Sony PlayStation Portable

This article contains general information about the platform. For detail on the hardware, see Sony PlayStation Portable Hardware.

The Sony PlayStation Portable, or Sony PSP, is a portable game system released by Sony in 2004. The PSP-1000, PSP-2000, and PSP-3000 systems are nearly the same, with the PSP-3000 having a different pixel layout on the screen. The PSP Go in 2009 has a smaller screen and different hardware layout. The PSP line was succeeded by the PlayStation Vita in December 2011.

Hardware

• CPU: MIPS R4000 32-bit @ 333 MHz
  • Vector (VFPU) co-processor with 128 32-bit registers
• RAM: 32 MB eDRAM
• Display: 480x272, 24-bit color, 2 MB VRAM
• Storage: UMD up to 1.8 GB

Homebrew

For a small tutorial on creating your own homebrew software for the PSP, see PSP homebrew development. For a list of existing PSP homebrew software, see the article list of PSP homebrew software.

The PSP, now that Sony isn't actively focused on stopping homebrew for the system, is surprisingly simple to deploy code to. Using the pspdev toolchain and gLib2d graphics library, the example files provided give a solid development foundation. After the build process, the files can be copied to a memory stick. Once a custom firmware has been installed to the PSP, it will boot your software straight from the memory card.

Custom Firmware

To install custom firmware on nearly any PSP, the steps are very similar. In the case of the PSP 2000, a different technique called the Pandora Battery can optionally be used instead, but the steps below will work for the PSP 2000 as well.

1. Install the Sony firmware update to 6.60
2. Install Pro CFW (not provided here)
3. Run the Pro CFW installer on the PSP

That's pretty much it. Wololo provides a CFW Guide for Dummies with all the details for every PSP model.

See Also

• PSP Homebrew Loader - Article about creating a custom loader for homebrew software
• PSP homebrew glossary - Glossary of terms relating to PSP homebrew