The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP) [6] is a handheld game consolemanufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment.[7] Development of the console was first announced during E3 2003,[8] and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004.[9] The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004,[10] inNorth America on March 24, 2005,[11] and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005.[12]
The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage medium.[13][14] Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen,[15] robust multi-media capabilities,[16]and connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the Internet.[17][18]
Despite the console's superior computing power and multimedia capabilities, sales have (with cyclical exceptions) lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS.[19] Nevertheless, the console is "the most successful non-Nintendo handheld game system ever sold".[20] 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.[21][22]
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$181 in 2004) for the base model and ¥24,800 (about US$226 in 2004) for the Value System.[33] The console's launch was a success with over 200,000 units sold the first day.[34] They also sell different color variations in bundle packs, which cost more than usual, around $200. 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 ofUS$249/CA$299.[35] Some expressed concern over the high price,[36] which was almost US$20 higher than the system's price in Japan and more than $100 higher than the recently launched Nintendo DS.[37] Despite the concerns, the PSP's North American launch was a success,[38][39] 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.[40][41]
The PSP was originally to have a simultaneous PAL region and North American launch,[30] 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.[42] 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.[43] 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 theGST was higher in the UK than the US.[44] Despite the high price, the console's PAL region launch was a resounding success, selling more than 185,000 units in the UK alone, selling out of all stock nation wide in the UK within 3 hours of launch, more than doubling the previous first-day sales record of 87,000 units set by the Nintendo DS.[45] The system also enjoyed great success in other areas of the PAL region with more than 25,000 units preordered in Australia[46] and nearly one million units sold across Europe in the first week.[47]
