The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, and is the first handheld installment in the PlayStation line of consoles. As a seventh generation console, the PSP mainly competed with the Nintendo DS.
Development of the PSP was announced during E3 2003, and the console was unveiled at a Sony press conference on May 11, 2004. The system was the most powerful portable video game console at the time of its introduction, and was the first viable competitor to Nintendo's handheld consoles after many challengers such as Nokia's N-Gage and Sega's Game Gear had failed or underperformed. The PSP's advanced graphics capabilities made it a popular mobile entertainment device, which could connect to the PlayStation 3, select PlayStation 2 games, any computer with a USB interface, other PSP systems, and the Internet. The PSP also had a vast array of multimedia features such as video playback and audio playback, leading some to classify it as a portable media player as well. The PSP is the only handheld console to use an optical disc format, the Universal Media Disc, as its primary storage medium; both games and movies were released on the format.
The PSP was received positively by critics. The system sold over 80 million units during its ten-year lifetime, making it the best selling handheld video game console of all time not made by Nintendo. Several models of the console were released, including the PSP Street and the PSP Go. The PSP line was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita, released in Japan in December 2011 and worldwide in February 2012. The Vita has backward compatibility with PSP games that were released on the PlayStation Network through the PlayStation Store, though the PSP's storefront was shut down in 2016. Hardware shipments of the PSP ended worldwide in 2014; production of UMDs ended when the last Japanese factory producing them closed in late 2016.
History Sony Computer Entertainment first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference preceding E3 2003. Although samples were not presented, Sony released extensive technical details. CEO Ken Kutaragi called the device the "Walkman of the 21st century", a reference to the console's multimedia capabilities. Several gaming websites were impressed with the handheld's computing capabilities, and looked forward to its potential as a gaming platform.
In the 1990s, Nintendo had dominated the handheld market since launching its Game Boy in 1989, experiencing close competition only from Sega's Game Gear (1990–1997) and Bandai's WonderSwan (1999–2001) and WonderSwan Color (2000–2004) in Japan. In January 1999, Sony released the PocketStation in Japan as its first foray into the handheld gaming market. The SNK Neo Geo Pocket and Nokia's N-Gage also failed to cut into Nintendo's share. According to an IDC analyst in 2004, the PSP was the "first legitimate competitor to Nintendo's dominance in the handheld market".
The first concept images of the PSP appeared at a Sony corporate strategy meeting in November 2003, and featured a model with flat buttons and no analog joystick. Although some reviewers expressed concern about the lack of an analog stick, these fears were allayed when the PSP was officially unveiled at the Sony press conference during E3 2004. Sony released a list of 99 developer companies that pledged support for the new handheld. Several game demos such as Konami's Metal Gear Acid and Studio Liverpool's Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference.
The PSP's development posed several challenges for Sony and third-party developers, with battery life being a primary concern. To address this, Sony implemented power management strategies, including restricting the CPU to two-thirds of its full speed for the first few years. The Universal Media Disc (UMD) drive was another significant hurdle, as it drained the battery and had slow read speeds. Developers had to optimize their game data layout to minimize disc access and reduce power consumption. These limitations sometimes led to performance constraints and long loading times, with some titles like WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006 experiencing load times of up to two minutes for certain scenes. Methods to alleviate loading times included a cache for UMD data on models after the 1000, and later games giving the option to partially install data onto the Memory Stick to reduce load times.
Launch On October 18, 2004, Sony announced that the PSP base model would be launched in Japan on December 11 that year for ¥19,800 (about US$181 in 2004) while the Value System would launch for ¥24,800 (about US$226). The launch was a success, with over 200,000 units sold on the first day of sales. Color variations were sold in bundle packs that cost around $200. On February 3, 2005, Sony announced that the PSP would be released in North America on March 24 in one configuration for an MSRP of US$249/CA$299. Some commentators expressed concern over the high price, which was almost US$20 higher than that of the Japanese model and over $100 higher than the Nintendo DS. Despite these concerns, the PSP's North American launch was a success; Sony said 500,000 units were sold in the first two days of sales, though it was also reported that this figure was below expectations.
The PSP was originally intended to have a simultaneous European and North American launch, but on March 15, 2005, Sony announced that the European launch would be delayed due to high demand for the console in Japan and North America. The next month, Sony announced that the PSP would be launched in Europe on September 1, 2005, for €249/£179. Sony defended the high price by saying North American consumers had to pay local sales taxes and that the Value Added Tax (sales tax) was higher in the UK than the US. Despite the high price, the PSP's launch in Europe was a success, with the console selling over 185,000 units in the UK. All stock of the PSP in the UK sold out within three hours of its launch, more than doubling the previous first-day sales record of 87,000 units set by the Nintendo DS. The system also enjoyed great success in other areas of Europe; over 25,000 units were pre-ordered in Australia and nearly one million units were sold across Europe in the system's first week of sales.
Hardware
PSP-1000
The launch model of the PlayStation Portable, referred to as the PSP-1000, features an oblong form factor measuring . The front of the system features the speakers as well as most of the system's controls, including the face buttons, d-pad, and analog stick, with other function buttons below the screen. It also contains the system's TFT display, which is capable of 480 × 272 pixel display resolution and 24-bit color. The top of the system contains the two shoulder buttons, labelled L and R, the Wireless LAN and UMD eject switches, an IrDA infrared emitter, and a Mini USB port for data transfer. Below the system is the AC-in and 2-pin dock ports for charging, as well as the 3.5 mm audio and remote ports. The left and right sides of the system have the Memory Stick PRO Duo slot and power switch, respectively. The back gives access to the UMD drive and battery slot when either are uncovered. As a whole, the unit weighs .
Internally, the PSP uses two 333 MHz MIPS32 R4000 R4k-based CPUs, a GPU running at 166 MHz, and includes 32 MB main RAM, and 4 MB embedded DRAM split between the GPU and Media Engine. Although the CPU was natively 333 MHz, media would be locked to a maximum of 222 MHz until firmware 3.50 released in May 2007, at which point Sony allowed developers to release new games using higher clock speeds.
The PSP is powered by an 1800 mAh battery that provides about three to six hours of gameplay, four to five hours of video playback, and eight to eleven hours of audio playback. The battery completes a full charge after about 1.5 hours.PlayStation Portable Safety and Support Manual
Revisions PSP-2000
At E3 2007, Sony announced a new revision of the PSP. The PSP-2000, marketed in some regions as "PSP Slim & Lite", would first be released in Hong Kong on August 30, 2007, before releasing worldwide in September of that year. The revision would redesign the system to reduce weight and thickness, from and from , respectively. In addition, the serial port was modified to add video out support, with support for 480i output of media via composite, S-Video, component, and D-Terminal, with the latter two also supporting game output in 480p.
Other changes include improved WLAN modules, the removal of the IrDA emitter and 2-pin docking port, a simplified UMD drive mechanism, and a thinner, brighter LCD screen. To improve the poor loading times of UMD games on the original PSP, the internal memory (RAM and Flash ROM) was doubled from 32 MB to 64 MB, part of which now acting as a cache, also improving the web browser's performance.
To make the unit slimmer, the capacity of the PSP's battery was reduced from 1800 mAh to 1200 mAh starting with the PSP-2000. The original high-capacity batteries work on newer models, giving increased playing time, though the battery cover does not fit. In March 2008, Sony released the Extended Life Battery Kit in Japan, which included a bulkier 2200 mAh battery with fitting battery covers matching the many PSP variations available. All versions of the North American kit released in December 2008 were supplied with a black and a silver battery cover.
PSP-3000
The PSP-3000 was released in North America on October 14, 2008, in Japan on , in Europe on , and in Australia on .
The PSP-3000, marketed in some areas as "PSP Slim & Lite" or "PSP Brite", was primarily sold as having an improved LCD screen with an increased color range, five times the contrast ratio, a halved pixel response time, new sub-pixel structure, and anti-reflective technology to reduce outdoor glare. The disc tray, logos, and buttons were all redesigned, and a microphone was added. Games could now be output in standard definition using the video-out cable, and more settings were added for the video out, such as flicker reduction, to allow users to tune the video output to their tastes. One outlet called this model "a minor upgrade".
On its release, the PSP-3000's screen was criticized for what appeared to be scanlines and interlacing artifacts when objects were in motion. Due to the new screen using horizontal sub-pixels, and the blue sub-pixels appearing less luminant than their red and green counterparts, the blue sub-pixels would create feint horizontal lines across the screen. Sony stated the issue was inherent to the hardware and would not be fixed.
In its first four days on sale in Japan, the PSP-3000 sold over 141,270 units, according to Famitsu; it sold 267,000 units during October.
PSP Go (N1000)
The PSP Go (model PSP-N1000) was released on October 1, 2009, in North American and European territories, and on October 31 in Japan. It was revealed prior to E3 2009 through Sony's Qore video on demand service. Its design is significantly different from other PSP models.
The unit is 43% lighter and 56% smaller than the original PSP-1000, and 16% lighter and 35% smaller than the PSP-3000. Its rechargeable battery is not intended to be removed by the user. It has a 480 × 272 pixel LCD screen, which slides up to reveal the main controls. The overall shape and sliding mechanism are similar to those of Sony's mylo COM-2 Internet device.