The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP) is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the console was first announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005.
The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage media. Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen, robust multi-media capabilities, and connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the Internet.
Despite the console's considerable computing power and its formidable multimedia capabilities, sales have consistently lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS. After the release of a remodeled, slimmer, and lighter version of the PlayStation Portable, appropriately titled Slim and Lite, in early September 2007, sales quadrupled in the United Kingdom the following week and increased by nearly 200% in North America for the month of October. Although the PSP has faced very stiff competition from the Nintendo DS, it has been by far the most successful handheld console not manufactured by Nintendo.
Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E3 2003. Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the press conference or E3, Sony did release extensive technical details regarding the new console. Then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Ken Kutaragi called the device the "Walkman of the 21st Century" in a reference to the console's multimedia capabilities. Several gaming websites were impressed by the handheld's computing capabilities and looked forward to the system's potential as a gaming platform.
The first concept images of the PlayStation Portable appeared in November 2003 at the Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting and showed a PSP with flat buttons and no analog stick. Although some expressed concern over the lack of an analog joystick, these fears were allayed when the PSP was officially unveiled at the Sony press conference during E3 2004. In addition to announcing more details about the system and its accessories, Sony also released a list of 99 developer companies that had pledged support for the new handheld. Several PSP game demos, such as Konami's Metal Gear Acid and SCE Studio Liverpool's Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference.
On October 17, 2004, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in Japan on December 12, 2004 at a price of ¥19,800 (about US$185) for the base model and ¥24,800 (about US$230) for the Value System. The console's launch was a success with over 200,000 units sold the first day.
Sony announced on February 3, 2005, that the PSP would go on sale in North America on March 24, 2005 in one configuration for a MSRP of US$249/CA$299. Some expressed concern over the high price, which was almost US$20 higher than the system's price in Japan and more than $100 higher than the recently launched Nintendo DS. Despite the concerns, the PSP's North American launch was a success, although reports two weeks later indicated that the system was not selling as well as expected despite Sony's claim that 500,000 units had been sold in the first two days.
The PSP was originally to have a simultaneous PAL region and North American launch, but on March 15, 2005, Sony announced that the PAL region launch would be delayed because of high demand for the console in Japan and North America. A month later, on April 25, 2005, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in the PAL region on September 1, 2005 for €249/£179. Sony defended the high price, which was nearly US$100 higher than in North America, by pointing out that North American consumers had to pay local sales taxes and that the GST was higher in the UK than the US. Despite the high price, the console's PAL region launch was a resounding success, selling more than 185,000 units in the UK alone, 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 the PAL region with more than 25,000 units preordered in Australia and nearly one million units sold across Europe in the first week.
*At E3 2007, Sony released information that a new version of the PSP would be released in September 2007, for all regions. The redesigned PSP is 33% lighter and 19% thinner than the original PSP. The redesign also features composite TV Output, supports charging via USB, double the onboard RAM (32 MB to 64 MB), and has a brighter screen. It also caches UMD data in memory to decrease game loading times. The WLAN switch has been moved to the top where the old IR receiver was to avoid accidental switching, and the speakers have been moved from the bottom of the screen to nearer the top, to prevent users from accidentally blocking the speakers with their hands.
Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to as the System Software, to be updated. The updates can be downloaded directly from the Internet using the Network Update feature, or they can be downloaded from the official PlayStation website to a computer, transferred to a Memory Stick Duo, and subsequently installed on the system. Updates can also be installed from UMD game discs that require the update to run the game.
While system software updates can be used with consoles from any region, Sony recommends only downloading system software updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase. System software updates have added various features including a web browser, Adobe Flash support, additional codecs for images, audio, and video, PlayStation 3 connectivity, as well as patches against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs. It is currently at v.3.93
The PSP's version of the XrossMediaBar (pronounced Cross Media Bar and abbreviated XMB) includes six categories of options. These include Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, and Network. The PSP has the capability to play photo slideshows and audio and video files stored on a Memory Stick, monitor and save content from RSS channels, and send and receive photos wirelessly with other PSPs while in add-hoc mode. The PSP also includes the ability to customize the appearance of the XMB with different colors, photos, or themes. Although the XMB can be accessed at any time by pressing the Home button, the currently running application will exit before showing the interface (with the exception of a photo slideshow).
Remote Play allows the PSP to access many features of a PlayStation 3 console from a remote location using the PS3's WLAN capabilities, a home network, or the Internet. Features that can be used with Remote Play include viewing photos and slideshows, listening to music, watching videos stored on the PS3's HDD, and several other features. Additionally, Remote Play allows the PS3 to be turned on and off remotely and allows the PSP to control audio playback from the PS3 to a home theater system without having to use a television. Although most of the PS3's cababilities are accessible with Remote Play, playback of DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, most PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 games, and copy-protected files stored on the PS3's hard drive is not supported.
In addition to playing PSP games, several PlayStation games have been rereleased and can be downloaded and played on the PSP via emulation. Currently, the only two official ways to access this feature is through the PlayStation Network service for PlayStation 3 or a PC.
Demos for commercial PSP games can be downloaded and booted directly from a Memory Stick. Demos are also sometimes issued in UMD format and mailed out or given to customers at various retail outlets as promotional content.
During E3 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that the Greatest Hits range of budget titles were to be extended to the PSP system. On July 25, 2006, Sony CEA released the first batch of Greatest Hits titles. The PSP Greatest Hits lineup consist of games that have sold 250,000 copies or more and have been out for nine months. PSP games in this lineup retails for $19.99 each.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced on September 5, 2006, that a number of titles would be available under the Platinum range for €24.99 each in Europe and £19.99 in the UK.
In late April 2005, hackers began to discover the intricacies of the file system used on PSP UMD game discs. By early May 2005, the first "Hello World!" programs had been run on the PSP and the full capabilities of the system began to be opened to the homebrew community. Later exploits have allowed for PSPs using later versions of Sony's firmware to run homebrew applications, and development of new exploits to bypass new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs is ongoing. Utilizing homebrew applications allows for a significant increase in functionality on the PSP, such as FLAC and Ogg Vorbis audio playback, emulation of dozens of different video game systems, and e-book viewing. Since the creation of the Pandora's Battery software by a conglomeration of PSP homebrew developers, any PSP may be hacked to utilize homebrew software, regardless of its firmware version.
* Sony admitted in late 2005 to hiring graffiti artists to spray paint advertisements for the PSP in seven major U.S. cities including New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The mayor of Philadelphia has filed a cease and desist order and may file a criminal complaint. According to Sony, it is paying businesses and building owners for the right to graffiti their walls.
* In 2006, Sony ran a poster campaign in England. One of the poster designs with the slogan "Take a running jump here" was removed from a Manchester Piccadilly station tram platform due to concerns that it might encourage suicide.
* News spread on in July 2006 of a billboard advertisement released in the Netherlands which depicted a literally white colored woman holding a similarly literally black colored woman by the jaw, saying "PlayStation Portable White is coming." Some found this to be racially charged due to the portrayal of a white woman subjugating a black woman. Two other similar advertisements also existed, one had the two women facing each other on equal footing in fighting stances, while the other had the black woman in a dominant position on top of the white woman. The stated purpose of the advertisements was to contrast the white and black versions of its game console available for sale. These ads were never released in the rest of the world, and were pulled from the Netherlands after the controversy was raised.
* Sony came under scrutiny online in December 2006 for a guerrilla marketing campaign hoping to go viral, for the console, with advertisers masquerading as young bloggers who desperately wanted a PSP. The site was registered to and created by youth marketing company Zipatoni on behalf of Sony before it was taken down. A mirror of the blog can be found here.
The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage media. Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen, robust multi-media capabilities, and connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the Internet.
Despite the console's considerable computing power and its formidable multimedia capabilities, sales have consistently lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS. After the release of a remodeled, slimmer, and lighter version of the PlayStation Portable, appropriately titled Slim and Lite, in early September 2007, sales quadrupled in the United Kingdom the following week and increased by nearly 200% in North America for the month of October. Although the PSP has faced very stiff competition from the Nintendo DS, it has been by far the most successful handheld console not manufactured by Nintendo.
Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E3 2003. Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the press conference or E3, Sony did release extensive technical details regarding the new console. Then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Ken Kutaragi called the device the "Walkman of the 21st Century" in a reference to the console's multimedia capabilities. Several gaming websites were impressed by the handheld's computing capabilities and looked forward to the system's potential as a gaming platform.
The first concept images of the PlayStation Portable appeared in November 2003 at the Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting and showed a PSP with flat buttons and no analog stick. Although some expressed concern over the lack of an analog joystick, these fears were allayed when the PSP was officially unveiled at the Sony press conference during E3 2004. In addition to announcing more details about the system and its accessories, Sony also released a list of 99 developer companies that had pledged support for the new handheld. Several PSP game demos, such as Konami's Metal Gear Acid and SCE Studio Liverpool's Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference.
On October 17, 2004, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in Japan on December 12, 2004 at a price of ¥19,800 (about US$185) for the base model and ¥24,800 (about US$230) for the Value System. The console's launch was a success with over 200,000 units sold the first day.
Sony announced on February 3, 2005, that the PSP would go on sale in North America on March 24, 2005 in one configuration for a MSRP of US$249/CA$299. Some expressed concern over the high price, which was almost US$20 higher than the system's price in Japan and more than $100 higher than the recently launched Nintendo DS. Despite the concerns, the PSP's North American launch was a success, although reports two weeks later indicated that the system was not selling as well as expected despite Sony's claim that 500,000 units had been sold in the first two days.
The PSP was originally to have a simultaneous PAL region and North American launch, but on March 15, 2005, Sony announced that the PAL region launch would be delayed because of high demand for the console in Japan and North America. A month later, on April 25, 2005, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in the PAL region on September 1, 2005 for €249/£179. Sony defended the high price, which was nearly US$100 higher than in North America, by pointing out that North American consumers had to pay local sales taxes and that the GST was higher in the UK than the US. Despite the high price, the console's PAL region launch was a resounding success, selling more than 185,000 units in the UK alone, 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 the PAL region with more than 25,000 units preordered in Australia and nearly one million units sold across Europe in the first week.
*At E3 2007, Sony released information that a new version of the PSP would be released in September 2007, for all regions. The redesigned PSP is 33% lighter and 19% thinner than the original PSP. The redesign also features composite TV Output, supports charging via USB, double the onboard RAM (32 MB to 64 MB), and has a brighter screen. It also caches UMD data in memory to decrease game loading times. The WLAN switch has been moved to the top where the old IR receiver was to avoid accidental switching, and the speakers have been moved from the bottom of the screen to nearer the top, to prevent users from accidentally blocking the speakers with their hands.
Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to as the System Software, to be updated. The updates can be downloaded directly from the Internet using the Network Update feature, or they can be downloaded from the official PlayStation website to a computer, transferred to a Memory Stick Duo, and subsequently installed on the system. Updates can also be installed from UMD game discs that require the update to run the game.
While system software updates can be used with consoles from any region, Sony recommends only downloading system software updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase. System software updates have added various features including a web browser, Adobe Flash support, additional codecs for images, audio, and video, PlayStation 3 connectivity, as well as patches against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs. It is currently at v.3.93
The PSP's version of the XrossMediaBar (pronounced Cross Media Bar and abbreviated XMB) includes six categories of options. These include Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, and Network. The PSP has the capability to play photo slideshows and audio and video files stored on a Memory Stick, monitor and save content from RSS channels, and send and receive photos wirelessly with other PSPs while in add-hoc mode. The PSP also includes the ability to customize the appearance of the XMB with different colors, photos, or themes. Although the XMB can be accessed at any time by pressing the Home button, the currently running application will exit before showing the interface (with the exception of a photo slideshow).
Remote Play allows the PSP to access many features of a PlayStation 3 console from a remote location using the PS3's WLAN capabilities, a home network, or the Internet. Features that can be used with Remote Play include viewing photos and slideshows, listening to music, watching videos stored on the PS3's HDD, and several other features. Additionally, Remote Play allows the PS3 to be turned on and off remotely and allows the PSP to control audio playback from the PS3 to a home theater system without having to use a television. Although most of the PS3's cababilities are accessible with Remote Play, playback of DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, most PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 games, and copy-protected files stored on the PS3's hard drive is not supported.
In addition to playing PSP games, several PlayStation games have been rereleased and can be downloaded and played on the PSP via emulation. Currently, the only two official ways to access this feature is through the PlayStation Network service for PlayStation 3 or a PC.
Demos for commercial PSP games can be downloaded and booted directly from a Memory Stick. Demos are also sometimes issued in UMD format and mailed out or given to customers at various retail outlets as promotional content.
During E3 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that the Greatest Hits range of budget titles were to be extended to the PSP system. On July 25, 2006, Sony CEA released the first batch of Greatest Hits titles. The PSP Greatest Hits lineup consist of games that have sold 250,000 copies or more and have been out for nine months. PSP games in this lineup retails for $19.99 each.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced on September 5, 2006, that a number of titles would be available under the Platinum range for €24.99 each in Europe and £19.99 in the UK.
In late April 2005, hackers began to discover the intricacies of the file system used on PSP UMD game discs. By early May 2005, the first "Hello World!" programs had been run on the PSP and the full capabilities of the system began to be opened to the homebrew community. Later exploits have allowed for PSPs using later versions of Sony's firmware to run homebrew applications, and development of new exploits to bypass new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs is ongoing. Utilizing homebrew applications allows for a significant increase in functionality on the PSP, such as FLAC and Ogg Vorbis audio playback, emulation of dozens of different video game systems, and e-book viewing. Since the creation of the Pandora's Battery software by a conglomeration of PSP homebrew developers, any PSP may be hacked to utilize homebrew software, regardless of its firmware version.
* Sony admitted in late 2005 to hiring graffiti artists to spray paint advertisements for the PSP in seven major U.S. cities including New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. The mayor of Philadelphia has filed a cease and desist order and may file a criminal complaint. According to Sony, it is paying businesses and building owners for the right to graffiti their walls.
* In 2006, Sony ran a poster campaign in England. One of the poster designs with the slogan "Take a running jump here" was removed from a Manchester Piccadilly station tram platform due to concerns that it might encourage suicide.
* News spread on in July 2006 of a billboard advertisement released in the Netherlands which depicted a literally white colored woman holding a similarly literally black colored woman by the jaw, saying "PlayStation Portable White is coming." Some found this to be racially charged due to the portrayal of a white woman subjugating a black woman. Two other similar advertisements also existed, one had the two women facing each other on equal footing in fighting stances, while the other had the black woman in a dominant position on top of the white woman. The stated purpose of the advertisements was to contrast the white and black versions of its game console available for sale. These ads were never released in the rest of the world, and were pulled from the Netherlands after the controversy was raised.
* Sony came under scrutiny online in December 2006 for a guerrilla marketing campaign hoping to go viral, for the console, with advertisers masquerading as young bloggers who desperately wanted a PSP. The site was registered to and created by youth marketing company Zipatoni on behalf of Sony before it was taken down. A mirror of the blog can be found here.
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