Downloadable PSP games in the works?

It looks like (legally) downloadable PSP games could maybe, possibly be getting ever so slightly closer to reality, as a Sony-made ISO loader has reportedly been discovered in the latest firmware update for the handheld. The current speculation is that the loader, discovered by the prolific Dark_Alex, gives the handheld the ability to load encrypted ISO images off a memory stick, not just the demos and PS1 games the handheld's currently capable of playing. That would, of course, open up the possibility of Sony selling games sans-UMD, which has long been near the top of the wishlist for PSP owners and would-be PSP owners alike. Then again, it could be something entirely less exciting, so we'll just have to wait for Sony to play its hand.

[Via Joystiq]

[kingofwale @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:43PM]

I think it's more like downloadable PS1 games via internet. I seriously don't think any PSP developers will agree to put its game on memory stick, with their (overly) worry about piracy.

BUT.. Itune did it, maybe Sony can somehow talk (bully) developers into agreeing with this. It'd be cool tho. cutting off the middle man (retailers and UMD) would save tons of money and possibly passing it down to consumers.

[Xavier Gill @ Jul 2nd 2007 7:44PM]

DarkAlex has just announced his retirement

"I've decided to cease OE development, and leave PSP scene.
The reasons are various.
One of them is the time it consumes, which i'm losing from other things.
The other is related to my security. I didn't like Sony menaces to PS3 hackers.
I think it is better to leave now rather than end paying the consequences."

http://www.dark-alex.org/



Such a shame, he actually made the PSP usable. Thanks for everything and good luck!

[Jonathan Keim @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:14PM]

Dark Alex, I completely understand and try to put up long and indepth video tutorials on youtube, but have had to quit for my own various reasons.

I will miss you and just got my PSP downgraded and loaded with your great custom firmware.

I'm so glad that you didn't have to end with a big fee, and hope that you realize how much you've helped the community.

With my respect,

Jonathan

[Aaron @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:39PM]

My PSP is very useable without Dark Alex's homebrew. Games, music, videos, web browsing, everything. Didn't have a problem with any of those. And I don't have a problem with homebrew, I just never saw a need for it personally.

Dark Alex meant a lot to the PSP community and he will be missed.

On topic; I think that would be a good move for Sony to finally do. All I want is to be able to download more demos to try out more games before plunking down my money.

What's the point of hearing about a game only to not be able to at least get the demo to see if you'll even like it?

That would be the true benefit of being able to download directly. By making it more secure, maybe more game developers would make demos available online.

[oGMo @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:02PM]

"...the possibility of Sony selling games sans-UMD, which has long been near the top of the wishlist for PSP owners and would-be PSP owners alike"

Um, since when, and why? Why would I want to carry around expensive 2GB memory sticks? The data isn't going to change. The game isn't going to go away. There's nothing wrong with UMD as it is. Caching a game to a memstick might be cute, for loading purposes, but beyond that, getting rid of UMDs is a bad idea.

Maybe if they can sell 2GB memstick roms cheaply, it would be worth it. But I don't think prices are down that far yet. UMDs *may* be relatively expensive (but probably not anymore), but even so we're talking like $0.50 vs $0.05. 2GB roms would be more like $10+.

[kingofwale @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:14PM]

>Um, since when, and why?

since first OE came out? and because (wow, get ready for long list)

* you don't have to carry UMD around
* it loads faster because it doesn't need to wait UMD to spin.
* Multiply games on the fly.
* less change to break your PSP (I've always worried I would break my UMD door cover, it seems so fragile)
* and most importantly.. BETTER battery life.

oh. 2GB? what is this, the stone age? You can easily find a 4GB for about 60 bucks and 8 GB version came out AGES ago.

[oGMo @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:42PM]

So for $60 I can carry... 2-3 games? I have 40+. Even if they average 1GB/game, that's 10 memory sticks, which is $600. *Six hundred dollars*. For $40 I could buy another battery (which gets me far more than you'd save), or $160 for a new PSP if I'm somehow really careless and break mine.

Non-scalable solution.

[kingofwale @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:49PM]

are you stupid? no, it's an honest question.

Do you keep all 40+ games with you whereever you go? Then what makes you think you need to keep all 40+ games on MEMORY stick no less?

Need I introduce you a thing called computer? yeah, put it there. you know in a thing called "the harddrive"? and then swap them.

[Andir3.0 @ Jul 2nd 2007 9:52PM]

FYI, (not that I know or anything) but I heard you can put about 10 games on a 4G stick...

[oGMo @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:11PM]

"are you stupid?" If you can't find a flaw with the reasoning, attack the person, eh?

UMDs are small, and I have cases that let me carry quite a few of them without a lot of trouble. Easier to grab a UMD than futz with trying to transfer a game from a laptop or something. Especially if I'm on a plane or on the bus. So yes, I carry a large sample of my collection with me.

That said, I'd be somewhat interested in seeing if I could use the USB OTG media player I've got (iaudio x5 or whatever); but still, even though it's 60G, as games average a gig apiece, that eats up a lot of space. Plus you have to transfer, which eats a lot of battery, both on the media player and on the PSP. (Playing over USB would be even worse, battery-wise.) Plus, it was $300 itself, so it's not a great deal price-wise if you don't already have it.

Plus, this doesn't address the issue: total removal of the UMD drive. It might be convenient for some, but it's not economical for the large scale. As game continue to up the average toward the 1.8G UMD limit, producing ROMs is not going to be cheap. Either games will come on memstick roms and cost more (causing people to complain), or they will require a large, expensive memstick (also causing people to complain). It's cheaper to work on load times than spend an extra $10 times 500k units (or cut back on assets, which would *also* cause complaints).

If you have solutions for these problems, by all means, share.

[kingofwale @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:15PM]

>Plus, this doesn't address the issue: total removal of the UMD drive. It might be convenient for some, but it's not economical for the large scale. As game continue to up the average toward the 1.8G UMD limit, producing ROMs is not going to be cheap.

If Sony can bully the developers into accepting it. Sony can very easily come out with PSP2 with build in 120GB harddrive, (replacing the slot they are using now for UMD). That should be enough for over 100 games (not all game uses full of 1.8GB of space)

the keyword is "if", although I don't see ANY developers buying into that idea.

[oGMo @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:25PM]

It doesn't matter how much capacity you provide, if you provide static capacity. Even the PS3 allows you to upgrade the hard drive.

Putting 120G into a tiny unit is NOT going to happen. A 30G iPod is $249. It's essentially a hard drive, a tiny LCD, and enough hardware to play back video and music. Do you want to pay an extra $200-300 for a 120G drive? That'll put the PSP and nearly $400. Likewise, a large-capacity flash drive is also going to eat an extra $50-100, even if you take out the UMD; flash is cheaper, but not as cheap as a simple optical drive.

And finally, as below, you're screwed if you want to sell back or trade games. Can you see Sony allowing that? Right.

[greg @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:45PM]

it would be sweet if the psp2 came in 8 and 16 gig versions with no UMD and expanable memory. Then with the UMD gone there would be space for some flash memory and all games would be via iso.

[Rob @ Jul 2nd 2007 8:52PM]

I hope this is the route Sony is taking.
UMD has always been a bad idea, at least for video content. Sony, once again, tried to push their own, and new, format no one was asking for. Sure they needed some way to deliver their games. But now, we're a couple of years later, and I'm hoping that the new PSP doesn't come with a UMD player. We don't need it. It'd save battery life immensely. If anything, they should consider replacing the UMD with some internal flash memory, or take some of the features from the MYLO and merge them into the PSP. I don't care about the keyboard. But, I'd love to be able to use it for the Skype feature.

I don't know why Sony is so opposed at people tweaking their PSPs, when they have left the door opened to the PS3.

[oGMo @ Jul 2nd 2007 10:19PM]

"UMD has always been a bad idea, at least for video content."

But video content is irrelevant; it was a cute extra feature, but no one really ever cared. You don't get a PSP to watch video, you get it to play games, so this statement is meaningless in this context.

The UMD is as good an idea as any when it comes to *games*; it's cheaper than carts or flash, and it holds a lot of data. It's no less proprietary than the cartridges that Nintendo uses for the Gameboy or DS.

"But now, we're a couple of years later, and I'm hoping that the new PSP doesn't come with a UMD player. We don't need it. It'd save battery life immensely. If anything, they should consider replacing the UMD with some internal flash memory"

Again, this is unrealistic. We definitely need it: either you are going to buy large-capacity flash roms (which cost a lot more than a disc to produce), or you're going to be limited to carrying around a few games.

Anyone who thinks this is a good idea hasn't thought very far ahead. If you distribute flash roms, you're going to pay a premium. If you don't, you're going to have to require broadband, and probably a PS3 or proprietary client for download. You want to wait for 1-2GB games to transfer?

Also, when you no longer want those games, are you going to be able to sell them back? Trade them to friends? Sell them to gamestop? Then everyone will complain that Sony is even *more* proprietary.

Like I said, a very shortsighted idea.

[cml @ Jul 2nd 2007 9:52PM]

didnt u guys hear, Dark_Alex left psp hackin for good, go to his site , i still dont belive it, i personally think someone hacked his site...

[Corey @ Jul 3rd 2007 11:08AM]

oGMo: You need to leave your little bubble (parents basement). All the people I know hacked or not with a psp use it to movies off memory stick. If you rip the padding and video most games come down to around 300-600mb... @4gb for $30 that's a lot of games to be able to carry in your pocket. My 4gb memory stick has around 5 games as well every snes game made and still has room left. I never want to carry around any of the discs as I'd worry about losing/bulk of them. Not everyone likes to have a man purse or back pack with the.

[assad @ Jul 8th 2007 9:03PM]

heyy guys i have a white psp
updated to version 3.50
i was wondering if Dark_AleX made a new downloadable update by wich we can play our own downloaded games? thank you.
assad