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New PSP?

0098386

0098386

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Original poster
Jan 18, 2005
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I got myself a little £75 voucher for my local shopping centre. Thing is there isn't really much here. I thought about getting one of them new thin PSP models but I can imagine they'll be tough to crack, so I'm thinking about getting a 2nd hand model with a low firmware.

I don't care much for the game lineup, but homebrew (Cave Story :D) and PS1 playback. So, how would one go around sorting that out now? Didn't Dark Alex leave the scene? How would you go about ripping your PS1 games for the PSP?

It's just all so confusing now :eek: back when I had my last one you just needed to get fw1.50!
 
[Very limited experience here but I'll tell you what I know]

A friend of mine has a PSP that was at like 2.2 firmware or something; well I had bought the Lumines disc a few weeks ago for $15 used (even though I don't own a PSP yet) because I know how much Lumines goes for on fleabay now (like $40-$50 used). Lumines has an exploit (similar to the GTA: LCS one but better) that lets you downflash any firmware down to 1.5 to do..practically anything.

(Since the Lumines exploit was found, there is now a 3.01 firmware that apparently corrects the Lumines exploit, so now it'll flash up to 3.0 down to 1.5; I don't know if anyone's figured out a way to downflash from 3.01 yet but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.)

I'm sorta in the same predicament...I want one of the new ones but I'm sure it won't be very hackable (at first) so I may end up buying a used v1 PSP as well. I'm sure the v2 [slim] PSP will ship with 3.01 or newer firmware, but again I'm sure someone will figure out how to crack it eventually.

If you get a used one, as long as the firmware is >3.01, you're good to go. For my friend's, we got the 3.0 update off a PSP site, then used the Lumines exploit to go from 3.0 -> 1.5 (seems like the easiest way to do it). Of course now that 3.01 is out, if you use the update feature on the PSP itself, it will download 3.01, but you can find official 3.0 firmware out there to save onto memory stick and load to update it offline.
 
I remember hearing a rumor that sony was going to release a PSP which didn't have an upgradeably firmware so that there was no way to hack it for homebrew and make it cheaper.

Might be worth holding off your purchase to find out if this is true or not
 
Well I need to catch up on my PSP news. ;)
3.01 was decrypted the day it was released (unbeknownst to me). :D
source

And according to this, the PSP Lite ships with firmware 3.60. :eek:
 
TBi said:
I remember hearing a rumor that sony was going to release a PSP which didn't have an upgradeably firmware so that there was no way to hack it for homebrew and make it cheaper.

Might be worth holding off your purchase to find out if this is true or not
Click to expand...

that would make virtually every new game unplayable....it will never happen
 
Coded-Dude said:
that would make virtually every new game unplayable....it will never happen
Click to expand...

How so?

You don't need to upgrade the firmware to play a game. All the game makers have to do is to make sure the game runs on the installed firmware.

I think you are slightly mistaken as to what firmware actually does.
 
This isn't going to be easy is it?

All I want to do with a PSP is play my PS1 games, a few homebrew apps and the occasional GTA game. My iPod and DS take care of videos, music and games.

I've been reading about some modchip that lets you install 2 firmwares (in my case I'd want that hacked one, and one for proper PSP games and such). Sounds like that'll suit me?
 
TBi said:
How so?

You don't need to upgrade the firmware to play a game.
Click to expand...

Some PSP games do require specific firmware and/or updating the firmware in order to play them; Coded Arms was one of the first that did this...upon trying to play the game, it would force you to update the firmware in order to play the game.
 
zero2dash said:
Some PSP games do require specific firmware and/or updating the firmware in order to play them; Coded Arms was one of the first that did this...upon trying to play the game, it would force you to update the firmware in order to play the game.
Click to expand...

I'd say that was more sony wanting everyone to update their firmware to an unhackable one than the game actually needing it to play. The best way to make everyone upgrade is to make new games incompatible with older versions. If the firmware can't be updated then sony doesn't need to do this.

Games should not need you to update your firmware. If they do then they are written badly and can be rewritten to work on the current versions.
 
TBi said:
How so?

You don't need to upgrade the firmware to play a game. All the game makers have to do is to make sure the game runs on the installed firmware.

I think you are slightly mistaken as to what firmware actually does.
Click to expand...

Its a security feature that Sony implemented to prevent HomeBrew........and yes, I know EXACLTY how firmware works, but thanks. Do you even own a PSP? Virtually every game comes with firmware on it now, and if you aren't already on a later revision you are required to install/update in order to play. Plus there may be features that aren't yet enabled. The GPS device and Camera do NOT work on american PSP's yet, but what if a game featured GPS interactiviy? Like finding unique characters at random hotspots in MGS:pO...........

It would be counter productive to game sells and Sony's security plans to allow upgradable hardware to remain stagnant.
 
Bugger. Nevermind then, been looking into them Gamepark systems. No PS1 emulation but all the homebrew in the world.

I wish they'd pull a MS and admit that it's a fault. Sure they wouldn't accept returns but they could have at least fixed that problem with the new model.
 
They haven't fixed the ghosting :eek:

For pete's sake - of all the things they should have revamped it was that. Haven't played my psp in ages because the ghosting began to grate on me.

I have exphoria so forcing my eyes to strain on the screen all the time to see it in focus was giving me a headache after a short while.

The DS Lite screen doesn't ghost, Sony have no excuse.
 
What ghosting? I have the very first PSP, the ones that came with the Sampler disc and Spiderman 2 in the box, and I see no ghosting.

And on the downgrading stuff, google Pandora's Battery.

Apparently, it is used to revive PSPs, it also has the side effect of downgrading any PSP firmware to 1.5, by doing a complete overwrite of the ROM flashes.
 
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