When the new Playstation Portable hit the scene with its slim and lite design, people were skeptical about whether or not it was going to be a real improvement over the traditional PSP system already on the market. Since Sony had already forged their way into a new era of gaming with its Portable Playstation and Portable Playstation 2 versions, would the new portable system be along the same lines? To add pressure, Sony was in a gaming battle with rival company Microsoft, with the debut of the Playstation 3 going up against the Xbox 360.
September 6, 2007 was the launch date for the new Playstation Portable Slim & Lite. The name summed up its brand new look. On the surface the hand held console looked the same, but upon picking it up, the difference was immediately noticeable. The new Sony Playstation Portable was 33% lighter and 19% slimmer. However, the real improvements are inside the little hand held gaming console.
So what can you expect from the new gaming unit? You can expect shorter load times. The designers at Sony doubled the internal memory to 64 MB. The LCD screen is lighter. The D-pad is raised a bit higher, thus helping your fingers gain better control when playing. It also now has the ability to charge via its USB port while gaming. This was something the original could not do. Before, you could only charge the PSP system while not gaming.
Games are a big expense when it comes to playing. Most people elect to purchase games versus renting them. This was a great concern with the new Playstation Portable. Would the old games still play on the new system or would players be forced to buy all new games if they wanted the new system? Rest easy, because the new PSP does play the old games, and as well, any new Playstation Portable game will play on the older system.
Even though the new Playstation system is selling out on shelves, especially the limited edition version, Sony is not alone in the hand-held gaming market. The new Nintendo DS Lite is a formidable challenger to the sales of the PSP and there is always the threat of a portable Xbox gaming system. Nothing has been announced by Microsoft, but that is not keeping Sony from continuously tweaking their design to make it better.
