…on something new.
Chances are (if you’re any sort of geek) you’ve heard of the PSP being able to run homebrew programs that emulate older consoles. On the surface, that may not sound too exciting to most people.
To a geek, it’s damned cool.
Yes, the PSP is meant to play PSP games, something it does rather well – obviously. But when you add the capability to play NES, Super NES, Genesis, Turbo-Grafx, Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, it makes the system even more impressive.
Sure, Gameboy Color games are hardly the pinnacle of graphic excellence. But some of them are a lot of fun.
And they look even better when you don’t have to squint to see the screen.
The SNES emulator is the one of the current batch I’m most interested in. Visually, it’s looking good, but the speed still needs a bit of tweaking. I only get about 15FPS (frames per second for non-geeks – games should run around 30FPS), but it’s slowly improving.
Chrono Trigger on the go, anybody? ^.^
Of course, with anything this interesting there’s a catch.
There’s always a catch.
All the homebrew stuff only works on a Japanese PSP with system software version 1.0. If you bought your PSP in the US, or in Japan too long after the system came out, all of this emulation jazz is meaningless to you. Kind of a pity, really, since the system does it so well. It’s the perfect machine for emulation – standard buttons, gorgeous screen, expandable storage, easy USB hookup to your computer – and as time goes on, it’s only going to get better.Of course, Sony is trying to get users to upgrade their system software to nip the whole homebrew thing in the bud. Some new games require you to update your system before they’ll run, but I’m not falling for that.
Hell, I’ll buy a second PSP before I upgrade my 1.0.
And since the homebrew explosion began last month, demand for Japanese 1.0 PSPs has shot through the roof. As have the prices for 1.0 systems. A quick check of Ebay shows 1.0 models going for anywhere from $276 to $630. Kinda makes you wonder just how much money there is in tracking down 1.0 systems and selling them to eager buyers, huh?
I may just have to find out…. ^.^