The Sony PSP was released in late 2005 to offer a further enhancement to the hand-held gaming experience. It was famed for being the first such console to utilize UMD capabilities and featured an impressively large viewing screen. Also included was a vast array of multimedia capabilities, including audio libraries transferable through memory sticks, photo viewing capabilities and a limited web access.

The PSP has always faced harsh competition from its major rival, the Nintendo DS, which is generally seen to be the more popular and successful choice. In an attempt to boost sales, Sony redesigned the PSP into a lighter, sleeker version, which also updated the many reported bugs that were blighting the PSP system.

The Sony PSP remains largely successful due to an impressive array of gaming titles adapted for the portable format, including Metal Gear: Portable Ops and the forthcoming, eagerly-anticipated Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.