So, here's the deal. Today after work, I plan on buying a PSP. I want to play a few PS1 classics on the go and I want something to tinker with over the weekend.

I need to know something, though. First, what does the PSP use for saving games and the like? Does it just use standard SD cards?

Second, does the PSP have any kind of a hard drive in it? I love running games off of my PS3 that I have installed (ones that I have downloaded from the Playstation Store) and I am wondering if the PSP has the same capability? If it does, how much space does it have without buying an HD or further cards for more storage?

I am also wondering about the PSP's XMB. Is it set up the same as the PS3's XMB? How does internet surfing and the Playstation Store work on the PSP?

it uses memory stick duo cards iirc but it's been too long since i used one to answer the rest of those

No hard drive, but iirc the new PSP GO! that's coming out sometime soon (maybe this year, maybe next? haven't payed attention) does BUT I don't really know (don't quote me on it!), haven't looked into it. The XMB is much the same as the PS3's, I dunno, easiest way to put it. Haven't tried out the playstation store on it yet.

DietCoke keeps linking to some sort of spiffy thing to get massive storage on your PSP using two Pro Duo cards and some combiner thing or something on ebay? Well I've seen him link it at least twice so I'll go look for that for you.

EDIT: For chrissakes don't "upgrade" to the newest official firmware if you want to hack it for homebrew.

Yeah, I've read up a tiny bit on the whole homebrew/firmware problem. I don't intend on playing any actual PSP games for a little while. I mostly just want to transfer the PS1 Classics that I have on my PS3 over because I think that they'd be more enjoyable to play on a handheld.

Also emulating SNES rom hacks on it sounds pretty enjoyable too.

I'll try to answer the browsing on the internet one. Browsing the internet using the PSP is alright once you get used to inputting letters and the like, Example: If you want to input www.google.com, you would have to put it in like a text message, you have to scroll to the letter you want and then press the R button to move the cursor and doing so deselects the current letter otherwise if you select another letter the previous letter will be deleted and the current letter will only be shown.

When accessing web pages it's easy because theres a cursor in the form of a hand and you can use the D pad to go right, left, up and down which will move the cursor to the links, you can't save pictures or anything though at least from what I have tried.

EDIT: You can also bookmark websites, and save them just like your favourites on a computer!
EDIT 2: Oh, wait you can save images, you have to press Triangle first then go to file and select Save Image.

Sounds almost exactly like the PS3 browser then. That's good to hear.

You can get an 8 gig stick for peanuts on ebay, that's what I did when I got mine for free off my dad.

You CAN crack the new PSP-3000 to play games off the memory stick now but it is not as well documented. Installing custom firmware can be done quite easily but there are one or two things you need to set up in order to allow good compatibility with PS1 games. Some PS1 games work better with different firmwares and there is a program called "popsloader" that you can use to set the firmware on game startup. Games such as FF7 and FF8 require this (unless you don't hack your PSP but then the number of PSX games you can play is very limited to the ones on PSN).

Playing Abe's Oddysee on PSP is one of the best gaming experiences I've had so far in 2009. I am currently playing though FF8 and it's a blast. I own all these games for my PSX but it croaked long ago and I can't be arsed sitting in my living room to play them. It's nice to be able to flip on your PSP when you go for a crap, play a bit of game then turn it off again. It has a sleep mode that is very useful.

If you need any help installing custom firmware psphacks has tutorials and there are youtube videos too. Generally, the older the PSP you get the easier it is to install CFW.

Don't bother waiting for the PSP go. That would be a massive waste of money.

Don't bother waiting for the PSP go. That would be a massive waste of money.

Well, I don't think that the PSP Go is an issue unless it is miraculously released and shipped before I leave work today, since that's when I'll be picking a PSP up.

But yeah, I won't be interested in mucking around with the firmware or anything too quickly, but I'm sure that I will be down the road.


Another question. What kind of USB cable does the PSP use to plug into a computer, and is it provided with the PSP itself?

The same USB cable the PS3 controllers have.

The PSP uses this cable, one end has a mini USB and the other has a normal sized USB. I bought mine off my friend so it came with it but he said it did not come with the whole package.

I got a PSP for a gift, I loved it, until it broke

PSP's aren't too bad, just a word of advice... don't use it as an MP3 player while workin' it'll break more quickly that way. Personal experience. XD

Your PSP will come with a 1 GB stick, so that will get you started.  You will need to buy another stick, though, because even some PSP downloads are over 1 GB (and whether or not you run custom firmware, you will be downloading all PSP games starting in a few months).  It uses an SD card, but it is a proprietary type that is grossly overpriced.  It is similar to XBox360 hard drives.

Even though you said you aren't interested in PSP games right away, I really really really recommend Jeanne d'Arc.  It's phenomenal and I think you will like it because you seem to like games of that type.  Also it is old so it is cheap and you won't need to update firmware.

Yeah, well, I bought the PSP Friday. I said to hell with homebrew and all that crap and went with a used slim PSP which is in pretty amazing shape. I poked around on it and it looks like the previous owner only used it to play Madden 2009 or something.

shame

homebrew is the best part of PSPs

What psp model is it? Mine's a 1003

What psp model is it? Mine's a 1003

To be honest, I have no idea. I've been trying to figure it out myself. All I know is that it's a pretty new Slim model.

Is it actually a Slim/Lite version or the new PSP3000 because you can easily crack them with a Pandoras battery. I  was fortunate to get an old PSP so homebrew was a sinch for me. Custom Firmware is all I really use my PSP for nowadays as I enjoy being able to play Final Fantasy IX or Chrono Trigger, Mario KartGBA, etc on the bus, car, etc.

I don't actually download any PSP games for my PSP though. I prefer owning the actual games for the system but don't care about older games. Definately get Wipeout Pure/Pulse if youwant an excellent racing game on the go.

100% certain that it's a 2000, not 1000 or 3000.