QUICK BONUS VIDEO: The Sony PSP battery—proof that sometimes, portable gaming meant “portable explosive device.”

In the mid-2000s, the PSP was the sleekest thing around. You felt like a tech god holding that black mirror of power. But little did we know… inside that shiny shell lurked a ticking time bomb disguised as a lithium-ion battery.

At First:
The battery was a loyal sidekick. Gave you a solid 3–5 hours of Lumines, God of War, or pirated UMD movies. You charged it, drained it, charged it again, and it always came back like a faithful puppy.

Then One Day…
You open the PSP case, and—WHAT IN THE POLYGONAL HELL IS THAT? The battery has puffed up like a marshmallow in a microwave. It looks like it’s trying to escape its own plastic prison. Your sleek PSP now has a weird bulge, like it grew a tumor from too much Monster Hunter.

The Danger:
Experts said, “Don’t puncture it.” So naturally, millions of teens went full MythBusters with a paperclip to see what happens. Spoiler: nothing good. At best, it hissed like a furious cat. At worst, spontaneous combustion. Congrats! You turned your handheld console into a grenade.

Sony’s Official Response?
“Oh, uh… yeah. If your battery swells up like a balloon at a kid’s party, maybe stop using it. You can send it in for a replacement!”
Cool, thanks, Sony—let me just find my 2005 receipt and fax you my soul.

The Aftermath:
To this day, PSP batteries are hiding in drawers across the world, slowly inflating like tiny chemical balloons of doom. If you hear a faint hiss coming from your closet, don’t worry—it’s just your PSP trying to take you out one last time.

It was the first handheld console that doubled as a gaming device and a potential fire hazard. Truly, the PSP was ahead of its time.