The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated as PSP) was a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Its development was first announced during E³ 2003, and it was officially unveiled at a Sony press conference before E³ 2004. The system was released in late 2004. The PlayStation Portable had the ability to play video games, watch videos, listen to music, and view images. The PSP was also one of the first wireless handheld systems, bearing an inbuilt Wi-Fi adapter that permitted Internet browsing as well as wireless local play for select games and use as a "second screen" for the PlayStation 3. Since the PSP was an Internet-enabled device, users could purchase and play original PlayStation games from the PlayStation Network on the PSP.. The handheld system and many of its associated services were discontinued worldwide in 2014. The PSP was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita, with which its downloadable games are compatible.
Device-based PSN services for this system were discontinued in the United States as of March 31, 2016.[1] PlayStation Network services were fully terminated July 2, 2021 as per an email statement to registered PSN users. Even so, it is still possible to sideload prior purchases from the PlayStation Store website (Microsoft Windows systems only), or by using a PS3 in conjunction with the PlayStation Store applet on the console.
Hardware versions[]
PlayStation Portable hardware underwent as many as four major revisions, each improving in terms of hardware, memory capacity, and firmware capabilities over the unit before it and also decreasing overall size and weight. The final mainline model, the PSP-3000 series, was the slimmest. It allowed for direct output to a standard TV screen via cable link, also adding extra UMD cache memory for quicker load times, a brighter screen and an internal microphone that previous revisions lacked.
The fourth model, PSP-N1000, dubbed PSPgo, eschewed the original series' UMD drives in favor of a digital-only distribution model. This model had 16 GB of internal flash memory with support for up to 32 GB M2 cards as external storage.
Universal Media Disc format[]
The Final Fantasy II UMD and print manual in a jewel case.
Games and movies for the PSP were released on Sony's exclusive Universal Media Disc (UMD) format. Loosely based on earlier DVDs, the UMD was approximately 2.5 inches in diameter and held up to 1.8 GB of data, protected in a plastic enclosure. Although movies were required to conform to DVD region locking, PSP UMD games were largely region-free.
Final Fantasy titles for PSP[]
UMD[]
List of Final Fantasy titles on UMD.
| Game | Release Date | Metascore | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japan
|
 North America
|
 Europe
| ||
| Final Fantasy | April 19, 2007 | June 26, 2007 | February 8, 2008 | 67 |
| Final Fantasy II | June 7, 2007 | July 24, 2007 | February 8, 2008 | 63 |
| Final Fantasy III | September 20, 2012 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection | March 24, 2011 | April 19, 2011 | April 22, 2011 | 77 |
| Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- | December 18, 2008 | August 25, 2009 | September 4, 2009 | 83 |
| Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | May 10, 2007 | October 5, 2007 | October 9, 2007 | 88 |
| Final Fantasy Type-0 | October 27, 2011 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy | December 18, 2008 | August 25, 2009 | September 4, 2009 | 79 |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning | November 1, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy | March 3, 2011 | March 22, 2011 | March 25, 2011 | 78 |
| Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable | May 25, 2006 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
PlayStation Network[]
List of Final Fantasy titles on the PlayStation Network. These games can no longer be purchased as new due to the PSP storefront being offline; but existing license holders can re-download prior purchases from their accounts at any time.
| Game | Release Date | Metascore | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan
|
North America
|
Europe
| ||
| Final Fantasy | June 24, 2009 | January 10, 2012 | February 16, 2011 | 67 |
| Final Fantasy II | July 8, 2009 | March 2, 2011 | January 10, 2012 | 63 |
| Final Fantasy III | September 20, 2012 | September 25, 2012 | September 26, 2012 | N/A |
| Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection | March 24, 2011 | April 19, 2011 | April 21, 2011 | 77 |
| Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | May 10, 2007 | October 9, 2007 | October 5, 2007 | 88 |
| Final Fantasy Type-0 | October 27, 2011 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy | December 18, 2008 | August 25, 2009 | September 4, 2009 | 79 |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning | November 1, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy | March 3, 2011 | March 22, 2011 | March 25, 2011 | 78 |
| Dissidia 012 Prologus Final Fantasy | January 18, 2011 | March 15, 2011 | March 23, 2011 | N/A |
| Crystal Defenders | N/A | N/A | October 29, 2009 | N/A |
PSOne Classics[]
| Game | Release Date | Metascore | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan
|
North America
|
Europe
| ||
| Final Fantasy Origins | N/A | January 10, 2011 | N/A | 79 |
| Final Fantasy IV | June 27, 2012 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Final Fantasy V | April 6, 2011 | November 22, 2011 | May 4, 2011 | 80 |
| Final Fantasy VI | April 20, 2011 | December 6, 2011 | June 2, 2011 | 80 |
| Final Fantasy VII | April 9, 2009 | June 2, 2009 | June 4, 2009 | 92 |
| Final Fantasy VIII | September 24, 2009 | December 17, 2009 | February 4, 2010 | 90 |
| Final Fantasy IX | May 20, 2010 | June 15, 2010 | February 26, 2010 | 94 |
| Final Fantasy Tactics | May 13, 2009 | September 17, 2009 | N/A | 83 |
| Vagrant Story | August 12, 2009 | March 1, 2011 | December 22, 2009 | 92 |
| Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon | May 25, 2010 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Chocobo Racing | February 9, 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
UMD Videos[]
Related titles for PSP[]
Special Limited Editions[]
To mark the release of Final Fantasy games on the system, Square Enix has released several Limited Edition versions of the PlayStation Portable.
Crisis Core[]
The PSP Crisis Core set.
Square Enix released on September 13, 2007, a Limited Edition PSP Slim; The console bundled with the game, as well as a Buster Sword wrist strap. The PSP itself is silver in color and featured the Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary logo as well as some artwork of Zack, Sephiroth, and Cloud drawn by Nomura. Only 77,777 units were available and all of them were sold in one day.
A similar bundle was also released in Europe, but lacked the Buster Sword wrist strap and the slightly changed cover art for the game. While this set was limited as well, it is not known how many packages were produced.
Dissidia[]
The Dissidia-themed PSP casing.
Square Enix bundled this Limited Edition PSP with the game itself. It was sold in a special one-week-only to a select group of winners of a lottery in Japan. Only Square Enix members could enter the contest.
Citations[]
- ↑ Makuch, Eddie, "PSP's PlayStation Store Will Be Removed Soon. Here's When", Gamespot, 29 Feb 2016.