PSP... Any good?

sandyduff · May 1, 2010

I'm considering selling my DS and buying a PSP... i bought a PS3 recently (off ebay so i can't enforce European law, otherwise i would have done Rainless) and i quite like the idea of buying PS1 games off the playstation network and playing them on a psp...

Only thing is tho, i've never played a psp so i have no idea what i;m looking for, i see different versions... lite... one with the slidey up screen... i'm a bit clueless...

Anyone give me some pointers? Ta...

tinymouse2 · May 1, 2010

If you can get one I would get a PSP-1000 simply because with custom firmware you can convert your PS1 disks to work on the PSP without having to pay again for the game. A VERY nice feature!

I haven't got one of the PSP "Go"s but they do look terrible. Apparently it feels cheap, tacky and it's much more rewarding to play one of the older versions. Apparently the 3000 series is the best version out there.

So if you're looking to play the new PSP games and you're OK with buying from the limited number of PS1 games from the network then the PSP Go will be great.
If you don't want to play the latest games (I can't play the latest, doesn't bother me at all

) and you have a load of PS1 games on disk that you want to play on your PSP then the 1000 or possibly 2000 version with custom firmware is the best idea.

Pandam00nium · May 1, 2010

I've owned one for many years, and I can say it's only worth it if you can get an old version to enable custom firmware. The PS1 library is enough to make it worth it since the PSP library is average at best. I would say 90% of the PS1 games work just fine.

Also the homebrew community is slowly working on allowing new games to be played. It's a bit of a cat and mouse chase with Sony making new games compatible with only the newest firmware version.

I think official firmware is at 6.10 or so, and the homebrew community is sticking with 5.50. I read there was a workaround that let custom firmwares play the recently released Metal Gear game that is out in Japan through decryption.

tinymouse2 · May 1, 2010

It was going amazingly until Dark Alex left

There is now a way to basically recode an ISO to work with an earlier firmware (5.00m33.5 or something).

Pandam00nium · May 1, 2010

I think GEN is okay, but yeah its definitely progressing slower compared to when Dark Alex was around.

It's not a big deal to me though since I mostly use it to play old PS1 games. I hardly touch any PSP games.. The PSP library is that bad to me, and I've had thoughts of just selling it and buying a cheap netbook for my emulator needs. Might see my PSP in the classifieds now that I think about it even more.

rainless · May 1, 2010

I would like to third and fourth a PSP 1000... which you can probably get under a hundred dollars... so no real need to sell the DS unless you're flat broke (like I was when I sold mine). I ended up buying another DS in the end because they're ALWAYS going to come out with an awesome game the minute you get rid of the damned thing. (Might and Magic Clash of Heroes comes to mind...)

Twigglish · May 1, 2010

I also suggest an earlier version of the PSP.

sandyduff · May 1, 2010

tinymouse2 said:
If you can get one I would get a PSP-1000 simply because with custom firmware you can convert your PS1 disks to work on the PSP without having to pay again for the game. A VERY nice feature!

I haven't got one of the PSP "Go"s but they do look terrible. Apparently it feels cheap, tacky and it's much more rewarding to play one of the older versions. Apparently the 3000 series is the best version out there.

So if you're looking to play the new PSP games and you're OK with buying from the limited number of PS1 games from the network then the PSP Go will be great.
If you don't want to play the latest games (I can't play the latest, doesn't bother me at all ) and you have a load of PS1 games on disk that you want to play on your PSP then the 1000 or possibly 2000 version with custom firmware is the best idea.

I have no PS1 games anymore so the playstation network it is!! Yeh i've heard mixed things about the Go... guess i'll avoid it...

Melan said:
I've owned one for many years, and I can say it's only worth it if you can get an old version to enable custom firmware. The PS1 library is enough to make it worth it since the PSP library is average at best. I would say 90% of the PS1 games work just fine.

Also the homebrew community is slowly working on allowing new games to be played. It's a bit of a cat and mouse chase with Sony making new games compatible with only the newest firmware version.

I think official firmware is at 6.10 or so, and the homebrew community is sticking with 5.50. I read there was a workaround that let custom firmwares play the recently released Metal Gear game that is out in Japan through decryption.

I have no idea about any of that... what are the advantages of these different firmwares? The ability to play certain games?

rainless said:
I would like to third and fourth a PSP 1000... which you can probably get under a hundred dollars... so no real need to sell the DS unless you're flat broke (like I was when I sold mine). I ended up buying another DS in the end because they're ALWAYS going to come out with an awesome game the minute you get rid of the damned thing. (Might and Magic Clash of Heroes comes to mind...)

Yeh i can get hold of one for around £80... i don't have to sell the DS to fund it but i've not played the thing since sometime last year... i'm more interested in old PS1 games... i've already bought final fantasy VII off the PSN...

Twigglish · May 1, 2010

Doing custom firmware is not very advanced at all. Many many people have done it, so there are very good guides for doing it.
Different firmware allows you to store games on a memory card instead of having to always have the discs with you. Allows you to play backups of PS1 games. Allows you access to homebrew apps and games.

sandyduff · May 1, 2010

Twigglish said:
Doing custom firmware is not very advanced at all. Many many people have done it, so there are very good guides for doing it.
Different firmware allows you to store games on a memory card instead of having to always have the discs with you. Allows you to play backups of PS1 games. Allows you access to homebrew apps and games.

Sounds very cool... by backup of a ps1 game, do you mean rip it onto a computer, put it onto the memory card and the psp will play it?

Pandam00nium · May 1, 2010

sandyduff said:
I have no idea about any of that... what are the advantages of these different firmwares? The ability to play certain games

The PSN has a very small list of PS1 games. There are some good ones like FF7 as you mentioned, but for some reason Sony hasn't listed a whole lot.

With custom firmware you can play most of the games released on the PS1, even ones not listed on PSN. The compatibility is already implemented by Sony, but they're just stubborn to release more games.

As Twiggish said you also have access to homebrew games that developers have created. I've seen things from a homemade Magic: The gathering card game, Triple Triad, and a boatload of other applications http://www.psp-hacks.com/category/7

It's pretty much enabling your system to gain access to more applications and getting the most out of it. Installing it may be a bit intimidating at first, but if you can follow instructions and not skip any steps you should be fine.

sandyduff said:
Sounds very cool... by backup of a ps1 game, do you mean rip it onto a computer, put it onto the memory card and the psp will play it?

Yup that's exactly what it is. Although it requires a little bit of converting cause the PSP reads EBOOT files. You would just use a homebrew application to convert the backup ISO to an EBOOT so the PSP can read it.

Adragontattoo · May 1, 2010

I have a PSP, with no custom firmware. The newest model (3000 IIRC). For what it is, I have zero complaints. It works great for sitting in an airport for a few hours, sitting on a plane etc.

I have a bunch of legit games and a few movies, none have made me regret buying them.

Twigglish · May 1, 2010

The biggest thing is to first plan out exactly what you want to do. Figure out all the special stuff you want, then find a PSP version that fits that. So make a list of what's important to you, and we can suggest an exact version for you to buy, and suggest guides to accomplish what you want out of your version.

-_{MoW}_-Assasi · May 1, 2010

I remember with the PSP-1000 with IRShell

Universal IR remote program, going around and messing with display TVs

Good times

rainless · May 1, 2010

-_{MoW}_-Assasi said:
I remember with the PSP-1000 with IRShell

Universal IR remote program, going around and messing with display TVs

Good times

I used to use it to go around and shut down Xbox 360s at department stores in France... good times.

...that was before Gears of War came out.

Yeah you'd have a much LARGER library of PS1 games to choose from with custom firmware.

Like ALL of them.

You can get any PS1 game for practically nothing (maybe 5 bucks for the most expensive multidisk games.) And a lot of times you can get the disc cheaper than you can buy the game online. (Though I'm sure convenience may be a factor.)

sandyduff · May 2, 2010

Twigglish said:
The biggest thing is to first plan out exactly what you want to do. Figure out all the special stuff you want, then find a PSP version that fits that. So make a list of what's important to you, and we can suggest an exact version for you to buy, and suggest guides to accomplish what you want out of your version.

I'm not too concerned about playing actual PSP games, unless there are some good ones that people recommend... i'm more interested in playing old PS1 games... so an older version of PSP with the homebrew firmware?

I like the idea of buying old PS1 games and just converting them... would save me a lot of money... and the choice would be much bigger... hmmmm i'm liking the sound of this...

Cheers for all the input so far guys... :beer:

PSP-1003...? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sony-PlayStat...ameConsoles&hash=item2a06ae772e#ht_500wt_1182

Edit: What's the battery life like on the older PSP's?

tinymouse2 · May 2, 2010

Better

The 1000 battery is about twice as big as the 2000 version.

Just saying, that PSP could be bricked. If it's bricked it basically means it failed while updating. Usually you can fix this with the pandoras battery but you can sometimes get corrupt memory which is impossible to fix (as far as I know

)

So just make sure it's not broken before you buy it...

sandyduff · May 2, 2010

tinymouse2 said:
Better
The 1000 battery is about twice as big as the 2000 version.

Just saying, that PSP could be bricked. If it's bricked it basically means it failed while updating. Usually you can fix this with the pandoras battery but you can sometimes get corrupt memory which is impossible to fix (as far as I know )

So just make sure it's not broken before you buy it...

Cheers Tiny...

How about this one? Can't really argue with the price...

Says Firmware 6.00, i take it i can put an older version on it? i.e 5.50?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONY-PSP-SLIM...GameConsoles&hash=item2306d0d281#ht_889wt_939

tinymouse2 · May 2, 2010

I've been running 3.71m33 for a few years now. I don't know if you can downgrade from 6.00. Also do still contact the seller. Make sure it's not bricked.

I wouldn't buy a PSP from ebay unless it said for 100% certainty that it wasn't bricked.

sandyduff · May 2, 2010

tinymouse2 said:
I've been running 3.71m33 for a few years now. I don't know if you can downgrade from 6.00. Also do still contact the seller. Make sure it's not bricked.

I wouldn't buy a PSP from ebay unless it said for 100% certainty that it wasn't bricked.

I'm pretty sure i'll be covered if it's in any way faulty...

Did some googling and apparently you can't downgrade firmware...

PSP... Any good?

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