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The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

gardinerbryant.com

21–30 of 47 posts

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#21
post #7

I mean a PSP is great, but in 2026 I'd rather go for a 2nd hand Android that can not just emulate PSP but a plethora of other platforms as well with much better performance and usecases. Pair that with a 30-40$ controller extension like the Razer Kishi and you have a really powerful retro gaming device.

A creative's best work is born from constraints. It's why PICO-8 exists for people nostalgic for that specific olden era. I think the PSP could make a fantastic target for meatier handheld-focused games that put design first, as many of its second-tier games did. Lots of great strategy, platforming, and racing. A beautiful wide-screen with just enough resolution, just enough horsepower to drive it with rich, saturate…

I didn't quite get the point of this comment, there's no denying any of it, actually I wholeheartedly agree with you, but what I was saying wrt practicality of playing PSP games.

You can of course buy that device, but from personal experience the novelty doesn't last very long and then it just becomes just another device in the drawer graveyard. Also no one's really making new PSP games anymore? so the novelty of the PSP remains in its construction and the software; which becomes limiting as time goes on.

The joystick, buttons all tend to break or stick after 20 years, replacements may or may not be easy to come by for most, so it just makes more sense into building your own retro game device that supports PSP emulation among others.

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#22
If you don't mind paying a touch more you may as well buy a Vita. I got mine for $95 + shipping. You can boot into the PSP OS with Adrenaline (I really do miss the XMB), so it's a superset of capabilities, and you get that nice right analog stick. As far as being a dedicated device with actual buttons and minimal online connectivity it's all the same.

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#23
I bought one of these in 2004 and it really was a slice of the future. The screen was way bigger and higher res than anything I had owned prior, and the ability to jailbreak and run emulators gave it a lot more use than just UMD games.

I still have my original PSP 1000 which worked well until my daughter dropped it a couple weeks ago...

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#24

What's the reason to prefer the PSP over the Vita? Yes, technically the Vita has Internet but outside of downloading games via that it really isn't a distraction because it's so clunky. I recently freed mine and have been having a great time with everything it had to offer while being so much more portable than anything mainstream sold now as portable.

Because the Vita was less popular everywhere outside of Japan, which makes that there are less units available and the units cost a few times the price of a psp second hand. (in The Netherlands the PSP is just under 100 Euro second hand, usually with 20+ game discs, a vita starts at 200 without any games and often without a charger)

A lot of people also still have a PSP just hanging around, less so with the vita.

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#25
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a valid point ngl But there's something quite nostalgic about holding the console you had as a kid and going down a good old happy memory lane

This only works if you had it as a kid. At the very least, you have to be old enough to have had it as a kid.

s/old/young

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#26

What's the reason to prefer the PSP over the Vita? Yes, technically the Vita has Internet but outside of downloading games via that it really isn't a distraction because it's so clunky. I recently freed mine and have been having a great time with everything it had to offer while being so much more portable than anything mainstream sold now as portable.

Vitas are way more expensive and hard to find

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#27

What's the reason to prefer the PSP over the Vita? Yes, technically the Vita has Internet but outside of downloading games via that it really isn't a distraction because it's so clunky. I recently freed mine and have been having a great time with everything it had to offer while being so much more portable than anything mainstream sold now as portable.

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Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#29
I could understand any other console or new Android handheld but PSP has to be the second most miserable console to go back to. Barrel jack charger, some of the worse sticks ever made, and infamous battery bloating. The only worse choice is the Game Gear.

A used Vita would be a good modern replacement (and not even that much more expensive) but even in their afterlife I guess it's still doomed to play second fiddle to PSP.

Re: The PSP feels surprisingly present right now

#30

I bought one of these in 2004 and it really was a slice of the future. The screen was way bigger and higher res than anything I had owned prior, and the ability to jailbreak and run emulators gave it a lot more use than just UMD games. I still have my original PSP 1000 which worked well until my daughter dropped it a couple weeks ago...

[dead]
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