Sony produced five PSP models: the PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000, PSP-Go N1000, and PSP-E1000. Sony Ericsson also released the Xperia Play, a PlayStation-certified smartphone that looks and feels like a PSP. The PSP line was discontinued in October 2011, although many of the devices are still available online. The successor to the PSP line, the PS Vita, was introduced in December 2011. Each of the PSP models, the Xperia Play and the PS Vita, are covered in this guide.

The original PSP may seem big and bulky now, but when it first came out it was sleek, powerful and… expensive. The PSP-1000 still has a lot of fans, especially among people who like to make their own software, known as homebrew, or who use some of the cool add-on accessories that came out when PSP excitement was high, but which don't work with later models.

The PSP-2000 isn't radically different from the PSP-1000, though it is thinner and lighter and a bit more capable. It can also run Skype. Fans called it the "PSP Slim" in America and "PSP Slim and Lite" in Europe, because it's easier to hold for longer playing sessions. The best added feature, and the one that made it worth upgrading, was the video-out capability, which allowed you to play anything on your PSP on your TV.

The most significant upgrade for the PSP-3000 was a brighter screen, which earned it the name "PSP Bright". Some observant gamers noticed scanlines on the screen on the initial releases, leading many to decide to stick with the PSP-2000. However, this was fixed in later releases of the model.