The PlayStation Portable was Sony's first foray into the handheld gaming market. Not content with making a simple portable gaming device, Sony pushed the concept one step in front of the competition to bring us a handheld multimedia system, catering to both the veteran and casual gamer, which has arguably left an impression on the industry.

The launch of the PlayStation Portable was met with high success; the first two days of its sale (in the United States) landed over 500 000 units in consumers' homes and the first week alone generated sales of up to 150 million dollars. The console sold much better on launch in America than it did in Japan, where it came in second against the Nintendo DS. The console was finally available worldwide in September of 2005.

Commendation

The Playstation Portable's highest selling point is its position as a multimedia device, capable of music and video playback, storing photos and still media, and of course due to its internet functionality.

The console also offers incredibly detailed graphics and very fluid, crystal clear UMD movie playback.

Criticisms

The system is criticised for its low battery life, especially evident when watching a UMD movie at the highest brightness and volume. Leaving the Wifi switch on will also chew up battery life. There are longer life batteries readily available on the market, however.

The PlayStation Portable can also suffer from tediously slow loading times. This is due to the fact that it reads from discs instead of cartridges, and it really cannot be helped. It depends primarily on the game.

A good deal of the consoles released at launch had dead pixels on an otherwise crystal clear screen. The release of the white PSP and newly manufactured blacks PSPs have resolved this issue.