PocketStation - The PlayStation screen memory card

The nineties were incredible for video games, several companies were competing intensely to launch different peripherals and new consoles to attract more audience. Among them was one that would become a fearsome enemy for console developers, Sony PlayStation, which developed a very curious device called the PocketStation.

The PocketStation is an interactive memory card that saved the progress of your games, a function very similar to the Memory Card, however, this had a notable difference, a small monochrome LCD screen of 32 x 32 pixels in which you could see mini-games of some titles of the PlayStation 1.

Many people confuse the PocketStation with a Dreamcast VMU, they are very similar and have the same function, Sony designed this peripheral in response to the creation of the VMU, implying that their console could also perform that function.

Not all PlayStation 1 games were compatible with the PocketStation, there were only approximately 30 titles which had some interaction with this memory card, among the most famous we have Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Dance Dance Revolution, Final Fantasy VIII, Legend of Mana, Metal Gear Solid: Integral, Spyro the Dragon or Street Fighter Zero 3.

It was very easy to use, just insert the PocketStation into the PlayStation's memory card port, choose a compatible game and create a save file. Once the data had been transferred, the available mini-games of the saved game could be viewed on the PocketStation screen.

Depending on the mini-game, we could get extra content for the main game or also understand some story arguments to understand certain events in the game, as mentioned above it was something very similar to what Dreamcast developed with the VMU.

The PocketStation is a device that is currently difficult to see, this is because it did not have much success in sales and was only an exclusive accessory of Japan, for this reason we could never see it in the West.

Despite not being a successful product, it had its small popularity thanks to a video game, its name was Doko Demo Issyo, it was a game where you had to take care of a virtual pet through the PlayStation, but if your data was stored in a PocketStation you had the possibility to take care of it as if it was a Tamagotchi.

Its main character was Toro Inoue, a very charismatic cat that gained a lot of popularity in Japan, thanks to this cat the PocketStation had several sales. In recent video games you could see Toro Inoue, among them we can find Little Big Planet or Street Fighter X Tekken as a playable character.

Currently you can get a PocketStation from $4 to $10 depending on its condition. It is a very curious device that is worth trying and see the different mini-games of those games that many of us enjoy in our childhood or youth.

Did you know about the PocketStation? Tell me your opinion in the comments section.

See You!!!

To see the sources of the images you must click on them