PlayStation Portable

The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP)^[5] is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment.^[6] Development of the console was first announced during E3 2003,^[7] and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004.^[8] The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004,^[9] in North America on March 24, 2005,^[10] and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005.^[11]

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.^[12][13] Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen,^[14] robust multi-media capabilities,^[15] and connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the Internet.^[16][17]

Despite the console's considerable computing power and its formidable multimedia capabilities, sales have consistently lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS.^[18] 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.^[19][20] The PSP has faced stiff competition from the Nintendo DS, but remains the second most successful handheld console of its generation.