company that sells it money (which it does). It's also important to note that the PSP is more of a 'core' gamers platform than the DS, which has more of a casual focus and that there are always more casuals than core (look a the Wii vs the HD consoles - but that hardly makes either the 360 or the PS3 a failure).
Sure, the PSP is starting to come to the end of its life (shortened in many respects because of piracy), but suggesting that PSP sales tailing off now is a sign that it's the last year of the PSP brand is ridiculous.
And going from there to suggest Sony is on the slide as a gaming company is nigh-on madness! The PS3 sold more hardware units last year than any year in its history (I think that goes for the US as well), and software sales for the PS3 are going from strength to strength (again, even in the US). Sure, in the US the PS3 plays second-fiddle numbers-wise to the 360, but it's still plenty strong. In a neutral market (ie, one not affected by either Japanese (anti-360) or US (anti-PS3) parochialism, the PS3 is not far off outselling the Wii week-on-week, outside of the Christmas period (when the Wii dominates all ;)).
In this context, suggesting that Sony's (gaming) brand is going to be the weird table in corners at conventions is stretching it to say the least. Even when China's economy surpasses that of the US (which, barring calamities, it will), the US will still be a great and powerful country. Similarly, the PS3 may not be the biggest player in the market, but this isn't a one-horse race, and neither the PSP brand nor Sony more generally are in danger of collapsing as a force in gaming."
Yes, it'll likely be hacked at some stage, but I'd expect the hack to be much more like that on the PS3 - far more limited, and harder to implement, so keeping the hacked systems to pretty hardcore hackers, rather than the broader-based hacking seen on most other platforms (I think it was Capcom that said recently that the PS3 was the only platform where piracy wasn't having a significant impact on revenue).
Would be nice if they found a way of dealing with all the bottom-sucking scum that are the pirates as well. We don't blame Governments from collecting taxes to pay for police to stop theft, and likewise we shouldn't be crazy surprised when tech companies have to charge higher prices to stop it in the digital realm. In both cases, the people to blame aren't the Government/companies, it's the people that won't pay their way, but live or play off the work of others, raising costs for the legitimate citizens/consumers."