We need a new PSP, Sony!
The Switch is living proof: the handheld market is far from dead. Nevertheless, Sony has given up on mobile consoles after the Vita debacle – and that’s a damn shame. Because I miss the PSP terribly and I think it’s high time for a comeback.
A comment from Robert Kohlick:
PlayStation Portable: Sony’s PSP was just awesome
When it comes to consoles, I’ve always been a mixed bag. As a young child I fought my way through the Top 4 on my Game Boy in Pokémon Blue, as a young teenager I spun around Manhattan as Spider-Man on the PS2 and took care of my dogs in Nintendogs on the DS. I have incredibly fond memories of all these playing phases of my childhood, but none of the consoles fascinated me like the PSP during my school days – mainly because of the fascinating technology!
While I had to be satisfied with coarse pixel mud on the DS, the graphics on the PSP looked crisp and beautiful at the time. How did Sony manage to pack so much power into such a tiny device? I was blown away!
One memory of the PSP sticks in my mind to this day: for a whole school year, we always had two free periods between classes on Tuesdays. For my friends and I, that meant a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on energy drinks and chips, then we settled into the school building. Each of us pulled out our PSP, started Call of Duty: Roads to Victory or GTA: Vice City Stories and tried to finish off the others. It was magical!
The handheld was my trusty companion and was even pulled out during the brief 5-minute pause to continue fighting my way through Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.
Better than a smartphone? The PSP was a real revolution
But the PSP served me not only as a game console, she was a true multimedia marvel and almost something like my first smartphone. Thanks to WLAN, I was able to surf Facebook via the integrated browser and, with a few tricks, even watch YouTube videos. And if you had the appropriate conversion software and a few “digital backup copies” of your favorite films lying around, you could also download them to your PSP and watch on the go – the thing was a real all-rounder!
With a bit of “software tinkering”, the handheld could also be used great to use as a portable emulator. At least that’s what I was told by a friend of a distant relative…
Also interesting: PPSSPP: PlayStation Portable emulator for Android
The PS Vita was a flop, but you shouldn’t care!
The PSP went over the counter around 81 million times, while the PS Vita sold just 16.2 million units. But in all honesty, Sony, that was entirely your fault. The PS Vita had great hardware and cool features – but Sony forgot the most important thing: the games! There was not a single reason for us gamers to buy this wonderful piece of technology with OLED touchscreen, 6-axis gyroscopic sensors and touchpad on the back.
Features without end, but really good games for the PS Vita were in short supply – you could already guess that in the official trailer:
With a bit more commitment and perseverance, the PS Vita could have blossomed into a bestseller in my opinion. But what is not, can still become! So Sony, I ask you on behalf of all PSP and PS Vita fans: Don’t give up the fight against Nintendo. You’ve proven once before that you have what it takes to take on the handheld king!
In the meantime, I’ll try to get my PSP out of my parents’ attic again – the final boss of Crisis Core has been waiting for me to finally smash his face for over 10 years!
