PSP still worth it?

D

dj LiTh

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
229
Ya so i'm deffinitally a 'pc gamer' at heart. I dont own a xbox or ps123 whatever. (last console i owned was a sega genesis and nes 8bit, and a turbo gfx 16 hehe) But anyways, i'm headed home from school this summer and will be without a good computer to play games on, just a simple computer that i can download things from. After checking out some of the new 'homebrew' (deffinition on what that means or link would be awesome) stuff the PSP really looks interesting. Especially how i can load different games on it ect, i wont get into the specifics....;) But my question remains is the PSP still worth buying (the slim one is the newest?) or is there a psp2 coming out soon i should just wait on? Thanks in advance for your expertise/flame/chuckles/ect :D
 
I would definately recommend one, especially if you're curious about homebrew (BTW, the meaning and basic run-down of homebrew can be found through your friends, Google and/or Wikipedia). Be sure to get at least a 2GB memory stick for any music or movies you want to store.
I, myself have an older PSP 1001 model and a DS (old model as well), and I can tell you that the PSP has held more of my interest for quite a while. Games I would recommend would be GTA:LCS and GTA:VCS, Medal of Honor: Heroes, Lumines, and Splinter Cell: Essentials. There are also a whole lot of other games out there to that I've yet to play like Patapon, and MGS.

Oh, and be sure to find someone you know who has a modded PSP that would be willing to enable yours to play homebrew (if you're interested).
 
It's a neat system that's certainly worth it. Great games (a big library, too) and the ability to play MP3's and movies. Interaction with the PS3 and PSN are a dandy bonus. Starting this summer you can play Blu-Ray movies on it, too.
FYI - there's no PSP2 on the way. Supposedly there is a PSP3000 model (the slim is the 2000) in the works. It likely won't be world's apart from the slim, but it might integrate more PS3 items or skype related stuff.
 
Domingo said:
Starting this summer you can play Blu-Ray movies on it, too.
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Sort of. It'll let you take the pre-encoded low-res movie already on the BR-D and transfer it to your PSP. It doesn't just take a BR-D, rip it, re-encode it, and then transfer it, unfortunately. It'll only work on certain releases as a result.

But, don't let that stop you: the PSP is finally coming into its own, much like the PS3.
 
Careful, this is how it starts.

I picked up a buddies PSP for about 10mins one day last August, owned one 2 days later. Love it, great little piece of technology. All of a sudden a PS2 appeared under my telly. Love it great little game machine. and 2 weeks ago I found my self picking up a PS3 and now my gaming pc just sits there quietly crying to itself becouse i dont use it anymore.

You've been warned, anything with the word "Playstation" in it is addictive.

 
Its worth now more than ever. There's God of War, 2 Syphon Filter Games, WipeOut Pulse, MGS Portable, Tekken 5: DR... too many games to name.

But there's a kick ass God of War Red Edition Bundle PSP coming out soon, so wait for that.
 
Yes, easily. Even more so if you have a PS3, the go hand in hand together very nicely.
 
Yes God of War on the go! Short game, but definitely fun.

Playing FFVII Crisis Core now and it's pretty good.
 
GushpinBob said:
Oh, and be sure to find someone you know who has a modded PSP that would be willing to enable yours to play homebrew (if you're interested).
Click to expand...

What do you mean enable? I've built my own computers and am pretty comfortable installing firmware/bios/software ect, will i have to open it up and sodder something just to be able to load my own homebrew OS on it?
 
You'll be fine. You won't need to solder a damn thing because it's really just a few simple flashes and you're good to go. I have mine up to date and run a lot of homebrew. It is a pain in the ass though because I have to swap things off and on; I knew I should have bought a 4GB memory card! That's the only thing I will recommend. If you don't get a big memory stick, you'll kick yourself for not!
 
No, PSP is not worth it. Not enough good games. Controls for it are ancient and frustrating because the button are so smalls and don't cooperate with you well.
 
dj LiTh said:
What do you mean enable? I've built my own computers and am pretty comfortable installing firmware/bios/software ect, will i have to open it up and sodder something just to be able to load my own homebrew OS on it?
Click to expand...

No, it's just a software modification (a downgrade and a custom firmware installation actually) -- opening up the PSP would be very unnecessary and highly not recommended. Downgrading the firmware is not that hard but a modded PSP or a battery with unbricking abilities (brief run-down next paragraph) is a prerequisite (you could use exploited game saves with the fat PSPs in the past but this isn't the case for the slim models).

If there's no one around you that can downgrade your PSP for you, you may have to search for a modified battery with a custom unbricker called "Universal Unbricker". In the past when downgrading was achieved through exploited game saves, one would run the risk of bricking their PSP, forcing the modder to either send it to Sony for unbricking or toss it aside and shell out money for another unit. Towards the middle to the end of summer last year, hackers were able to figure out how to modify a normal battery to contain code that would reflash a PSP (bricked or unbricked) to an arbitrary firmware version (1.50). That hack was called "Pandora's Battery". Unfortunately, Pandora came out right before the slims reached the market and since the slim cannot run the 1.50 version of the official firmware, it cannot use that hack. However, a man who has been responsible for many custom firmwares, aliased "Dark_AleX", released an unbricker that would enable a modder to "upgrade" their fat OR slim PSP directly to a custom firmware version (I believe it's any version above 3.60 M33 IIRC). This unbricker is dubbed "Despertar del Cementerio", or more commonly known as the "Universal Unbricker". Google that name if you want more information.

Like I said before, you will need a modded PSP (to fabricate an unbricking battery) or purchase a battery with the "Universal Unbricker" already installed (look in the FS/FT forums. I bet there are plenty of people that have these items for cheap).

EDIT: Oh, one important thing I forgot to mention. You cannot, I repeat, cannot use the unbricking battery as your normal battery (I have never experienced what would happen but I believe it would "reflash" the PSP every time you would turn it on).

Double EDIT: BioSergeant, did you just wake up from the year 2005? There are plenty of games for the PSP now and quite a few are hits. Although I agree to an extent that some of the controls are iffy (my thumbstick is a little sticky and I wish there were two of them for the PS1 shooters), I never had any issues with the push buttons being too small.
 
Tip: If you want to buy a memory stick on ebay, beware of too good to be true prices, as there are many fakes that exist.
 
The PSP is certainly worth it. I actually regret trading mine (I have a 4GB Sandisk Memorystick Pro Duo for sale now cheap if you end up needing it....). Good native game library, the ability to play pretty much all Genesis, SNES, NES, and other older systems on the go is cool too. Also, PSX backwards compatibility is awesome. Xenogears on the go? Yes please.

Native games to check out:
WipEout Pure and WipEout Pulse
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Gunpey-R
Lumines and Lumines 2
DJ Max Portable and DJ Max Portable 2
LocoRoco
Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony
Many many different RPGs
 
Definitely, PSP is easily the best handheld in existence based on both its game library and functionality.
 
GushpinBob said:
No, it's just a software modification (a downgrade and a custom firmware installation actually) -- opening up the PSP would be very unnecessary and highly not recommended. Downgrading the firmware is not that hard but a modded PSP or a battery with unbricking abilities (brief run-down next paragraph) is a prerequisite (you could use exploited game saves with the fat PSPs in the past but this isn't the case for the slim models).

If there's no one around you that can downgrade your PSP for you, you may have to search for a modified battery with a custom unbricker called "Universal Unbricker". In the past when downgrading was achieved through exploited game saves, one would run the risk of bricking their PSP, forcing the modder to either send it to Sony for unbricking or toss it aside and shell out money for another unit. Towards the middle to the end of summer last year, hackers were able to figure out how to modify a normal battery to contain code that would reflash a PSP (bricked or unbricked) to an arbitrary firmware version (1.50). That hack was called "Pandora's Battery". Unfortunately, Pandora came out right before the slims reached the market and since the slim cannot run the 1.50 version of the official firmware, it cannot use that hack. However, a man who has been responsible for many custom firmwares, aliased "Dark_AleX", released an unbricker that would enable a modder to "upgrade" their fat OR slim PSP directly to a custom firmware version (I believe it's any version above 3.60 M33 IIRC). This unbricker is dubbed "Despertar del Cementerio", or more commonly known as the "Universal Unbricker". Google that name if you want more information.

Like I said before, you will need a modded PSP (to fabricate an unbricking battery) or purchase a battery with the "Universal Unbricker" already installed (look in the FS/FT forums. I bet there are plenty of people that have these items for cheap).

EDIT: Oh, one important thing I forgot to mention. You cannot, I repeat, cannot use the unbricking battery as your normal battery (I have never experienced what would happen but I believe it would "reflash" the PSP every time you would turn it on).

Double EDIT: BioSergeant, did you just wake up from the year 2005? There are plenty of games for the PSP now and quite a few are hits. Although I agree to an extent that some of the controls are iffy (my thumbstick is a little sticky and I wish there were two of them for the PS1 shooters), I never had any issues with the push buttons being too small.
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Thank you so much! You answered all my questions and then some, looks like i'm going to become a PSP fanboy in no time now :D
 
I'm sorry to threadjack, but I'm actually in the same boat.

For me, I'm at least half there on deciding to buy one. I know games I'd like, I have a PS3, but I'm unsure on getting CFW on the unit.

Am I correct that I can load 3.71-m33 with this method if I use a tool battery like this?

Thanks!
 
You don't need to pay for a tool battery if you know someone with a 'fat' PSP running CFW. You can use it and the Pandora tool to make a standard battery in to the 'tool' battery temporarily.
 
I have only one real PSP game (Final Fantasy Tactics), but it's pretty cool just for the homebrew and PS1 emulation. I ripped my PSone games to play on it, and use it for a NES/SNES emulator. Good little system. I picked up an old-style PSP for less than $80 after I sold the games/stuff that came with it...when the slims came out :)
 
silent-circuit said:
You don't need to pay for a tool battery if you know someone with a 'fat' PSP running CFW. You can use it and the Pandora tool to make a standard battery in to the 'tool' battery temporarily.
Click to expand...

I do not know anyone with a fat PSP running CFW, so that's why I attempted to find another solution. I'm just looking for confirmation on whether or not this will work if I purchase a slim PSP and a tool battery.
 
I'm seriously considering a PSP simply for Crisis Core, but I'm quite the newbie regarding this device. So right now you can choose a slimmer PSP or a PSP2000? Sorry to hijack.
 
GJSNeptune said:
I'm seriously considering a PSP simply for Crisis Core, but I'm quite the newbie regarding this device. So right now you can choose a slimmer PSP or a PSP2000? Sorry to hijack.
Click to expand...
The PSP2000 _is_ the slim PSP. They don't make the fat one anymore. There's not really any good reason to use the fat one at this point.
 
I have the original PSP and while most people wouldn't use the old one, some people do make use of the IR port for homebrew apps.

That being said, I love my psp - brings me back to the old days of having a game boy in that I take it with me whenever I take the train, bus, plane, doing laundry, long car rides, etc. and it makes the time fly by.

I really only run homebrew stuff on it but with sooo many classic games out there it is really just awesome.
 
I don't know if I can justify spending almost $200 for the player itself, and then games are over $30 new and you have to get a case and accessories. Eesh.

I really wanna play Crisis Core though. FFVII is probably my favorite of the series.
 
Gotta love the homebrew scene and getting a cheap 4gig Duo Card will do ya :) And who needs a case? Just use a sock cheap and effective.
 
Perhaps not a case, but at least a protective skin. I have an invisibleShield on my iPod, and I'd probably get one for a PSP.
 
For my PSP I just got the Psyclone "mini-briefcase" which hold games/accessories/charger/cables/etc. and it also has a neoprene sleeve for just keeping it by itself.
Best $15 I've spent in years.
 
Ok, 1 last question. Lets say i know NOBODY with a PSP (fat or slim, homebrew or non homebrew) what exactly do i need to be able to load homebrew things on it (such as snes/nes emulators ::cough:: backed up games ::cough:: ) ect.

As to my understanding i cant just buy a slim and then start downloading firmware and things to my hearts content, but i need a spare battery that i can load the firmware onto is that correct?

So i'd need?
PSP slim
extra battery ?
4+gb memory card?
(and thats it?)

Thanks guys! really appreciate all the help!
 
You need a battery that has already been converted to a Pandora. And you need a PSP that already has CFW on it to create one (or solder).
 
There is a great back catalog now so if there are not a lot of games coming up that are your speed you can go back and pick up cheap games for it.

Also the homebrew stuff looks interesting. I'm still weary on making a pandora battery and doing it but I will some day.
 
aznpxdd said:
You need a battery that has already been converted to a Pandora. And you need a PSP that already has CFW on it to create one (or solder).
Click to expand...

NOT Pandora!
"Universal Unbricker" instead. Since Pandora reverts a PSP to 1.50 and the PSP2000 does not support firmware 1.50, so you'll just break it if you flash it. Now if you're tracking down the PSP1001 (the fat), go nuts with any unbricking battery.
 
GushpinBob said:
NOT Pandora!
"Universal Unbricker" instead. Since Pandora reverts a PSP to 1.50 and the PSP2000 does not support firmware 1.50, so you'll just break it if you flash it. Now if you're tracking down the PSP1001 (the fat), go nuts with any unbricking battery.
Click to expand...

Is it possible to use the Universal Unbricker with the existing battery that came with the PSP and not be forced to buy a second battery? Or is there no way around this?
 
GJSNeptune said:
I don't know if I can justify spending almost $200 for the player itself, and then games are over $30 new and you have to get a case and accessories. Eesh.

I really wanna play Crisis Core though. FFVII is probably my favorite of the series.
Click to expand...

Its $170 new.. not $200. And you can buy used ones much cheaper than that. I got my slim, for $80 used, with a 1gig duo, and Ghost Recon 2.
 
I'd loot for a used fat, but thats me and what I have, I have the old one fully updated to the latest firmware and it has some neat integrated features, they also stopped producing UMDs so you can get a bunch of movies for quite cheap, I also have a Datel 4GB HD and double battery, $40 at GameStop if any have them still, pretty much adds the grip units you can buy.

For the record, Patapon is wicked fun, and $20 for a new game is an awesome deal. Try the FS/T forum.
 
I would /not/ recommend anyone get the Datel 4GB HDD thing. First, it's big and adds weight to an already heavy unit. Second, it's really very slow when compared with the 4GB memorysticks... and considering you can pick up a 4GB MS Pro Duo for ~$60, I'd say it's with it for those two reasons alone.
 
I'm holding out on upgrading my memory stick, I heard 8GB sticks due out this year?
 
8GB sticks are already available, and so are 16GBs. However the latter are extremely overpriced right now. 8GB probably are also, but not like the 16GB which is $300.
 
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