In this Retro / Present article we are taking a look back at the classic Sony PSP. Then we will match it up with the modern GDP XP Android gaming handheld that you can relive the classics or experience those games for the first time.
Retro / Present Sony PSP and GPD XP Video
The Sony PSP launched in Japan in December 2004, with the rest of the world having to wait patiently until the year after. This PSP is my original UK launch model that I used back in the day to write and help test homebrew software. Apart from a new battery, it’s still in great condition and works like it’s the first day!
Sony PSP Launch
2004 was a great time for handheld gaming as there was another major launch, the Nintendo DS. The Sony PSP launch price was $250 compared to the lower $150 of the DS. Despite the high cost, the popularity of the PlayStation brand helped sell over 80 million units. With it being Sony’s first handheld, it was a great success paving the way for the Vita. But it paled in comparison to the handheld masters Nintendo, and their DS, which sold over 150 million units.
Sony PSP Technical Specifications
For its time, the specs were very impressive. It featured a high performance CPU and GPU, plenty of RAM. built in WiFi, and a high quality TFT display. Later models of the PSP saw changes in the hardware such as different displays, more RAM and smaller device sizes
| CPU | MIPS R4000 up to 333MHz |
| GPU | Custom Rendering Engine + Surface Engine |
| RAM | 32MB |
| DISPLAY | 480 × 272 pixels TFT |
The PSP used Sony’s own custom UMD storage medium called which was capable of storing up to 1.8GB of data. For storing your own data such as save files, music or videos, Sony went with their own Memory Stick Pro Duo cards which were bloody expensive. I can remember having to get a friend in the USA to buy a 2GB card and send it over to me as they were even more expensive here in the UK. Sony and their forced use of their proprietary storage formats really annoyed me! Thankfully, you can at least buy MicroSD to Pro Duo adaptors now!
Best Sony PSP games
As always, you can have the best handheld ever but it’s nothing without great games, and the PSP definitely had that covered. Over 1,300 games were released for the PSP which includes both physical UMD and downloadable from the PSN store. The best Sony PSP games you probably all know; Grand Theft Auto series, Gran Turismo, God of War, Daxter and Metal Gear Solid to name but a few.
Other popular games, many of them in my personal favourites, include the music puzzle game Lumines, the creative platformer Little Big Planet, Half Minute Hero, Puzzle Quest, Hot Shots Golf, OutRun 2006 and Tekken 6.
PSP Custom Firmware
I don’t think we could talk about the PSP and not mention hacking it to play homebrew and backups. This has been covered in great detail elsewhere, so just a brief summary. It was a cat and mouse game with hackers and Sony to defeat and protect the PSP’s security.
Firmware updates were released then bypassed, and this repeated until the final firmware which was of course hacked. Now there are some great custom firmware’s available that does far beyond what the standard firmware can do. During this period, the PSP homebrew scene exploded with many game ports and emulators that worked amazingly well. Even to this day, the PSP is a popular choice for playing the older retro consoles.
How much does a PSP and games cost to buy now?
And talking of this day. How much will a PSP set you back now? Depending on the model, you can get one starting from around £30-40 and if you’re lucky you can get a few games with it. For the actual games, due to the ease of installing custom firmware and playing them from storage, the UMD’s sell for fairly cheap. You can expect to get bundles of UMD games in varying conditions for next to nothing, say £10-20, or pay a bit more and get even more.
The GPD XP retro gaming handheld
The PSP was officially discontinued in 2014, but what if you want something a bit more modern to enjoy PSP games on? Enter the GPD XP retro gaming handheld!
The GPD XP is the latest in Android handhelds from GPD, they made the popular XD and XD Plus handhelds which kind of reinvigorated the whole retro gaming handheld scene. You can watch or read our full GPD XP review here. It is a great device, not only capable of emulating up to PSP era systems but also the GPD XP plays the latest AAA Android games.
GPD XP Technical Specifications
| CPU | MediaTek Helio G95 8 cores @ 2.05 GHz |
| GPU | ARM Mali-G76 MC4 @ 900 MHz |
| DISPLAY | 6.81″ IPS up to 1080×2400 |
| RAM | 6GB LPDDR4x |
| STORAGE | 128GB + Micro SD Card slot |
PSP emulation on the GPD XP
The GPD XP retro console comes with the excellent PSP emulator PPSSPP installed. It is the free version which is fully featured, you can support development by buying the Gold version. The emulator is ready to go, just add a few of your own games. There’s no other settings needed to change unless you want to increase the rendering resolution for example.
The GPD XP retro games console is great for PSP emulation, the screen size is far larger, giving more definition. The display is however ultra widescreen so there will be small borders on the left and right sides. The display is also touchscreen, so you can, if you wish to, navigate the emulator menus via this method. There’s plenty of controls to match those on the PSP, all of which feel comfortable and responsive.
PSP performance and compatibility on the GPD XP
In terms of compatibility with PSP games, PPSSPP is great! I have used this emulator very often in the past and have not had any issues with games running. There are likely some incompatible games or those that have in-game issues, but I would say they are few and far between.
Depending on the game’s design, they will run at either 30 or 60 FPS, and all of the games I have tried have run at their respective full speeds. You may notice a rare minor dip down to 58 or 9 on highly demanding games such as God Of War for example. Unless you have an eye on the FPS counter, it’s so short, you wont notice it.
As with many emulators it supports Save States which allow you to save your game at any point whilst playing. You can then later resume from exactly where you left off. It is perfect if you are in a rush and can’t finish the level or find a save point.
Why you should buy the GPD XP
Overall the GPD XP is a one of the best retro games consoles for PSP emulation. It’s highly compatible with games, runs just about everything at full speed and it does it pretty much effortlessly. Not only is it great for PSP, it is also very capable of playing classic retro systems from the earliest up to the PSP era. And add in the fact that it is also great for Android gaming, with access to the Google Play store for apps, then we have the perfect Android based handheld for both old and new games.
Where to buy the GPD XP?
You can learn more about and buy the GPD XP here. Or browse our range of handheld game consoles here.
