It's still hard to accept that Sony left handheld gaming

[LongLivePlay94]

Honestly, my PSP was my companion device. Christmas 2006, I'm brimming with anticipation at what the day has in store. I finish eating Christmas dinner and after pudding we open our big presents. Inside the last present is a the first generation PSP with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Killzone: Liberation. Life is good.

This device literally became my go-to device for so much. Portable music player, check. Entertainment on public transport, commutes and trips to Cornwall, check. Watching film and TV, check. Keep my pictures and comics, check. Browsing the internet, check. Playing multi-player with friends, check. Enjoy amazing games, check.

Over the years I enjoyed so many amazing games. Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, The 3rd Birthday, LittleBigPlanet, Half Minute Hero, various Yu-Gi-Oh! games, Valkyrie Profile, Jean D'Arc, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core and various other Final Fantasy games, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, various Monster Hunter games, the God of War games, the Persona Games, Dissidia, Syphon Filter, Resistance, Valkyria Chronicles, Tony Hawk, Castlevania, Gitaroo Man, Twisted Metal, Motorstorm, MediEvil, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, lots of LEGO games, Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed, WWE, SOCOM, Crash Bandicoot, lots of Spider-Man games, Armored Core, Dragonball Z, White Knight Chronicles, Ghost in the Shell. Some of the PlayStation Mini's were really good too.

I could just throw more and more out there. I still have over 500 PSP games. I went on to own the PSP 3000 model and a PSP Go. The Vita was well documented for it's problems. Bespoke charging port, bespoke memory cards that were priced stupidly, lack of killer software, expensive price point etc. But I equally loved the innovation and games. It just needed more support that it never received as Sony pretty much decided all focus needed to be on PS4 and it's handheld business was gradually being eaten by smart phones.

But I still play on my PSP. Finding replacement batteries in this day and age is incredibly, incredibly hard. I still love my Vita. I'm sad that so many great games are stuck on these consoles and I can't play them on my PS4 or PS5. I really hope on the day that Sony take backwards compatibility seriously that I can finally play Soul Sacrifice Delta on PS5 or Uncharted: Golden Abyss or the many, many PSP titles that I still enjoy now. I've seen the mock ups for the PSP 5G and it keeps opening that wound that I'll likely never see a proper weekly update on the PS Vita store again.

 

[buttzilla]

Edit: low effort reply, disregard.

 

[shinobi602]

PSP was such an awesome little system with a treasure trove of games, basically a portable PS2 in your pocket. I ended up playing it way more than my DS even. Truly felt like a next-gen leap in the handheld space.

Shame what happened with Vita.

 

[Deleted member 3017]

The PSP really was an awesome device, full of great software.

The Vita was an absolute disaster though for multiple reasons and I completely understand why Sony bowed out of the handheld space.

 

[disconaldo]

One of my biggest gaming regrets is missing out on the Vita, but proprietary memory was a dealbreaker for me.

 

[Thorzilla]

Agreed OP. Opening the PSP's box for the very first time and firing up Metal Gear Acid is one of my greatest gaming memories ever. Just like you, I fell in love with it and played the hell out of it, alone and with friends (Crisis Core, Portable Ops, Monster Hunter, etc).

I'm still bitter at how little Sony supported the Vita themselves and how it was basically thrown to death. I still think there'd be a spot in the market for another portable competitor, but I guess Sony will never jump back into it again.

 

[Wein Cruz]

Shame what happened with Vita.

Click to shrink...

Sony had no choice once vita was jailed

 

[filkry]

Definitely one of my all-time favourite systems. I bought 3 PSPs over the lifetime of the console. It was my first big digital distribution console, and I got most games on the PSN Store once it was available. It felt so futuristic at the time to have dozens of games available portably. With CFW, I also replayed many of my PS1 games on the system. Just a sweet spot all around.

 

[Izzard]

Not gonna lie, I don't miss the PSP or Vita. But they both were awesome lil handhelds with some great games. I just don't get along with portable gaming.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

I loved my PSP and the Vita even more. Both were and still are amazing handhelds.

 

[Phoenom]

Great system. I hope one day it has a resurgance as a hardware modding system like the GBA right now. I'd love to stick a better screen on mine.

 

[Dust]

Both PSP and Vita were awesome pieces of hardware with great games. But Sony's mentality of big blockbuster games is clashing with handheld concept.

Shame really, I would even definitely take a Vita Remote Version with powerful wifi made just for PS4/PS5 remote play.

 

[DigSCCP]

Nah.
PSVR is a much better companion to PS home consoles.
On top of that portable games are usually, at least those from Sony, watered down versions of their home console counter parts.
I say this as someone who owns a Vita and still use it : I´m glad Sony dropped handheld gaming and hope they never look back.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Meh. They didn't treat it like a first class piece of hardware the way Nintendo did. All of Nintendo's best developers were always making software for their handhelds. Teams like Santa Monica and Naughty Dog never did anything for the PSP or Vita, so I didn't have much interest in it.

 

[BizzyBum]

Considering Sony's naming convention with the PlayStation, I'll never understand why the Vita wasn't simply called the PSP2.

 

[--R]

Maybe people should have bought a Vita idk

 

[leder]

Yeah it sucks. I'm a big Nintendo fan but that didn't stop me from loving the vita. Still gets some playtime even with the switch around. Reeeeaallly wish Sony would jump back in to handheld gaming at some point.

 

[LongLivePlay94]

Nah.
PSVR is a much better companion to PS home consoles.
On top of that portable games are usually, at least those from Sony, watered down versions of their home console counter parts.
I say this as someone who owns a Vita and still use it : I´m glad Sony dropped handheld gaming and hope they never look back.

Click to shrink...

Had Sony have actually put their studios behind it properly, there's no telling what they might have done. If they had an Adam Boyes, Gio Corsi and Asad Qislbash for the PSP it could have been so much more. Like the post I quoted below said, Sony's main studios never gave it the time of day. Had Sony developed a core management structure for portable gaming, who knows what could have been.

Meh. They didn't treat it like a first class piece of hardware the way Nintendo did. All of Nintendo's best developers were always making software for their handhelds. Teams like Santa Monica and Naughty Dog never did anything for the PSP or Vita, so I didn't have much interest in it.

Click to shrink...

This is a sad truth though. Naughty Dog and SSM weren't the juggernauts they are now when they came out but like another user alluded to, Sony thought ports of their own titles should be watered down ports of their PS2/PS3 equivalent which just isn't good business really.

Considering Sony's naming convention with the PlayStation, I'll never understand why the Vita wasn't simply called the PSP2.

Click to shrink...

I have to admit I liked NGP a lot more lol.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

While I do miss their handhelds, it was clear that they couldn't support both their consoles and handhelds at the same time.

 

[fade]

While I do miss their handhelds, it was clear that they couldn't support both their consoles and handhelds at the same time.

Click to shrink...

Console, handhelds, and VR at the same time.

 

[Foltzie]

I would love to see a story about why Sony never committed to the PSP and Vita, they both seemed like products born out of a committee instead of leadership committing to creating the best possible product inside whatever price target they had in mind.

You can see lack of commitment in the lack of resources allocated to Sony published games.

I may be biased, I disliked loading times on the PSP so much I didnt keep the system too long.

 

[iceblade]

Hard to accept, yeah, and very sad, but it'd be hard to say Sony really pushed the boat out past the first year of the Vita.

As others have said, it's such a shame since the Vita is a really REALLY nice device, and the games on it (even despite Sony's lack of attention) wind up being pretty fun, but again, they didn't really try very much and IMO seemed to want third parties to pick up the slack and/or focus primarily on the PS4. Nintendo on the other hand made sure to have a solid (and consistent after the early drought) slate of titles coming to the 3DS, and that included projects from their biggest franchises and devs. Even for the Wii U, Nintendo made sure to put out some VERY good games for the system.

 

[DigSCCP]

Had Sony have actually put their studios behind it properly, there's no telling what they might have done. If they had an Adam Boyes, Gio Corsi and Asad Qislbash for the PSP it could have been so much more. Like the post I quoted below said, Sony's main studios never gave it the time of day. Had Sony developed a core management structure for portable gaming, who knows what could have been.

This is a sad truth though. Naughty Dog and SSM weren't the juggernauts they are now when they came out but like another user alluded to, Sony thought ports of their own titles should be watered down ports of their PS2/PS3 equivalent which just isn't good business really.

Click to shrink...

What could have been ? Something below what they could deliver on a home console.
And that´s that.
Imagine wasting ND on a PS Vita game instead of allowing them to work on The Last of Us or Uncharted on PS3.
Just look at Gravity Rush, a game that is first a handheld game, and what happened when they were free of obsolete hardware.
I get it that for some the form factor can be better ( and why not sometimes even essencial ) but besides that there is only downsides.

 

[Deleted member 8463]

I remember watching Stand Alone Complex on my PSP on trains lol. But I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did the Vita, despite its problems.

 

[Human Resources]

Sony had no choice once vita was jailed

Click to shrink...

i remember buying a used PSPgo from a nice married couple and later on that day finding all of the dude's porn still on the drive. got the q-tips and rubbing alcohol out that day

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Sony: we let our developers choose whether they want to support our handheld consoles.
Sony devs: lol okay

You can't have one foot into a dedicated hardware space when your competition is all-in.

 

[BizzyBum]

i remember buying a used PSPgo from a nice married couple and later on that day finding all of the dude's porn still on the drive. got the q-tips and rubbing alcohol out that day

Click to shrink...

Go on...

 

[Shola Akinnuso]

the PSP had some major fundamental problems that I never understood from a design perspective. I remember that it was my 3rd time buying a PSP and I had given it so many chances. It was so cool having such a high-end portable little system. It never felt comfortable, though. The analog nub was too small or the button layout was weird because of the missing buttons. I was trying to MAKE myself like the thing because it really was the highest end.

I remember the day that I got the Wii U. Sony was having some kind of free weekend where you could play a multiplayer game. It might've been Killzone. It never connected with me. Then I tried playing CoD: Blops on my Wii U. It was like a light switch went off. That handheld experience, although tethered to the proximity of the Wii U base, felt like I had the full game and the full play experience in my hand. It was amazing. There was no compromise with the button layout because all of the buttons were there and placed similarly to where I would hold a Playstion or other modern controller. I continued to play that game, and many other Wii U games, until the system, became invalidated by the Switch.

I actually never played the PSP again. EDIT - it might've been the VITA. I can't remember. I've had all of them.

I really hope that Sony reconsiders getting back into the portable space. The Switch did everything that I wanted from the PSP. It delivers high-quality indy/small game experiences AND AAA games. If the technology permits, If they can find a way to make a portable PS4 (pipe dream, surely), that would be a real contender. Of course, I hope that they wouldn't make the mistake of not making a 1-1 play experience with the Dualshock!

 

[KamenSenshi]

I miss those portables as well even as someone who likes Nintendo. The PSP was just so futuristic and had some good software. PSP Go was just a couple years too soon.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

PSP and Vita were/are awesome devices. Lots of great original games, and I looove that they made so many PS1 classics available for emulation.

 

[Dant21]

From what I see in the performance of the current Ryzen mobile and embedded chips, Sony could build a all-digital PS4 handheld in a similar form factor and marginally worse battery life than a launch model Nintendo Switch, though it might cost a fair amount more. IMO, they would sell a massive number of consoles that way and could sell PS5 remote play as a major feature, but oh well.

 

[LongLivePlay94]

Console, handhelds, and VR at the same time.

Click to shrink...

I think Sony had given up on the Vita by 2016. Any developments from then on were minimal and composed of system software updates or Japanese releases.

What could have been ? Something below what they could deliver on a home console.
And that´s that.
Imagine wasting ND on a PS Vita game instead of allowing them to work on The Last of Us or Uncharted on PS3.
Just look at Gravity Rush, a game that is first a handheld game, and what happened when they were free of obsolete hardware.
I get it that for some the form factor can be better ( and why not sometimes even essencial ) but besides that there is only downsides.

Click to shrink...

It just sounds to me like you don't like handheld consoles.

I've had some amazing experiences with handheld systems and if you do want to use a good example, Media Molecule did great with Tearaway. They're a core Sony studio that you wouldn't have associated with handheld games.

Naughty Dog could have made an amazing game for the Vita but as it's been said, Sony had their core focus and handheld wasn't it, even if they did have Bend Studio, Japan Studio, Cambridge Studio, Zipper Interactive, Evolution Studios and Studio Liverpool all take a shot at the system. You could almost argue that Sony sent some of them to their death giving them a one last chance on the Vita and though they developed great games, cutting them anyway.

But you only have to look at the sales numbers that Pokemon, Mario, Zelda etc. bring in on Nintendo platforms that know that Sony's first party big hitters could still have great success there. Most of them have two teams so they could even supervise a smaller team whilst developing a bigger title if need be.

 

[MarcelRguez]

I liked the PSP as a portable PS2, but I loved it as a revival of the PS1 era and as a successor to the arcadey, pick-up-and-play games of the GBA. There's a ton of stuff on the system that, even today, I just get excited to boot up and play for a while.

Also, having the best version of Vampire Savior content-wise as an exclusive to date is worth a lot in my eyes.

 

[Shining Star]

It is sad... the Vita is so much better than the Switch in a lot of ways.

 

[fade]

I think Sony had given up on the Vita by 2016. Any developments from then on were minimal and composed of system software updates or Japanese releases.

Click to shrink...

Ya and PSVR came out in 2016. I think they just have a limited amount of eggs and decided to move the handheld eggs into the VR basket.

 

[Novocaine]

PSP for me filled the void before smartphones became a standard. I still remember how excited I was that I could use my PSP Go essentially as a phone via Skype. But WiFi hotspots around me were too rare to make it a real thing. It's a shame because Sony don't seem to know how to make it work. The Vita had so much potential but it didn't get the support it needed.

 

[Human Resources]

Go on...

Click to shrink...

nothing sinister luckily, just some meat/potatoes hardcore. i cleaned the hell out of that system just in case though
FORMAT YOUR SHIT

 

[werezompire]

I'd rather have a Vita2 than a PS5.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Ya and PSVR came out in 2016. I think they just have a limited amount of eggs and decided to move the handheld eggs into the VR basket.

Click to shrink...

As much as I love my Vita and PSP: Good move.

I still have massive backlogs for handheld devices back to the GBA. So I really don't need another portable. I play on PC and consoles most of the time anyway. But handhelds are great when you are not at home or for playing in bed.

 

[Kvothe Ctaeh]

Over the years I enjoyed so many amazing games. Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, The 3rd Birthday, LittleBigPlanet, Half Minute Hero, various Yu-Gi-Oh! games, Valkyrie Profile, Jean D'Arc, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core and various other Final Fantasy games, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, various Monster Hunter games, the God of War games, the Persona Games, Dissidia, Syphon Filter, Resistance, Valkyria Chronicles, Tony Hawk, Castlevania, Gitaroo Man, Twisted Metal, Motorstorm, MediEvil, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, lots of LEGO games, Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat, Need for Speed, WWE, SOCOM, Crash Bandicoot, lots of Spider-Man games, Armored Core, Dragonball Z, White Knight Chronicles, Ghost in the Shell. Some of the PlayStation Mini's were really good too.

Click to shrink...

I never had a handheld growing up because we couldn't afford consoles in our country. Now when I look at the PSP and PSPV catalogue of games I feel so envious. I wish Sony made a Vita successor so I could give it a shot and all those treasure troves of jrpgs.

 

[dom]

PSP was such ahead of its time device. Even with the iPhone releasing in 2007 it still felt futuristic.
The screen for its time was amazing.

 

[Dolce]

They didn't try with the Vita in terms of software, so it's not that surprising to me.

The biggest loss is that dedicated handhelds are pretty much dead, period.

PSP was such ahead of its time device. Even with the iPhone releasing in 2007 it still felt futuristic.
The screen for its time was amazing.

Click to shrink...

Outside of those insane dead pixels. It was pretty common to get upwards of 15-20 and since LCD was relatively new, you just had to accept it.

 

[captmcblack]

The PSP was the only handheld that ever reached the true "companion" nature of the Game Boy and DS series, and just like the DS it existed at a time where its utility for other things - browsing the internet, playing music and movies, reading comics/viewing pictures, reading ebooks and so on - was magical at a time where portable options for things like that weren't yet commonplace and uniform. Especially after CFW, PSP was such an amazing handheld device with so many games, such good performance and so much extra usage that it was a mainstay in my backpack for pretty much a decade after release.

It was a great time, and probably not replicable by any hardware manufacturer even today until there's that next convergence where people are lacking something from their mobile lives that a dedicated gaming handheld can provide.

 

[dom]

They didn't try with the Vita in terms of software, so it's not that surprising to me.

The biggest loss is that dedicated handhelds are pretty much dead, period.



Outside of those insane dead pixels. It was pretty common to get upwards of 15-20 and since LCD was relatively new, you just had to accept it.

Click to shrink...

i wouldnt call it common at all to get 15-20.

 

[808s & Villainy]

They largely didn't care. Both of them, aside from a handful of Sony games, were largely propped up by 3rd parties releasing games on them by virtue of them being Sony systems.

And whatever led to so many only PS4 + Vita releases

 

[Steve McQueen]

Still playing my PSP and Vita. Recently replayed FEZ, looking great on that Oled screen.

I remember getting my PSP from Lik-Sang with Ridge Racer and thinking...' okay, Nintendo is doomed', as I was blown away with the device.

Guess predicting the future isn't my strong suit.

 

[Mindfreak191]

I would buy a new Sony handheld in a heartbeat, I have the feeling that it would be bananas considering that they went through a bunch of teething problems with the Vita (which is weird since the PSP was sooo good).

 

[Dragonyeuw]

I feel a PS Vita branded as PSP2 launching with 16gb internal storage, native micro SD support, LCD screen and losing the back touchpad with a $199 price tag would have doubled its lifetime sales. Between launching in a period where mobile gaming was taking off and their own hardware design choices, the system never really had a chance out the gate.

Its almost like Sony released it more as a means to not completely concede the market to Nintendo than a product they had faith would actually be a reasonable success ( nowhere near PSP sales, but enough to justify its existence and not be abandoned 2 years in).

 

[teenaxta]

the problem was always the fact that PSP was regular PS's competitor. Developers would always be forced to choose between PSP and regular PS. you either go full handheld like switch or you scrap it.

 

[nikos]

Sony made the best handhelds. A new handheld would see way more use than my PS5, since I'm usually playing on PC. It would be the perfect companion.