Sony PSP

Release: Late 2004

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced that it will release the PSP (or PlayStation Portable), a portable video game system in late 2004. This system will have a larger backlit screen than the Game Boy Advance, USB 2.0, Sony Memory Stick capability and MPEG 4 decoder ability.

The media for the PSP will be Sony's own Universal Media Disk (UMD), which is a small optical disk in plastic casing. These discs can hold up to 1.8 GB of data.

The PSP's screen is also 16:9 ratio, which is the same as widescreen movies. The portable system will also have built in speakers and headphone output (which the competing Game Boy Advance SP lacks), a rechargable lithium-ion battery. Sony is calling the PSP the "Walkman of the 21st Century."

Nintendo, creators of the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance have controlled the handheld gaming market since they entered it. Challenges to their position have been made by Atari, Sega and numerous other companies in the past, but in nearly 15 years, nobody has come close.