what PSP system should I buy (or Vita) to play PSP games?

DevilRedeemed

teh
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I know this is a craptastic question but anyway. been about 10 years since I last owned a PSP and really want to pick one up and catch up on some of the stuff I missed out on (Makaimura principally and MGS Acid 2).

I'm wondering what the best system to play it on is - as in the best model screenwise, etc. or Vita (not interested in the Vita games themselves honestly, but the screen seems really nice).

I know I could google this but I trust opinions here.
 

ggallegos1

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3000 series feels much better to me, and i owned a 1000 model the whole time the PSP was out. I've never had experienced a PSP Go, so I can't give an opinion on it
 

Syn

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The Vita's dpad is the best imo.
 

cdamm

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3000 series feels much better to me, and i owned a 1000 model the whole time the PSP was out. I've never had experienced a PSP Go, so I can't give an opinion on it

i had a psp go briefly. was way too small for my hands. with the screen sliding up it would scrape/ dig into my fingers when i wanted to use the shoulder buttons.

psp: get the 3000 series.
vita: the 1st gen had the great screen. get that one.
 

Jibbajaba

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psp: get the 3000 series.
vita: the 1st gen had the great screen. get that one.

I agree with this. Personally I would get a Vita and just buy the games digitally, but if you primarily want to play games that aren't available in the Playstation Store, then get a 3000. You say now that you aren't interested in Vita games, but you may end up feeling differently once you have one.
 

greedostick

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I agree with this. Personally I would get a Vita and just buy the games digitally, but if you primarily want to play games that aren't available in the Playstation Store, then get a 3000. You say now that you aren't interested in Vita games, but you may end up feeling differently once you have one.

yep, 3k. It also has a easily changeable battery, which is one of the reasons I picked it up, plus very easily moddable. And there is some great stuff out there not released on digital.

I personally would wait on a vita, I love mine, but they're going to drop. I would suggest picking up vita games now though why they are cheap.
 

BanishingFlatsAC

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If you're going to just hack it to play the games, then skip the psp all together and just get a vita. It's super easy to hack the current firmware vita. As far as model of vita, I'm partial myself to the 2nd gen model. The system just feels better in my hands and the addition of a non proprietary charging port is a lifesaver. You'll never notice the difference in the screen.
 

wyndcrosser

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I liked my PSP1000, but picked up a PSP2000 GoW edition because of the better screen and memory for emulators. The PSP1000 was solid and felt like a quality piece of hardware, the PSP2000 was lightweight, but felt VERY cheap. I ended up selling my PSP2000 and buying a PSPGo. The PSPGo is lightweight and works well with all emulators, addons and games, however it can't play UMDS and has a 32GB limit. The PSP2000 and above can have up to 128GB with a double micro-SD card reader.
 

GohanX

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I've had a Vita since launch, but I still prefer playing PSP games on a PSP 3000, especially RPGs. PSP games do well on the Vita, but it does upscale a bit which looks fine on most graphics but makes text a bit blurry. I do like using a PSTV once in a while as well. Thankfully Sony does digital right and I can play digital PSP games on all three systems without hackery.
 

greedostick

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If you're going to just hack it to play the games, then skip the psp all together and just get a vita. It's super easy to hack the current firmware vita. As far as model of vita, I'm partial myself to the 2nd gen model. The system just feels better in my hands and the addition of a non proprietary charging port is a lifesaver. You'll never notice the difference in the screen.

I really need to keep up with the times. I'd love to get some psp going on vita. Link?
 

DNSDies

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I really need to keep up with the times. I'd love to get some psp going on vita. Link?

http://wololo.net/vita-cfw4dummies/

Wololo is the #1 source for vita hacks.
Sign up for their forums and post a bit, and you will likely get an email for the next "ninja release" for what game you'll need to run an exploit on a current firmware vita.
They do the ninja releases so everyone can buy and download the game before Sony removes it from the store.

Most vita hacks involve buying an exploitable PSP game, like Pool Hall Pro, and downloading a save file with the exploit on it and some psp firmware files to install.
You load the game, load the save, and it hijacks the virtual PSP mode. From there, it's just like using a PSP for the most part.
 

RAZO

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yep, 3k. It also has a easily changeable battery, which is one of the reasons I picked it up, plus very easily moddable. And there is some great stuff out there not released on digital.

I personally would wait on a vita, I love mine, but they're going to drop. I would suggest picking up vita games now though why they are cheap.

What do you mean easily changeable battery? It's pretty easy to change the battery on the 1k and 2k, just pop open the lid and change the battery.
 

BanishingFlatsAC

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I like how this uses 3.55 vs the one DNSDies suggests.

I already have a few PSP games on my card I couldn't play until logging in.

To my knowledge, this is the only one where you can still buy the exploitable game via psn. You just have to buy it from the website as it won't show up in the psn store on vita.
 

DNSDies

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The older firmware hacks have fewer restrictions, especially considering where you can write files to in the PSP section of the memory card.
There's also the Rejuvinate hack, which is the only native Vita hack, and only works on 3.51 or below.
All other hacks are done in PSP mode.

An advantage of rejuvinate is that Retroarch has been ported to it, and works very well.
 

xsq

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good topic!

If was going for a Vita, I should look for a PCH-2000, right?
 

BanishingFlatsAC

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good topic!

If was going for a Vita, I should look for a PCH-2000, right?

My personal preference is the second model, for the reasons I posted above. However there are those who will swear by the OLED model because the colors are slightly more vibrant. IMO it's a fair trade off for the convenience.
 

geise

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The Vita OLED screen is a lot better in daylight as well. If you just want psp games though go with the 3000 model. I have a launch JP psp and it's a blurry ghosting mess of a screen. I hear the 3000 model screens are decent though, plus it's so easy to do CFW if you want to go that route.
 

greedostick

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What do you mean easily changeable battery? It's pretty easy to change the battery on the 1k and 2k, just pop open the lid and change the battery.

This was years ago when I read a guide on the PSP and was trying to decide on a purchase. It may have been comparing the PSP to the GO version. I have no idea, I just remember it saying the battery could easily be changed in the 3000, and it was really easy to mod.
 

xelement5x

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I like the PSP Go since it has the nicest screen and can also kind of be used as a consolized PSP with the cradle and component cables, plus syncing a DualShock 3 to it.
 

GutsDozer

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Personally I like the PSP 2000. I've got the Vader edition. The screen on the 2000 is much better than the 1000 or 3000 series PSP.
 

cat

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I've owned a few psp's over the years and alway's come back to the 3000, for me it beats the other versions hands down.
 
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