Today in History: The PocketStation Was Released
Today, January 23, marks 27 years since the release of the PocketStation in 1999. The PocketStation was a compact portable game device designed to link with the PlayStation.
Memories of Carrying Saved Mini-Games on the Go, Despite its compact body, it featured a monochrome LCD, buttons acting as a directional pad, and a confirmation button. It allowed users to download data from various compatible software titles to the device and play mini-games.
While it couldn’t be used to play games without downloading content first, it included a clock function and could serve as an alarm. It also featured an infrared communication port above the display, allowing users to exchange data between PocketStations.
The device was an evolution of the “Memory Card,” the recording medium used for saving game data, and thankfully, it could function just like a standard memory card. Even years later, after its role as a portable console had ended, many users likely continued to use it as a beloved memory card.
It was released during a boom of miniature game devices like Tamagotchi and Pokémon Pikachu. Since a similar peripheral, the Visual Memory Unit (VMU) for the Dreamcast, was already on the market, the PocketStation was arguably a late arrival. Doko Demo Issyo (commonly known as Dokoitsu), released on July 22, 1999, was a communication game that became the flagship title for the PocketStation.
The PocketStation, primarily a peripheral for the original PlayStation, ceased production on July 19, 2002. However, it made a comeback on December 3, 2013, as the PlayStation Vita app PocketStation for PlayStation Vita.