The Sony PocketStation - January 21, 2006
The PlayStation Portable (PSP), which was launched in March 2005, was not Sony’s first attempt to create a portable gaming device. Sony had launched another device called the “PocketStation” in December 1998 to compete with Sega’s VMU for the DreamCast. The unit was originally released in Japan, but because of its unpopularity it was never released in the United States or other countries. The main reason the unit failed might be the fact that the PocketStation never had any type of game cartridge media to insert into the unit. To play games on the unit you were required to own a PlayStation One. Then to get games onto the Pocket Station you had to plug the unit into the memory card slot on the PS1 then transfer games over. (also serves as a Memory Card) Another reason for failure was the fact that there were only a handful of PS1 games that actually included “mini-games” for the Pocket Station. Because of this design, the unit was absolutely pointless for the majority to purchase.
[Thanks for the pics, lipanz]
Other things Sony had intended for Pocket Station to be a tool to “train” characters and unlock new features in the full game editions. This was pretty much a rip off of Sega’s Virtual Memory Unit they released to go along with the DreamCast, which was eventually another failure because of the buggy parent unit. The Pocket Station also had speakers, a clock, infrared (for multiplayer), and once again served as a memory card. Pocket Stations are now “rare” novelty items and can only be purchased for high prices on sites such as eBay. This might have also been a plan to compete with Tamagotchi, but Sony obviously never came through.
Technical Specs:
- CPU : ARM7T (32 bit RISC Processor)
- Memory : SRAM 2K bytes & Flash RAM 128K bytes
- Graphics : 32 x 32 dot Monochrome LCD
- Sound : Mini Speaker (12 bit PCM) x 1 unit
- Switches : 5 input buttons + 1 reset button
- Infrared : Bi-directional (IrDA based)
- LED : 1 indicator
- Battery : Lithium battery (CR 2032)
- Other functions : Calendar & Identification #
- Dimensions : 64 x 42 x 13.5 mm (L x W x H)
- Weight : Approx. 30g (w/ battery)
Links: PlayStation | Sony | SCEA
Related: Free PS3 Conga | 8GB MS Duo
posted by Sahas Katta in Entertainment & Hardware
on 1/21/2006 at 05:38 PM with Comments (51) & TrackPings (5)
Search
Share This
Recent Posts
- CES 2009: Shure SE115 Headphones
- CES 2009: Haier Ibiza Touch “Sneak Peak”
- CES 2009: Sony VAIO P Series Notebook
- MacWorld 2009 Keynote
- November 2008 – Wii/PS3/360 Games
- Microsoft Updates The Zune
- Logitech MX 1100 Mouse Reviewed
- Acer Aspire One Review
- Nvision 08: A Future Of 3D Gaming
- Nvision 08: Audi Navigation
Categories
- News
- Site News
- Software
- Tips & Tweaks
- Deals
- Podcasts
- Hacking
- Reviews
- Business
- Entertainment
- Hardware
- Gaming
- Autos
- Mobile
- Internet
- Accessories
Archives
Subscribe
Write a Comment.
51 comments.
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
K.M. says
Whatever, PSP succeeded it and that’s that. By the way, by the sounds of it, FAILED, by the sounds of it. Look at the way you had to put a game on it! you had to own a PS1 to get the games on to it. Failure in my books.
Sal Crivello says
I have 2 pocketstations. A white one and a pink one from a PS1 Tomeki Memmorial game. I had a clear one but lost it. Someone mentioned the PS1 game Pocket MUUMUU. It is like going to an amusement park and you can download games for the Pocketstation… when I first got it I couldn’t find any games but it is dependent on the time of day which games are available. Someone wrote a FAQ at Gamefaqs.com that is at least 10 pages long. The Pocketstation was successful in Japan and the reason it never came over here was SONY couldn’t produce them fast enough in Japan and figured that it wasn’t worth the trouble of selling them in the U.S. and trying to keep up with the demand.
I have a special screwdriver that used to be available in Japan that would hold a spare battery and also allow the owner to open the battery case with ease. If left alone the batteries always die. Does anybody know how to turn the Pocketstation on and off? I have the same problem with the Dreamcast VMU since they both use the same batteries.
The Dreamcast was discontinued because Sega was bleeding money by making them and had to stop before they went bankrupt. The Japanese CEO at the time had to deposit thousands of yen just to keep the company afloat. That’s why they got out of the hardware business. I still play my Dreamcast every day and intend to get the last 2 games that may be available, Trigger Heart Excelcia and Karous. If you want a real challenge buy Last Hope for the Dreamcast. It’s as hard as Pulstar and R-Type.
LadyAshley says
I’ve had a pocketstation for a really long time, and a bit ago I was on wikipedia and read that you can download your pets from legend of mana to it to raise. I cant find any site that says whether its only for the japanese version or not. The only thing that they say is that the pocket station was only released in japan. If it IS possible in the US version of LOM, I havent been able to figure out how to do it, and I cant find any sites that TELL me how to do it! I would really appreciate it if someone could email me, and tell me if its compatible with the US version, and if so, how to activate it.
Thank You.
LadyAshley
FallenAngel says
ive been surching for a pocketstation
could someone tell me where i can bye one
i couldnt find any sites or something where i can get it
please, help me someone
thanks
LadyAshley says
i got mine off of ebay.
Raijin says
Holy crap, there’s a tons of errors in the article. And I can’t beleive the webasster was retarded enough to ban someone for pointing them out. I own one and it was not faulty. These sold like hotcakes when they came out, Sony couldn’t keep up with japan
Carl says
Its interesting people view the Dreamcast as a Failure when I would say the opposite. Not only did it inspire some of the greatest games of the last generation (Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, Samba Di Amigo etc) but a tiny minority of publishers carried on releasing games for it up until April of this year (2007) and a few years back the DC garnered enough attention for Sega to manufacture some more in small quantities.
Nowadays there is still a hardcore following for the DC (mainly due to its shmup credentials) but with a lifespan of 9 years based on published software it actually managed to outlast both the GameCube and the Original Xbox.
Some failure.
Koskiusko says
ive been searchin for a pocketstation for years as my fave game of all time is FF8, and here in england they werent released at all, not even in specialty shops, so i finally looked up on ebay and it should arrive soon, gonna help me whoop some backside on ff8, if i can get disc 3 to work now, as for some reason it wont :( which means i may need to get the game again, the pocketstation sold out in japan, and they couldnt keep up with demand so they never released here (big shame, coz as a little kid i would have gotten one) so now mines been imported and its in mint condition, and i can finally say i own a pocketstation, also the PSP was very expensive for what it is, and it needs more games that are only released for it, for the PSP to become a good system, battery life is dissapointing mind, considering the Nintendo DS can last up to 10 hours, and the PSP lasts on average 2.5 hours, bit of a bummer but its still good, but the older consoles r still the better ones, i still own a sega master system that works, although i dont play on it much, its novelty value now really.
Raijin says
I don’t know what you did to your PSP, but they last on average of 5 hours.
Wok7 says
Wow, Techni is still posting false Sony facts. I wonder if he’s admitted that the PSP is a P.O.S. and the DS completely pwns it.
Raijin says
Curious, I don’t see anything false about Techni’s statements. And I can back them up myself as I too own a Pocketstation. And calling PSP a POS makes you a lying troll. Though you won’t hear me say PSP owns DS as that also would be trolling.
LadyAshley says
We own pocketstation, DS, and PSP. All three seem to be good systems so far. DS is much better as far as load time and battery life, but the PSP is a decent system itself! And lots of good games are getting ready to be released on both systems. I think DS will end up bettering the PSP but really not by much. The fact that you can play movies, and download stuff to PSP scores points though; especially if you are traveling and you buy a speaker system for it ^^. I find it amazing that game systems are as durable as they are in all honesty. It makes me look at laptops and think about how their battery life is only like 2 hours, and if you keep them plugged in and on for over that time period you risk burning up your system -_-;. Wish I would have known that sooner before I burnt mine up =(.
Koskiusko says
Raijin, i didnt do anyhting to my psp, but if u sit there solidly playing gmaes or watching films, with the sound over half way at a decent level, u should find that the battery runs out after about 2.5 – 3 hours, n i hear crisis core comes out very soon, and thats psp only, im so gonna get it on release day, should be an excellent addition to my ff games :P
ModernMan says
Techni is an Internet stalker who goes around posting pro-Sony BS on a number of websites and fighting with people who disagree. Some people think she’s a Sony plant, others think she’s simply deranged. She’ll go so far as to contact people and make threats. You were wise to ban her, as many have done before, before it got out of hand.
Neherenia says
Call me crazy, but it looks more like you guys are stalking Techni, and other people have backed up Techni’s claims further showing how much of a liar both you and this page are. I’ve done some research and found no mention of the flaws this page mentions. And even finding what someone said above about Pocketstation selling so well in japan they couldn’t keep up with demand.
In short, you guys (ModernMan and Wok7) are obviously the stalkers. And your responses seem more like someone prone to threats.
Could this go back to being a Pocketstation discussion? Why are people like Wok7 and ModernMan not being banned? Surely their BS is far more distruptive and disgusting.
ModernSuperMan says
I wasn’t saying she was right or wrong here only that she’s a predator who will take things to far over time. If you knew the number of sites she’s been banned from and the threats she’s made you wouldn’t say that. All I was sayng was that it’s good to stop her before she goes all crazy on you.
Neherenia says
And I’m saying your comments, and the way you’re harassing this person on this site, seems to point to you being the stalker. I seriously doubt you’re telling the truth about the threats as well. More than likely it’s some pathetically immature attempt at slander. Which does not belong here, and I hope the mods are going to erase both your comments, and my replies to keep this on topic.
I hope one day you grow up.
Sahas Katta says
I’ve considered closing this post, but it has been quite amusing reading these comments. (People are still fighting even though this article will be about 2-years-old in about 2 months.) It doesn’t look like this has gotten dangerous or heinous just yet, so I think i’ll keep it open for a bit longer. :-)
Shavelieva says
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, I’ve been getting response emails, so randomly form this article..
LadyAshley says
i keep checking in to see if anyone has answered my very first post on the LOM thing. i still havent found the answer anywhere!
M says
Sahas Katta, I think one of the reasons people are still commenting is that you never gave a source for your unverified claims that the Pocketstation was unpopular and that the Dreamcast was buggy. Honestly though, I also wouldn’t want to give the satisfaction of an answer to someone who was so brash as Techni.
Lady Ashley, I remember looking this up when you first asked, but I never figured it out. In the Japanese version, the option is at the Monster Corral and is one of the options that you can select in the Menu Ring. Unfortunately, I don’t have a save of the game anymore so I couldn’t check. I did look in my manual and saw that they list the options for the Monster Corral, and don’t talk about the Pocketstation one. That might mean that they took it out (but that would be surprising because Square didn’t take out Pocketstation functions from the American FF8 and Saga Frontier 2). All I can suggest is that you go to the Monster Corral with the Pocketstation plugged in, and hope the option shows up.
Tahiri says
http://maru-chang.com/hard/scph/index.php/english/
SCPH-4000 PocketStation It’s the MemoryCard with monochrome LCD-screen. It can be playing “Doko Demo Issyo” etc.. January 23, 1999 for ¥3000. Shipment finished at July 19, 2002. It was shipped 4.9 million units in Japan.
4.9 million is a failure? At least we can put this disgusting argument to bed what with this failure talk being complete bs.
Tim says
Sahas Katta says: I think i’ll keep it open for a bit longer. :-)
Only about a year and 3 months so far. See ya next year!
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
5 trackback / pingbacks:
Hardware » The Sony PocketStation (August 25, 2006)Skatter Tech » Upcoming PSP Games: February (October 1, 2006)
johnnyVonline.com » The Sony PocketStation (November 10, 2006)
4-azn.com (April 12, 2007)
A Look Back At 2006 | Skatter Tech (September 12, 2007)
Leave a Comment