SonyPSP

• • Manufacturer: Sony Computer Entertainment

• Designer: Sony Computer Entertainment

• Generation: Currently on its 4th Generation (with PSPGo)

• Bits:

  • Core Processor: 32 Bit

  • Graphics Core: 256 Bit

  • 128 Bit Bus

• Year Released: 2005

• Units sold: 50 million units (as of January 2009)

• Media: Portable, UMD discs, Audio, Video.

• Summary: The Play Station Portable is Sony's primary portable gaming platform since its release year in 2005. Its main competitor remains the Nintendo DS. The Sony PSP, however, was announced at E3 2003, and since its conception has been intended to be "The Walkman of the Future" (As announced by then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Ken Kutaragi) being able to play movies, games, and audio, all in high-quality formats.

History

Sony originally announced the coming of the PSP at E3 2003, at this time no images or prototypes had been released. However, Sony did assure that the PSP would be a high-performance, multimedia device, with advanced processing power. Many technical details were released even before visual mock-ups were provided and the anticipation across various gaming websites was high and positive.

The PSP's launch in Japan (December 12, 2004) was met with huge success with over 200,000 units sold on the first day. Sony's release in America (February 3, 2005) was also successful despite early concerns over the elevated price tag.

It is important to note that the PSP has always had a very strong homebrew scene, with underground communities collaborating to crack every new iteration of Sony's firmware for the PSP. This has inevitably led to a war on piracy on behalf of Sony, with various (failed) attempts at effectively deterring the unlicensed use of its products.

Hardware

Dimensions: approx. 17 x 7.3 x 2.2 cm (6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 in)

Weight: 280 grams (9.88 ounces).

Features:

-LCD Screen (capable of 480 x 272 pixel video playback, 16.77 million colors)

-Standard buttons similar to the Playstation interface: (

, , , , directional pad, shoulder buttons and joystick)

-IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi access for internet, ad-hoc multiplayer gaming and data transfer.

- USB 2.0 mini-B port

-UMD drive for movies and games (Except on PSPGo)

-Compatible with Memory Stick Duo flash cards

Processing:

-Two 333 MHz MIPS32 R4000-based CPUs

-One GPU with 2 MB onboard VRAM running at 166 MHz

-Includes 32 MB main RAM and 4 MB embedded DRAM total

-Currently games can run at full 333 MHz (previously limited by firmware to 222 MHz)

Battery:

-1800 mAh battery capable of 4-6 hours of gameplay, 4–5 hours of video playback, or 8–11 hours of audio playback

The PSP has 4 different models (PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000, and PSPGo) and thus hardware specifications may vary. A more specific list can be found in the resources section below.