PlayStation Portable
It was expected that the GBA SP would be another hit in Nintendo’s stable of handheld successes that no other manufacturer could penetrate. But that wasn’t from a lack of trying. When SCE attempted to take a stab at it, everybody paid attention.
Ken Kutaragi, CEO of SCE and the “Father of the PlayStation,” announced his new “baby” at SCE’s pre-E3 conference on May 13. Most people in attendance had expected to hear something about the forthcoming PS3. Instead, Kutaragi spoke about the PSP (PlayStation Portable), which he referred to as “The Walkman of the 21st Century.”
The new handheld would feature a 4.5-inch, backlit, LCD widescreen. It would also have built-in stereo speakers and a standard headphone jack. And the device might even double as a cell phone.
Software would be housed on a new medium called the UMD (Universal Media Disc), which was a disc half the size of a DVD, but capable of storing 1.8GB of data. The discs themselves would be housed in caddies to
prevent damage.
Kutaragi did not specify either a price or a release date for the new device. In fact, a prototype wasn’t even shown. But Kutaragi did offer that the PSP would be launched sometime in 2004, in honor of the PlayStation’s tenth anniversary.
Check out more of the rich history of the industry in Leonard Herman’s book Phoenix IV available at Rolenta Press www.RolentaPress.com and make sure to sign up to get Old School Gamer Magazine for free by clicking here!
