Difference between revisions of "PlayStation Portable"

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[[Image:PSP.png|thumb|right|The PlayStation Portable, showing its "Cross Media Bar" screen.]]
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{{ConsoleBob
The '''PlayStation Portable''' (officially abbreviated as '''PSP''') is a [[handheld game console]] released and manufactured by [[Sony|Sony Computer Entertainment]]. Its development was first announced during [[E3|E³]] 2003, and it was officially unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E³ 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, the United States and Canada on March 24, 2005 and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. The PlayStation Portable offers the ability to play video games, watch videos, listen to music, view images, as well as Internet browsing functionality.
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| logos=[[File:PSP logo.svg|300px]]
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| consoleimage=PSP.png
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| imgwidth=320
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| name=
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| maker=[[Sony]]
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| variants=PSP Go, PSP Street
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| add-ons=
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| processor=
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| releases={{releasesPSP
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| psp_date_jp=2004-12-12
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| psp_date_us=2005-03-24
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| psp_date_eu=2005-09-01
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| psp_date_au=2005-09-01
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}}
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}}
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The '''PlayStation Portable''' (プレイステーションポータブル) (officially abbreviated as '''PSP''') is a handheld video game console released by [[Sony Computer Entertainment]] in late 2004. It stands as Sony's first foray into the handheld video game market, something traditionally dominated by [[Nintendo]]. It was succeeded by the [[PlayStation Vita]] in late 2011.
  
== Variations and accessories ==
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==Overview==
The PlayStation Portable is available as part of the '''Value Pack''' or '''Core Pack''', and in most territories it is also available as part of a '''Giga Pack''' and an '''Entertainment Pack'''. In Japan a base unit package or Core Pack was available at launch and was later released in North America and Europe. The Core Pack contains the console, a battery, and an AC adapter. The Core Pack retails for USD $199, HKD $1360, CDN $229.99, EUR €199, AUD $299.99 and GBP £149.99.
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The PlayStation Portable was marketed as being a handheld capable of playing "home console quality" games - technically superior to the [[Game Boy Advance]] and [[Nintendo DS]] but slightly less capable than a [[PlayStation 2]]. Though the console generated a significant amount of buzz upon release, the PSP spent most of its existence trailing behind Nintendo for one reason or another.
  
The Value Pack contains everything the core does, as well as a 32 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo, earphones with remote control, a slip-case, a wrist strap, and a Sampler Disc (in some territories). The Value Pack retails for USD $249.99, CDN $279.99, GBP £179.99, JPY ¥26,040, HKD $1660, SGD $455.00, EUR €209, AUD $399.00 and NZD $429.00. In some areas, the Value Pack has been superseded by the Entertainment Pack, containing the items of the Core Pack plus a copy of ''ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails'', the UMD movie ''Lords of Dogtown'', and a 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. The Giga Pack is similar to the value pack, except the Memory Stick Pro Duo is upped to 1 GB, and includes a USB Cable and stand. It retails for JPY ¥29,800, USD $299, CDN $349, and GBP £214. The Giga Pack is still available in all territories except North America, as the deal was based on a special offer that ended after the 2005 holiday season. Various other packages also exist.
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Multiple variants of the PSP exist, the most significant being the download-only PSP Go, released in 2009 (which ultimately failed to generate much interest). The system uses a proprietary disc format known as "Universal Media Disc" or UMD - the first handheld to opt for discs over cartridges, and often cited as one of the PSP's most significant failings due to the added load times and unreliability of the format.
  
Optional accessories offered by Sony include the PlayStation Portable headset, carrying case, extended-life 2200 mAh battery, headphones with remote control, battery charger, car adapter, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, AC adapter, and system pouch and wrist strap.
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Though sales were relatively strong for the PSP, the console began to lose ground to the Nintendo DS during its first two years of service, and remained in a distant second in most regions of the world. In Japan and other Asian regions, PSP sales frequently outperformed other systems due to the popularity of games such as the ''Monster Hunter'' franchise, but in the west the PSP (like its successor, the Vita), is cited for having two few truly unique games to take advantage of the hardware - much of the output from developers and publishers involved watered-down console games or spin-offs, leading to claims of an unoriginal library.
  
=== Colours ===
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==Sega Support==
PlayStation Portable is currently available in five colors: black, white, pink, blue, and silver. The white variation is available in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Europe, while the pink variation is available only in Europe, Hong Kong and Japan. The silver and metallic blue variations were released on December 14, 2006 and December 21, 2006 respectively in Japan and Hong Kong exclusively.
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Sega supported the PlayStation Portable upon release, publishing more than fifty games for the handheld. Like other publishers, Sega chose to stock the PSP with games that could also be found on other systems, but although much of the library is not exclusive to the console, more games were published by the company than for the Nintendo DS.
  
== Design and specifications ==
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Though Sega published a variety of games for the handheld, including ''[[After Burner: Black Falcon]]'', ''[[Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars]]'' and ''[[Crush]]'', in the latter years much of the company's output involved RPGs such as ''[[7th Dragon 2020]]'', ''[[Phantasy Star Portable]]'' (and its sequels), ''[[Valkyria Chronicles II]]'' and two ''Shining'' games; ''[[Shining Blade]]'' and ''[[Shining Hearts]]'', most of which were made exclusive to the Japanese and Asian markets.
=== Technical specifications ===
 
The PlayStation Portable was designed by Shin'ichi Ogasawara [小笠原伸一] for the Sony Computer Entertainment subsidiary of [[Sony|Sony Corporation]]. Early models were made in Japan but in order to cut costs, Sony has farmed out PlayStation Portable production to non Japanese manufacturers, mainly in China.  
 
  
The unit measures 170 mm (6.7 inches) in length, 74 mm (2.9 inches) in width, and 23 mm (0.9 inches) in depth, and has a mass of 280 grams (a weight of 0.62 lbs) including the battery. The TFT LCD screen measures 110 mm (4.3 in) diagonal with a 16:9 ratio and a 480×272 pixel resolution capable of 16.77 million colours.
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Perhaps one of Sega's biggest successes on the platform was the 2010 release of ''[[Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA]]'', which spawned an entire franchise in the years which followed. Sega dropped the platform in 2011 in favor of the next generation of handhelds.
  
The PlayStation Portable's main microprocessor is a multifunction device that includes a MIPS R4000-based CPU, hardware for multimedia decoding (such as H.264), as well as a vector unit dubbed "Virtual Mobile Engine". The MIPS CPU core is globally clocked between 1 and 333 MHz. During the 2005 [[Game Developers Conference]], Sony revealed that it had capped the PlayStation Portable's CPU clock speed at 222 MHz for licensed software. Its reasons for doing so are unknown, but are the subject of some speculation. Various homebrew tools enable users to operate at 333 MHz, generally leading to a higher framerate at the expense of battery life.
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==List of Sega games for the PlayStation Portable==
 
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{{multicol|
The system has 32 MiB main RAM and 4 MiB embedded [[DRAM]]. There is no memory management unit for the CPU. No evidence of a translation lookaside buffer has been found. The coprocessor that normally manages the TLB-based MMU seems to be a custom effort by Sony and has no integrated memory.
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*''[[7th Dragon 2020]]''
 
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*''[[7th Dragon 2020-II]]''
The 166 MHz graphics chip has 2 MiB embedded memory and through its 512 bit interface provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, hardware directional lighting, clipping, environment projection and texture mapping, texture compression and tessellation, fogging, alpha blending, depth and stencil tests, vertex blending for morphing effects, and dithering, all in 16 or 24 bit colour. The graphics chip also handles image output. Specifications state that the PlayStation Portable is capable of rendering 33 million flat-shaded polygons per second, with a 664 million pixel per second fill rate.
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*''[[After Burner: Black Falcon]]''
 
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*''[[Alien Syndrome (2007)|Alien Syndrome]]''
=== Battery Life ===
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*''[[Cars]]''
PlayStation Portable's battery life varies widely depending on application from less than 3 hours while accessing a wireless network and having screen brightness on its highest setting to more than 10 hours during MP3 playback with the screen turned off. A sleep mode is also available that uses minimal battery power to keep the system's RAM active, allowing for "instant on" functionality.
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*''[[Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars]]''
 
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*''[[Crush]]''
=== Interface ===
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*''[[Football Manager 2006|Football Manager Handheld]]''
The PlayStation Portable's main menu interface is the "Cross Media Bar" (XMB) used by recent Sony TVs, the PSX (DVR) hardware, and the [[PS3]]. It consists of a horizontal sequence of icons, in this case Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Games, and Network, which show a vertical sequence of sub-icons when highlighted.
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*''[[Football Manager 2007]]''
 
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*''[[Football Manager 2008]]''
The main menu system allows the user to, amongst other things, adjust settings such as date, time, and the PlayStation Portable's nickname for wireless networking, play video or audio files from the memory stick, load games or movie UMDs, check on estimated battery life, and set the PlayStation Portable into a "link mode" which makes the inserted memory stick available to a PC via USB. The XMB may be accessed at any time in a game by pressing the "Home" button on the console.
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*''[[Football Manager 2009]]''
 
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*''[[Football Manager 2010]]''
The PlayStation Portable's default background colour changes depending on the current month of the year, as follows:
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*''[[Football Manager 2011]]''
 
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*''[[Football Manager 2012]]''
* January – Light gray
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*''[[Football Manager 2013]]''
* February – Yellow
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*''[[Full Auto 2: Battlelines]]''
* March – Green
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*''[[Garnet Chronicle: Kouki no Maseki]]''
* April – Pink
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*''[[The Golden Compass]]''
* May – Dark green
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*''[[Guilty Gear XX Reload]]''
* June – Purple
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*''[[Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA]]''
* July – Aqua
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*''[[Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd]]''
* August – Blue
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*''[[Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Extend]]''
* September – Violet
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*''[[Initial D: Street Stage]]''
* October – Gold
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*''[[Iron Man]]''
* November – Light brown
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*''[[Iron Man 2]]''
* December – Red
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*''[[J.League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J]]''
 
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*''[[J.League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 7: Euro Plus]]''
The user may also manually pick a specific colour theme or specify a background from any stored image on the PlayStation Portable memory stick.
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*''[[J.League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 8: Euro Plus]]''
 
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*''[[Jissen Pachi-Slot Hisshouhou! Aladdin 2 Evolution Portable]]''
=== Firmware ===
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*''[[Jissen Pachi-Slot Hisshouhou! Hokuto no Ken Portable]]''
Each PlayStation Portable runs a particular version of the PSP firmware, which comprises the device's operating system and additional core functionality. Firmware updates can be obtained in three ways:
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*''[[Jissen Pachi-Slot Hisshouhou! Hokuto no Ken SE Portable]]''
* Direct download to the PSP over [[Wi-Fi]]. This can be performed by choosing "Settings", "Network Update" from the XMB.
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*''[[Jukugon]]''
* Download to a PC, then transfer to the PSP via a USB cable or Memory Stick.
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*''[[K-On! Houkago Live!!]]''
* Included on the UMD of some games. These games may not run with earlier firmware than the version on their UMD.
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*''[[Kamaitachi no Yoru 2 Tokubetsu Hen]]''
 
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*''[[Kurohyou 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura Hen]]''
While firmware updates can be used with consoles from any region, Sony recommends only downloading firmware updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase. Firmware 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 security against several security exploits and vulnerabilities. The current firmware version is 3.95
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*''[[Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou]]''
 
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*''[[Kyouto Daigaku Atsuji Tetsuji Kyouju Kansyuu: Zaidanhoujin Nihon Kanjinouryoku Kentei Kyoukai Kyouryoku: Kanji Trainer Portable]]''
== Homebrew development ==
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*''[[Machi: Unmei no Kousaten Tokubetsu Hen]]''
In May 2005, it was found that PlayStation Portables using the 1.00 version of the firmware (meaning original, first launch Japanese-only PlayStation Portables) could execute [[unsigned code]]. What this meant in practice was that these PlayStation Portables could run homebrew software, as the mechanism for checking to make sure that software has been approved by Sony had not yet been activated. Later exploits have allowed for PlayStation Portables using later versions of the firmware to run homebrew applications, and development of both new exploits to bypass restrictions and new restrictions to limit unauthorized programs is no longer needed after a modified battery with data from a 1.50 Firmware PSP could allow the PSP to downgrade to an earlier version or custom firmware such as 3.90 M33.
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*''[[Mind Quiz]]''
 
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*''[[Mite Kiite Nou de Kanjite Crossword Tengoku]]''
== Controversial advertising campaigns ==
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*''[[Myst]]''
 
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*''[[Nouryoku Trainer Portable 2]]''
*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, they are paying businesses and building owners for the right to graffiti their walls.
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*''[[Ore no Dungeon]]''
 
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*''[[OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast]]''
*News spread on in July 2006 of a billboard advertisement released in the Netherlands which depicted a white woman holding a black 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. Sony claimed that the purpose of the advertisements were 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.
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*''[[Phantasy Star Defender's Pack!]]''
 
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*''[[Phantasy Star Portable]]''
*Sony has recently come under scrutiny online for a viral marketing campaign for the console, with advertisers masquerading as young bloggers who desperately want a PSP. The site was registered to and created by youth marketing company Zipatoni on behalf on Sony before it was taken down.
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*''[[Phantasy Star Portable 2]]''
 
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*''[[Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity]]''
== External links ==
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*''[[Planetarium Creator Ohira Takayuki Kanshuu Homestar Portable]]''
=== Official sites ===
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*''[[Puyo Pop Fever]]''
*[http://www.yourpsp.com Official PlayStation Portable website] (Europe)
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*''[[Puyo Puyo 7]]''
*[http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx Official PlayStation Portable website] (US)
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*''[[Puyo Puyo Fever 2]]''
*[http://www.us.playstation.com/pressreleases.aspx?id=207 SCEA PSP Specifications press release]
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*''[[Puyo Puyo!]]''
 
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*''[[Puyo Puyo!!]]''
=== Unofficial sites ===
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*''[[Sakura Taisen 1 & 2]]''
*[http://psp.1up.com/ PSP on 1up.com]
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*''[[Sega Fun Pack: Sonic Rivals 2 & Sega Genesis Collection]]''
*[http://www.gamespot.com/psp/ PSP on GameSpot]
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*''[[Sega Mega Drive Collection]]''
*[http://psp.ign.com PSP on IGN]
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*''[[Sega Rally Revo]]''
 
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*''[[Senjou no Valkyria 3]]''
 
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*''[[Senjou no Valkyria 3 Extra Edition]]''
[[Category:Hardware]]
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*''[[Shining Ark]]''
 +
*''[[Shining Blade]]''
 +
*''[[Shining Hearts]]''
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*''[[Sonic Rivals]]''
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*''[[Sonic Rivals 2]]''
 +
*''[[Sony Computer Science Kenkyujo Mogi Kenitirou Hakusi Kansyuu: Nou ni Kaikan Aha Taiken!]]''
 +
*''[[Sony Computer Science Kenkyujo Mogi Kenitirou Hakusi Kansyuu: Nou ni Kaikan Minna de Aha Taiken!]]''
 +
*''[[Super Monkey Ball Adventure]]''
 +
*''[[Tenchu: Time of the Assassins]]''
 +
*''[[Touhoku Daigaku Mirai Kagaku Gijutsu Kyoudou Kenkyuu Center Kawashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Nouryoku Trainer Portable]]''
 +
*''[[Valkyria Chronicles II]]''
 +
*''[[Virtua Tennis 3]]''
 +
*''[[Virtua Tennis: World Tour]]''
 +
*''[[World Snooker Championship 2005]]''
 +
*''[[World Snooker Championship 2007]]''
 +
|cols=3}}
 +
[[Category:Non-Sega consoles]]

Revision as of 01:00, 6 February 2017

PSP.png
PlayStation Portable
Manufacturer: Sony
Variants: PSP Go, PSP Street
Release Date RRP Code
Sony PlayStation Portable
JP
Sony PlayStation Portable
US
Sony PlayStation Portable
EU
Sony PlayStation Portable
AU

The PlayStation Portable (プレイステーションポータブル) (officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld video game console released by Sony Computer Entertainment in late 2004. It stands as Sony's first foray into the handheld video game market, something traditionally dominated by Nintendo. It was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita in late 2011.

Overview

The PlayStation Portable was marketed as being a handheld capable of playing "home console quality" games - technically superior to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS but slightly less capable than a PlayStation 2. Though the console generated a significant amount of buzz upon release, the PSP spent most of its existence trailing behind Nintendo for one reason or another.

Multiple variants of the PSP exist, the most significant being the download-only PSP Go, released in 2009 (which ultimately failed to generate much interest). The system uses a proprietary disc format known as "Universal Media Disc" or UMD - the first handheld to opt for discs over cartridges, and often cited as one of the PSP's most significant failings due to the added load times and unreliability of the format.

Though sales were relatively strong for the PSP, the console began to lose ground to the Nintendo DS during its first two years of service, and remained in a distant second in most regions of the world. In Japan and other Asian regions, PSP sales frequently outperformed other systems due to the popularity of games such as the Monster Hunter franchise, but in the west the PSP (like its successor, the Vita), is cited for having two few truly unique games to take advantage of the hardware - much of the output from developers and publishers involved watered-down console games or spin-offs, leading to claims of an unoriginal library.

Sega Support

Sega supported the PlayStation Portable upon release, publishing more than fifty games for the handheld. Like other publishers, Sega chose to stock the PSP with games that could also be found on other systems, but although much of the library is not exclusive to the console, more games were published by the company than for the Nintendo DS.

Though Sega published a variety of games for the handheld, including After Burner: Black Falcon, Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars and Crush, in the latter years much of the company's output involved RPGs such as 7th Dragon 2020, Phantasy Star Portable (and its sequels), Valkyria Chronicles II and two Shining games; Shining Blade and Shining Hearts, most of which were made exclusive to the Japanese and Asian markets.

Perhaps one of Sega's biggest successes on the platform was the 2010 release of Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, which spawned an entire franchise in the years which followed. Sega dropped the platform in 2011 in favor of the next generation of handhelds.

List of Sega games for the PlayStation Portable