PlayStation Portable

The **PlayStation Portable** (**PSP**) is a handheld video game console made by Sony. Designed and developed by Sony in Japan, it was first released there on December 12, 2004. It was later released in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe on September 1, 2005. It was first announced in 2003 at E3. Its first design was shown off the following year. The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld game console to use a disc as its media storage instead of a cartridge.

In addition to video games, the PSP can also be used for playing or displaying music, video, and pictures. To transfer data to a PSP, a USB cable must be used in order to send these files from another device, such as a computer. In most models, a Memory Stick Pro Duo is needed to store these items.

On January 31, 2014, shipments of the PlayStation Portable ceased in North America. Shipments ceased in Japan on June 30, 2014, and in Europe by the end of 2014.

## Games and movies
Games, as well as movies, were released for the PSP on the "Universal Media Disc" (UMD), a specially designed optical disc contained within a plastic enclosure. The UMD can hold up to 1.8 GB of data, far more than a CD, but still less than a DVD.

There are over 700 games for the PSP. In many countries, *Spider-Man 2* (the movie) was included for free with the console.

## Wireless
All models of the PSP, with the exception of the PSP-E1000, has built in Wi-Fi. This allows players who are traveling to download items, visit websites and play online. Until July 2, 2021, the PlayStation Portable could access the PlayStation Store to buy games and Downloadable Content for some games. The PlayStation Portable can also connect with the PlayStation 3 as a sort of remote control for movie playback and for downloading content.

The PlayStation 3 is also able to download PSP games through its PlayStation Store and transfer the games to a PSP when connected to it using a USB cable.

## Versions
There are five models of the PlayStation Portable. The first was **PSP-1000** (also known as "PSP fat"). The second was **PSP-2000**, a lighter version of the original PSP). The third was **PSP-3000**, which includes a built in microphone and improved LCD). The fourth was **PSP-N1000** (or **PSP Go**), which has a sliding screen design, Bluetooth and internal storage of 16GB replacing the UMD drive. The last was **PSP-E1000**, which is like PSP-3000, but without stereo sound, Wi-Fi and microphone.

Sony subsequently released the successor to the PSP, the PlayStation Vita, in Japan on December 17, 2011 and starting worldwide on February 22, 2012. The PlayStation Vita can play PSP games that are downloaded online from the PlayStation Store.

## Competition
The PlayStation Portable is like the Nintendo DS, because they are both handheld game systems that were sold in the 2000s. This meant they were rival products in the market. However, Nintendo and Sony said they were made for different people. The DS has sold more units than the PSP.

Another rival was the iPod touch made by Apple. Unlike Nintendo and Sony, Apple said that the iPod touch is better than the other systems, because it has more multimedia features along with being a game system. The PlayStation Portable has similar multimedia features.

## References