Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with PSP

Help me find more games akin to the 'Monster Hunter' series!

Miyomei — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:43:11 -0800

Help me find more games that 'feel' like the 'Monster Hunter' series! I've enjoyed the basic idea of Monster Hunter for many of its iterations now. A few of the running themes:

1.) There are no "levels". I can't kill rabbits for an hour and get stronger. I can, however, kills dragons to harvest their organs/materials to make stronger weapons and armor, piece by piece.

2.) There is no automatic targeting. When I press a button to swing, I'd better be facing my target; better yet, I'd better be aiming for its weak point.

3.) Weapons are (somewhat) rooted in realism. When I have a sword that's bigger than I am, it takes a considerable amount of time to swing it, but it's going to hurt. (Yes, I know it's not realistic; a sword with a regular handle will not really be able to have a massive blade like these games.)

4.) Skill in using your weapons sets players apart, not the time spent killing boars or doing fetch quests. This is the most important aspect for me, I believe.

Due to my current setup I have no way to play Monster Hunter (PSP) online with others; X-Link Kai does not fit my situation at all, and trying to adjust will cost too much money. Thus, I've never had the chance to play MH with others. Keeping this in mind, I'm looking for games that are preferably:

-Online.
-Not on PS3/360 as I don't own either.
-Don't require a gaming PC; I have a Dell Studio 15 laptop.

Old PSP Sending Up the Lego Bat Signal

tomboko — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:35:56 -0800

I'm having a firmware problem with a 1000-series PSP. I have a "fat" 1000-series PSP. When I got it (used), it had firmware 1.50 and was 'ready for homebrew', but since at that time I only wanted the PSP to play 'Me and My Katamari', I upgraded the firmware in order to play it. All good.

Later, I hoped to send the video out to my TV and, finding that my PSP didn't have the 'Connected Display Settings' menu, I bought a Pandora battery and magic memory stick in an effort to change the firmware... changed it... THEN I realized that sending video out was simply impossible with the fat PSP. D'oh! But OK. The Katamari game still works. Now, the firmware is at 2.60.

Here is my problem: Today I bought 'Lego Batman', which wants to update the firmware to 4.05, but when trying to update, my PSP gives the error: "The system configuration of this PSP system does not appear to be correct. The update cannot be completed. Contact technical support for assistance. (DRNFFFFFFCD)"

I know that this is happening because of my efforts with the Pandora battery and magic memory stick. I have searched here and on Google about this, and have found a bewildering variety of answers and suggestions that don't all agree, as well as a lot of instructions that I am not certain apply to my old style PSP.

Please, can someone help with my specific problem? I have a long trip on Wednesday and I really want to play Lego Batman on the plane. Can it be fixed? Can you point me to helpful apps or good clear instructions that apply to my case? Many, many thanks.

Repair PSP or buy a new one?

jtron — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:56:56 -0800

Should I get my PSP-2000 fixed or buy a new PSP-3000? Some months back my PSP got dropped when someone tried to mug me. The screen started not turning on (although the backlight seems to work) with increasing regularity until finally it stopped altogether (the screen, not the rest of the PSP).

I finally have money to repair it (and continue my game of Disgaea) - and now I find out that there's a new model out with a (debatably) improved screen (among other incremental upgrades).

So, PSP users and video game lovers - any advice? I mostly play SRPGs and stuff in the Patapon/Katamari/Locoroco vein, if that matters.

What emulators run best on a PSP?

mr_silver — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:35:23 -0800

Can you recommend the best emulators to run on a (homebrew enabled) PSP? I've got a homebrew enabled PSP and would like to have a go with some of the emulators out there.

I've done some searches and come to the realisation that (a) there are a lot of emulators for various machines, (b) they appear to be of varying quality, (c) quite a few appear to be dead or dying and (d) the sites/forum posts which claim to recommend the best can be as much as 4 years old.

A quick search myself comes up with at least 2 for MAME, 5 for NeoGeo, 2 for Amiga, 4 for N64, 4 for Gameboy Advance, 2 for SNES and 4 for SEGA Master System/Game Gear. A total of 23 in all.

This is quite clearly a lot to assess so any advice you can provide on emulators to check out (or avoid) would be appreciated.

(I'm fully aware of the legal requirements regarding copyright when running emulators)

PSP Fireware Upgrade w custom firmware

Admira — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:26:03 -0800

PSP n00b Filter: How to upgrade the firmware of a PSP that has custom firmware? I bought a PSP from a friend of a friend - its homebrew enabled, which as something to do with ridge racer being in the UMD slot. Its on firmware version 3.40 OE-A. I bought FIFA 09 recently and discovered that I need newer firmware.

I'm a bit scared up upgrading and losing the homebrew capabilities, which I use to play Nethack.

So my questions are - how do I upgrade? Can I go straight from 3.40 OE-A to 5.00 M33? Or do I need to go from 3.40 OE-A to 3.52 M33-4 and then to 5.00 M33? Will these even work without Pandoras battery (which I'm guessing I don't have...)

As you can see, I'm a bit confused by the variety of ways of enabling homebrew - so I'm not sure the methods I see online will work for me.

Thanks for your help!

Thinking about hacking a PSP

l2yangop — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:27:49 -0800

i'm thinking about getting a PSP. i want to hack it and be able to play downloaded games and movies. what do i need to know before proceeding? (i.e. difficulty, what not to get, etc) dont bother with legal mumbo jumbo. i already know the risks

PSP Hack/Mod advice needed

Ponderance — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:13:00 -0800

I need advice with modding/hacking my PSP. I have info and have tried and failed. Help! Okay, so I have a PSP, the old one, not the slim one. And I have a kid and no money, therefore I was contemplating selling it as I can’t afford cames, and thought I wasn’t clever enough to explore the cool homebrew options.

Then, I saw this article

http://gizmodo.com/5034551/how-to-hack-your-psp-slim-for-homebrew-apps

I ordered the TOOL battery and followed this instructions up to the point where you install the battery and put the new OS on the machine. However, with the battery installed, the green power light shows power, but it doesn’t access the memory stick. What am I doing wrong.

Some clever hive minder has done this, and the various blogs that discuss these issues are written in gibberish. Please help!

If there are details I am not disclosing that are relevane and would help you give adivce, let me know and I’ll post them.

Help me SHMUP on my PSP.

PowerCat — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:27:35 -0800

I got a PSP equipped with Dark Alex's 3.90 M33-2 CFW. Help me get some good SHMUPS to play on it. I got a SNES, NES and GBA emu on it, so I can play those shmups. However I don't know the title of the best of them.
I'd really love to get MAME on it to play DoDonPachi, but I doubt it's playable on the PSP MAME port.
Does anyone else have suggestions for me?
Thanks!

I don't want it to stand for "Poor scammed peon"

history is a weapon — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:28:48 -0800

In a few hours, I'm buying a brand new modded psp slim. What should I check for to make sure I'm not getting ripped off? I don't even know the difference between the fat psp and the slim. It is supposed to have a bunch of games on it and be brand new. Is there a way to check the battery? Is there a serial number I should be looking for? Any help you can provide would be great. Thank you.

Showdown: PSP vs DS lite

Grither — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:25:49 -0800

I own a PS3, and my gf has a DS lite. Should I buy a PSP or a DS lite for myself? Would it be more fun to play games against/with my girlfriend on the DS, or to be able to play PS3 games remotely on the PSP? What games are able to be played remotely on the PSP? So I have a PS3, and my girlfriend (we live together), mother, and some other friends have DS lites. I am interested in the opinions of the MeFi community on whether I should get the DS lite to be able to play with my friends, or if I should get the PSP so I have a greater variety of available games to play (since I can then borrow the DS lite from the girlfriend). Basically, does anyone use the DS with friends, and how easy is it to do, and does it greatly increase the value of the system to you? As for the PSP, does anyone use it to play PS3 games or stream stuff from the PS3, and how easy is it to do, and does it greatly increase the value of either system to you?

Hey PSP, stand up!

phaded — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 20:41:38 -0800

I'm looking for the plastic stand that came with the PSP Giga Pack (link within), and hoping that some nice member of the hive mind knows how to help me get one. I'm trying to get my hands on the plastic stand that came with the PSP Giga Pack in America back in 2005, as seen in these pictures. While I haven't used my PSP for games as much as I was hoping I would when I bought it, I've found it to be much more useful for watching videos. I've wanted to get some sort of stand for it for a while now, and after looking at the options and finding most of them to be expensive or not what I really want, I've decided I'd really like something simple...such as the one that came with the Giga Pack, which came out a few months after I got my PSP.

However, trying to find said plastic stand has proved to be impossible. Sony doesn't sell it separately (the closest thing I've found comes from the Playstation Signature line, and I'll be damned if I'm paying $20 to import something like that), and I haven't found any other way of acquiring one. To that end, I'm wondering if there's a MeFi member who has one they'd be willing to part with; I'd certainly be willing to pay a few dollars for it.

If you have a stand you'd send my way, please let me know; it would be greatly appreciated.

Help me unbrick my friend's PSP

porn in the woods — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:40:53 -0800

Bricked my friend's PSP while trying to get it updated to firmware 3.80 M33. Help me get it back to working order. After successfully getting my unlocked PSP updated to firmware 3.80 M33 via Dark Alex's custom firmware, I tried to update my friend's unlocked PSP to the new firmware, and it failed on me. Now, when I turn the unit on, the power LED glows green, but the screen remains dim. It's bricked, seemingly - I've tried the recovery mode accessed by holding down the R trigger button while cold-booting the system, but nothing ever appears on screen.

What's the best way to unbrick this unit? Do I need to sacrifice a battery to the Pandora's Battery unbrick method, or is there an easier method that won't need a spare battery? Both units are "classic," non-slim models.

Wipeout Pulse boost start

jontyjago — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:31:25 -0800

I have played previous versions of Wipeout on PS1 and PS2 and I seem to remember the ability to Boost Start at the beginning of a race. I now have Wipeout Pulse on the PSP and don't seem to be able to do this, or find any information on how to do it. Am I missing something?

Fix my PSP backlight!

ThirstyEar2 — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:30:40 -0800

How do I fix my PSP backlight? I recently came into possession of a broken PSP. It turns on fine and there is a picture on the screen, but the backlight isn't working. I read that I needed to bridge the fuse and I tried my best (with limited soldering skills), but that didn't seem to work, either. Did I just do it incorrectly or could there be something else wrong?

This is the tutorial I used (http://www.llamma.com/PSP/repair/PSP_fuse_repair.htm).

"Delita, you live!"

howiamdifferent — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:45:34 -0800

Desperately looking for downloadable videos of FFT:LW's cutscenes. So I want to create something (private) using the beautiful cut-scenes from the PSP version of Final Fantasy Tactics. I own a copy of the game, but couldn't find a way to rip the videos into my computer.

So my question is, where can I download many of those awesome cut-scenes in a reasonable resolution? And if that's not possible, how do I rip the videos myself using only (hardware-wise) a PSP (I own 2- a hacked "phat" one, and a PSP2000), a USB adapter, and a PC?

Thanks in advance, Mefites <3!

Handheld Hell

Student of Man — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:31:36 -0800

Is it possible to connect the new psp slim to a wireless network using a belkin 802.11g router?

Dust off my PSP!

juv3nal — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:14:05 -0800

What's the latest/greatest custom firmware for my psp? What's my optimal (safest, easiest) way to get there? (I went 1.5-->3.10 oe which is where I am now)

I have done a quick look at pspupdates.qj.net but it seems there are all sorts of patches and add-ons I have to look out for? Or is that not the case and there's some all-in-one package I can use?

Does it still suck?

Imperfect — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:21:08 -0800

I sold my Playstation Portable a few months after I bought it, which was a few months after release, due to the incredible lack of decent games for it. Has the situation changed any? The main reason I'm asking this question is that I'd dearly love to play Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, only I don't want to invest in a system if that's the only thing for it that will be any good. I could care less about UMDs or using it as a crazy web browser or anything - how good are the GAMES?

(For reference, I checked through Future Shop's listing and there were only a few "meh" titles, but I'd be willing to bet that they're only stocking and/or advertising the most recent ones. Older "classics" are probably not listed.)

Bonus points: Give me some examples and why!

PSP FIRMWARE... HELP!

Master Gunner — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:27:02 -0800

I was just "upgraded" to a Custom PlayStationPortable Firmware (3.52 M33-4). I need help understanding/learning how to use it. I'm kind of a *noob* at the PSP Firmware thing, but I have absolutely no idea how to use my new firmware beyond putting an .iso in the .ISO folder.

1. Are there any tutorials or guides that show me how to do other things? I am especially interested in the eBook reader capability (Don't know how to get to it, load it, etc...)

2. How do I make backups of the PSP games I already bought? (Is there a "ripper", and how do I get it/learn to use it?)

Downloadable PSP Videos

lemonfridge — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 16:07:18 -0800

I'm about to fly to Ibiza, and would like something to watch during the flight, and when relaxing during the day. Where can I get easily downloadable TV shows or films (and documentaries) in the correct format for my PSP (or maybe iPod)? I'm into all sorts of genres, I'd just like something to entertain my brain for the flight. Comedy is good (Family Guy, South Park, Naked Gun, Airplane etc), action and Sci-Fi films are also more than welcome.

Time is of the essence, so I would like to avoid converting video where possible.

Can I connect a PSP to wired Ethernet?

flabdablet — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 01:46:32 -0800

Can I connect a PSP to wired Ethernet? Young Flabdablet has the use of a friend's PlayStation Portable. I don't want him using the Internet behind closed doors, so I'm not going to give him the WPA key for my wireless router. Is there (a) software available that we can install on a PC, allowing him to get a LAN connection via the PSP's USB2 connector (b) a USB2-to-Ethernet dongle that will work with the PSP?

Easy video onto the PSP?

zardoz — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:38:54 -0800

I have a PSP and would like to download YouTube videos so I can watch them on my commute. This brings up a number of questions... I want to make this a daily thing--watching the news on the train. This news junky needs his fix, and the morning commute is the best time do it.

First off, I'd like to download political videos--clips from U.S. news shows, debate, etc. Other than the politics category at YouTube, are there any other sites I can download videos of this kind? .mp4 files are ideal, but anything I can download would be fine. If you've got a video iPod, then PSPs use the same .mp4 format.

And perhaps most importantly, is there a decent Firefox downloader for video files? I have a Firefox extension called Download Helper and another called FlashGot, but can't get either of them to download a batch of video files located on one page.

Having this process be as automated as possible is ideal. Yet another question I have is the .mp4 format for the PSP--Sony goes out of their way to make sure putting video on your PSP is as painful a process as possible. I can convert downloaded .flv files with PSP Video 9, but it's extremely time-consuming. Any REALLY simple way to get YouTube videos (along with the necessary THM files) onto my PSP?

Thanks for reading the whole thing!

How much is memory for a PSP?

mr_silver — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:32:58 -0800

How much would a 4GB Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo (the ones for a PSP) cost in China? A colleague of mine is off to China and I'd like to ask them to buy either a 4GB Sandisk or Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo for my PSP.

The problem is, I don't have a clue how much a genuine one of these would cost. How would I go about finding out?

I'm based in the UK meaning that 4GB prices are around the £40 ($78) mark, hence the idea of buying in China.

How do I downgrade PSP firmware 2.71?

milovoo — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:58:58 -0800

Does anyone have clear instructions on how to downgrade PSP firmware from 2.71? I have always been irritated with my PSPs inability to run any homebrew, but it seemed fairly risky to downgrade the firmware. Now it looks like there are some safer options, but all the instructions I have found are a bit convoluted or translated from some other language making them a bit off. Do I still need a copy of GTA to downgrade (no one mentions it, but maybe it's just assumed at this point, I don't have one)? The PSP I have is not a TA-082, if that still matters. There must be someone out there skilled as both a hacker and a decent writer who can set this down to help others who are confused.

Can my psp play ps1 games?

GooseOnTheLoose — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:14:18 -0800

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.