PSP or DS - but in other way
 

So emulating PSX or N64 on the first Xbox isn't a perfect idea. What about running PSX games on the PSP. Go or no go? So I do have a few questions (I've been living in the cave for about two years - please help me and don't made me use the Google :tpg:)

1. Do all the PSX games work on PSP?
2. What do I need to run the games (in short)?
3. Can any PSP "version/model" actually do that?
4. Can any PSP model be plugged into the TV?
5. What other consoles can the PSP emulate and what about Dos games ports (I've heard about Duke Nukem 3D)?

And finally:

6. What can the DS do (emulating some consoles or some Dos games ports)?
I've seen Duke Nukem 64 on DS (screenshot). I am sure DS is too weak to emulate N64. So was it a hoax or remake?

Thanks you in advance...

I believe there's a PSP emulation thread in the Help Desk forum: This thread might help.

Also, there's a ton of information about using a DS for anything other than playing games you paid for in the DS Homebrew thread here in Video Gaming.

I was going to have a go at fixing my PSP to play PSOne games but after reading up on the subject it all looked a bit technical and confusing so I didn't bother but I'm sure most people less ludditey than me can manage it easily enough.

Edit: I take it back, the thread I originally looked at was about how to dismantle the battery and shit, apparently now you can run PSOne games with just a software hack. Awesome!

Every PS1 game runs on the PSP. Some flawlessly. Others with minor issues. There's some ISO repacking trickery, though, and there are different versions of the official Sony POPstation emulator you'll have to jiggle about with to get everything in order.

In order to run the games, you'll need:

- A PS1 ISO
- A utility to repack them into a format the PSP can play
- A PSP custom firmware - I belive QJ.net's forum is where everything goes down still; I haven't really been involved in this scene for a good two or three years now, so I may be wrong
- PSP-1000 (the original model) and PSP-2000 (the "slim and lite" refresh) models are fully homebrew-capable. The PSP-3000 (the most recent major hardware update) is currently devoid of homebrew capabilities (and is thus useless), but there have been a few new developments recently, so keep a lookout.
- A game with a save exploit present - Lumines and GTA: Liberty City Stories both fulfill this requirement
- A downgradable firmware (I'm not sure which they're up to now, you'd do better to trust a well-written guide than my rough outline)

As for plugging your PSP into a TV - yes, there's a component cable accessory for the PSP-2000.

Emulation on the PSP is decent - there exist emulator for the Spectrum, C64, Amiga, NES, SNES, N64, Master System, Megadrive, Neo-Geo, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and a whole host more. I think there's a port of dosbox, too, but I can't be sure.

(However, keep in mind that N64 emulation is pretty awful and you'll be lucky to get ten frames a minute)

As for your DS questions... The Duke screenshot you saw is either a hoax or something from the upcoming Duke Nukem Trilogy. The DS is mostly useless for emulation.

Does anyone know where the best up to date, step by step, idiot proof guide to playing PSOne games on a PSP is?

Most of the links I find are set to discussion forums and you have to sift through a ton of posts to get all the information and downloads you need. Mine's an original PSP and I've not updated the firmware for a while.

Here's a homebrew installation guide.
Here's a PSX2PSP guide.

Oh yeah, I found a compatibility list for PS1 games, too.

1) Not all, but more than on XBOX by a long way. Lots of good games work.
2) Install custom firmware. Get an ISO. Convert your ISO. Put it on memory stick. Done.
3) The latest slimline models can't do it anymore, because Sony closed the security hole. You need to find an older model, still a slimline, but before the motherboard redesign.
4) All the slimlines work with HDTV.
5) Genesis, Master System, SNES, NES, Neo Geo Pocket, WonderSwan, Game Boy Colour, Game Boy Advance, and that's not even all, it's just all I can be arsed to list. DOSBox works, as does SCUMM VM for LucasArts text adventures.

Additional Spam:
If you use AIM, I'd be glad to walk you through it. Do you already have a custom firmware, or do you need help installing that too? Either way, I can hook ya up. Needs to be after the weekend though, because I'm off to spend some time with my girl.

That'd be awesome if you could. I've not done anything to it as of yet. My AIM is shininnit, just message me if it says I'm away (I leave it on on my Blackberry generally).

Does anyone know how any rules of thumb to follow when buying a memory card for the psp? I've got a cheapo one at the moment which causes a lot of isos to hang. The price points seem to follow a gradient, and I'm not sure where the crap ends and the genuine quality begins. Maybe someone can point me to a trusted (preferably uk based) retailer?

1-most of them like 92% of them are working>
2-if talking about PSX games will need app to convert iso game then put in MS,if taking about psp only put in ms in folder name iso
3-nope only psp2000 and psp1000
4-nope only psp2000 & psp3000
5-alot like nes,sen,MG etc...
6-I don't know about this.

1. Most of them with varying degrees (but usually decent0 quality). Note that the PSP 2000 has better specs than the PSP 1000
2. ^_^ has a guide as one of his links for converting a PSX game to a PSPSX game. That doesn't help though with setting up your PSP (you can do this now without a P-Battery?)
3. as stated, PSP 3000 can't at the moment.
4. I know PSP 2000does (as that's what they told me when I bought it), but from what I gather, a PSP 3000 will too.
5. Can run GBA, NES, SNES, MSX, Genesis (I think), and a slew of other systems. Unclear on DOS ports although I know they have been able to get some old games on the PSP
6. Currently an NDS can play NES, SNES (albeit slowly), and a few other systems. However, it's just not capable of playing other systems well.

I can't speak on most of those, but for the DS and N64 comparison I don't know how trustworth this is or isn't but I found this - Nintendo DS technical specs and comparison between the N64 [Archive] - E-mpire Forums

So purely by the specs the DS is a little weaker than the N64.

Sandisk cards from Play.com are good. £17.99 for the 4GB card. You'll get bootlegs from Amazon third parties, and ebay sellers. I've bought several cards from Play and have yet to get a bootleg. All my games work, and I've played a lot on these cards.

I bought a 4gb one for £15 from pricestorm.com just last week although I just checked and they're £19 now.

With anything like this I generally just do a Google product search and pick the cheapest option with a decent amount of recommendations that accepts Google checkout or Paypal so you never have to give them your bank details. I've no complaints so far.

Guys. You have helped me BIG time. Thanks.

So it seems that I have to buy PSP 2000. But why do I need to change the firmware if the "PS games running capability" is built-in by Sony? And can I reach the point of no return while swapping firmwares (vide KrelEN's words about downgradable firmware)? And is PSP region free (PSP games)? And for last: will the GBA NTSC-US games work on European PAL console?

The PSP is indeed region free. I've got a couple of US games I ran just fine on my UK PSP even before installing the custom firmware.

As I understand it, you need the custom firmware in order for the PSP to accept PSOne games that haven't been downloaded from the PS Store.

I'm pretty sure you can restore the original firmware by using the PSP update from the PSP menu but that's just speculation based on it working with iPhones (Which are annoyingly easy to restore the official firmware on to. Fuck you iTunes update).

Correct, and also correct. They don't have the right DRM info to be accepted by the official firmware

Actually the developer disabled that... but it is still possible to restore original firmware... you can do it either by using Pandora's battery or through the restore mode built in. You need to set a few things up before that will work... not sure if it's within scope for the topic.

Additional Spam:
Not if you can get your hands on a Pandora's battery. That's the ultimate firmware hacking tool for PSP owners, other than those unfortunate enough to have the recent models which are completely impenatrable.

GBA and NDS hardware is free from regional locks, other than the new DSi which is region-locked for downloadable software and DSi exclusive software.

That's why I am asking, because there was no word about PSP being region free on the Wikipedia :P

Thanks again.

BTW Soluzar, you seem to know everything about homebrew for ANY console (your advices on Max Evo for PS2 were priceless two years ago).

I do always try to find out if there's anything like this on whatever consoles I get. It's unfortunate, at least to me, that there's nothing like this on the current generation... other than the Wii. The PSP and the XBOX (original) are the two that can do the most, with the PS2 a close third place. Other than that... well the GameCube has some handy gadgets, and the NDS... everyone knows about that. If there's any softmods or exploits beyond that lot, I'd love to learn about them.

Do you think you'll be able to get hold of a Pandora's battery? I was able to help Shin out since he's relatively local... in the sense that he lives in the same country as I do. I don't honestly think Indonesia would be quite so cheap on postage. :(