For All Our PSP Owners

[MottZilla]

I'm sure there are some PSP owners here at AGN, some of which may be unaware of some recent news, and besides might as well post some good Sony related news. Recently 'eloader' 0.98 was released. ELoader is a program for PSPs version 2.0 to 2.6 that lets you load most homebrew applications, most notably emulators. Previous versions of ELoader required you own an original first run Grand Theft Auto LCS UMD to run it (unless you had a version 2.0 PSP in which case you did not need GTA). Well now if you have any PSP version 2.0 to 2.6, you can run homebrew without the GTA UMD.

This means if you have a PSP version equal or between 2.0 and 2.6, you can enjoy programs such as emulators for NES, SNES, GameBoy, GameBoyAdvance, Arcade Games, Sega Master System/Game Gear, Genesis, and more. There are also other apps such as ports of games like Doom, completely new games, media players and streamers.

If you have a PSP version 2.7, 2.71, or 2.8 it seems you'll have to wait awhile before an eloader is released for your version.

The process is painless, you just connect your PSP to your PC via the data cable you can buy just about anywhere like BestBuy. Then you run the eloader098 installer and specify the drive letter your PSP is assigned (check that through my computer, it'll be a generic mass storage device with a "PSP" folder in the root. Once it's installed and you install some emulators or other programs, you can quickly run the eloader from the main menu. If anyone here has a PSP and would be interested in playing some NES games or something on their PSP (version 2.0 to 2.6) they should definitely check this out as it's easier than ever now.

Check out http://www.noobz.eu for the official eloader site.

[solyphon]

huh? wait, why are these companies letting someone play emulators of THEIR games on a handheld console from sony? do they even know about this? i mean, i have a PSP, but i would much rather have a DS, i like nintento better. but still, why has sony made a program for their console that lets you play games that another company made? thats evil, even for sony. why isnt sony getting sued for this? i have no idea, but i dont want to encourage people to take advantage of this program, and play other peoples hard work for free, on another companys console, so im not going to install this program.

[Darth Marsden]

Sony are not the ones making the emulators. The fact of the matter is, people have been playing Roms for years. I myself play N64 Roms on my PC, simply because the N64's analogue stick is too stiff for me to properly enjoy using it. It's going to happen whether you approve of it or not.

(And for the record, I do own the N64 games I'm emulating)

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Just to make one thing clear, soly, emulation is illegal. Most people do it anyways...such as myself.

[MottZilla]

You are dead wrong ctrl-alt-delete. Emulation is not illegal. The only thing illegal associated with emulation is copyright infringement. Provided you legally obtained your ROM images, it is perfectly legal. Also if you merely own the original source of whatever ROM images you have, unless it can be proven you obtained them somehow you shouldn't have (i.e. downloading from an unauthorized source) then you again are nice and legal.

solyphon, these emulators and other homebrew can be run via an exploit in the PSP's firmwire. Sony didn't make these emulators. Homebrew authors that are fans and hobbyists like many of us wrote and compiled these emulators. Again the emulators are perfectly legal. However if you download ROM images you must be aware of copyrights.

And like Darth Marsden said, many people that use emulators own the games they then emulate. The fact is older platforms breakdown/wear out, or emulation offers other benifits such as the freedom to use another controller, higher resolutions, higher framerates (a must for Perfect Dark and 007 on N64).

Anyways, despite what many say and prove true, emulation is not a warezing machine. It is a legitimate method of preserving and archiving videogames. This has finally been realized by Nintendo after many years of fighting against websites offering ROMs, and now they will try to make a buck off it with Virtual Console which is a great idea... for those of us that don't already have emulators.

[Modus Ponens]

I'm thrilled to hear this news! I recently upgraded my PSP's firmware and quickly regretted it, since I had some totally sweet NES emulation action going there beforehand. Now it'll all be available again.

[MottZilla]

Why did you upgrade? Freak accident? Some idiot was using your PSP when they shouldn't have? But yes, you'll be able to get some good ol' NES action now assuming you didn't upgrade beyond version 2.6. If you did, 2.7 and 2.71 have hope. 2.8 is not looking as bright but there is hope. 2.81 and above there is no hope for as far as this exploit goes. If you are tech savvy with the PSP, I would say you should look into downgrading your PSP back to 1.5 if you know what you are doing. With version 1.5 you have some more programs you can run, such as a specially optimized SNES emulator that runs much better.

[punkonjunk1024]

This is awesome.

Is there any way I can tell what the firmware version is on these PSPs just by looking at them, so that if I pick one up used, I can try to get a 1.5?

[Modus Ponens]

I upgraded to 2.0 because I wanted to play Me & My Katamari; who could blame me? It was only later that I learned that Keita Takahashi wasn't involved in this entry in the series, which turns out not to be quite as good as the first two. No matter, I felt justified. Then, later, I did get Mega Man Powered Up, which would have required an upgrade as well, so, you know. If I want to keep playing PSP games, I have to keep upgrading. (We'll see how long that lasts.)

Now, Mott, if you would be so good as to tell me more about this specially optimized SNES emulator, and how I might go about downgrading to 1.5...?

[ctrl-alt-delete]

You are dead wrong ctrl-alt-delete. Emulation is not illegal. The only thing illegal associated with emulation is copyright infringement. Provided you legally obtained your ROM images, it is perfectly legal. Also if you merely own the original source of whatever ROM images you have, unless it can be proven you obtained them somehow you shouldn't have (i.e. downloading from an unauthorized source) then you again are nice and legal.

Bah. Technicality. You knew what I meant. I highly doubt if he believes Sony created the emulators he owns a rom ripping device.

[MottZilla]

True.

punkonjunk, The firmwier is internal and not external. The only way to really know what version a PSP is, you must turn it on and goto system information.

Riverman, you need to get the version 2.6 to 1.5 downgrader. http://www.psp-hacks.com/category/35

Follow the instructions carefully. Failure to follow them and understand them may result in bricking your PSP. It's not very hard really. They made it even easier to use than before.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

True.

punkonjunk, The firmwier is internal and not external. The only way to really know what version a PSP is, you must turn it on and goto system information.

Riverman, you need to get the version 2.6 to 1.5 downgrader. http://www.psp-hacks.com/category/35

Follow the instructions carefully. Failure to follow them and understand them may result in bricking your PSP. It's not very hard really. They made it even easier to use than before.

On that note, be careful about what you download on your PSP. There are programs that will destroy it...

If you do not know what you are doing, make sure you speak with somebody trustworthy like Mottz. Otherwise, you could be in some trouble.

[MottZilla]

Yes that is something definitely to mention. Only download PSP programs from reputable sources. If you stick to the emulators available on psp-hacks.com, you'll be fine as they are pretty much the best and a very reputable PSP homebrew new and files site. Anything they post is generally used and tested by many people, so there is no need to worry about it destroying your PSP like a virus.