PSP Lovin: getting my PlaystationOne games on my psp and PS3 thoughts

well, as many or most that read my blogs may notice is that well, i've swayed to the nintendo-side these days. my sleek black ds lite had replaced the psp on my morning commutes since its battery life is superior to the psp and the wii purchased on launch day.

however my ds lite has been sitting on my desk while my PSP steals the glory/spotlight again due to me updating the firmware w/Dark_AleX's 3.10 OE firmware and getting my old PSone games on it!!

recently, Sony has decided to dust off its PlaystationOne games library and in turn is releasing PSone games to play on the PSP (downloaded from your PS3). the funny thing is that a homebrew PSone emulator was released about two weeks prior to Sony's official emulator. like nintendo's virtual console, game selection is a bit small and limited. however, what if your like me and actually still have your PSone game discs; can i convert these games over?

the answer is YES! however it will require a few steps to do and also a custom firmware (Dark Alexa 3.10 OE-A' firmware). here's a VERY quick run-through on how to do this:

here's what applications/utilities you will need:

• Dark_AleX 3.10 OE-A' firmware installed on PSP (i will not describe how to do this, there are tons of good tutorials and installers on the web, just google it)


• Auto Popstation4 (this will create isos from your games in the cd-rom drive and also creates the EBOOT.pbp to play on your PSP!)
  http://dl.qj.net/AutoPopstation4-General-Tools-Utilities-PSP-Tools-Utilities-on-PC/pg/12/fid/12400/catid/193


• MagicDisc (to mount disc images if you are using a backup image of the game, FREE too!) or Alcohol 120% (retail)

Here's a very, very basic/quick runthrough on this. i plan to add a recipe over at the main tech rx site this weekend. This will explain how to make your PSone games work on a PSP (this will be applicable to both games you have the discs for or for images; just need to mount the image w/MagicIso or Alcohol120 or whatever app you use for virtual drives)

1. Download and extract Auto Popstation4.

2. Put your PSOne disc in your pc or mount the image w/your virtual drive application

3. Go to the folder where we extracted Auto Popstation4. You should see a .bat file and also a folder called CoreData. Be sure there are not any ISOs in this folder, or else Auto Popstation4 will go to the menus for creating the eboot.pbp; if there is no iso it will give you options to capture an iso from your cd/dvd drive.

4. run the Autopopstation4.bat

5. on the menu, choose Option 1 to create an ISO.

6. next, you may get an error (you will the first time since it has not been configured), click OK on it. Then IsoProducer should open up. We need to configure it, use the suggested settings showing the Command Box and then click Make ISO.

• i usually save it to the same folder as the Autopopstation4.bat file and the coredata folder. (the batch file needs the iso to be here, also be sure to not use spaces in the filename).

7. Once the iso is created, rerun the Autopopstation4.bat again, this time we will get a different menu to create make our PSP ready game.

1. Type the iso's file name when asked, it will list all ISO files in the folder where the batch file is.


2. Then choose the compression level, 0 = none, 9 = max; remember that the more compression the longer the load times; i generally use 2 - 4 for this setting.


3. Next, it will ask for a name for the game, this will show up on your PSP > Game menu


4. Next, it will ask for part of the game's name to find the appropriate game code. after you hit enter it should populate a list of game codes; the code is the first number (ie SLUS01251 ). The command prompt prob is asking if you want to run again, just choose N.


5. Now you will be asked for the game code (again, the one we found from above, ie SLUS01251) and hit Enter.


6. Finally, it will ask if you want to make a Manual for the game using the PSPDocument Maker or by using any png file in the CoreData\DocmakerImages (must be named 0000.png to 9999.png). I made a custom png file that i use all the time (just a seamonkey logo).


7. Once you choose how to make the manual, it will confirm your settings, just Y to start and it will start processing away. Once its done, you can hit any key and it will open up the Results folder w/your newly converted PSone game now ready for your PSP!

NOTES/TIPS:

-You can customize the icon0.png and pic1.png to your liking. they are saved in the CoreData folder or you can go back and edit the eboot.pbp using PBP Unpacker (here's an older guide i made that is still applicable: guide to eboot editing )

Games that i've converted and work:

• FFIX (no lag or delays)


• XMEN vs Street Fighter


• Bushido Blade


• Gran Turismo 1 and 2


• Legend of Mana


• Chrono Cross

vid of FFIX running:

[youtube cQPRxOor0bU]

boy, who would have thought i'd break out these games from my closet! which now leads to the rest of my post; i'm starting get more interested in getting me a PS3. i just rejoined netflix after doing w/o for a few years and noticed they also have Blu-Ray and HDDVD discs; sweet!previously i had not really considered purchasing a PS3 due to its high startup cost and lack of games. however, that may be about to change since a pal of mine might be able to get me a good deal on a ps3 (around $400 range for a 60GB). so we'll see if i'm back w/the Sony-side.oh yea, can you be sure not to let the nintendo fanboys know i'm cheating on them? hehe.