Can my psp play ps1 games?

February 11, 2007 7:14 PM

Can I play my ps1 games on my psp without a ps3?

I used to run devhook on my psp which would allow me to emulate firmware versions necessary to play my UMDs as well as run ver 1.5 homebrew. Now, like a jackass, I was poking around looking for how to run ps1 games and for some reason thought that I needed to emulate version 3.1, so I follow a tutorial and set up the psp to dual boot either 1.5 or 3.1 through a recovery menu. This has not brought me any closer to figuring out how to run an old ps1 .iso with a ps1 emulator. Possible? I've seen the emulators out there, but getting it to work seems to be far more complex than just downloading and running.

posted by GooseOnTheLoose to technology (10 comments total)

Check out psp-hacks.com, if you haven't already. I'm currently running Dark_AleX's custom firmware 3.03 OE-C, although 3.10 OE-A has just been released (see here). With it, I've been running PS1 games by dropping the ISOs into a folder on the PSP called (wait for it) ISO, no emulation necessary. (You can also run PSP games off of the memory stick by dropping the EBOOT files into the GAMES folder). The firmware also allows me to do anything that official Sony firmware 3.03 does, namely, run UMDs that require a higher firmware.

If you need additional help the forums at psp-hacks are great and have a number of walkthroughs and FAQs. Good luck!
posted by cosmic osmo at 8:05 PM on February 11, 2007

Did you check out the Wikipedia article about PSP?... It says you can play almost any Playstation game without a PS3 by using custom firmware.

(Maybe you've already tried this... If so, my apologies)
posted by amyms at 8:06 PM on February 11, 2007

Forgot to include--you obviously don't need a PS3, if that part wasn't clear.
posted by cosmic osmo at 8:06 PM on February 11, 2007

I might have just crapped up the install. Is there a specific directory I need to put the ps1 iso into while emulating 3.10 to get it to run? Are there any files I could have mistakenly deleted that are necessary to booting 3.10?
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 2:11 AM on February 12, 2007

I'm not sure Cosmic Osmo's advice is correct. For each Playstation (PSX) ISO I had used, I had to run them through a tool called AutoPopStation, available here.

Assuming you have Dark_Alex's firmware version 3.03 or later, you copy the output folder from AutoPopStation into the PSP:\\PSP\GAME\ folder.

Bear in mind, the tool is written in DOS style batch files, and it's a little primative, interface wise. One thing to remember is that DOS style windows aren't great with filenames with spaces in, so if you have Ridge Racer.iso, surround it in quotes: "Ridge Racer.iso".

See how you get on. If you get stuck with AutoPopStation, post again here and I'll help you again.
posted by rc55 at 3:58 AM on February 12, 2007

rc55: In Dark_AleX's firmware (3.03 OE-C at least), there is a folder named ISO created in the root of the PSP's memory stick. If you put PSX ISOs in the folder, they show up in the games menu on the PSP.
posted by cosmic osmo at 7:41 AM on February 12, 2007

Yes. You require a PS3 for the download service as there is nothing in place to do this from your computer yet.
posted by PetiePal at 10:46 AM on February 12, 2007

Cosmic Osmo: Not on my PSP, which is running 3.03OE-C. I have a mint rip of Ridge Racer NTSC that just doesn't appear unless I package it using AutoPopStation. PSP ISO's do work fine however.
posted by rc55 at 11:28 AM on February 12, 2007

OK. I have 3.10 OE-A I believe. In the psp:\iso folder I can run UMD iso's. I am unable, however, to take a game ripped in bin/cue, convert it to iso, then have the psp recognize it. It just says "corrupted data."

I looked into autopopstation, but I don't have hot shots golf or whatever, so I couldn't even get past step one.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 9:33 PM on February 12, 2007

For archival purposes:

The reason you need this new firmware to play psx games is that sony released it to allow ps3 owners to download psx games to their psp. It was opened up (3.xx) and the latest is 3.10 OE-A. To turn your psx bin/cue or iso files to a readable psp eboot file, you need a converter. Auto-install programs for 3.10 OE-A and a gui (I think, I use drpop) image->eboot file converter are all available in this tutorial.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 4:40 AM on February 15, 2007