the PSP thread

[B_MAN]

does anyone on here own a PSP? how do you like it?? is it worth $180+ ??
with quite a few good games arriving for it in the coming months (Crisis Core FF7, God of War etc), i'm seriously considering picking one up
i would be using it first and foremost for games, but i also watch alot of movies and listen to alot of music (although i know 1-4GB isnt much)
also, i think Skype calls between other PSPs, PCs and even land lines are free which is pretty cool
but i'm still unsure about it
that's why i'd like to hear your personal experience with the system... if you own it, speak up!
:cheers:

[Stormy]

It sucks!

[Reginald]

It sucks!

/end thread

[Acepilotf14]

It's fine, I really like it. More worth the price than the DS, since it can do more things like play music, look at my pr0ns on the go, and it can basically act as a flash drive if you buy more of the little memory cards. The games are generally bleh, but once in a while there's a good one like the new Warhammer 40k game and Locoroco. I recommend it.

[lePobz]

Yeah I had one imported from japan 3 years ago and sold it a few months later because all it did was collect dust. Everything about it is hindered totally by the lack of a touchscreen. The controls that are there are crap, the battery life is crap, its just generally overpriced crap. Which isn't surprising, it's sony after all.

If you want a proper mobile gadget with proper web, email, skype, etc with proper controls (touch screen) ... then just get a nokia n800 or n810.

[B_MAN]

thanks for your input Acepilot

Stormy: a little more detail would be appreciated!
do you even own one?

[Stigmata]

My friend went on and on and on about how great his PSP was, so I played it, and the only game I liked was Loco Roco. Sad, because that game would have been even better on the DS.

Long story short: not a fan.

[VictimOfScience]

I have 2 actually. A little over a year ago (I think) I got one specifically because it would allow me to play my favorite Lucasarts adventure games via some homebrew if I rolled back the firmware. I did so and have been enjoying The Dig and The Curse of Monkey Island A LOT. (I also play Lucasarts titles through the ScummVM on the DS but the system memory is not enough to play those two games specifically unfortunately.)

I just recently bought the new slim PSP when Jeanne D'Arc came out and the differences between the systems is incredible. The accessories that are coming out for it are seriously terrific from the Skype set to the GPS to the camera, not to mention the interactivity with the PS3. Basically, I can be anywhere in the world where there is a wireless internet connection I can connect to and I can watch any and all movies that I may have on the PS3 at the time. I can listen to all my music, I can look at all my pictures. Awesome. I plan on testing this out when I go to Arizona in the Spring and Hungary this summer. Should be awesome. It also has internet radio.

Besides Jeanne D'Arc, other games I have are Final Fantasy Tactics, Sid Meier's Pirates!, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, and Silent Hill: Origins. I plan on getting Killzone and Locoroco and Patapon (when it releases). And yes, God of War looks amazing and so does Crisis Core. I personally don't think you can go wrong with the system. Yes, there is a better selection of games for the DS, but the functionality of the PSP in the coming year or so should be on display quite prominently. I hope this helps!!

[delusional]

The only thing that makes the PSP worthwhile is homebrew.

[B_MAN]

VictimOfScience: thanks alot your post was very helpful!

what exactly is "homebrew"?

[Dog--]

I have a version 1.5 PSP, so I like mine (research why).

[Sliver]

I also have a 1.5, and I'm enjoying it

[smwScott]

I like mine a good bit. There's a surprisingly large amount of AAA exclusives on it, the kind that would receive a ton of praise if they were to land on PS2. It's also great for homebrew (can play PS1, GBA, SNES, NES, etc. games, as well as plenty of other homebrew apps).

The only thing that has me slightly worried is that the only game I know of coming out soon that I care about is God of War, then again I haven't really checked in awhile either so there may be more.

[BHC]

Yeah I had one imported from japan 3 years ago and sold it a few months later because all it did was collect dust. Everything about it is hindered totally by the lack of a touchscreen. The controls that are there are crap, the battery life is crap, its just generally overpriced crap. Which isn't surprising, it's sony after all.

If you want a proper mobile gadget with proper web, email, skype, etc with proper controls (touch screen) ... then just get a nokia n800 or n810.

But PSP is getting Skype (http://kotaku.com/340907/psp-skype-could-come-this-month) It's a pretty nifty gadget if you install custom firmware to run SNES/PSX/Genesis games and so forth on.

[Kyorisu]

I have a version 1.5 PSP, so I like mine (research why).

.... Upgrade to 3.71M33 and use the 1.5 kernal mod if you have to. There is very little need for 1.5 to run homebrew these days.

[dream431ca]

I like my PSP. The Final Fantasy Tactics is really good. Also the internet radio is awesome.

[VictimOfScience]

Eek! That's right, I forgot to mention the Genesis/SNES/NES emulation that is going on with my older PSP too! That combined with everything else makes it one of the best systems available for any price. Now I just need to get my hands on one of those huge memory sticks--16GB (or something)?? Yes please. :D

[Polaris]

I have one fatty PSP more than one year and I love it.
Really cool device, games are awesome (I have some Metal Gear and Wipeout titles), multimedia functionality is great (e.g. downloading videos from googlevideo), internet is very good (if you have good wi-fi signal). I would like to buy that new thin PSP-2000, Skype is very useful and I hope they will release GPS with maps for EU.

[Dog--]

.... Upgrade to 3.71M33 and use the 1.5 kernal mod if you have to. There is very little need for 1.5 to run homebrew these days.

It has nothing to do with homebrew, it's more about the 'pirate' games that I play on it.. ;)

[ricera10]

It has nothing to do with homebrew, it's more about the 'pirate' games that I play on it.. ;)

Then does the "Sony NP9660" loader in 3.71M33 mean anything to you? :o

[Vigilante]

I have one and haven't touched it in a year. However, I just sold my laptop so I may be using it on campus to browse the net when I'm bored.

[B_MAN]

thankyou all for sharing your opinion.... keep 'em coming!

would someone kindly explain what "homebrew" is and how it works with the PSP?
cheers

[Dog--]

Homebrew is just stuff that random people made, be it a paint program or a little flash game, to a full working windows 98 on your PSP.

[VictimOfScience]

would someone kindly explain what "homebrew" is and how it works with the PSP?
cheers
Yes, it is basically any applications that folks at home make and share with the community. I have firmware 1.80 on my fat psp and in it is a loophole for loading apps while loading a picture so in order to access all of my homebrew game emulators and such I just have to go to Pictures in the xmb and select the first one I have and instead of loading the image it loads the homebrew menu that allows me to select my ScummVM, my NES emulator, my SNES emulator, etc. Very simple and it easily quadruples the value of the system imho because you can throw your whole library of old-school games onto a card and have fun for days or even weeks. Now the slims can have the custom firmware so it is even better because you get the power of the homebrew without sacrificing the shiny new upgrades for the new psps. Very cool indeed. Thank Dark Alex.

[Kyorisu]

It has nothing to do with homebrew, it's more about the 'pirate' games that I play on it.. ;)

Yeah in M33 you can load isos/csos straight from the xmb mate. You'd have to be using devhook or something to run the higher required firmwares for some games so the M33 route is far easier. Also of interest http://pspupdates.qj.net/Custom-firmware-update-PSP-3-80-M33-2-now-out/pg/49/aid/111616

[Dog--]

I run 3.02 OE on my 1.5, it plays all of the games I 'own' for my PSP. I just pop the CSO/ISO on the mem stick, fire up devhook, then play.

[Kyorisu]

I run 3.02 OE on my 1.5, it plays all of the games I 'own' for my PSP. I just pop the CSO/ISO on the mem stick, fire up devhook, then play.

Not only is that a ridiculously outdated firmware, it's a ridiculously outdated method. Alternatively;

1. ISO on MS.
2. Turn on PSP.
3. Game menu.
4. Launch iso.

[Combine Hybrid]

currently playing capcom and neo geo mame on psp.

[Dog--]

I know it's outdated, a year or so actually, but I don't have any games that require anything newer, until I get any good new games, my 3.02 OE works perfectly fine for the games I 'own'

[Lt. Drebin]

Depends on what you like to do with your portables. I like the DS because there are far more pickup and go games. Minigames, puzzles, etc. I don't personally like long drawn out 15 hour experiences on portables...it's just uncomfortable IMO.

I view the PSP as a small PS2. However, if I want to play PS2 games, I'll play my PS2. I returned it after a few days. A good portable for sure, just nothing special IMO. But, again, it depends on your views on portable gaming.

[Rapstah]

Now the slims can have the custom firmware so it is even better because you get the power of the homebrew without sacrificing the shiny new upgrades for the new psps.

Explain.

[VictimOfScience]

Explain.

http://kotaku.com/344532/psp-homebrew-catches-up-to-380

The gist:
Dark Alex is some sort of god. The PSP homebrew king once removed has just released his 3.80 M33 custom firmware for the handheld, which on top of allowing homebrew applications to run, also enables all of the nifty features of the official 3.80 - PS1 emulation, internet radio, etc. On top of that, this latest firmware enables the network update function directly from dark-alex.org, just as if you were updating over the internet via Sony.

[B_MAN]

great, thanks for the info
i'm probably going to pick one up this weekend!

***EDIT***
has anyone played the game "Beats"
looks pretty cool
and it's only 5 bucks!