Portal:Sony PlayStation/Selected article/12

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The PocketStation is a miniature game console created by Sony as a peripheral for the PlayStation. Released exclusively in Japan on January 23, 1998, it features an LCD, sound, a real-time clock, and infrared communication capability. It also serves as a standard PlayStation memory card.

Games for the PocketStation are stored on the same CD-ROM as PlayStation games. PocketStation games can enhance PlayStation games with added features. For example, using PocketStation a player may be able to 'level up' characters in one's favorite PlayStation game while riding the bus to work. A player can also download stand-alone PocketStation games. It allows a player to swap game data between PlayStation units and also allows multiplayer gaming via the built-in infrared data link.

Although the system was not widely released outside of Japan, there were apparently plans to do so. A feature on the system appeared in Official UK PlayStation Magazine^{[citation needed]}, for example, and a few games (such as Final Fantasy VIII) retained PocketStation functionality in their localised versions. As a result, the PC version of Final Fantasy VIII added a stand-alone Chocobo World game as part of the installation.