SONY PSP 3000

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The PlayStation Portable, also known as the PSP, is a handheld gaming console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released in Japan on December 12, 2004, it hit North America on March 24, 2005, and PAL regions on September 1, 2005. The PSP was the first handheld installment in the PlayStation line of consoles and marked a significant shift towards seventh generation gaming. Announced at E3 2003, the PSP made its grand debut at a Sony press conference on May 11, 2004. At that time, it was the most powerful portable console ever created, offering advanced graphics capabilities that put Nintendo's handheld consoles to shame. Many had tried before - SNK's Neo Geo Pocket and Nokia's N-Gage being notable examples - but failed miserably. The PSP quickly became a popular mobile entertainment device due to its impressive specs. It could connect to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PCs running Microsoft Windows or Apple Macintosh software, other PSP systems, and even the Internet. This connectivity made it a must-have for gamers on-the-go. The PSP's storage medium of choice was an optical disc format known as Universal Media Disc (UMD), which gave it a unique edge over its competitors. Critics raved about the PSP, and it went on to sell over 80 million units during its ten-year run. Several models were released before the PSP line was eventually succeeded by the PlayStation Vita in 2011. The Vita boasted backward compatibility with PSP games purchased through the PlayStation Store, which became the primary method of buying PSP games after Sony shut down access to the store from the PSP on March 31, 2016. Hardware shipments of the PSP ceased worldwide in 2014, and production of UMDs came to an end when the last Japanese factory producing them closed its doors late that year. The legacy of the PSP lives on through its impact on the gaming industry, paving the way for future handheld consoles like the Vita.