Is the PSP dead?

I want reasons to get a PSP aside from homebrew (first thing I'd do with the new system would be get the newest firmware ;p)

I just want to know if this thing has been aborted already. After playing the DS again, I realized that I would still play a portable system. I just don't want it to be the DS because it is a piece of shit. I need to do my part to ensure that a good handheld should survive.

So do Japanese devs make games for this thing? What can you do with the system with the real firmware? Can I play any PS1 game on it, or do they need to come from the PSstore?

What games that don't get any attention are any good? I am not super interested in "cut-down PS2 games" if you know what I mean. But if they're THAT good, I'd pay them.

Custom FW allows you to play any PS1 game. Real firmware only allows you to play the ones available from PSN store.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I want reasons to get a PSP aside from homebrew (first thing I'd do with the new system would be get the newest firmware ;p)

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I haven't tried to play a new game in a month or two but last I checked, there was no downside to custom firmware. Every new game should work, as far as I know.

Given Monster Hunter and shit, I'd be surprised if Japanese developers completely dropped the thing. It's been dry game-wise, lately, though.

Not that I can say this with 100% certainty, but with the PSP doing crazy hardware numbers in the last year ~ half a year, a lot of people are expecting a "rebirth" of sorts of software in Japan. So, it's possible that the software situation is going to be getting better in the upcoming year. Then again, maybe not. Since the PSP was seen as dead over there until that point, there wasn't a lot of software development going on. So, we have to kind of wait a bit to see if games are back in development. (We'll probably know more at the upcoming PlayStation event, and at TGS.)

The problem, plain and simple, is game piracy. It's killed the PSP, which really sucks, because the PSP honestly is an awesome little system with a shitload of potential. (I love the DS, but honestly, I'd love to be doing far more gaming on my PSP than I am currently. I wish all of the great PS2 development that was going on was simply moved over to the PSP from this point on.) I think if anything is going to give the PSP a true chance at a second life, it'll be downloadable games. All new PSP games need to be available over PSN, and if Sony can hurry up and get the store onto the PSP, it'll make the possibility of digital distribution of games far more likely.

As for custom firmware, I dunno. I like being able to play Lammy on my PSP (purchased from Japanese PSN store), but really, I'm not sure there are more than like five PS1 games I'd really care to play on the thing. Emulators are more interesting, but even then, it's a question of being worth the trouble or not. I've got an older PSP now, but want one of the slims, so maybe when I pick that up I'll go back to looking into custom firmware.

Yeah, see, they buy MH and nothing else. I want to get the Ghouls and Ghosts game, some of the other stuff...

There's just 10 DS announcements for every PSP one and the longer it goes, the more it sucks balls. I got rid of the thing in the first place because they're not making anything for it. The system actually sells well. It's just the Dreamcast all over again in terms of software support. After a while, it dried up and then died.

If custom firmware is a two step process, I'd be willing to go that route to make the system more worthwhile. It really is a slick system, the controls are better but not perfect with the Slim, I can use it as a music player if I want. I just want some games ;(

Get one cause the God of War limited edition is beautiful.

And Doshi is right, the PSP is the top selling Japanese system of 2008 so far, EGM stated a few issues back that announcements would be cropping up, I'm guessing TGS.

I dont play it too much but the games seem to drop in price pretty quick. Dracula X was $20 just a few months after release.

The DS doesnt have dick for games. I've got far more PSP games.

The next two or three months are rather dry regarding PSP game releases, but there were so many great PSP games released earlier in the year that it doesn't matter much to me.

There are lot of good games for the PSP. I've never used homebrew games or pirated anything on my PSP (mostly because I'm lazy) and I've gotten a lot more fun out of it than my DS. LocoRoco and Crisis Core have been the games I've been playing for it recently. I haven't gotten around to trying out God of War or Agent Clank, but I hear those are good as well. PSP is definitely not dead

The PSP is absolutely worth owning. Buy another one, you won't regret it.

I never sell my consoles unless it's to upgrade to a better version. Even if it just collects dust for 2-3 months, there's going to be something in month 4 that makes me regret not having it any more. Cutting down the clutter combined with the short-term cash doesn't make up for re-buying the system.

James

It's a waste of money Joust. Just look at the current library and the dearth of anything decent coming down the tubes.

If you're an F-Chan though, by all means.

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I am not super interested in "cut-down PS2 games"

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Then don't buy a psp as that's pretty much it.

The psp has a ton of great games that you will never want to play because the psp's design sucks so bad.

Deep in my heart, that is probably the right answer ;(

Just buy one later if enough games get released for it to justify a purchase.
It's not like the PSP is going to get scarce or anything.

There are already about a dozen or so games for it that interest me, but I don't think I would get much use out of it because of its size.
If I'm at home, I don't want to play a handheld, and if I'm out I don't want to carry anything bigger than a GBA.

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Originally Posted by SamuraiMoogle

The DS doesnt have dick for games. I've got far more PSP games.

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Look, we all think the PSP is cool, but really this is just an ignorant statement. Unless you just have an irrational hatred of the DS, there is no way that you can say it doesn't have very deep library of games.

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Originally Posted by Rem

The psp has a ton of great games that you will never want to play because the psp's design sucks so bad.

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What about it sucks "so bad" exactly? I'm not a fan of the whole UMD thing, but other than that, most of my complaints were addressed by the Slim (from what I've heard).

I find there's plenty to play on the PSP, and my hands don't explode while I use it. I don't really understand people's complaints at all. I think they're making things up in order to justify a pointless dislike of the system.

James

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there is no way that you can say it doesn't have very deep library of games.

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The Ds doesn't have shit if you want to play shooters or that ilk, and I know myself and sammoogle do.

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What about it sucks "so bad" exactly? I'm not a fan of the whole UMD thing, but other than that, most of my complaints were addressed by the Slim (from what I've heard).

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The nub is fucking worthless, so playing 3-D games is a chore because the camera is ass. the D-pad is a nightmare so fighting games are out, and the thing scratches like fine china meaning you wont even take it outside. I have like a dozen games I really like for the psp I wont play because the psp's design is so terrible.

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Originally Posted by Rem

The Ds doesn't have shit if you want to play shooters or that ilk, and I know myself and sammoogle do.

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Great, DS doesn't have shooters, so the entire library is shit. Hey, the Xbox 360 doesn't have very much in the way of *fill in random game genre here*, so I'm perfectly justified in saying it has no games!

Christ, you'd think I typed in the-nextlevel.com and somehow got gamefaqs.com instead.

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The nub is fucking worthless, so playing 3-D games is a chore because the camera is ass.

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The nub is fine.

Rem is a little star of Gamefaqs shining in the darkness of TNL.

James

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

The problem, plain and simple, is game piracy. It's killed the PSP, which really sucks, because the PSP honestly is an awesome little system with a shitload of potential.

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I'm not sure I buy this argument. Is PSP piracy really more of a problem than piracy on the DS? I can't believe that piracy has much of an effect on either systems' sales. Downloading games and hacking systems is way too much trouble for your average Joe Schmo. Hell, it's too much even for me to deal with, and I just sit here all day reading internet message boards.

Garnet Chronicle looks like it might be a solid strategy rpg for the PSP.

The system is topping the charts in Japan, so there's still plenty of hope for the system's future.

I've wanted a PSP for quite some time, but I've been spending my money on consoles over the past year.

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Originally Posted by flux=rad

I'm not sure I buy this argument. Is PSP piracy really more of a problem than piracy on the DS? I can't believe that piracy has much of an effect on either systems' sales.

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First, I'd argue that piracy on the PSP is way easier than on the DS. For the DS, you have to actually purchase a specific piece of hardware in order to even begin to play pirated games. For the PSP, all you really need it a Memory Stick, which you're going to invest in anyhow simply by owning the PSP.

Second, I think the difference in markets is very important. The PSP is being supported by a market that is damn near the exact demographic of people that know how (and unfortunately do) pirate games. The DS has a far wider appeal, and thus, not only has far more customers, but more customers that don't know the first thing about piracy.

And - while I'm not saying we should believe him just because he said it - Jack Trenton specifically mentioned piracy as one of the big problems holding back software sales on the PSP.

The nub is fine but stupid developers keep trying to put traditional 3D platformers onto the system, which just does NOT work without a right analogue stick. Daxter was pretty much the only game that managed it.

And PSP piracy is almost certainly a serious problem. The system is selling amazingly well, even in North America, but the games aren't doing the numbers they should be. PSP piracy is probably the easiest piracy out there, PC included. Install custom firmware, download isos, and you're good to go. At least the DS requires would-be pirates to buy an R4 or other cartridge.

Anyway, back to the original point of this topic. I think the PSP is definitely worth owning. Great exclusives like Wipeout Pure, LocoRoco, and Megaman Powered are obvious reasons, but there are some worthwhile ports as well. It has a couple glitches, but Pirates works very well on PSP. The arcade shooter compilations like Space Invaders Portable, Gradius Portable, and Salamander Portable are also good reasons to pick up a PSP - assuming you're either going to get a PSP Slim or are going to [url=http://www.ufighterx.com/guides/videogame/pspdpadfix/pspdpadfix.htm]mod[/uirl] the PSP Phat's dpad. Not to mention all the homebrew, emulation, and psx-to-psp stuff that you can do with the custom firmware...

It does appear that UMDs are on their way out, though. I wouldn't be surprised if Echochrome was a test to see how full downloadable games will sell. That sort of digital distribution is probably the PSP's future, due to both the costs of UMD manufacturing and the piracy. Of course, digital downloads can be pirated (though not as easily as UMD games), but I bet Sony wants to do anything it can to make it harder to pirate PSP games.

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Hey, the Xbox 360 doesn't have very much in the way of *fill in random game genre here*, so I'm perfectly justified in saying it has no games!

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If that one random genre is almost exclusivley what you play then you would be justified, because then the 360 doesn't have anything you want to play.

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The nub is fine.

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No, it isn't.

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Rem is a little star of Gamefaqs shining in the darkness of TNL.

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Aww you're so sweet to me.

I love both the psp and the ds.

Even if no more great games come out on the psp, I'll still be happy with mine, as I haven't picked up all the games I want for it.

Metal Gear Acid 2 is one of my favorite portable games of all time, so tasty-tasty.

Mega Man Powered Up makes is everything MM9 wants to be.

Monster Hunter is really, really, good. It's like Diablo combined with street fighter and it really doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

Metal Gear Portable Ops is a weird MGS3/pokemon hybrid that I had a lot of fun with too.

When you factor in the emulation aspect, my psp has been playing lots of Gameboy Color games lately, it really is a great little machine that is totally worth what I paid for it.

There are some Star Ocean games coming out for it in the future if you like RPGs.

So if I *was* to use a custom firmware, where would I go? no google.com

I'd like to play more PS1 games and at least try the emulators

Salamander, Gradius, Twin Bee, Capcom Classics Remixed, and PC-Engine Best collections are the most alluring reasons I've seen for buying a PSP.

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Originally Posted by bVork

It does appear that UMDs are on their way out, though. I wouldn't be surprised if Echochrome was a test to see how full downloadable games will sell. That sort of digital distribution is probably the PSP's future, due to both the costs of UMD manufacturing and the piracy.

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I agree with this. I wouldn't be surprised if more and more PSP games start to migrate towards being released on PSN, for the reasons that you stated. One additional reason why digital distribution would be good for PSP is it would allow developers to take a chance and release a quirky niche game that might find a small, devoted audience, but would otherwise choke on retail shelves.

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Originally Posted by bVork

It does appear that UMDs are on their way out, though. I wouldn't be surprised if Echochrome was a test to see how full downloadable games will sell.

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There's been at least one other digital-only release - Beats - so they're certainly testing the waters.

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Monster Hunter is really, really, good. It's like Diablo combined with street fighter and it really doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

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I've never heard the game described like that, this sounds fun. How does the online portion of the game work?

The nub was fine after I replaced it with a different one that wasn't flat and sucked ass.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

So if I *was* to use a custom firmware, where would I go? no google.com

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I'd recommend the large PSP custom firmware thread on TNL.

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Originally Posted by Rem

I've never heard the game described like that, this sounds fun. How does the online portion of the game work?

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Get some people close by with PSPs and copies of MH. Not sure if there's tunneling, I haven't looked into it yet but I hope it exists. I also haven't played very much so I could be missing something, but I have no idea why it was just compared to SF. I'd just place in the Diablo/PSO style.

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Get some people close by with PSPs and copies of MH

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Well that's not happening.

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

There's been at least one other digital-only release - Beats - so they're certainly testing the waters.

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flOw was also released as a downloadble title. I singled out Echochrome because it got a UMD release in Asian and Japan, while Europe and North America only got a digital download version.

I picked up a GoW bundle with SIE and Metal Slug. Going to get GnG and the Konami shmup compilations. What other imports are worthwhile?

Be sure to get GnG Kai. It's a rebalanced version without all the find-the-rings bullshit.

If you're a Wipeout fanatic, it's worth hunting down the European version of Wipeout Pure. It has more downloadable tracks, music, and vehicle skins than any other version.

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Originally Posted by Kidnemo

Monster Hunter is really, really, good. It's like Diablo combined with street fighter ...

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...In that they both have "CAPCOM" start-up screens? How is Monster Hunter anything like Street Fighter?

Wasn't the PSP due for a remodel by now?

It already got one! Pay attention!

Oh right, the video-out thing.

edit: Wasn't the PSP due for a drastic redesign by now?

Also, thinner! Somewhat!

I've been playing a lot of SNES on mine as of late..

I consider the PSP a must-have because of cfw alone.

Heh. I really think I'm right about Sony moving to digital downloads for the PSP... PSP Fanboy says that Super Stardust Portable will be a download-only title.

It was download-only for PS3, too. I don't see how that's indicative.

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Originally Posted by A Robot Bit Me

...In that they both have "CAPCOM" start-up screens? How is Monster Hunter anything like Street Fighter?

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Well, any fighting game really.

Monster Hunter has tons of gameplay that is really only uncovered after you play it tons and tons. It's all twitch based gameplay stuff, like the dodges and combos you setup.

Much more difficult with a steeper learning curve than something like diablo 2 or PSO.

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Originally Posted by Bacon McShig

It was download-only for PS3, too. I don't see how that's indicative.

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it was UMD in japan, and was in the US until they announced download only.

I'm thinking about picking up a PSP just for God of War: Chains of Olympus, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, and X-Men Legends II. I just wish the system was cheaper.

Yeah, if it was just under the $150 mark I'd probably have bought one a long time ago. Oh well.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I picked up a GoW bundle with SIE and Metal Slug. Going to get GnG and the Konami shmup compilations. What other imports are worthwhile?

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I was going to suggest Initial D, but I recall you hating this game when it was brought up on the PS3 thread. It is a great arcade racer, and ported exceptionally well on the PSP.

Also, if you like music/rhythm genre, DJ Portable Max 1/2 are must plays.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I am not super interested in "cut-down PS2 games" if you know what I mean.

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Then grit your teeth and get a DS.

Modding the new slim PSP is a lot harder I believe as it requires a custom battery and some other stuff...

Playing UMDs off memory stick is the best reason to mod though. For some games it's a god-send, especially RPGs... So basically with a PSP, a huge memory card, and some hard work, you can have a portable game system loaded with emulators, other apps, and some UMDs to play right off the stick. Throw in multiplayer on games like Puzzle Quest (a recent addiction) and there are much worse things to throw a couple hundred away on... But then again, I love my DS as well...

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Originally Posted by SpoDaddy

Then grit your teeth and get a DS.

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I know there's no way you'd ever change your mind about this, but for everyone else:

Even though there's obviously fewer games coming out for the system vs the DS, the PSP honestly has a pretty awesome lineup of unique content. I personally have as many PSP games as DS.

I thought Joust already had a DS.

I do. But it's a piece of shit. It gets more games though, which is a shame.

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Originally Posted by B-Ri

it was UMD in japan, and was in the US until they announced download only.

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I think he was talking about Super Stardust.

MY PSP isn't dead. I just got one of the last PSP D-Pad mod kits from UFighterX' site and popped it on. Street Fighter Alpha 3 plays like a dream.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

I do. But it's a piece of shit. It gets more games though, which is a shame.

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Maybe video games just aren't your thing? Perhaps a career in public service?

no.

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Originally Posted by ssbomberman

Modding the new slim PSP is a lot harder I believe as it requires a custom battery and some other stuff...

Playing UMDs off memory stick is the best reason to mod though. For some games it's a god-send, especially RPGs... So basically with a PSP, a huge memory card, and some hard work, you can have a portable game system loaded with emulators, other apps, and some UMDs to play right off the stick. Throw in multiplayer on games like Puzzle Quest (a recent addiction) and there are much worse things to throw a couple hundred away on... But then again, I love my DS as well...

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If using Pandora, the original PSP phat battery first.

It's less dead than the PS3.

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Originally Posted by Bishamon

It's less dead than the PS3.

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:lol: So very true!

The PSP really does have a great library, it's just that most if it's older stuff and there's not a lot of "latest & greatest". Maybe I missed the outpouring of amazing E3 PSP games (it's a very real possibility) but the library of available stuff is its biggest selling point.

James

Yeah if were putting the psp and DS head to head the psp is kicking the shit out of the Ds.

Does the downloadable Wipeout Pure still allow for downloading the DLC?

I have no idea. You might as well get the Greatest Hits re-release. It's cheap and can be found everywhere.

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Originally Posted by Joust Williams

Does the downloadable Wipeout Pure still allow for downloading the DLC?

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it should, there should be no reason it shouldnt.