PSP Go modded

The PSP Go might just have been released, but that has not stopped avid modders Flasher and Roro3030 from giving it a go. They've blinged up the PSP Go the techno way, by throwing in a bunch of fancy LEDs that light up to go along with your copy of Lumines. This bodes well as a sign of things to come, and we can't wait to see what other modders are capable of in the near future when the PSP Go falls into more hands. Ben Heck, we're looking at you.

PSP Go review

Gaming, Handhelds

PSP Go review

By Ross Miller posted Sep 28th 2009 9:00AM

Review

At last, Sony's other worst-kept secret, the UMD-less PSP Go, is working its way through retail channels this week. The device itself is a marked improvement, but of course that's not the whole story. In many ways antithetical to the hype surrounding the PlayStation 3 Slim, the debut of the Go has been marred by some pretty downtrodden decisions on Sony's part, most notably the $250 price tag, an utter lack of compatibility with any previous PSP accessories, and no UMD conversion program. Will newcomers flock to the system? Will veterans upgrade? Read on for our full impressions!

PSP Go vs. PSP-2000... fight!

Hardware

One of the most noticeable changes when you first pick up the Go is the size reduction -- no doubt helped by the complete removal of the UMD drive. The depth and height are only negligibly smaller than the PSP-2000, but as you can see from the image above, the width has been shrunk considerably, with the controls now tucked away via a new sliding mechanism that feels remarkably sturdy -- we gave it some slight prodding and it held up well to the coerced wear and tear. Its finish is a glossy black, and with it comes an insatiable appetite for remembering fingerprints, pretty much as bad as the black iPhone 3G. The 3.8-inch screen is just a tinge smaller, but it honestly wasn't anything we really noticed until we put it directly next to a PSP-2000. One thing we did clearly discern was what seemed like sharper colors, ones that didn't have the same overly-red hues as the PSP-3000. The battery's no longer removable, meaning no chance to bring a replacement for longer trips. On that note, we haven't done any rigorous battery life tests, but in our time the charge has managed to last about a day and a half doing some light gaming, about as long as our PSP-2000 would last. It's now adopted Bluetooth for syncing with headsets, and more importantly, 16GB of internal flash memory expandable with a Memory Stick Micro (M2) card.

The bottom row of buttons found on the older PSP models has been separated and moved all over the system. WLAN is now on the left edge, the start and select pair are on the same plane as the buttons hidden under the slider, the Home button is now to the left of the display (something that confused a number of PSP owners we showed), and the volume / screen brightness adjusters are on the top of the unit, which honestly we found inconvenient since we had to flip the portable over to see what we were pressing, whereas before we could keep our eyes on the screen the whole time. As far as the gameplay controls are concerned, the D-pad and buttons don't stick out nearly as much, and while a little smaller, we very much appreciated the extra clickiness of the Go. The analog nub, however, does suffer from being smaller, but it didn't take long to get used to.

Sony's done away with the mini USB port in lieu of a proprietary port that works for charging the unit, connecting to a PC via USB, and outputting video. Good thing it comes with the proper cable, but really, your old cables are now completely useless here. Any of your old add-on accessories -- notably the 1Seg tuner, GPS receiver, and camera -- won't work without the recently-announced Go Converter, which looks way too ridiculous for our tastes. Like we said earlier, your trusty Memory Stick Duo's been replaced by a slot for a Memory Stick Micro (M2). Frankly, if you have an old PSP and a library of UMDs, the Go probably isn't on your radar anyway -- and that's a shame, too, but all these little decisions add up to ultimately separate the experience from Sony's locked-in audience. Point is, if you're thinking of upgrading, be prepared to start from scratch.

Overall, though, we're impressed with what Sony's done here. In many ways we prefer the Go over past models -- it's sturdy, it's light, it doesn't skimp on screen clarity and the controls are more or less just as easy to get to and logically placed. If you can look past all the other details, it's hard not to love what's been done here.

Software




The firmware for the PSP Go is the same as with the older models and will be updated as such, but that said, it seems from the onset to have a couple of extra tricks. Most notable is the "Pause Game" feature selectable from the Home menu, which saves the state of your game and lets you go back into the XMB to navigate. Only one save can be had at a time, and once you try to open a new game, the old state is removed. A welcome addition, to be sure, but we can't help but wish the XMB was still more accessible mid-game, à la the PS3 system. The other feature is an analog clock and calendar when in the closed position, switchable by pressing the L and R buttons together... but really, beyond highlighting your birthday, there's nothing special going on here.

We've noticed some confusion over this, so to be clear, all PSN downloads will work with both the PSP Go and all previous models. Sure, there's a large number of PSP games coming to PSN this week, but rest assured, your older 1000, 2000, and 3000 editions will do the job just fine. Of course, on the PSP Go you don't have access to UMDs anymore, and while most retail games will be going to the PlayStation Network for download, that "good will" UMD-to-digital conversion program has been nixed in the US and severely limited in Europe, essentially rendering your old physical media collection useless with the device -- yeah, it's a major bummer, and it doesn't look like the company'll be changing its mind anytime soon. One good note, although it might have to do with saving instead onto internal memory (we didn't check with a Memory Stick Micro card), is that our PSN downloads finished considerably faster with the new model. There was no change in the download itself, but activation and installation time zipped by. We tried it with a few games on both the Go and 2000, even managing to shave off 45 seconds from a Rock Band Unplugged demo. See it for yourself i

Pricing

Obviously this is gonna be a big sticking point, and there's no easy way to look at it: the PSP Go is $249.99. That's just $50 less than a brand new, Blu-ray equipped PS3, and $50 more than a new PSP-3000 -- more if you factor out any bundled games -- and while a little clunkier in form factor, it's got all the same functions as the new model and can play UMDs. Pouring lemon juice on this proverbial paper cut, Sony's publicly stated its intention to maintain a "pricing parity" with the MSRP for its digital downloads, meaning games sold at retail as UMD will frequently be undercutting the PSN's pricing. We're not gonna lie, it's very nice to have the option of gaming without carrying a case of discs, but those few dollars extra per game are gonna add up -- not to mention no chance of trading in to GameStop later.

Wrap-up

If we were to just take a look at the hardware at face value, we'd say Sony has done some great work here. It's a sturdy, classier game system that we're not as shy about taking out of our pocket on long, public commutes. We really do like the portable, but there's no way to separate our feelings on the hardware from all the decisions surrounding the launch. That $50 upfront premium (more if you factor out the bundled PSP-3000 games) is more or less negated when you consider the cost of a 16GB Memory Stick Duo, something that the Go already has with internal flash memory, but long-term you're still gonna be paying more for every retail game bought digitally instead of on disc. That last bit is something that should make first-time buyers take heed, as lack of legacy support on same-generation games and accessories isn't our biggest gripe here. It's not as if Sony's oblivious to the perception -- in fact they've even gone on the record as saying there's a "certain premium" associated with the Go -- but we're really not getting enough here to justify it to our wallets.

Frequent PSP Problems

All of the buttons of my PSP suddenly stopped working.

Be sure that you during playing you have accidentally slide the power button into the Hold position.

My PSP abruptly enter sleep mode during a game/movie/etc.

Be sure that you didn't accidentally slide the power button up into the Sleep position.

There's no sound/the sound too low.

Be sure that you have the sound volume turned up and you didn't accidentally hit the music note button (which mutes the console), and that you do/don't have the headphones plugged in (depending upon whether you are wearing headphones or not).

The picture on the screen is too dim/too bright.

Hit the little square button underneath the screen. This toggles through different screen brightness settings.

I cannot connect to my wireless network.

Be sure that you have turned on the WLAN switch on the bottom-left corner of your PSP.

My PSP's screen has a dead pixel.

If it is an actual dead pixel, then it isn't fixable. Learn to live with it, or try to sell it online and buy a new PSP. However, you may just have a stuck pixel. This may be fixable. There's an MPEG4 video available from various online PSP-associated sites, such as PSP Hacker (http://www.psphacker.com), called Dead Pixel Cleaner by Placasoft. This two-minute video will need to be loaded onto your Memory Stick. It flashes through red, blue, and green repeatedly and rapidly, filling your PSP's screen. The rapid instructions to change between these three key RGB colors can sometimes stimulate a frozen/stuck pixel, knocking it back to full functionality. So, if you have what looks to be a dead pixel, give this video a try. I've read several recommendations online that say you should leave it running in a loop for a good couple of hours, checking intermittently to see whether it has had any effect. You might learn that your dead pixel is just a stuck pixel when you find it quickly unstuck.

PSP Hacks: Sound Activated LED Light Mod

We’ve seen a wide range of PSP hacks since the handheld was released varying from the simple (adding button LEDs) to the more complex (add a PS2 controller).  Although this may seem like a complex hack, it requires simple circuitry and basic PSP guides to accomplish.  It’s of average difficulty and looks fantastic with it’s blue LED lights and custom faceplates.

PSP with Full Keyboard and Flip Screen

Here’s a fantastic PSP case mod which incorporates a full keyboard and flip up screen.  The keyboard is actually salvaged from an Xbox 360 chatpad and incorporated to work with the PSP.  Basically, the screen of the original PSP is simply attached above, and a keyboard is now in the original PSP body.  Few details about the build are available but the author will submit more details on the project thread.  Check our our other PSP, Ps2, and Ps3 mods for your inspiration

Epic PSP Mod includes LEDs, Camera, Joystick + More

This modder began with a stock PSP Slim 2000 and transformed it into what it should have been the day it left the factory.  The new model features an extra joystick, 32GB flash memory instead of UMD’s, a second port for charging, built in camera for taking pictures, and a superb emulator

The custom firmware gives you the ability to emulate just about any retro gaming system from NES, DS, Sega Genesis and N64.  You’ll playing your favorites in one hand-held piece of geek heaven.  Check out the video below where the modder walking us through some of his upgrades to the PSP.

Editing Hack a PlayStation Portable

== Steps ==
#Unzip the files MPHDowngrader.zip and EBOOT_1.50.zip. Use a program such as WinRAR, or WinZip. These files are the ones that shall be instrumental in both be moved into your root directory. Once this is done, open up the PSP folder and then enter into the Photo folder. Here, you will copy overflow.tif over, also removed from the MPH Downgrader folder, keeping it in the Photo directory and not in a sub directory.
#Backtrack to the PSP directory and then this time enter into the Game directory. If there is not alreadconnection and then go to the Photo icon on your PSP and scroll through the pictures to get to the overflow.tif file. Two strings of letters/numbers will appear as if something has gone wrong but this is and start it up. Go t prompts. WhenPANIC. Once again press the power switch up until it fully turns off. Now, turn the PSP back on. You will get another error. Just press the "O" button and it will restart after rebuilding the system data.
#Figure out what to add with your brand new open-ended BIOS. If you search the web you will find a plethora of different options<br><br>
#*NesterJ (NES Emulator) v1.11 - Ruka's Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the PSP.
#*Monkey64 v1.0 - The first N64 emulator for the Sony PSP. Written by PSmonkey.
#*Homer's RIN v3.2 - Gameboy/Gameboy Color Emulator for the PSP.
#*NeoCD PSP v0.9.1 - NeoGeo CD Emulator for your PSP. Released by ZeLurker, camiyu1, and Radius. Based on the emulator written/ported by YoyoFR
#*SNES9X TYL v0.2c - An improved version of the SNES9x emulator by yoyofr
#*DGEN SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive v0.70 - A new SEGA Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator for your PSP.
#*PSPUAE - Amiga computer system emulator for various amiga verions (games, etc.)
#*HANDY 0.95.1 - LYNX emulator
#*Atari800 2.0.3.27
#*NP2 0.33 - PC98 emulator
#*RACE - NEO-GEO Pocket emulator
#*PSPKVM 0.5.2 - Java web applet player (100's of free games!)
#*Daedalus X64 Beta 2 - another N64 emulator (plays only some games)
#*PJAG - emulator
#*ScummVM-PSP - emulator
#*WTH - Wagic: the Gathering, like Magic: the Gathering
#*Book Reader 8.1 - Ebook reader for a couple of formats
#*PSPHUGO 1.2.0 - PC Engine/Turbografx emulator
#*PSP7800 1.2.0 - Atari 7800 emulator
#*ColEm PSP 2.5.1 - ColecoVision emulator
#*Picodrive - Genesis & Sega CD emulator
#*fMSX PSP 3.5.35 - MSX computer system emulator (games, etc.)
#*PSP-PDA 1.3.2 - Adds PDA-like functionality to your PSP (includes IR keyboard functionality for PSP 1000 series just like a real PDA)
#*Caprice32 PSP 4.2.02 - emulator
#*MAME4All PSP 4.9r2 - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator
#*CaSTaway - Atari ST emulator
#*MVSPSP 2.3.1 - NEO-GEO emulator
#*CPS2PSP 2.3.1 - NEO-GEO emulator
#*NCDZPSP 2.3.1 - NEO-GEO CD
#*Red Dragon 0.38 - Virtual Boy emulator (may not work; still in alpha phase)
#*MasterBoy 2.02 - Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear emulator
#*pSpectrum 1.04 - Spectrum computer system emulator (games, etc)
#*Lua Player 0.20 - Plays "Lua" files: special applications of which there are dozens.
#*Apple II Portable 0.1 Build 0173 - Apple II emulator
#*pSwan 0.07 - emulator
#*Stella 0.2 - Atari emulator
#*Pikey (Pi Key) 0.5 - Adds keyboard functionality for IR keyboards for PSP model 1000 series. (Currently the Targus model works perfectly)