PSP Blogger - PlayStation® Portable Fansite

Finally that long awaited preorder arrives! You tear away on the annoying courier packaging, remove the plastic wrapper with you're grinding teeth, gaze at the front cover for a few seconds, flip open the casing, and finally slam the UMD in your PSP. This is what happened to most gamers who bought themselves a copy of God of War PSP.

The problem came in when they managed to complete the game the same day they purchased it. Fact is that most new games are relatively short (besides the odd RPG here and there). Replay value happens mostly in puzzle and multiplayer games but usually fails with single player action adventure titles such as GOW. Yeah the hardcore fans might replay the title to unlock every last item but for the average gamer this title will most likely be traded or sold. Another example is the relatively short Silent Hill: Origins. You play the game to see what happens in the end (aka story line) but after completing it you don’t really have anything else to look forward too, keeping in mind that SH can be completed in 2 hours.

(Nintendo moment alert) How many times did you play Super Mario Bros over and over or what about Contra or Sonic or even Adventure Island? What gave these games the excellent replay value they still have until today? Maybe it all comes down to choice.

At time when the NES ruled the earth and mankind had to play on blocky looking controllers there was no real competition. Simply put, everybody had NES and everybody had Pac Man. There were plenty of games available for the system but most people just ended up getting one of those 20000 in 1 cartridges (Famicon…hmm). Today you however have the option of getting a Wii, DS, PSP, Xbox, and PS3 or even PS2 (or like some people, all of them). You might like FPS based games, whereas your buddy might prefer RPG’s and this weird looking dude might worship RTS but strangely enough in the NES days everybody loved side scrolling platformers.

There are so many consoles, genres and games to choose from its insane. In the end it’s not the games that lost the replay flavor but more the subliminal idea of alternative choices. While playing GOW you might be thinking about how much (the already preordered) Final Fantasy CC is going to rock but after getting and enjoying FF you might already be thinking about the next big title that interests you (resulting in GOW ending up on the dusty shelf).

With so many consoles and games available, there’s always something else to look forward to and while the replay concept might not apply to multiplayer games or similar it does have an impact on story driven single player games.

As we all know, the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS are currently ruling the charts. The big question however is why.

Most gamers will jump up at this point and shout “It’s the price and portability factor you noob!” We do agree that portability does play a big role but we have to disagree on the price part. In most countries the PSP is actually more expensive than the Xbox 360. Yeah we know the Xbox 360 is pretty unstable (we just had too) but still the console provides much more than the PSP besides the portability.

Hey but wait, the Xbox 360 arcade edition is the only version that’s cheaper than the PSP correct? Next generation gaming consoles are very much like PC’s these days since you get different versions which offer well…different features. You can upgrade hard drives; add wireless adaptors, blah blah blah you know the rest. Another article we read the other day explained how customers got extremely confused with these new console features and revisions and versions and what not and most ended up walking out of the stores empty handed (probably to go do some more research). An employee from a local game store booked in a client’s new 40Gb PS3 for replacement due to the fact that it had problems playing PS2 games (yeah, read that sentence again).

Your Sega Genesis was the same as mine, and the next door neighbor and so fourth and this is how consoles have operated all these years. We love the PS3 but the fact that you have to actually install some of the titles (like DMC4) kind of takes away the whole tray and play factor don’t you think. For internet freaks like us these versions and upgrades are pretty easy to understand but for the end user it’s not always the same story.

Here’s an example: Jack wants to upgrade his PS2 so he runs down to the local game shop to buy a next generation console. Firsts he looks at the 360 only to be informed by the sales person that due to RROD they discontinued sales and are still awaiting new and more stable units. He then spots the nice looking PS3 to once again be informed that the 40GB version won’t run his PS2 games and that the 60GB version is discontinued. Next on the list is Wii which does not really have any titles he likes such as MGS and Gran Turismo available and the graphics seem to be on par with he’s old PS2 as well. He’s not having such a nice day and obviously the fun has been taken out of buying a console. He might end up deciding to go the PS3 route but due to the pricing he will most likely end up going home empty handed.

Gone are the days of just connecting your console to your TV with standard RCA cables. It’s all about surround sound, HDMI, LCD resolutions, wireless, storage capacity, card readers, etc. and even though these features are nice to have they can get confusing to some.

It’s not “Dad, I want an Xbox 360", it’s more like “Dad, I want the limited Xbox 360 Mongoose Edition or Pro Value Edition or Elite Edition but just not the Arcade Edition".

If you wanted a Sega Genesis you simply just had to grab any one off the shelf, but lately people tend to ponder for weeks on what console version to buy and even sometimes end up waiting for later versions to be released with the hope that new features with be included. Now that the PSP can also connect to a television the purchase is just so much easier. “Dad, I want a PSP”….Done.

Gamers are active, gamers are mobile and as we all know people want things easy in life. Handheld console purchases are just so much simpler.

As with all electronic devices faults are due to arise some how or the other. This can be due to electronic failure, drop damage or even your dog who decided to have an electronic snack. Or maybe you’re just looking at cleaning your PSP after a pretty heavy weekend with Monster Hunter. The following tips should help you out with these little headaches.

The Faceplate

If you’re planning on adding a new look to your PSP or just wanting to replace your cracked faceplate this guide might just be what you need.

Note: Some people have noticed a very tiny crack in the plastic right next to one of the corners of the PSP screen. This according to Sony is perfectly normal and there’s no need to replace your faceplate.

Faulty LCD Screen

I’m sure you have a pretty good explanation as to why your PSP LCD is cracked but either way, this guide should help you replace the screen without the worry of damaging any other components.

UMD Metal Ring Scratches

As you might have noticed, the metal ring on the backplate of the Slim PSP is a magnet for scratches. You might want to consider getting yourself a protective case. Otherwise the following tips be able to assist you on removing those dreadful battle scars.

Power Switch Replacement

If for some odd reason your power switch decided to go to heaven then this guide will show you where and how to solder on a new one.

Replacing UMD Door

Ok, Golden Compass is a real crappy game but there’s no need to break the UMD door. Lukily this handy guide will show you how to replace the poor thing.

Cleaning LCD Screen

Most common thing seems to be a dirty LCD screen. We don’t even want to imagine how it would look like if it was a touch screen. Anyway this guide will help you to make it all nice and sparkly again.

Unbricking

So you tried to run custom firmware but things didn’t really go according to plan. The lights on the PSP are on but nobody’s home. There might however be light and the end the tunnel by checking out this guide.

Cleaning Analog Stick

The biggest problem with cleaning the stick is the little grips on top. All the dirt tends to make home there but this guide will show you how to make you analog stick look like new.

Waterproofing

Why someone would want to make their PSP waterproof is beyond me, but here you go anyway.

If you're maybe planning on replacing your current PSP faceplates then you might want to have a look at the chrome covers available.

CoolMods seems to be one of the few places that actually stock these and some other weird looking designs (Camy face anybody?). This video should give you a pretty good idea of what the end result will look like.

All PSP owners should by this time be familiar with the recently added service Go!Messenger (GM). PSP users should also be familiar with the fact that there are hardly ever people online. Currently we have about 146 contacts on our list and we've only seen someone online about four times.

The primary features of this service are voice and video chat. The problem however is that very few PSP users actually own the peripherals that allows this. Yes you also have the option of instant messaging but without the not yet released Qwerty keyboard this can be quite a tedious task. I personally like the idea of connecting to PSP users worldwide even if it’s only to say “hello” but due to the lack of users owning the proper accessories this service is really losing its potential.

Most people use their PSP for games or music and even by reducing the price on the peripherals very few users will actually bother using the service which is quite a shame. A much easier option would be to simply install GM on your PC for easier text messaging but that would pretty much defeat the object of having the service on your PSP altogether.

In the end Sony had a good idea here but unfortunately the service is pretty much dying. Hopefully the Qwerty keyboard will be released soon at an affordable price (which we pretty much doubt).

Feel free to add your GM nickname in the comments section and maybe you might just get lucky and find some people online.

Recently we posted an article about the graphics difference between the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The intentions we had with the article where totally different to the responses we found in the comments section. In a way we could have expected the article to get flamed but strangely enough something bigger evolved. Let’s take a look shall we…

After closely studying the comments the following were the ones most mentioned:

“The DS has better games period”

Yes this is a PSP dedicated site but we always look at the opinion of all the parties involved. OK, so the DS has better games. Is this statement actually true or is it just some heavy over exaggerated rumor created by DS owners?

Now we can sit here for hours and list all the good games on the PSP but DS owners can do exactly the same making this argument pretty pointless. We decided the best option would to visit GameSpot and see what the reviews scores had to say about this.

Total amount of DS games that scored 80% and higher = 47 as seen here.

Total amount of PSP games that scored 80% and higher = 72 as seen here.

Keep in mind that this is not my scores but the figures provided by GameSpot.

“Who cares about graphics?”

If you like 2D graphics or if you’re a fan of Mario then please get yourself a DS. We honestly have nothing against the DS but this statement is really pointless. Playing a pixilated racer or 3D platformer sucks, and that’s why game sites like IGN and Gamespot provide a graphics quality score as well.

“The PSP is just another gamegear”

Where on earth did the gamegear sell over 30 million units? Comments like this only make you look like a fool.

“Everyone here must be on drugs”

In a way we have to agree. You should have seen the 30 odd comments we deleted.

“The PSP will never outsell the DS”

We seem to have fortune tellers here too and also keep in mind that the PSP recently outsold the Wii, PS3, 360 and PS2 combined in Japan and yes it also outsold the DS.

We can seriously go on about this but in a way we actually admire people who stand up for the things they love. It’s just a shame the majority of DS owners seem to be arrogant kids.

How to leave a proper comment 101:

Ok, so you like the DS. Here’s how to leave a proper mature comment:

The proper way: Yes, the PSP does have impressive graphics but I prefer the games found on the DS as they cater more for my tastes.

The wrong way: PSP sucks! DS FTW…DS pwns the world! Bwhahahha..

The proper way: The reason I prefer the DS over the PSP is due to the touch screen and dual screen. I’m also a real fan of Mario and Zelda games.

The wrong way: PSP is for sissies! Noobs!

Please feel free to read the comments provided by your DS friends and see how they embarrass you. The article was purely about the graphics (for those who care about graphics) and had nothing to do about the consoles or the games.

This is a follow up to the article 100 Reasons to own a PSP.

Well since the previous article seemed to have caused some confusion I decided to clear things up a bit. I received plenty of mails complementing me on finding 100 reasons but I also received some mails informing me that the list is super lame. According to these readers functions like clock, mute, integrated speakers and even gamepad lock is extremely stupid. Well, they are simple and stupid but there’s a reason why I listed them believe it not. I also received five mails explaining that you need custom firmware for 333 MHz processor speed. Where on earth do you people hear these things? You don't need CFW for that as the full processor clock has been unlocked with the release of OFW 3.50 (GOW supports 333 Mhz). I honestly don’t usually follow up on my previous articles with another article but since I didn’t really explain why I listed some of these simple features I figured it might be worthwhile.

So here goes, the listed features most people complain about…

#11 – Mute

Why on earth would someone list a function as simple as mute? Well there are people out there who actually like to use this function you know. I have 2 MP3 players (JNC and Asus) and they simply don’t include this function. I also have a Gameboy Advance that does not include this function either. Mute is handy, and it’s something I want when purchasing a unit that can play movies and music.

#40 – Calendar / Date

Another function that’s missing on my GBA and other devices and yes I sometimes forget the date, I’m only human.

#41 – Intergraded Speakers

I own a very expensive iPod and yet this funky little device does not have speakers. You’ll be surprised at how many people use their PSP for some music in the background while reading or whatever.

#66 – Over 30 million units sold worldwide

There is no point in getting a gaming console that doesn’t sell.

#67 – Current best seller in Japan

Most of the titles I play are Japanese RPG’s. If the sales go up then more developers will focus on the console.

#78 – Gamepad Lock

Yes I’m one of the few that likes watching movies on their PSP. The lock assures that no accidental button presses will hinder the movie playback.

#83 – Clock

The clock is another function missing from my Gameboy Advance and some other handheld devices. I also like the idea that I can press the Home button while playing a game to quickly have a look at the time.

#84 – Stereo Sound

I have this real nice Samsung cellphone that supports MP3’s but only has mono sound and like I mentioned previously my iPod doesn’t even have speakers.

#86 – Future DivX support

This function is something that will be featured on the PSP soon and it’s really something to look forward too.

Like I mentioned in the previous article; while some of these functions might seem simple or even pointless to you, they might be of great importance to someone else.

Yesterday evening I was attacked by some forum member and this is what he had to say: “Dude, everybody knows that the DS is more than capable of running PSP games”. This just proves my point that drugs are bad for you. DS and PSP gamers are well aware of the technical differences between the two handhelds. The thing is how big is the graphical difference really? I’m fully aware that visuals alone do not make a game great but eye candy is always nice to have. Imagine you’ve purchased this new RPG that offers 4 million hours gameplay but the graphics is butt ugly. You’ll be seeing this visual representation throughout the whole game so in my opinion graphics does indeed have major impact on games.

The following list of screenshots is not a competition between the two handhelds since the games where created for two totally different systems, but more to give gamers a general idea of what to expect visually when purchasing any of the two handhelds. I know some people might reckon that the comparison is really unfair but if you think about it, the DS is latest handheld from Nintendo and the PSP the latest from Sony.

The top screenshots are from the Nintendo DS and the bottom widescreen shots are from the Sony PlayStation Portable.

Ridge Racer

Sims 2

Need For Speed: Pro Street

WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007

Burnout

Crash of the Titans

Well there you have it. So if you’re planning on buying a new handheld then this should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect visually.

The mission:

To provide one hundred reasons to buy/own a PSP. 100 reasons isn’t such an easy task as you might come to think. Yeah sure we can list a truck load of great selling games but that would defeat the object here. The reasons also had to exclude homebrew making the list even harder to compile.
We however decided to take the challenge so we present to you…

100 Reasons to own a PSP console…
The following list includes features, software and general reasons.

Update: 100 Reason to own a PSP console - Part 2

Update: We received quite a few mails complementing us on the list and also some hate mails. Yes some of these features are pretty stupid (clock, mute, standby) but you'll be surprised to see how people don't even know about them. We actually received a mail from some guy who freaked out since he didn't even know you could set the screen brightness. So while some features might be simple or even pointless to you, it might be of great importance to someone else.

1. Games (God of War, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, etc).
2. Skype
3. Go!Messenger
4. Web Browser
5. RSS Reader
6. Internet Radio
7. Remote Play
8. Location Free Player
9. WMA Support
10. Youtube Support
11. Mute Function
12. WPA & WEP Security
13. Firmware Updates
14. Game Sharing
15. Mpeg Video Playback
16. Exclusive Titles
17. Digital Comics Support
18. MP3 Playback
19. UMD Movies
20. USB Charging
21. Tivo Support
22. Extended Life Batteries Available
23. Faceplate Skins
24. Picture Viewer
25. XMB Themes
26. Wallpaper Support
27. PSOne Emulation
28. PS Store
29. Ad-Hoc
30. Online Gaming (Infrastructure)
31. Integrated WLAN
32. GPS Support
33. Camera Support
34. Wide Range of Accessories
35. Various Colors Available
36. PSP Platinum Range
37. Analog Stick
38. Portable Gaming
39. TV-Out Support (Slim)
40. Calendar
41. Integrated Speakers
42. Direct Play Via Memory Stick
43. PlayStation Spot Downloads
44. Online Messengers
45. WLAN Power Save
46. TV Screensaver (Slim)
47. Improved LCD (Slim)
48. Flashing Battery Indicator
49. Lanyard / Handstrap Support
50. USB Connectivity
51. Flash Games
52. Hands Free Speakers (Slim)
53. Supports Memory Stick Pro Duo
54. No Online Gaming Subscriptions
55. Stable Platform
56. Great Build Quality
57. User Friendly
58. Easily Available
59. Huge Game Database
60. Headset Support
61. Qwerty Keyboard Support
62. New Slim Design
63. Music Visualizations
64. Downloadable Demos
65. Light Weight (Slim)
66. Over 30 Million Sales Worldwide
67. Current Best Seller In Japan
68. 10 Year Future Plan
69. Standby Mode
70. Supports Standard Earphones (Slim)
71. XMB Navigation While Playing Music
72. Region Free Gaming
73. Upcoming 16Mb and 32MB Storage
74. Budget Titles
75. VoIP Support
76. Sharable Game Saves
77. Custom Sound Track Support (Game Specific)
78. Gamepad Lock
79. High Resolution Display
80. Future Titles (Devil May Cry, FF Dissidia, Resident Evil)
81. Bundle Deals
82. Widescreen Ratio
83. Clock :P
84. Stereo Sound
85. Responsive Controls
86. Future DivX Support
87. Replaceable Faceplates
88. 333Mhz Processor
89. Free wireless Internet From T-Mobile.
90. Adjustable Screen Brightness
91. Auto Sleep Function
92. Screen Shots (Game Specific)
93. Best Handheld Graphics
94. Photo Sharing
95. Downloadable Game Content (Game Specific)
96. Homebrew Support
97. Convert Your Own Videos
98. Slideshows
99. Wireless Scanner
100. Parental Control

Well that's the list and suddenly we like our PSP's ever more.

After the recent discovery of the PSP 3000 label (it was found in the online manual), things started to get real busy in the rumor world. People seem to believe that the new model will most definitely have dual analog sticks as seen here and here.

Hmm, dual analog sticks eh? Wonder if this would be such as good thing? Yeah the idea of having two sticks sounds really nice although I can already see some complications arising if this actually becomes reality. New games will obviously be designed with dual analog in mind but where exactly will that leave old PSP owners? I’m seriously not going to upgrade again.
Another thing that also comes to mind when looking at dual analog is PS2 and PSone ports. PSP gamers will really start to see port heaven if dual controls actually make it to the handheld. This however wasn’t the only rumors flouting around.

Here are some of the features people are hoping to see in the new model (although some of these are really far out).

• Bluetooth (I like this one)
• Integrated Hard Drive
• PS2 Emulation
• Integrated GPS
• Touch Screen
• Double the RAM (again?)
• HDMI port
• Integrated Camera
• Vibration / Rumble (might cause gamers to drop their PSP)

I honestly can’t say if any of the above mentioned features will be included in the new model but I’m really curios to see what plans Sony have up their sleeve this time around.

The lack of PSP software sales is apparently due to piracy figures for the console. Now while their might some truth in that statement I also believe it’s due to lack of great quality titles. Strangely enough there are more PSP titles scoring over 80% on Gamespot reviews than DS titles. Just look at how the sales figures raised when God of War COA, Final Fantasy CC, Monter Hunter 2nd G and Patapon where released. This tells me that great quality titles equal good console sales (yeah pretty obvious).

Piracy however is something that has been plaguing the PSP for some time now although the same thing was present with the PS1 and PS2. Still today the PS2 however sells extremely well.

Here’s a quote from PSP Fanboy regarding the piracy problem…

“Piracy is ruining the PSP. Although quality titles continue to come out on the handheld, many have been wondering: where are the software sales? Hardware has done incredibly well since the release of the redesigned PSP-2000, but PSP software still fails to make it to the top of the charts. What's to blame? It's easy to blame pirates, who take advantage of the easily circumventable security of the system.”

Everybody who owns a PSP is very well familiar with the term custom firmware or the name Dark Alex. I do however support CFW in terms of running homebrew applications but I don’t support piracy.

As we all know CFW allows the PSP to run various emulators such as NES, SNES, Arcade, Atari, Gameboy and even Genesis (which might also explain the fairly low sales of the Sega Genesis Collection). Hardware wise the PSP has more than enough power to run DS emulation but there’s a little problem though.

Nintendo was fully aware of the fact that the PSP is a stronger unit therefore making it possible to run emulation of the DS. I’ve read on various forums people reckon this is why Nintendo also decided to rather go for touch screen and dual screen making it fairly impossible for the PSP to properly emulate the DS. Imagine the DS was just an improved version of the Gameboy Advance. Emulation would have been fairly easy on the PSP and this might have even caused a real dip in DS hardware and software sales.

The current rumor is that Sony plans to implement some new security in the upcoming firmware 4.0 for the PSP resulting in discontinued use of the Pandora Battery fix. How true all these rumors are I honestly don’t know but we’ll see soon enough.

Feel free to comment on what your opinion is about the whole story.

I’ve honestly seen some really weird PSP accessories but this one takes the cake. Can you imagine playing God of War while taking a shower, having a bath (hey wait I do that) or even while swimming? These Japanese dudes however seem to think it’s perfectly normal with their Aquatalk waterproof PSP wallet.

I actually thought really hard about why someone would actually buy one of these and could seriously not come up with any sane reason. Yeah it might be quite funny actually owning one of these things (South Africa won’t see it I promise you) but how many people will actually go buy one?

Surely there must be a production line for these accessories since I can’t really see them promoting the product if it doesn’t sell. Some really weird people out if you ask me. Well on your next trip to Japan be sure to check out the local swimming pools since you might just find some chap swimming and playing Final Fantasy on his PSP.

To think that over 30 million PSP’s are floating out there somewhere is quite a thought. The resent jump in hardware sales is most likely due to the resent release of Final Fantasy: Crisis Core and God of War: Chains of Olympus. The sales figures will jump even more when Monster Hunter 2nd G gets released worldwide. I did however expect Japan to have the majority of PSP console sales but to my surprise America came out as the victor with 12 million sales versus the 8 million from Japan.

What makes it even more interesting is that the PSP was the best selling console beating the very popular DS with approximately 14000 units for the week in Japan. Even more interesting is the fact the PSP is currently the third best selling console worldwide beating the Xbox 360 and PS3 with over 10 million units.

The current best selling PSP game for the week is God of War in America, Monster Hunter 2nd G in Japan and strangely enough Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 in the rest of the world. The rise in PSP sales is not only due to the new games but also the extra addition in console colors (Japan has the new Mint Green edition) and new applications like GO!Messenger and Skype.

Seems like 2008 is a really good year for the PSP and with rumors of DivX playback being included with the version 4.0 firmware who knows what can happen.