I have a chance to buy a PSP Go for a decent price locally. Worth having one today? I already have a ton of PS1 and some PSP games purchased, sitting on my PS3 and Vita. I know the dedicated PSP store has shut down, but I can still buy PSP games via my PS3 and transfer, right?
I may or may not keep my Vita, so having a PSP for those legacy games sound kind of appealing. If I do keep my Vita, I will need to get a much smaller memory card (the larger one easily corrupt, if you weren’t aware) so having the PS1 and PSP games mostly off of that device and onto a PSP might be nice.
And I have been intrigued by the whole 240p AV out thing, through I have read that it’s not as great you might think because the image is letterboxed and small on the screen. My CRT is a 20-inch PVM.
I like the PSP go but it’s mostly useful for fast switching between TV out and portable play. On its own it is fairly uncomfortable with a bad analog and small buttons. But when you can just grab and go to transfer from TV to portable it’s a lot more acceptable, especially when you can easily transfer saves to a more comfortable system when needed.
Yeah you can still transfer games from PS3.
Vs Vita personally I’d rather run PSP games on a real PSP. There are ways to make the video output on Vita look better if you hack it (weirdly adding scanlines helps a LOT) but even then I don’t 100% trust the emulated solution on Vita even if compatibility is very good.
For PS1 games though I’ve found Vita much better as the screen is better able to scale PS1 games to correct aspect ratio due to being higher res as PS1 games can be 256, 320, 384, 512, or 640 pixels wide (maybe more) all intended to be run at 4:3, and none of the 1:1 pixel modes deliver a correct aspect ratio without correction. Beyond that I’ve run into more than a few incompatibilities with non-PSN PS1 games on PSP where Vita seems to have smoothed out a lot of those issues. But of course Via can’t do TV-out on its own, and the PSTV’s PS1 handling is not great due to being very blurry.
240p-out on PSP go is only available for PS1 games; the output isn’t boxed it’s fullscreen.
For PSP games (assuming 480p) the games are output a 480x272 frame in the center of the screen which absolutely requires correction as it will output pixels at 10:11 PAR (assuming the video frame is 4:3) rather than 1:1 so you at least need to stretch it horizontally 10% but ideally scale to fill the screen. On my OSSC the result looks pretty good on an HDTV either by correcting the horizontal res using OSSC settings or better still HDTV scaling settings.
The big problem is PSP go AV out goes through the same port as the charge port, so even if you buy cables you can’t charge at the same time without the cradle which is getting stupidly expensive.
Overall I can recommend it if you can get a cradle for a good price but yeah good luck with that.
One of the few “good gaming deals” I’ve gotten in on. Got one when I bought my Go when it was on clearance years ago not knowing how important it was. So many other things I’ve missed out on the same thing of that it feels good to have at least one thing work out like that.
Anyone have experience with replacement shells? I figure eBay is the best bet, although wondering if a there is a certain seller or what to look out for, for as close to OEM as possible.
I got one years ago, so I’m not much help. Was decent enough even though you could tell it wasn’t the real shell and I did have to use a file to shave down one part of it.
I’m bummed out because I bought a transparent case and it was missing parts and the quality was pretty bad (big gaps etc.). I just bought a white one (I already have a black PSP in great shape) from eBay, so I’ll see how it is.
Finally found the PSP OT. Cool system, and I like how different it was to the DS at the time. Really came into its own after it finally found success in Japan, though I did appreciate some of the ports from before then.
I picked up a brand new PSP-3000 a couple of years ago to catch up on some of the UMD games I missed out on since launch. I think this is the best PSP, really. The D-Pad in particular is by far the best mushy D-Pad Sony has made, the interlacing of the screen is preferable to the ghosting on the 1000 and 2000. The Tactics Ogre remake feels like a perfect fit for it.
The only issue that really plagues the PSP as a retro system is the terrible battery retention of all the models, though it’s a bit better with the Go. Switch off a PSP and the battery will drain to zero if left alone for a couple of weeks. Not ideal if you’re not frequently using it.
Some of my favourite PSP games:
Ridge Racers 2
Guitaroo Man Lives
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2nd
Ys Seven
Idolmaster Shiny Festa
Gradius Collection
Twinbee Portable
Star Soldier
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
OutRun 2006
Yggdra Union
Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
LocoRoco
Gurumin
Tales of Eternia
That’s a lot of ports or remakes, but I think the PSP did them justice. Stuff like Capcom Puzzle World is how not to adapt games for PSP. Picked that up for the Pang/Buster Bros games and was taken aback by how bad the presentation was - the usual widescreen stretching, and some horrible upscaling algorithm ruining the puzzle art.
Still think the original PSP1000 was the best feeling of them. Was mostly using a 2000 though for its upgraded internals until I switched to a Go plugged into my tv and using a DS3 with it.
What exactly do you like about the 1000? I’d say the only thing about it that’s better than the later models is a bit more premium build.
The 2000 has the added RAM and lighter weight with the 3000 adding in better d-pad/button feel + better screen.
I’ll say over and over that the 3000 has the best d-pad Sony’s put on a handheld, but I think the original DualShock has a better one when considering all their products.
The bulk/weight and how it fits in my hands. In all other ways the other models are it’s better. Well I also like how “mechanical” the UMD drive opening and closing is, even if that can be more of a negative with it being more prone to breaking.
Like I said, before I switched to a docked Go+DS3 for controlling it I was using a 2000 though.
The 1000 definitely feels like the highest quality device for sure - the front plastics are higher quality and don’t look warped like later models, internally it has a metal rollcage, and the spring loaded UMD Drive is more satisfying to operate. My unit was made in Japan too, for what it’s worth. I think it’s the last model Sony Computer Entertainment made there before shifting production of PS hardware to China.
The best thing about the 1000 today is the absurdly long AC adapter, which speaks for the quality of the original hardware for its time. Sony clearly saw the low battery life of the system as an issue, and at least bothered to ship a 3-4m charging cable which also didn’t end in a box plug. I have memories of lazy Sunday afternoons spent playing my PSP plugged into the mains, AC adapter cord stretched all the way across the room to the power outlet.
The AC adapter I got with my brand new 3000 feels cheap by comparison - it’s only a metre long and makes a high pitched sound after a while.
Fun aside, I saw a kid playing PSP at the local farmer’s market on Saturday. He was enthralled. I don’t think I ever saw someone other than ME playing one in the wild before that.
Oh wow. I haven’t seen anyone else other than myself playing PSP out and about for years. I’m always weary about the noise the UMD drive makes - people can probably hear it sitting next to me on the bus! That and I must look like a madman playing Detana Twinbee in TATE mode.
He was maybe 10 or 12… he was part of the mennonite family that runs the rotisserie chicken stand! Spent his hard earned dough on a pre-owned PSP maybe? Got it handed down from someone at the market? Who knows?! It was neat, though. I did not get to see what he was playing and couldn’t make out the sound over the din of the crowds.
Seriously though. First one I’ve ever seen in public other than one of the two I’ve owned.
I just dusted off the PSP. I found the controller extension that I bought for it years ago. But they used soft plastic, and it was so very sticky and gritty when I held it. Looked up on the internet that the best way to clean that was with alcohol.
Used a bunch of swabs. That didn’t work. Bought a tiny bottle of smirnoff vodka and rubbed the hell out of it. That didn’t work.
Went on Ebay and bought a new controller extension for 1.45 AU from South Korea. That worked.
Been playing Valkyria Chronicles 2 on the train and during my lunch breaks since this Monday. It was a nice break after I finally finished reading the Simarillion on the train.
After I beat this, back to books. And are the switch owners on the train jealous of my portable gear?
Since Disgaea 1 Complete/Disgaea Refine is basically an upscale of a 240p game to 1080p with a few replaced HD sprites and menu assets, I thought I’d revisit the first game on PSP.
Real shame about the rerelease though, I would have been all for it if actual effort went into carefully recreating the original art and visuals for high definition.
Amtrak is doing local repair work and my route has been affected. There are several extra passengers on my usually quiet train. Not many seats.
There was a guy sitting near the door of the train that everyone looked at and walked past, even though it was an open seat. He looked a little rough around the edges but not dangerous, so I sat down, worried I would be standing the whole ride. I also wear a surgical mask when I ride the train to keep from getting ill, so I can’t make judgements about appearances on the train.
I step on the guy’s jacket. He mutters something. We keep riding.
I take out my PSP and my copy of Valkyria Chronicles 2.
He instantly breaks into a conversation with me, saying “Man, I thought I was the only one still using this!”
