Happy Birthday: PSP Turns Five

5 years ago when the PSP launched onto the market, it was quite an ambitious device. There hadn’t yet been an “all-in-one” on-the-go gaming device that would play all of your media too. Fast forward to today, where many of those key features the PSP ushered in are available in nearly every gadget on the market. Today marks 5 years since Sony released the PlayStation Portable. Happy Birthday PSP.

Over the years, the PSP has adapted and evolved, becoming a much better device than what was first released back in March of 2005. The PSP has been redesigned a handful of times, slimming down more and more with each time until the recent removal of the UMD drive in the PSP Go model. The system has also received many firmware updates, which bring new and useful features to the handheld.

Since its release Sony’s portable PlayStation has sold over 60 Million units worldwide with over 17 Million of them being in the US alone. There has been over 520 UMD software titles (300 of which are available on the PlayStation Network) made available for the system from over 245 developers. Some of the biggest names in gaming have graced the platform including Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy, and God of War.

Back in 2007, just 2 years into the PSP’s lifecycle, a firmware update brought access to the PlayStation Store adding to the value packed into the PSP by offering over 20,000 pieces of digital content.

Though the system is not all fairy tales with happy endings. From day one, piracy has been a major issue for both Sony and publishers looking to make a return on their games. It’s likely that the system would have been even more of a success had publishers not been scared away from releasing titles on the PSP by software pirates and hackers.

The system has had its ups and downs, but overall the past 5 years of owning a PSP have been a great experience.

Tell us some of your most memorable PSP moments in the comments below…

TRENDING