It Runs DOOM #6

“But can it run DOOM?” is the techie’s go-to joke for just about any piece of hardware with a screen – and for good reason.

*The original DOOM’s software was so ubiquitous at height of its popularity during the shareware era that fans took it upon themselves to get it running on as many devices as possible – no matter how ridiculous. *

As a result, the game has been ported, emulated or imitated on countless devices thanks to skilled programmers with a little know-how and some elbow grease. They may not all be the most optimized rigs for playing shooters, but these fun feats in engineering deserve a shout-out because, well, they run DOOM.

On a Sony PocketStation

While the re-release of the original DOOM on Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android brought demon-slaying to a whole new generation of on-the-go devices, DOOM is no stranger to portability. From laptops to the Game Boy Advance, Slayers have been able to get their fix without being plugged into a wall for quite some time now.

That said, one of the oddest – and tiniest – places we’ve seen DOOM out and about has to be a little piece of plastic no bigger than a car key fob. Enter DOOM on a PocketStation.

Released in 1999, the PocketStation was a Sony-manufactured peripheral designed to pair with the original Sony PlayStation. Similar to the VMU for SEGA Dreamcast, the PocketStation was both a storage device for game saves and a sort of miniature PDA that could download software to enhance your PlayStation games.

Well, as we’re sure you’re aware by now: If it can have software put on it, it’s a candidate for DOOM. Case in point: PocketStation Generation developed its own take on the 1993 classic for the PlayStation accessory that’s fairly robust considering it’s a fan-made brew on a tiny 32x32 LCD screen – it even supports WADs!

Unfortunately, the PocketStation was a Japan-exclusive when it released and has long since been discontinued, so getting your hands on this iteration of DOOM might be difficult. Thankfully, DOOM’s found its way to all kinds of modern portable devices, ensuring that even your daily bus ride can be an opportunity to give the armies of Hell what for!