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PerfectDark
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Look at it!
It just oozes cool. Ugh, I need to find mine in storage.
Funny how, in the PSP’s hayday, staring at a little glowing rectangle in public felt so awkward. And now it’s digital detox.
*
So I’ve started carrying this little guy around in public, as my “phone detox”:
And strangers approach me and ask “ohhh, what is that, a camera?” Like it’s alien technology they didn’t even know was an option. Same thing happens with my relative’s iPod, and I imagine a PSP would evoke a similar response.
I posit that people **want dumb electronics. They want to be liberated from addictive smartphone slop. They just don’t realize it until they see it exists.
stargazingpenguinI found myself using my smartphone so little anymore that when it wore out I bought a Mudita Kompakt instead. It’s not quite to the level of a flip phone, (I wanted something that I could still read e-books on.) but I’m still amazed by how many comments I get on it when I have it out for something. The four or five days without charging is great!
Oh, that looks awesome. Bookmarking that.
It’s pretty great, as long as you’re willing to use it the way it’s designed. The camera isn’t great, and the screen refresh rate is too low to play video. I often carry a small mirrorless camera around as well, so I don’t really need that! I have it almost entirely stock other than adding a podcast app and a better notes app. The e-ink display is really nice for reading, and even though I prefer physical books, there are a lot of free e-books available!
Your mention of people commenting about your camera reminded me of it, because I’ve had the chance to talk to a lot of people about digital minimalism because of that. It seems I run into quite a number of people who are either fed up with the constant attention grabbing from their phone, or realize they have an addiction to it.
You’re selling me on it. It would make me carry a camera around even more.
I think my biggest issue would be banking, authentication, and a few “locked down” iOS-only apps.
Another is quick access to the camera for sharing, which I could do with the microSD slot or an external reader, I guess. But it’d be more clunky.
So I’d need to keep an iPhone around anyway, unfortunately. But I could certainly pare it down with some discipline.
Yeah, the banking and things like that probably wouldn’t work well or at all. My previous phones were all de-Googled android, and a lot of that type of thing didn’t work without Google Play Services. This phone is also a custom version of Android without the Google bits, so it would probably be the same issue.
The photo sharing I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of ideas on, other than what you mentioned. It is possible to add non Mudita apps, so you might be able to get a camera app working. I know the Olympus/OM Systems app (the camera brand I use) wouldn’t work on my other phones due to having the Google services stripped out of them though.
Man, I want to go back to an old flip phone so badly, but I drive around a lot in unfamiliar places for work so I need a GPS and also listen to audio books to keep awake so I’d prefer something to play those. I just wish there was one with some kind of map app so I don’t need to carry 3 separate devices around
There are actually some flip phones with Google Maps or alternatives available, but using it on that screen size could be a bit complicated! I remember looking at some of them when I was deciding on a new phone. A lot of them run on something called KaiOS, which is Linux based but not Android. They have their own app store of basic apps that can be used on it.
vogi
Funny how, in the PSP’s hayday, staring at a little glowing rectangle in public felt so awkward. And now it’s digital detox.
I have exactly the same feeling. I always have my DSi around and occasional break it out for a round of Picross in the subway. It would be so weird doing that in 2009. At least where I live.
cRazi_manNative hardware gaming is great and the PSP was a solid device, but if anyone is new to this and interested in a gaming console for PSP, then just pick up a Mangmi Air X (or if you’re rich then go for a Retroid Pocket 5 for AMOLED awesomeness).
I sold my modded PSP 1000 seven years ago and think I maybe should have held onto it now that I’m back into retro games and PSP had a game library that holds up so well today.
What are the physical dimensions of the Mangmi? Does it fit in a big pocket, like about the same size as the PSP 1000? Or are all these handhelds still too big for that?
EFIT: It is bigger than the PSP 1000.
Yes it’s bigger and less pocketable, but you also get a bigger and better quality screen. If you want something very small and pocketable then there’s the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro.
You can do comparisons on this site and overlay the images of the consoles to get an idea of sizes.
tomkatthttps://retrosizer.com/?psp-2000:129,96~psp
Good place to compare device sizes.
Oh what a lovely thing to see, this is my article!
I’ve still got a couple other PSP articles on the go (it has become an obsession of mine)
Primary of which is my attempts to get an interview with someone from the original hardware design team. I’ve chatted a couple times to him, but the momentum seems to have stalled a little (though I’m not giving up on that idea!), I really want to share that story.
I’ve also chatted to one of the developers of Daxter, who said he’s not at all interested in a interview, since he has well and truly moved on. But he did show me a preproduction PSP the team got to work on Daxter, and he kept!
zarkanianThe sheer amount of games you can run on that thing is absurd. Besides its own library, you can also run PSX games on it.
Then you get into hacking. Want to unlock it so that you can run homebrew stuff like emulators? Just copy a custom firmware (CFW) to your memory card, run it, and you’re done. If you want to lock it again, it’s just as easy. There isn’t any risk of bricking your PSP, because the CFW doesn’t make any permanent changes to your device!
So, now you can run emulators and play NES, Genesis, Gameboy, GBA, etc. There’s also a bunch of homebrew games, but they can be buggy and difficult to get running.
I have a vita and a PSP. The PSP battery got spicy sitting in the closet but I was able to pick up a replacement easily.
The only thing I tend to use my PSP for anymore is for irShell to control the TV. Our generic universal remote doesn’t have an Info button to see the title of the show we’re watching, but the remote profile for the PSP has it 👍
Because it’s the next retroconsole craze and people are jumping on the bandwagon.
the16bitgamerWhat I miss about this era of portable gaming was that it was:
1) Portable
2) Fun, pocket games had a different design ethos around it. Longer play sessions were allowed since you can play it everywhere. But it never made you feel like you couldn’t put it down since you might have to drop what you were doing to make your next connection. It’s why I think Pokemon has been so successful. Outside of the elite 4, you could pause at any time and moment with no penalties in your game.
My recommendations for unique games for those who want them.
Pixel Junk Monsters - Tower Defence
The Sims 2 - Seriously a fun adventure game in the theme of the Sims.
Patapon 1 or 2 - Rythem adventure game
EveryDay Shooter - Twin stick shooter
can just get a psp emulator on the steam deck, gg
I still have one and a vita. they are on a coffee table just sitting there. None of the original psp games were particularly memorable to me but on vita I wish I could play gravity rush for the first time again. except for the lava area, fuck that shit.
PSP Street (E1000) are fun, love my one I picked up a couple of years back, nice to be fully offline
mycodesucksI still have mine. Fully modded, tbh didn’t like many PSP games and it’s way better for emulation
Calling that “modding” is amusing. The PSP is so hackable, you just run an app and you’re done. No risk of bricking it, and if you want to un-mod it, it’s just as easy.
Maybe Nintendo is suing you if you sing the Mario tune during their movies?….
Shut up!!!!!
Go on Mario, sing it!
…actually, it’s a tune, there’s no singing….
okay humm it! Tan..tarara ra ran. Tan . ta ta ta, Tara tararara. Tantan tan….
CerebralHawksBecause they’re easily moddable and have a decent screen size?
I recently modded my wife’s old 3DS XL, and that’s all well and good, but the screen sucks and I found out my MacBook can play 3DS games perfectly (via emulation) so now I’ve been dumping my carts through the 3DS (which also decrypts them) and just running them on the computer. Funny thing about Animal Crossing in particular, those games will generally ramp up to whatever hardware you have. Why they do this I have no idea since Nintendo hardware is so underpowered. But I have Animal Crossing New Leaf running in 4K (albeit in 4:3 or whatever the top screen was) and it looks almost as good as the Switch version (New Horizons). It’s insane how good this old 3DS game from 10-15 years ago looks today on modern hardware. The Switch couldn’t make New Leaf look this good if it wanted to. Maybe the Switch 2 could?
Interested to see if I can push City Folk (the DS version) or Wild World (the Wii version) this far.
But yeah, PSP is known to be an emulation beast. The problem was always the UMD drive, it drank battery like a frat guy drinks lite beer from a keg. But a modded PSP doesn’t need the UMD drive at all; it loads everything from the memory card. Including ISOs of UMD games. So the battery life goes way up, since the battery was intended to support the UMD drive.
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PSA for anyone that might have a PSP sitting in a box somewhere:
Go and check on the battery and make sure it hasn’t turned into a spicy pillow. Out of a sample size of 3 between mine and a couple friends, 2 of 3 were bursting out of the shell and required disposal.
If your PSP battery is still good, look into charging it and playing some PS1 games on the go. It was the best feature of the console.
And a PSA for anyone who has a terribly dead or spicy pillow battery, OSTENT make great batteries which do an even better job than the originals. I opt for the 1,400 mAh ones, which give you more capacity with the same size!
Yup, I’ve had all 3 batteries get thiccc on me in the drawer. Funny enough, my old phones that were stored in the most horid conditions were fine.
I have a white Darth Vader PSP 2000 and the battery was absolutely a spicy pillow when I checked it. I would suggest to judt replace it if you still have the original battery as its at minimum 12 years old now.
I swear I bought a replacement battery for mine but have no idea where its at.
The other thing to look for is a damaged screen. Somehow over the years of sitting on a shelf, mine looks like shitty car window tint thats bubbled up and peeling off.
why is a darth vader version of anything white?
It was the design on the back battery cover. Technically Vader is the black part!
Me in 2004: “The PSP 3000 can connect to the tv using HDMI. But who actually has an HDTV??? I have no use for this….”
Me today: “Huh…..I actually DO have an HDTV now. I just don’t have a PSP”.
Funny how life works….
No better time than now to pick one up!
I went from being amazed that anyone would opt for native hardware for older gaming (I am a huge fan of retro handhelds!) to being amazed anyone would not want one. There’s something to be said about the original games on the PSP, it just feels ‘right’.
And they’re relatively inexpensive (if you buy from Japan) to get one in nice shape these days. I’ve got another on the way from Tokyo right now:
4690 yen is about $30
I don’t really care for most PSP games, but the system is a great platform for emulation of games from the 2d age, from the NES to the GBA, from the master system to the genesis and even the PS1.
Wait, the PSP can run a GBA emulator?
Absolutely. Check out TempGBA4PSP and frogGBA
Ah, the PSP…. First personal device I owned that had a web browser.
So much porn, lol.
It was made for gaming, btw
😂 Yeah, it was pretty good for that too. I always thought it was really cool being able to play multiplayer games like SOCOM via AD-HOC networking. No server, no internet/wifi, not even a link cable you had to remember to bring; just two devices talking to eachother and creating great memories.
I loved playing socom with others it was alot of fun even with the wack controls of the PSP
I miss when they actually made shit truely local.
Sony knew the secret for success. If it can show porn it will be successful.
I remember reading an article going around a few years back about how the PS4 web browser was one of the most widely used ways to access pornhub.
I think this is really the reason they took the web browser out of the PS5. Sure, piracy is one aspect of it but I think they did not like that kind if publicity.
I don’t know anyone picking up a PSP again in 2026. I also don’t know anyone.
This is one of the comments of all time.
I had one. It was great.
As far as hardware design goes, I think Sony just nailed it with this PSP
I love my PSP and all the games on it, but the Vita with it’s two analog sticks was 100% the better design.
Yeah, I don’t understand how so many companies whiffed on the one vs two thumbstick design. Sony with the PSP, Nintendo with the 3DS, and Valve with the original Steam Controller.
@PerfectDark
I had the PSP-1001 a few months after launch & felt like a huge tech upgrade over the DS at the time.
I was wayyy into modifying it, (just going from memory) downgrading to firmware 1.50 & running games off of the magicgate pro duo to get faster load times & better battery life cuz that UMD drive sucked down juice fast.
The modded in web browser was very cool, of course it was basic but neat. Typing was a pain.
The custom firmwares were amazing.
It was way ahead of its time.👍
There’s a post somewhere on the internet comparing a racing game available on the DS and PSP, and the gap is HUGE between what they were both capable of. What that game was escapes me now, but it was an interesting time!
@PerfectDark Absolutely. My battery bloated & was desposed at the time where I was still actively using the thing.I just dug mine out of the closet & it won’t fully boot into the xmb for some reason, but the custom M33 VSH Menu comes up…. I don’t remember how to work the custom firmware any more lol it’s been too long. The UMD drive no longer works either.Bleach Heat The Soul 3 & 4 I think was the last game I bought, but was crazy the pirated games could be played online.
Time to update that firmware and get yourself some new tricks! I saw someone has ported Spotify (or some version of it) to the PSP a little while ago.
And I interviewed Barcode Studia a little while ago too, they brought GTA III to the Liberty City Stories engine so it is playable on the PSP :)
Definitely time for you to jump back into the PSP!
@PerfectDark
You know, I'll check out that sort of port of GTA III to Liberty City Stories.
I am not really a fan of GTA III but after reading that write up about it does sound worth while to check out.
I'll try to get it running on real hardware but I'll likely play it within PPSSPP because my psp unit has been opened multiple times & has grime plus bubbles on/in the screen.
Just checking out custom firmware now is crazy how dated the software I currently have installed. Like another world
I never has an original psp, but I had a psp-go. It was great! I primarily used it to emulate the nes and Genesis. Not many people liked the other slide out screen aesthetic but it was one of my favorite parts of the design. It reminded me of the Motorola sidekick.
I have a JP launch edition PSP as my prized possession - but always wanted a PSP Go.
How were the ergonomics?
I picked one up today and then put it back down. I was cleaning and organizing.
I just sold mine recently.
Steamdeck makes it obsolete.
Also, the psp controls were not very good. The stick is tiring to use, the movement buttons are a bit far apart. I did like the mp3 player when traveling and the movie on a umd gimic was interesting.
I did like it overall at the time, but being able to choose to be not bothered with online services (as the article suggests) is just as viable with a steam deck. Except when I DO want to use an online service such as my plex or jellyfin, I can do that too. Movies on a plane streaming from home, amazing.
I gave mine away after hacking my Switch, which itself has now been superseded by the Steam Deck. Aren’t there similar form factor retro handhelds that can run PSP games now? Seems that would be a better purchase than an actual PSP if cost and size are a factor.
There are a ton! Check out the Retroid Pocket 5 if you’re wanting something which can run upscaled PSP (and far more), or the more recently released Retroid Pocket 6 if you want it to be able to run Switch and PC games also
There is certainly something to be said for original hardware, but practicality wins out over nostalgia for me.
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PS Vita supremacy
PS Vita and RG Vita…just because I can
I have both! A couple PSPs actually. The Vita is better for ALMOST everything—I have the OLED model, and it can play PSP and PSX games. My one complaint: the buttons and D-Pad on the Vita are not anywhere near as good as the PSP for my favorite portable game: DJ Max Portable. I had modded my PSP’s buttons and D-Pad as well, so they’re extremely sensitive.
For any other game, the Vita is the clear winner. It emulates much better, and well… it can play Vita games!
I recently (a year ago) bought my first portable PS system, a Vita. Fantastic console, thriving ‘underground’ community. Just caught the tail end of all its online services working
before they’ll be shut down this year.They’ll be shut down this year? Have you got a source I could look at, cause that’s news to me.
Disregard that. I read something wrong.. apparently it was about the store only and is old news.
Yeah, that was a thing. They planned to shut down the store and that didn’t come to pass for the Vita and PS3. Plan went through for the PSP though.
I just love the PSP. I have a 2000, but I rarely use it. But I use my 1000 quite a bit. Other than being re-shelled, it has a glass lens and an IPS screen. I think I might remove the UMD drive to do a big battery mod. Don’t think I’ve used the UMD drive once since modding it.
Ys Seven and Midnight Club are my faves on the console. But Ace Combat X and Me & My Katamari are also way up there.
I love the shell!
Thank you! I totally stole the color scheme from a YouTube video, I can’t remember the creator. I really need a good white wrist strap for it, I have a gray Wii one on there at the moment.
Rose tinted glasses. Psp was cool but flawed and completely irrelevant today outside from nostalgia farming.
I’m not everyone, it seems.
Now, if I weren’t a big retro fan.. but I am. I am also aware that all the Sony batteries turn into spicy pillows, that’s why I got rid of them and was happy stuff was re-released on the switch.
Right. I still kept a psp go. And I liked Sonys portables.
Me and my wife both have PSPs, we brought them with us when we got married. We now have steamdecks so the poor PSPs have sat in a box for a few years. Much better battery life than my deck lol
Check their batteries, just in case. They might have turned into pillows.
Now you made me go and buy an IPS screen for my GBA. Shame on you!
You can also get an IPS screen for the PSP 1000! It’s pretty great, actually.
I’m not picking up a psp.
I’m just emulating it on my steam deck.
cant remember what ever happened to mine. It was such an amazing device, I remember I had a lot of fun with it as a little kid. idk if its nostalgia but I feel like i would appreciate it even more nowadays if I still had it. :(
Sorry for your (PSP) loss :(