The PlayStation Portable is 19 and still going strong

This blog's URL is PSP2Roundup. I started it in 2010 ahead of the Vita's (then NGP, hopefully PSP2) launch, well into the original's lifespan. I wish I'd started it earlier to ride the phenomenal success of Sony's first portable as it swept the world, topping 80 million units sold and vast numbers of games. 

Sony's first chunk of PlayStation Portable hardware is 19 today, launched on the 12th of December in Japan, and I rush imported one via a friend with Japanese connections (my first ever hardware import) as I couldn't wait until almost a year later for the PAL launch. 

And I still have it on my desk today, it's a bit quirky - needs to be plugged in, and takes a few tries to read some UMDs. But otherwise plays as well as the day it arrived, when PSP delivered the staggering joy of WipEout Pure and Ridge Racer in my hand. Younger gamers cannot imagine the revolution that PSP delivered. 

With no region lock, I could play any game in the world. The built-in media player and decent UMD movie library made it the perfect portable entertainment device for long journeys and commutes. And the easy-to-join multiplayer games from PES, Tekken and Star Wars Battlefront to (mostly) Monster Hunter drove sales, notably, wild in Japan. 

The PSP's Powerful Legacy

Aside from new games, the PSP drove the concept of legitimate backward compatibility, bringing PSOne titles along for the ride via the digital store. It helped drive the rise of indie developers with PlayStation Minis and brought along Internet radio, comic books and TV apps for a true media experience. 

And across the PlayStation ecosystem, it drove interaction with the PS3 with limited Remote Play and some interaction between games, like Resistance 2 - the one thing I wish Sony's developers had done lots more with to help big-screen gamers cross the streams. Then, along came the 2000/3000 models could support TV-out for a big-screen experience. 

And then there were the limited editions, bringing bright colours and designs to help drive sales and boost interest whenever a major release came along, again something Sony has dropped the ball on (outside Japan) in recent generations after retiring the PSP in 2014. 

PSP even had GPS and a camera through external accessories, for some pre-smartphone tourism and education apps. But the main sell was the games, and the PSP had all the big series, including multiple Grand Theft Autos, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Call of Duty, Daxter and more. 

Totalling over 2,000 titles from the quirky Patapon and LocoRoco to a growing tide of indies and EA's sports series - all on the go, PSP was a monster. 

Ever better, it introduced me to so many Japanese series from Persona and Ys, to Gundam and Hatsune Miku. And then there was Monster Hunter and its clones, single-handedly making gaming more social and interesting. 

Having brought the gaming world together, and extended the range of PlayStation to a broader set of gadget lovers, Sony may have botched the successor (or the world had moved on), but we'll always have PSP and its legacy. 

With backward-compatibility on the Vita, and a new breath of life on the PS5's PSN for tweaked PSP titles, the PSP will never vanish. Also, as the emulator box of choice for many gamers, sales and spare parts continue to thrive. 

Games may have changed or vanished, but Vita helped keep many PSP titles alive

Today, with PlayStation Portal, Sony might have given up on portable games development, due to the massive demands of big budgets and finite resources, but on-the-go gaming will continue in some form for the PlayStation brand for many years to come. And you can still pick up a PSP from second hand stores or eBay from £40-£500 depending on the model and condition.