Updating My PSP Firmware: Convince me to do it or not

[NecronomiconUK]

Heyas

Got myself a US PSP, bought on launch and running firmware v1.50. This has to be pretty much my most un-used piece of gaming hardware ever. Only have two official games (Wipeout & Mercury), there hasn't really been anything out there to convince me to keep buying but then again I've not really been paying attention. I've kept v1.50 on the system so i can continue to mess around with SCUMMVM and some random SNES games (very old version of ZSNES running). But the system has been unused for many months so I wouldn't say they were still compulsive reasons..

Now, I've been wondering if there is any good/interesting home-brew stuff out there to give me a reason to keep firmware 1.50 on my PSP. What keeps you guys using yours

Conversely, what reasons are there for me to update my PSP? As I understand I will need to update the firmware if I want to play recently produced retail games. Are there any worth bothering over? I really enjoyed Wipeout Pure, the 'next gen' feel of it was exactly the reason i got the system but since then I've not seen anything....


PS. It's almost certain I will be updating to the latest firmware if/when I get a PS3 at some point next year.

[Strolls]

... As I understand I will need to update the firmware if I want to play recently produced retail games. Are there any worth bothering over?

Loco Roco is the game which most tempts me to buy a PSP - it requires firmware version 2.71. The game's website is kinda a demo itself (in flash), but there are demos available for download that you can install on your PSP.

GTA: Vice City Stories was also well-recieved here.

Stroller.

[watusi]

I'd wait for DEVhook to catch up with the most recent firmwares really. Its up to 2.81 i think so far.

[NecronomiconUK]

I should have said, i don't give a rats about GTA... Watusi, could you give me a quickie synopsis on what DEVhook is and how it works?

[Ciaran]

You guys do know there is a hacked firmware out there that acts like 1.5 but plays everything up to 2.71.

[watusi]

You guys do know there is a hacked firmware out there that acts like 1.5 but plays everything up to 2.71.

That'll be Devhook then.

http://www.devhook.ca/

installed and booted just like homebrew, except what it does is temporarily reboot the psp into 2.71 firmware. which of course means you can play games which require later firmwares.

It also has other naughty uses but the less said about that the better.

[charlaph]

If you really are planning on updating to a new firmware (apart from the ones mentioned above) don't. Instead, sell or part-ex your 1.5 firmware model as they're worth more than ones running the latest firmware. I know, I just bought 2 PSPs and paid more for the 1.5 one. You should be able to get a good price for a 1.5 model on various forums and even ebay, or get a brand new model and some money in your pocket as well in part ex.

[Ciaran]

That'll be Devhook then.

http://www.devhook.ca/

installed and booted just like homebrew, except what it does is temporarily reboot the psp into 2.71 firmware. which of course means you can play games which require later firmwares.

It also has other naughty uses but the less said about that the better.

Nope, any actual update that writes to the the flash and boots into a 2.71 firmware every time.

http://forums.qj.net/f-psp-firmware-discussion-253/t-271-se-b-faq-wip-75744.html

[dvdx2]

nooo dont do it!!!


any of this interest you? Heres a taste of whats on my US psp 1.5FW

Full range of CPS1 games (full speed)
Ful range of CPS2 games (most run perfect)
C64 emu flawless
Megdrive emu (almost perfect)
Loads of great homebrew games, including some rather tasty shooters
Snes emu (runs well)
Spectrum emu (runs very well)
devhook (change firmware to play 2.71FW games)
MAME (not the best, but a perfect working version of Time pilot 84 & Kung fu master!)

there are loads of other emus which aren't great at the moment, but should hopefully improve.

Dont really play many 'real' psp games

[NekoFever]

The best firmware to use at the moment is 2.71SE-B'', which is a custom one. It's 2.71 and so has all the features of that, and in addition it'll play games that require up to 2.81 (mainly Vice City Stories) and run all the 1.5 homebrew. It's very stable now and is a much more elegant solution than Devhook. Let me know if you want any help because I've set it up for a few people.

Saying that, however, Devhook may be about to get a killer app of its own. Firmware 3.0 and 3.01 have both been decrypted already so as soon as Devhook gets updated it'll be possible to emulate them on earlier firmwares without having to upgrade.

[sj33]

The best firmware to use at the moment is 2.71SE-B'', which is a custom one. It's 2.71 and so has all the features of that, and in addition it'll play games that require up to 2.81 (mainly Vice City Stories) and run all the 1.5 homebrew. It's very stable now and is a much more elegant solution than Devhook. Let me know if you want any help because I've set it up for a few people.

Saying that, however, Devhook may be about to get a killer app of its own. Firmware 3.0 and 3.01 have both been decrypted already so as soon as Devhook gets updated it'll be possible to emulate them on earlier firmwares without having to upgrade.

I assume I can install this 2.71SE-B and run Devhook from there?

[davek22]

Lets see, Vice City Stories = ?39.99. 2gig Memory Stick = ?25

[NekoFever]

I assume I can install this 2.71SE-B and run Devhook from there?

Yes, Devhook runs fine on it. At the moment there's not much point in using it but when the updated version comes out (I understand there's a private beta that a select group of developers have) you'll be able to run all the newer firmware versions. With them decrypted now though, the guy who made 2.71 SE might even be able to make 2.81 SE or even 3.00 SE...*drool*

[Bleeders]

I've been living under a rock with this sort of thing, but is there anyway to downgrade from 2.8 yet?

Really, really wanna play Guwange and Dodonpachi on the go!

[NekoFever]

Nope, 2.71 is the lowest that can be downgraded at the moment. There is limited homebrew software available for 2.8 now, though. Usually a downgrader is one of the top priorities so someone will be working on it.