Is it worth buying a PSP nowadays?

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

I never got a PSP when they were new, since there wasn't really a lot of games for it that interested me, and I was quite content at the time with just having my DS as my go-to handheld.

I got a Vita soon after release, since it just appealed to me more than the PSP did (analogue sticks, trophy support, able to download PSP titles from the store, etc.). I don't regret my purchase, even though it hasn't had many (exclusive) games in recent years.

 

I've been contemplating lately though whether or not to get a second hand PSP, because there's still those few games I never played that tempt me. Honestly, there aren't many, but there are a few, such as games that never released in Europe and aren't available on the PSN store here (Jeanne d'Arc), and games that quite simply aren't going to fit on my current Vita card unless I delete stuff (have a 32GB memory card, have about 3GB free. 32GB memory cards still cost £60+, more than a pre-owned PSP 3000 would cost).

 

Is it worth getting a PSP in 2017? I do prefer owning games physically as well, which is another draw of getting a PSP.

Edited September 13, 2017 by SuperSmexy500

[Paleblood]

Honestly, if you want one, treat yourself.

You did your research, if you are fine with the drawbacks then you are up for some kick ass games.

[DrBloodmoney]

I'd say no, since physical games on PSP are a really bad way to play - the power consumption required to run the UMD drive means the battery drains fast as hell - I ended up very quickly switching to fully digital just to give me enough battery to last for a couple hour bus journey - and that was in the bad-old-days of hardly any good sales on psn store. Nowadays you can get a lot of cheap digital copies.

Edited September 13, 2017 by DrBloodmoney

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

This thread is begging for me to come into it.

 

Just yesterday I pushed a guy into buying one of these suckers. 

 

PSP is amazing. There's tonnes of greats on it, and the thing is an emulation beast. Nowadays hacking it is so easy any old idiot, like yours truly, can do it, combine that with micro SD adapters from eBay and you've got 64gb packed to the brim with around 80 odd PSP games, 40 odd Mega Drive games, a shitload of old PS1 games, and more than I can remember NES/SNES games for cheap as chips.

 

I got my latest PSP for 30 bucks a couple years ago in a Cash Converters store and it's beautiful. Ignoring the several other PSPs I have loaded up with all my legally acquired PSN games and UMDs, this one is a beast. There's so much you can do with a PSP, and if you've never got one before there's even more.

 

Liberty City Stories is one of the best Grand Theft Autos out there, and the only thing REALLY lacking in my opinion was flying, and there's a glitch to let you fly a heli anyways.

Spider-Man 3 is no Spider-Man 2, but it's close enough and it's portable. It's still better than anything that's come out since Web of Shadows by a loooong shot.

Battlefront 2 isn't as good as the full version, it's a bit uglier and there's less maps, but it's portable and it's still Battlefront 2, damn it.

Battlefront: Elite Squadron is all that's left of the canned Battlefront 3 and it's arguably the best entry in the series, and unless you like bird's eye view, the PSP is the only option.

Assassin's Creed has never been something I got super into, but the PSP one has always been my fav, and offers all that you'd expect from an early entry, but on the go.

Lego Everything PSP got the full versions of the games back in the day, not lazy 3DS ports. Lego Indy, Lego Star Wars 2, Lego Batman, PSP was the only true portable Lego fix.

MotorStorm is never gonna look the same on the go, but god damn if this game didn't try. It's a visual showcase and still looks good to this day, amazingly fun arcade racer.

OutRun 2006 needs a god damn sequel, but until it gets one, the easiest place to play OutRun nowadays is on the PSP. IIRC it's full 60FPS too.

Pursuit Force 1 and 2 really deserved to be on PS3, I think the second one got a PS2 port. Either way, it's too hard to explain, just look it up and trust that it's fun.

 

Also throw in 2 games made for PSP in the Jak and Daxter series, 2 more from the Ratchet and Clank series, another 2 more made from the ground up for PSP from the WipEout series, along with a bevy of AMAZING full console ports from series' such as Midnight Club, Tony Hawk, Crash Bandicoot, Burnout, and a slew of emulators including built in official support from Sony for PS1 emulation, and you've got an incredible handheld even by today's standards.

 

The controls feel amazing. The screen looks gorgeous. The games are plentiful. The PSP is the portable console the world deserved, but not the one that their parents bought for them in from 2005 to 2010.

[TheArcadeKid]

The only reason to own a PSP over Vita today is to be able to play the PSP games that, as you say, aren't available digitally - Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core springs to mind. If there's a lot of them you want to play, picking up a PSP makes sense. It's cheap, durable, and generally a great piece of hardware, although Vita remains superior IMO. As for physical copies, I always thought UMD was a cool format - but I also had issues with the plastic casing detaching. It'll probably get harder and harder to find replacement casings as time goes on, so I'd recommend going digital wherever you can. Fortunately the memory cards for PSP are much more affordable than Vita, especially second hand. 

 

If you are going to pick up a PSP, I'd definitely recommend the 3000 series. Hugely reliable, better battery life and slightly fast loads than on previous systems. The model that came after - E100 or something, I think - is actually a downgrade, with only mono speakers, and has a pretty ugly finish. 

[ArmoredSnowman]

1 hour ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

I never got a PSP when they were new, since there wasn't really a lot of games for it that interested me, and I was quite content at the time with just having my DS as my go-to handheld.

I got a Vita soon after release, since it just appealed to me more than the PSP did (analogue sticks, trophy support, able to download PSP titles from the store, etc.). I don't regret my purchase, even though it hasn't had many (exclusive) games in recent years.

 

I've been contemplating lately though whether or not to get a second hand PSP, because there's still those few games I never played that tempt me. Honestly, there aren't many, but there are a few, such as games that never released in Europe and aren't available on the PSN store here (Jeanne d'Arc), and games that quite simply aren't going to fit on my current Vita card unless I delete stuff (have a 32GB memory card, have about 3GB free. 32GB memory cards still cost £60+, more than a pre-owned PSP 3000 would cost).

 

Is it worth getting a PSP in 2017? I do prefer owning games physically as well, which is another draw of getting a PSP.

There's two ways to go about it, though one would be unethical. But when my PSP wasn't broken, I mainly used it to play Naruto games, and boy were they fun! Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, Kizuna Drive, and yeah, LittleBigPlanet was....decent. It was great to not have touch screen taking away from the game, but you'd be pretty limited since PSPs wouldnt have as much games as Vita, imo. The other option is using a PSP emulator on the Vita combined with sd2vita for much more space. It'd be unethical though. Some might say playing God of War: Ghost of Sparta/Chains of Olympus on the PSP is better than on PS3, but nothing beats playing Spyro on the PSP. You can do it on Vita as well, but only if you're European. Vita doesn't allow for U.S. users to buy the Vita version of the Spyro/Crash games which sucks, but PSP does. Considering it's just the original PSOne game, you wouldn't see much difference. Technically, it is possible to play Spyro on Vita if you're European or use the multiple users exploit. With that said, if you get a PSP, try out the Naruto games and Spyro trilogy. 

[Such-A-Goonie]

I still play on my PSP from time to time. There are some really good games on there that are still fun today. Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, Jeanne d'Arc, lots of fun JRPGs too.

 

Lots of games aren't that hard to find as physical releases, but I agree with DrBloodmoney that the discs just don't work that well. They're loud too. The PSP is really easy to make, uh, 'legally challenged'. I kinda like old computers and the slowness/noise that comes with them though.

[Cobby]

I'm gonna be buying one and getting it JUST for Rock Band Unplugged honestly, loved that game to death and I needa replay. If you're buying to actually play a few games, then sure, they're really cheap now too.

[Taobaka]

2 hours ago, DrBloodmoney said:

I'd say no, since physical games on PSP are a really bad way to play - the power consumption required to run the UMD drive means the battery drains fast as hell - I ended up very quickly switching to fully digital just to give me enough battery to last for a couple hour bus journey - and that was in the bad-old-days of hardly any good sales on psn store. Nowadays you can get a lot of cheap digital copies.

That's not true though. I have a PSP 3000 and it takes ~5-6 hours until recharge whenever I play physical games or digital ones.

 

As many stated, the main point of getting PSP nowadays are physical exclusives. I did get one a several years back just for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Crisis Core. Picked up Star Ocean I&II and Parasite Eve 3 quickly after that. Its not like PSP costs a lot, so if you have a few system sellers its worth its price already.

[SnowxSakura]

1 hour ago, Such-A-Goonie said:

I still play on my PSP from time to time. There are some really good games on there that are still fun today. Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, Jeanne d'Arc, lots of fun JRPGs too.

 

Lots of games aren't that hard to find as physical releases, but I agree with DrBloodmoney that the discs just don't work that well. They're loud too. The PSP is really easy to make, uh, 'legally challenged'. I kinda like old computers and the slowness/noise that comes with them though.

It's fine as long as you own the games. I did it with mine just to cut down on load times and battery usage

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

3 hours ago, Heath Legend said:

I'm gonna be buying one and getting it JUST for Rock Band Unplugged honestly, loved that game to death and I needa replay. If you're buying to actually play a few games, then sure, they're really cheap now too.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.

 

There is no reason why Rock Band Unplugged shouldn't download for me on the Vita. Rights shouldn't be an issue, I already own the game and it's in my download list. I've seen people play it on Vita, I know it works, I can't for the life of me think of a reason for it's removal from the Vita compat list. Could be worth using the white or black list hack, but tbh I am happy with it on my PSP Go, I find the button layout for Rock Band is muchos better on the Go, plus dem Bluetooth headphone support is beautif. 

 

___

Also, just as a BTW to the anti-piracy police

I. I own about 90% of the games I have pirated either through PSN or on UMD, and in many cases both.

II. I download them on my memory card because the load times are better, and so I don't have to swap discs all the time, convenience is king.

III. Most of the games I have downloaded that I don't own, I can't buy digitally, and buying a used copy gives no money to the devs so I don't feel at all bad.

IV. Emulators for PS1 and earlier that I have on my PSP I straight up don't care about. None of those games are made new now, barely any are for sale digitally ANYWHERE, and used copies would be through the roof and run like a bag of shit on a modern TV anyway, so you can just eat my ass if you don't like me playing the Mega Drive version of NBA Jam on a PSP.

[Conker]

I'd say yes, so many great games on it and a great handheld 

[YORGOS_PB]

Of course, the amount of games is just great, and the console itself is great too

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

Thanks for all the replies, wasn't expecting to get so many so quickly.

The games I'm mostly interested in with the PSP are (and I'm aware not all of these are UMD exclusive):

 

Jeanne d'Arc

YS Seven (I know this recently released for PC, but I'm more interested in a portable version)

Crisis Core: FF7

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Phantasy Star Portable 1 & 2

Star Ocean: First Departure

 

But, as I said, I'm just not sure if it's worth getting a PSP just for these few games. It's something I've been contemplating for the past year now; I've never actually brought any second-hand hardware before though, but it's basically impossible to find brand new PSPs nowadays, and I wouldn't want to spend any more than £100 for an older console. I think the "pre-owned" aspect is definitely holding me back a bit more than usual when deciding on a console purchase.

[SnowxSakura]

12 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

Thanks for all the replies, wasn't expecting to get so many so quickly.

The games I'm mostly interested in with the PSP are (and I'm aware not all of these are UMD exclusive):

 

Jeanne d'Arc

YS Seven (I know this recently released for PC, but I'm more interested in a portable version)

Crisis Core: FF7

Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Phantasy Star Portable 1 & 2

Star Ocean: First Departure

 

But, as I said, I'm just not sure if it's worth getting a PSP just for these few games. It's something I've been contemplating for the past year now; I've never actually brought any second-hand hardware before though, but it's basically impossible to find brand new PSPs nowadays, and I wouldn't want to spend any more than £100 for an older console. I think the "pre-owned" aspect is definitely holding me back a bit more than usual when deciding on a console purchase.

If you're looking for rpgs, there's a lot more on the psp than just those

 

Growlanser 4

3rd birthday

Mimana

Fate/extra

Persona 2

Hexyz force

Brave story 

Riviera

Legend of heroes tear of vermilion, twilight witch, and song of the ocean

 

Just to name a few. Not sure how many of these are available on the ps store though 

[jbbowser]

I still use my PSP. I mostly use it to play Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3.

[TheArcadeKid]

6 hours ago, Heath Legend said:

I'm gonna be buying one and getting it JUST for Rock Band Unplugged honestly, loved that game to death and I needa replay. If you're buying to actually play a few games, then sure, they're really cheap now too.

That was a fantastic game. Funny how well it worked even without an instrument. 

[Dangisuckatgamin]

I won my PSP free from Mcdonalds years ago (oddly enough I won it pretty luck, two trips only. Second code won lol). 
I've put around 12 hours total since 2005 into it. It just wasn't my thing.

I only got a vita a month or two ago for the trophy support.

[Cobby]

2 hours ago, Super-Fly Spider-Guy said:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS.

 

There is no reason why Rock Band Unplugged shouldn't download for me on the Vita. Rights shouldn't be an issue, I already own the game and it's in my download list. I've seen people play it on Vita, I know it works, I can't for the life of me think of a reason for it's removal from the Vita compat list. Could be worth using the white or black list hack, but tbh I am happy with it on my PSP Go, I find the button layout for Rock Band is muchos better on the Go, plus dem Bluetooth headphone support is beautif. 

The PSP download version was essentially a demo of sorts, didn't have many of the songs on it, the physical was the full version. Not sure why but yeah ..

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

18 hours ago, Heath Legend said:

The PSP download version was essentially a demo of sorts, didn't have many of the songs on it, the physical was the full version. Not sure why but yeah ..

I know. I have the full UMD too, but the digi download was the first thing I bought for my Go back in the day. I stacked up like 20 odd songs through DLC too so my copy of the digi one isn't too bad. That's about the only time I ever REALLY got into DLC on a game. But it's not too bad really, the songs were around 2 bucks a piece, so 20 odd songs should be around 40 bucks, still cheaper than the full game would have been at launch and I got to hand pick the whole setlist.

[Katt]

Go for it, mate. Lots of fun with the DJMAX series are waiting for you:

 

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

23 hours ago, SnowxSakura said:

If you're looking for rpgs, there's a lot more on the psp than just those

 

Growlanser 4

3rd birthday

Mimana

Fate/extra

Persona 2

Hexyz force

Brave story 

Riviera

Legend of heroes tear of vermilion, twilight witch, and song of the ocean

 

Just to name a few. Not sure how many of these are available on the ps store though 

Thanks for the suggestions. Persona 1 and 2 are on the PSN store, though I've never gotten around to buying them (not sure if they'd even fit on my memory card now anyway). I only got into series at Persona 3, and have heard the first two games are a lot different. I have enjoyed other SMT games though, so I'm not against trying them out.

[SnowxSakura]

2 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. Persona 1 and 2 are on the PSN store, though I've never gotten around to buying them (not sure if they'd even fit on my memory card now anyway). I only got into series at Persona 3, and have heard the first two games are a lot different. I have enjoyed other SMT games though, so I'm not against trying them out.

There's also a pretty big fan translation scene as well, that cover everything from gundam to hatsune miku to various visual novels

[MosesRockefeller]

9 minutes ago, SnowxSakura said:

There's also a pretty big fan translation scene as well, that cover everything from gundam to hatsune miku to various visual novels

All of the Personas work on Vita (at least on PSN USA) but fan translations would need a "special" PSP. I supposedly bought a used PSP for Valkyria Chronicles 3's fan translation, which works great, but I haven't done much else with it.

 

It's still a good system but it's less useful if you have a Vita.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

Buying a PSP is worth it if you think it's worth it.

 

• Will you spend time with it, even though you have a Vita and probably other consoles?
• Does it have games you want to play that you can't play on systems you already own?
• Looking at the first two points, do you think the amount of money you'll have to sink into the PSP and games is worth it?

Personally, I still occasionally buy a SNES cartridge. I think it's worth it, others might disagree. It's up to you to decide if the PSP is worth it - nothing new is being made for it so the game list is pretty much set in stone.