Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe there is a need and market for CFW on the PSP or any other embedded device or proprietary system for that matter. However it is these justifiable loopholes that are being exploited for the more unethical features of custom firmware. Sadly I was using the seedier features of customer firmware, over any positive enhancements other budding technology enthusiasts had added to the PSP’s repertoire.
I bought my PSP nearly 5 years ago; when my now Wife and I headed on a holiday of a life time to England and select European countries. It was a life saver and made many a long train, bus or plane trip that little bit more manageable. On returning home I was sure its existence would be fulfilling and plentiful. I intended to get a job based in the CBD and commute daily by train sharing the same joys it provided in transit while on holiday. This was not to be, my eventual place of work was located a comfortable drive away in a neighbouring suburb. The PSP had been shunned, over time it moved from the top of my desk to the corner of a draw. Then to the back of the draw and finally to the box that everyone has but doesn’t know what to do with.
Twelve months had passed, I’d invested a considerable amount of money in the platform and outside of a couple of months of glory it wasn’t giving me anything back. A trip to a holiday house for a week was looming and I though it was time to spark new life in the old girl. I couldn’t justify spending more money on a platform that was failing me, so I did the next best thing. I used my own gadgetry skills to port it to the dark side so that I could test out the current games on the market and see if my PSP had any more love to give.
In a way it is an education in monetary value. In our consume driven, capitalistic world, products aren’t sold for how much they cost to make and develop but rather how much the market will pay for them. You then likely associate that value with the product and with any luck it fills a purpose and at the end of the day you feel like you’ve got your money’s worth. Although after paying for the initial hardware and two games I was left feeling less than compensated, I found the opposite was also true. If I didn’t spend anything on the software then I wasn’t compelled to get any value out of it at all. I’d take the time to get a software title, but often not even bother to play it than alone finish it. This resulted in the PSP resting in the same ill fated box.
So with the amalgamation of a couple of factors such as purchasing a PS3 and reading some positive things about PSN mini’s I’ve decided to go full circle, as I mentioned earlier and return to Sony OFW. As a pretty enthusiastic gamer it is a little embarrassing how many gaming capable devices I own. I guess it is the enthusiast within, that still understands the strengths and weaknesses of each device and can see a use for all of them in one way or another. The most likely competitor to the PSP that I own is my iPhone, though as much as I over rely on my phone there is something entirely necessary about buttons that not all games can emulate on a touch screen interface.
So far I’ve had mixed results in the week or so that I’ve been sporting my OFW PSP. Having recently finished the Harry Potter books I’d opened up a large void of free time on the 55 plus minute train ride I endue each way to work. I purchased a couple of Mini as well as a full title game (all be it electronically) and had little issues getting them on the 8 Gb stick I’ve loaded in my PSP. I also found the official Comic Book reader application present on the Sony OFW and set about checking out some of the freely available comics. I enjoyed reading a number of the free comics and playing a handful of the games for a couple of days. I’ve since found my nose back in a book so time for mobile gaming is again Ad Hoc and more complementary to a device like the iPhone which is always a fingertips length away and much more casual the PSP.
I don’t regret the decision by any stretch of the imagination and are happy to be back on the easy path to new features and integration with my PS3. I even had some gaming Kudos thrown my way scoring a copy of a new PSP exclusive release via Kotaku and eagerly await its arrival in the mail ...
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