I don't think I hve the same definition of "everyone" as the author.
Also my observation is that nothing that ever appear trendy on tiktok, instagram or youtube ever translate to real life. There are just an awful lot of super niche trends happening at the same time that only those in their respective algorithmic bubble are aware of.
I know of one person at work who uses one but that is about it. It could be a million people that have picked these things up, that is but a drop in the ocean considering how many people there are.
I could understand any other console or new Android handheld but PSP has to be the second most miserable console to go back to. Barrel jack charger, some of the worse sticks ever made, and infamous battery bloating. The only worse choice is the Game Gear.
A used Vita would be a good modern replacement (and not even that much more expensive) but even in their afterlife I guess it's still doomed to play second fiddle to PSP.
I bought a PSP on my first trip to Japan in 2008. I think it was around 30k yen. I remember the store I was at had used ones labeled with which firmware version they had, and I got a slightly more expensive one with an older firmware (3.4.0?) because it was one that had some vulnerability that involved a specially crafted save file for Lumines that allowed installing a custom firmware.
It was(/is) a great device for playing ps1 and snes games. It doesn't seem so special now that there are so many emulation focused handhelds, but at the time it felt really awesome to be able to play games like that on a plane.
If you don't mind paying a touch more you may as well buy a Vita. I got mine for $95 + shipping. You can boot into the PSP OS with Adrenaline (I really do miss the XMB), so it's a superset of capabilities, and you get that nice right analog stick. As far as being a dedicated device with actual buttons and minimal online connectivity it's all the same.
I bought one of these in 2004 and it really was a slice of the future. The screen was way bigger and higher res than anything I had owned prior, and the ability to jailbreak and run emulators gave it a lot more use than just UMD games.
I still have my original PSP 1000 which worked well until my daughter dropped it a couple weeks ago...
What's the reason to prefer the PSP over the Vita? Yes, technically the Vita has Internet but outside of downloading games via that it really isn't a distraction because it's so clunky.
I recently freed mine and have been having a great time with everything it had to offer while being so much more portable than anything mainstream sold now as portable.
Because the Vita was less popular everywhere outside of Japan, which makes that there are less units available and the units cost a few times the price of a psp second hand. (in The Netherlands the PSP is just under 100 Euro second hand, usually with 20+ game discs, a vita starts at 200 without any games and often without a charger)
A lot of people also still have a PSP just hanging around, less so with the vita.
I do get it, I am sure there is a decent market for a new PSP like device with more modern processing capabilities but I am not sure if that would be a 10 million+ user kind of device. PSP came in right before online made a really large encroachment on game systems. Things like the PSP Go didn't fly because of that, nowadays it might do a lot better.
As an aside, I really liked the brief time I got to work on PSP software. From what I remember it was a fixed function GPU and a decent enough CPU that all felt really balanced for the time. After working on things like Gameboy Advance and a little bit of Nintenod DS, it felt like an ocean of possibility compared with those two. I'm sure if I was to go back to it now it would feel claustrophobic but at the time it was pretty comfy.
As much as I love the PSP and want to read about a resurgence in popularity for it, this is just tiresome to read. There's a bit of substance and a few nice photos in here, but I feel like I just read the same paragraph 5 times.
"It's not just this, or this other thing, it's another thing."
"It’s not always about playing through a full game, it’s about the object itself, what it says, how it looks, the feeling it gives off."
"Not as a replacement, but as an alternative."
"It’s not just a handheld. It’s a self-contained beautifully designed little bubble"
"You’re not browsing a library of endless options, you’re watching something because you decided to put it there."
"It’s not just nostalgia, and it’s not just retro collecting."
I don't think these fluffy statements contribute to the overall thesis, and it could be trimmed down a bunch. Not every blog post needs to be Jony Ive waxing on about the purity of the iPod. No shade, I appreciate the attention given to the device and community, but it's just a bit padded imo.
I fondly remember loading up a janky version of MAME that only ran Pac-Man via the newly discovered kxploit on my PSP in ~2005. That sent me down a two-decades-long road of fiddling with so many devices, making them my own.
I have huge respect for the folks who spent countless hours freeing devices like the PSP from the control of the corporations that wanted them locked down. I think we'll need a lot more of that spirit in the years ahead...
For years one of my best friends growing up didn't have Internet, and my only communication with him was when he would walk to the McDonald's for the Wi-Fi with his PSP. We would chat over MSN.
I recently got a PSP (along with a special cable that I can use to hook it up to my TV); there is a pretty strong aftermarket ecosystem for them.
I mean a PSP is great, but in 2026 I'd rather go for a 2nd hand Android that can not just emulate PSP but a plethora of other platforms as well with much better performance and usecases.
Pair that with a 30-40$ controller extension like the Razer Kishi and you have a really powerful retro gaming device.
+1 to this point, I really wanted a PSP my entire childhood but never got one, bought one back in 2022 purely because of the memories I had of 4-5 of us huddled around the community (read pampered friend's) PSP.
A creative's best work is born from constraints. It's why PICO-8 exists for people nostalgic for that specific olden era. I think the PSP could make a fantastic target for meatier handheld-focused games that put design first, as many of its second-tier games did. Lots of great strategy, platforming, and racing. A beautiful wide-screen with just enough resolution, just enough horsepower to drive it with rich, saturated 2D and some 3D, and a basic enough control scheme to rule out the lame tech-demo category of 3D action games. I cannot describe how much WipeOut, Namco Museum, and Tactics Ogre time I had on my PSP.
I didn't quite get the point of this comment, there's no denying any of it, actually I wholeheartedly agree with you, but what I was saying wrt practicality of playing PSP games.
You can of course buy that device, but from personal experience the novelty doesn't last very long and then it just becomes just another device in the drawer graveyard. Also no one's really making new PSP games anymore? so the novelty of the PSP remains in its construction and the software; which becomes limiting as time goes on.
The joystick, buttons all tend to break or stick after 20 years, replacements may or may not be easy to come by for most, so it just makes more sense into building your own retro game device that supports PSP emulation among others.
And the PICO-8 has produced some impressive projects, such as UnDUNE II (https://liquidream.itch.io/undune2) which reimplements the old Dune II game (which started the entire RTS genre). Yes, within the PICO-8's constraints. I loved Dune II, and while I don't plan to pick up a PICO-8 just to play it, I love that this exists.
I've seen the Sony PSP for about $100 or $200 on eBay. Along with cheap UMB disks and accessories. I'd rather have a Steam Deck so I could play modern games, though.
I see the writer of this article did a guide on how to get them cheaper from Japan in another one he did, but I've no experience with that.
Seeing what my PSP can do in 2026 (from emulating Switch through to Steam/GOG/Epic etc games), you can pry it from my cold dead hands. I do see the appeal tho, the PSP had nice hardware design going for it.
I don't think I hve the same definition of "everyone" as the author.
Also my observation is that nothing that ever appear trendy on tiktok, instagram or youtube ever translate to real life. There are just an awful lot of super niche trends happening at the same time that only those in their respective algorithmic bubble are aware of.
I know of one person at work who uses one but that is about it. It could be a million people that have picked these things up, that is but a drop in the ocean considering how many people there are.
I could understand any other console or new Android handheld but PSP has to be the second most miserable console to go back to. Barrel jack charger, some of the worse sticks ever made, and infamous battery bloating. The only worse choice is the Game Gear.
A used Vita would be a good modern replacement (and not even that much more expensive) but even in their afterlife I guess it's still doomed to play second fiddle to PSP.
I bought a PSP on my first trip to Japan in 2008. I think it was around 30k yen. I remember the store I was at had used ones labeled with which firmware version they had, and I got a slightly more expensive one with an older firmware (3.4.0?) because it was one that had some vulnerability that involved a specially crafted save file for Lumines that allowed installing a custom firmware.
It was(/is) a great device for playing ps1 and snes games. It doesn't seem so special now that there are so many emulation focused handhelds, but at the time it felt really awesome to be able to play games like that on a plane.
There are so many great PSP games, and it's so easy to just throw in your pocket and play for a few minutes here and there. I love my PSP!
If you don't mind paying a touch more you may as well buy a Vita. I got mine for $95 + shipping. You can boot into the PSP OS with Adrenaline (I really do miss the XMB), so it's a superset of capabilities, and you get that nice right analog stick. As far as being a dedicated device with actual buttons and minimal online connectivity it's all the same.
I bought one of these in 2004 and it really was a slice of the future. The screen was way bigger and higher res than anything I had owned prior, and the ability to jailbreak and run emulators gave it a lot more use than just UMD games.
I still have my original PSP 1000 which worked well until my daughter dropped it a couple weeks ago...
What's the reason to prefer the PSP over the Vita? Yes, technically the Vita has Internet but outside of downloading games via that it really isn't a distraction because it's so clunky.
I recently freed mine and have been having a great time with everything it had to offer while being so much more portable than anything mainstream sold now as portable.
Because the Vita was less popular everywhere outside of Japan, which makes that there are less units available and the units cost a few times the price of a psp second hand. (in The Netherlands the PSP is just under 100 Euro second hand, usually with 20+ game discs, a vita starts at 200 without any games and often without a charger)
A lot of people also still have a PSP just hanging around, less so with the vita.
Vitas are way more expensive and hard to find
I do get it, I am sure there is a decent market for a new PSP like device with more modern processing capabilities but I am not sure if that would be a 10 million+ user kind of device. PSP came in right before online made a really large encroachment on game systems. Things like the PSP Go didn't fly because of that, nowadays it might do a lot better.
As an aside, I really liked the brief time I got to work on PSP software. From what I remember it was a fixed function GPU and a decent enough CPU that all felt really balanced for the time. After working on things like Gameboy Advance and a little bit of Nintenod DS, it felt like an ocean of possibility compared with those two. I'm sure if I was to go back to it now it would feel claustrophobic but at the time it was pretty comfy.
As much as I love the PSP and want to read about a resurgence in popularity for it, this is just tiresome to read. There's a bit of substance and a few nice photos in here, but I feel like I just read the same paragraph 5 times.
"It's not just this, or this other thing, it's another thing."
"It’s not always about playing through a full game, it’s about the object itself, what it says, how it looks, the feeling it gives off."
"Not as a replacement, but as an alternative."
"It’s not just a handheld. It’s a self-contained beautifully designed little bubble"
"You’re not browsing a library of endless options, you’re watching something because you decided to put it there."
"It’s not just nostalgia, and it’s not just retro collecting."
I don't think these fluffy statements contribute to the overall thesis, and it could be trimmed down a bunch. Not every blog post needs to be Jony Ive waxing on about the purity of the iPod. No shade, I appreciate the attention given to the device and community, but it's just a bit padded imo.
I fondly remember loading up a janky version of MAME that only ran Pac-Man via the newly discovered kxploit on my PSP in ~2005. That sent me down a two-decades-long road of fiddling with so many devices, making them my own.
I have huge respect for the folks who spent countless hours freeing devices like the PSP from the control of the corporations that wanted them locked down. I think we'll need a lot more of that spirit in the years ahead...
For years one of my best friends growing up didn't have Internet, and my only communication with him was when he would walk to the McDonald's for the Wi-Fi with his PSP. We would chat over MSN.
I recently got a PSP (along with a special cable that I can use to hook it up to my TV); there is a pretty strong aftermarket ecosystem for them.
Kids just find out how retro games are so much more fun than modern games.
I mean a PSP is great, but in 2026 I'd rather go for a 2nd hand Android that can not just emulate PSP but a plethora of other platforms as well with much better performance and usecases.
Pair that with a 30-40$ controller extension like the Razer Kishi and you have a really powerful retro gaming device.
That's a valid point ngl
But there's something quite nostalgic about holding the console you had as a kid and going down a good old happy memory lane
This only works if you had it as a kid. At the very least, you have to be old enough to have had it as a kid.
+1 to this point, I really wanted a PSP my entire childhood but never got one, bought one back in 2022 purely because of the memories I had of 4-5 of us huddled around the community (read pampered friend's) PSP.
s/old/young
A creative's best work is born from constraints. It's why PICO-8 exists for people nostalgic for that specific olden era. I think the PSP could make a fantastic target for meatier handheld-focused games that put design first, as many of its second-tier games did. Lots of great strategy, platforming, and racing. A beautiful wide-screen with just enough resolution, just enough horsepower to drive it with rich, saturated 2D and some 3D, and a basic enough control scheme to rule out the lame tech-demo category of 3D action games. I cannot describe how much WipeOut, Namco Museum, and Tactics Ogre time I had on my PSP.
I didn't quite get the point of this comment, there's no denying any of it, actually I wholeheartedly agree with you, but what I was saying wrt practicality of playing PSP games.
You can of course buy that device, but from personal experience the novelty doesn't last very long and then it just becomes just another device in the drawer graveyard. Also no one's really making new PSP games anymore? so the novelty of the PSP remains in its construction and the software; which becomes limiting as time goes on.
The joystick, buttons all tend to break or stick after 20 years, replacements may or may not be easy to come by for most, so it just makes more sense into building your own retro game device that supports PSP emulation among others.
And the PICO-8 has produced some impressive projects, such as UnDUNE II (https://liquidream.itch.io/undune2) which reimplements the old Dune II game (which started the entire RTS genre). Yes, within the PICO-8's constraints. I loved Dune II, and while I don't plan to pick up a PICO-8 just to play it, I love that this exists.
I've seen the Sony PSP for about $100 or $200 on eBay. Along with cheap UMB disks and accessories. I'd rather have a Steam Deck so I could play modern games, though.
I see the writer of this article did a guide on how to get them cheaper from Japan in another one he did, but I've no experience with that.
Seeing what my PSP can do in 2026 (from emulating Switch through to Steam/GOG/Epic etc games), you can pry it from my cold dead hands. I do see the appeal tho, the PSP had nice hardware design going for it.