The PlayStation Portable (PSP) (ᴊᴘ プレイステーション・ポータブル) is a handheld game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the handheld was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on May 11 , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12 , 2004, in North America on March 24 , 2005, and in the PAL region on September 1 , 2005. It primarily competed with the Nintendo DS, as part of the seventh generation of video games consoles.