Will Sony phase out the standard memory cards for the PocketStation?
Details
Specs:	15-slot Memory Card LCD screen InfraRed Eye
By:	Sony
Category:	Memory Pak
Price:	Approx. $30

It wasn't easy, but we finally got our hands on the Japanese version of the new memory card from Sony.

March 10, 1999

Ever since the device was released in Japan over a month ago, the PocketStation has been one hot commodity. Even your ever-trustworthy daily PlayStation website (that's us) wasn't able to snag one when they hit the shelves at Japanese retail shops. But we're patient editors, and finally our waiting paid off. We now have in possession a much-coveted PocketStation.

So, what is the PocketStation, anyway?

The PocketStation is, at its most basic, a PlayStation memory card with a built-in LCD screen and five action buttons. Four buttons have been arranged in a diamond formation – almost in a "gamepad" fashion. The bottom panel with the buttons lifts up at a 90 degree angle so you can insert the device into the memory card slot of a PlayStation system. The other end has a red plastic bit – it's an InfraRed light that can transmit data from one PocketStation to another.

PocketStation utilizes a 32MHz ARM7T microprocessor, has 2k of SRAM, 128k of RAM, PCM sound, a 32x32 dot LCD screens, and an IR repeater for communicating with other PockStations. It is roughly one and a half inches tall, one inch wide, and weighs 30 grams. It runs on two CR2302 watch-style batteries.

The PocketStation has 15 memory card slots which can be used for either PlayStation saves or PocketStation mini-games. You can even copy PocketStation mini-games from a PocketStation to a memory card – which is good because as of this writing, the Interact DexDrive doesn't recognize the unit when you plug a PocketStation into one. So if you want to send someone your PocketStation file over the Net you'll have to first copy it onto a regular memory card with the PlayStation's Memory Card menu.

The mini-games are little more than elaborate Tamagotchi-type games – the graphics are simple black/white pixels (no shades of grey), so don't expect anything close to a Game Boy in terms of quality. One of the games we played was a simple top-down driving game where you steer left and right to avoid on-coming traffic.

There are many mini-programs for the device that you can download into the unit. They don't have to be games, either – we've downloaded a universal TV remote into the PocketStation and it works like a champ. We'd rather use a more convenient sized remote for our TV watching, but it at least shows that the device can be used for many different things.

Future PlayStation games will include a PocketStation game that can be played to alter your game's settings – like Street Fighter Alpha 3 from Capcom and R4 from Namco.

The device is small and light, but it feels very sturdy in the hands. If anything, you should pick one of these up when they're available in the States just as a conversation piece. If the debut price of the PocketStation starts at around $20 in this country, you can almost be sure that it'll become the memory card standard.

Sony will launch the PocketStation at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) this May. Chances are super high that the PocketStation we're holding in our hands right now will be identical in shape and functionality when the device is released in the US.

-- Craig Harris