PSP hardware sales fell drastically during the second quarter of Sony’s fiscal 2010, the company revealed in an earnings report today. The portable, which celebrated its fifth anniversary in North America last March, suffered a decline of around 50 percent in unit sales compared to Q2 last year.

While the PSP family racked up 3.7 million in worldwide unit sales this fiscal year, only 1.5 million were shifted in Q2 — a fairly meager figure compared to the 3 million sold last year during the same timeframe. Software sales took a hit as well, yet remained healthy by comparison, dropping from 21.3 million units to 20.2 in the first half of fiscal 2010.

Not all segments of Sony’s gaming division are in the red. PS3 momentum rose — the platform enjoyed a yearly spurt to 5.9 million units, up from 4.3 million over the same three-month period. Software sales on the PS3 side of the spectrum have been incredibly brisk, catapulting from 38.7 million to 60.1 million units this fiscal period.

With Nintendo also reporting a 42 drop in DS sales over last year, it’s clear interest in the current crop of handhelds is waning. Bring on the 3DS and PSP2, we say.

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