Who needs a stinkin' Vita when you've got a PSone with a monitor?

OK, so that's kind of a silly question. And, really, I'm not trying to suggest with the header above that I don't want a Vita. On the contrary, I'd very much like to own one someday, despite the fact that I currently find the system overpriced and lacking a bit when it comes to an appealing software catalog (aside from the games I discussed in this recent post).

That said, I can't imagine I'll ever have more fun with my imaginary future Vita than I will with the system seen in the photo below--which is a Japanese PSone with a nifty little Sony monitor strapped onto its back, in case you've never laid eyes on such a thing.



I recently picked up this killer combo via eBay for just $60, by the way. I've been looking to buy a Japanese PSone for ages now, so when this auction popped up I did whatever I could to ensure I won the damn thing.

Anyway, thanks to this awesome acquisition, I'm now experiencing another full-on PlayStation obsession--which of course means I recently snapped up a few Japanese PS games (such as the crazy Shake Kids! that I mentioned during the latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever) to play on my shiny new (not really) PSone.

I'll do my best to write about as many of them as possible in the coming weeks and months, of course. At the very least, though, you can expect me to write about the most interesting ones.



Do any of you own one of these wonderful contraptions, by the way?

I know some will say they're kind of pointless in this day and age, when many PlayStation titles can be played on PSPs and Vitas, but I've always been a sucker for playing games as originally intended. Plus, the PSone is so adorable it's kind of hard to resist--which may explain why I now have two (the one shown above and here is of the North American variety).

See also: additional photos of (some of) my PlayStation 'collection'

Speaking of rare PC Engine hardware, what happened to this monitor?

Did you know that the folks at NEC announced both the PC Engine DUO and the PC Engine LT (the laptop-esque portable mentioned in this post) at the Tokyo Game Show in 1991? Well, they did.

At the same show, NEC also displayed a four-inch, clamshell monitor that could be attached to the aforementioned DUO to turn it into what the writers at TurboPlay magazine called "the ultimate portable machine."

In this article (from the August/September 1991 issue of TurboPlay), it's suggested that this sexy little monitor (above) had been released two years prior with a price tag of approximately $600. That assertion seems questionable to me, as that would mean it was released in 1989--the PC Engine's second year on the market.

So, I have a question for any fellow PC Engine fans out there who may come across this post: Was this monitor really released in Japan in 1989, or was it released alongside the DUO and the LT?

Regardless, it's a rather fascinating peripheral--especially given its release date--isn't it?