Games@lemmy.worldbyPerfectDark@lemmy.world
11 hours

Why Everyone’s Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026 (my article!)

English

So today’s article I wrote is just me plodding along wondering out loud why the Sony PSP has become so popular again all of a sudden.

I mean, clearly “so popular” is an exaggeration in the grand scheme of things, these are no-doubt extremely small numbers compared to other handhelds available. Scrolling social media really has shown a lot of them on feeds for me in 2026.

If you’re interested in why I think they’re showing up more lately, then read on with my article. I go through a reason in each ‘section’, but If you’ve got your own ideas, I’d love to hear them below here. Oh and if you’re thinking:

“hey there’s no in-depth investigative journalism here, it just looks like they wanted an excuse to write about the PSP!!!”

…you’d be right. I’ve been obsessed with them lately. This is my 4th PSP article in a very short time. I do so love them!

Anyway, if you want to see some old PSP TV ads, some nostalgia, and want to chat about PSPs (plz do), then here’s the link:

https://gardinerbryant.com/psp-in-2026/

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    • Tattorack@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21 minutes

      Funny. Just today I installed a CFW on a PSP Phat. Not for personal use, though; I’ve never liked what was available on the PSP, and I have a Steam Deck I can emulate on.

      But my younger brother bought a second hand PSP.

    • goodboyjojo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2 hours

      Yeah I have a psp. It’s an impressive little console that’s almost like a ps2 on the go. Plus it’s very easy to jailbreak. The funniest thing about the psp is the marketing video with one guy singing about wanting a psp for Christmas.

      • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1 hour

        Even if you’re on the ‘wrong’ firmware, a jailbreak takes a matter of minutes these days! Add in the ability to use expanded batteries (I have a 1400 mAh in mine), adapter cards to use micro SD in the ‘shape’ of the proprietary memory stick duos, all those games and you’ve got a wonderful machine!

        • innermachine@lemmy.worldEnglish
          34 minutes

          Wow. I had a psp way back and I can’t remember what happened to it , gave it away or lost it. Came across a ps vita and jail broke it and it’s awesome. Maybe if I see a psp crop up on eBay or marketplace I’ll have to scoop I had no idea you could expand the battery!

    • SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      2 hours

      I’ve always wanted one. From when they first came out, to now. I just don’t know which one I want to eventually get, or in what color.

          • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldEnglish
            8 minutes

            The only one to really avoid is the PSP-Street (the ‘budget’ console, it only came with one speaker), so the ones to go for are pretty much the 2000 or 3000, from what I know they used the same speakers, 3.5mm jack, etc. And for the best possible sound (obv), using headphones really works wonders on these

    • samus12345@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2 hours

      I got a PSP in 2012 when I found out how easy they were to jailbreak. It was great, but my Steam Deck made it obsolete. I gave it away.

      • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldEnglish
        58 minutes

        Funny. I haven’t really picked my Steam Deck up in a couple months now, but having bought a few PSPs they’re all I’m picking up to play these days.

        • samus12345@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          49 minutes

          The smaller form factor and better battery life are advantages, but the small screen isn’t great for my old eyes.

    • Scotty_Trees@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5 hours

      EVERYONE is getting one? Bruh, that is simply not the case, don’t make stuff up just to sensationalize for clicks and engagement just because your TikTok algorithm started showing you more PSP stuff. You’re literally just spreading your TikTok garbage over to here now trying to “make fetch happen.” Be better man, you’re doing their work for nothing. For real.

      • bruhaha@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9 minutes

        If Dash says “everyone’s getting one,” who are you to determine who belongs in that set or if Dash’s lived experience and perceived uptick in PSP purchases is invalid? It’s Dash’s observation that many people are suddenly picking up used PSPs. Chill the heck out, my dawg. Comments like this make the world a genuinely worse place to be.

      • traxex@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        2 hours

        I don’t think people who say “everyone” ever literally means “everyone”. It’s a niche and the hype around old devices is real so the author is just commenting on it. I get hating sensationalized titles but this really isn’t as terrible as you are making it out to be.

        • PerfectDark@lemmy.worldEnglish
          56 minutes

          I really didn’t think that:

          a) my article was click-bait (we’re a reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally small site, there’s no need to even try click-bait!), and b) I needed to explain that I didn’t mean ‘everyone’

          Glad you can see that, this seems weirdly attack-y.

    • lath@piefed.socialEnglish
      6 hours

      PPSSPP because I can’t trust second hand dealers anymore.

    • brucethemoose@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10 hours

      I felt weird/guilty using mine in public, like staring down at a little rectangle was unsocial or bad for you or something…

      Turns out, it’s more like digital detox! It would be cool these days.

      Ugh, where is it!? I know I still have mine.

      • grueling_spool@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        10 hours

        Staring at a little screen that brings you entertainment & joy: 😡

        Staring at a little screen that fills you with anger, dread, and despair: 🤩

      • Feyd@programming.devEnglish
        9 hours

        weird/guilty using mine in public

        Some people would talk shit, but no one ever blinked an eye at reading a book. Now everyone is on their phones if they have to wait in a line for 30 seconds lol

        • Darkenfolk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          7 hours

          Theytm had the same attitudes against newspapers and books at first. It takes a bit to normalise things(and for the old guard to die off)

          • moonshadow@slrpnk.netEnglish
            6 hours

            They™ were right, we need to connect with each other not isolate in media. Doesn’t matter if it’s cheap newsprint or an oled, problem is all staring up at what’s presented vs over at each other

            • Feyd@programming.devEnglish
              3 hours

              Do you think people should have to stay in their houses if they want to read/game?

              • moonshadow@slrpnk.netEnglish
                3 hours

                No, just wish they’d go out (or stay in!) and talk to each other more :(

    • rose56@lemmy.zipEnglish
      6 hours

      Bro I being thinking of jailbreaking my pspp after I did my Nintendo Wii, but laziness keeps me back.

    • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
      9 hours

      Man, I gotta check how the battery for my PSP3000 is, and the microSD card on it. The internals work perfectly, those two things are the only ones that seem likely to give out anytime soon. My little buddy is 14yo now. I don’t think I ever played any of the 3 UMD games that came with it, I immediately jailbroke it after purchase

      It’s not “retro” in the same way a much older console is. It’s closer, more relatable, and maybe more importantly, more usable. It still fits into modern life without needing to be explained.

      I think this is something extremely important. Looking at stuff from 20 years ago was much different when the current year was 2006 - we’d be looking at the mid 80s. Computers of the 80s and even the early 90s became obsolete fast, whatever you had in 2006, even if it was 4 years old at the time, felt light years ahead of anything from 1986 and would be internet capable.

      Games from the 80s were also comparably “archaic”, as the hardware limitations were much more significant and several then current games could never happen in that old hardware (NES, C64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga 500), and that’s ignoring graphical complexity. Meanwhile, a number of current day games could exist in 2006, so long as the graphics were appropriately scaled down (Total War games being a perfect example).

    • whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      6 hours

      PSP was great, some stand out games were crush (2/3d puzzle), jrpgs like the final fantasy tactics remake and Joan of arc, rhythm games like loco roco and patapon, and easy to install custom firmware to play emulated games PSP or some others like Gameboy or snes.

    • Nautilus@piefed.caEnglish
      8 hours

      I’m someone who played on Nintendo handhelds growing up, but I always admired the design of the PSP. It felt so much sleeker than the DS at the time, and it’s remarkable how impressive it looks even today.

      What are the most interesting hacks and tinkering projects that you can get up to with a PSP or Vita today? I’m considering getting one now.

      • BlackVenom@lemmy.worldEnglish
        7 hours

        Phats had IR ports so anything with IR can be played with.

        It can emulate a lot of old systems including the n64 to some degree. PS1 too.

        The web browser became useless for the modern web a long time ago, but it can still be used for very small/simple sites.

        Lots of homebrew games out there.

        Great platform to learn Lua on

        It’s basically cracked open entirely… So good learning platform for that too.

      • Katana314@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6 hours

        Yeah, I’m confused most nostalgia veers towards the PSP, when the follow-on was fully backwards compatible. Weirdly enough, some of the best AAA blockbusters I played on the Vita were first written for the PSP.

        I’m an oddity in that I never jailbroke mine. I just really enjoyed playing indie PSN games on it, since most teams releasing on PS3 and not driving a graphical powerhouse could just do a side release there.

          • criticon@lemmy.caEnglish
            7 hours

            And it’s super easy to exploit, barely an inconvenience

            Even the “back ups” can be downloaded from the official servers

        • tobz619@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6 hours

          Tbh, like the 3DS, will definitely get more expensive as well.

          I’m hoping there will be a renaissance of smaller, low-stakes, offline capable dedicated handheld gaming/media on the go by the big boys but it’s wishful thinking at this point. I was speaking to a younger colleague the other day and one of my favourite things about the PSP/DS era of gaming was Game sharing where some games enabled you to send over a limited version of a game to a second device to play ad-hoc local wrireless multiplayer even if only one of you had the game.

          This is a missing recipe in today’s gaming landscape IMO.

    • popcar2@piefed.caEnglish
      11 hours

      Last year I bought a PS Vita and I’d highly recommend that instead if you can find one for cheap! The Vita can natively run PSP games via Adrenaline, and you get the advantage of Vita games and homebrew (and a better screen).

      That said, I’m a long time PSP Go lover. It’s basically the PSP in a smaller, pocketable form factor. I would absolutely get that if you can get your hands on one.

      • xspurnx@slrpnk.netEnglish
        1 hour

        Hacking it us a breeze and you can do so much stuff with it. Pretty active Dev scene also. Has become my favorite handheld, Vita is life.

      • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
        10 hours

        Are there decent microSD to their proprietary card format adapters? Because there are plenty of cheap microSD-MSduo for the PSP

        • popcar2@piefed.caEnglish
          10 hours

          Yeah, SD2Vita is the standard and are usually found for ~$6. You put an SD card into it, then slot it into the game card slot to expand your storage.

        • tobz619@lemmy.worldEnglish
          10 hours

          Yeah, SD2Vita is the goto and works pretty well with micro-SD

      • nfreak@lemmy.mlEnglish
        10 hours

        I grabbed a Vita a few years ago to play around with. Never had any of their handhelds growing up so it was all new to me. Not something I regularly use and it kind of just gathers dust next to my analogue pocket and 3DS, but even so, it’s a really neat little thing and can do a lot once hacked open.