Tuesday, June 3, 2014

The PSP 1001 Debacle, Part 3: Victory (Somewhat)

Let me talk about something else first. The day the PSP got delivered, I went to some pawn shops and scared up a copy of Monster Hunter Freedom. It was the only game that (presumably) didn't suck, and I was interested to find out why Japan goes apeshit every time a Monster Hunter game came out.

That's not the point though. I went to A&W after I finished the pawnshop raids. How fucking good is A&W? I don't know if A&W is honestly that good, or if it's just because it's something you don't have frequently.

Answer: Heart attack good.

You need a cigarette after you have A&W because their food just fucked your mouth. Their burgers are huge, the fries are good and dear god, the fucking root beer. Why the fuck is it so good there? Stop selling that half ass bullshit in a can, if you sold the shit that you have in the restaurants people would stop drinking water. Shit would turn into Idiocracy and we'd water plants with it.

Go away, baitin.

Anyways, what do we do with a PSP that's in cosmetically good shape and can't be revived? Put a new motherboard in it.

There can be only one.

I got this off eBay for $20. Not the biggest steal in the world, but buying it from websites which sell parts...they're a lot more expensive. So, at this point, I'm in it about $40. Honestly, not a great investment. I saved about $20 since I got a charger in the original deal and the PSP was in good condition, but not really worth the repair effort. Since I enjoy these things, it's worth it for me. Ultimately, if you decide to undertake something similar, message the eBay seller first and clarify what exactly is wrong with the PSP. Don't just go by their vague description. Get as much info as you can.

Anyway, since I already tore down most of the thing, we'll just pick up where we left off. To get the motherboard fully out, we've got some very small connectors for the speakers that we need to take out.


Don't fuck around with this shit. Get some tweezers and get them as far out as you can, then use a small flathead to completely dislodge them. If you pull on wires that small, you deserve to have speakers that don't work. 

...and apparently I stopped taking pictures at that point until I got the motherboard fully out. There's not a lot to do after that; unscrew the screw that holds the D-pad into place, and then disconnect a bunch of flex cables. Once you've done that, the motherboard will lift out and we're left with this.


Slip the new motherboard in and reverse the steps. Most importantly, don't be a fuck up and make sure that you test it before you close it up.


You have no idea how bad I've wanted to see that. I was a bit concerned as the seller hadn't put the board in an anti-static bag. Just a zip lock bag that was slightly larger than the board. Everything is good, though. Before you finish up, make sure that screen is clean. No matter how much you tried not to touch the screen, you fucking touched it. I use eyeglass cleaner and a microfiber cloth.

Now, I had no real interest in putting CFW on the PSP. I don't particularly like emulation, and I like to buy games. I know, that's strange. Anyways, it turns out some insane souls have set out to translate Final Fantasy Type-0 since it didn't get a US release. This is something I'm interested in playing, so I figured... why not? The motherboard I bought actually already had some old CFW installed, but I need a more recent version for some games, and I'd like to be on the latest firmware anyways. Before we continue though, here's a trailer of the Type-0 translation.



Having done some minor translations for Dreamcast and assisted for a major one (not with the actual translation) when I was heading the ReviveDC Project, I can tell you that their work is incredible. The smallest thing can ruin any translation, and the fact that they've done what they have with a game with as much text as a Final Fantasy game is fucking staggering. One of the strangest things I came across was in the Capcom vs. SNK 2 Taisen Fan Disc. There was something in the game that would redirect the text to an earlier line. So if a menu ended had "Replay videos, press A to view" then there was something in the text that would redirect it to the "press A to view" text, so it was only in the binary once. We ended up with some really, really odd wording since it was redirecting and we had to get the description in before it redirected. I think one of the members ended up fixing it, but I don't recall.

Anywho, I found this guide with instructions on how to install the 6.60 CFW. It seems... shockingly easy. Install the official Sony 6.60 firmware, then run the Pro installer, then if you have a 1000 or 2000 with the right motherboard, just run the CIPL flasher. Bullshit, I thought. What about all the fucks bumbling about with Pandora batteries and MMSes a few years ago?

Well, that's genuinely all you have to do.


I'm sure I'll take advantage of CFW more than I think I will. I really dislike purchasing download only content, and there's some PSP games which were only released as downloads. It feels like sort of a rip off to me since you're paying high prices (usually) and you're only getting the game. No box, no manual, no disc. Besides that, you don't really know how long you'll have it for. What happens if Sony takes PSP games off of the PSN? What happens if the publisher pulls the game? There's a lot of what ifs there for me. I just like having a physical game. On the other hand, if there's an Xbox Live sale and some game I want dips below $5, I'm all over that shit.

My initial impressions with the system are good. I like the weight to it, it's comfortable to hold for someone with large hands due to its width, and the way the back is curved where your hands bend is nice. The screen is absolutely beautiful and I'm a bit shocked at just how good it is. I had never really used one much before, and the only time I can remember doing so is playing some Star Wars Battlefront on a friend's and then using the hilariously primitive web browser to see if a girlfriend had emailed me while we were having a Halo 2 LAN party. That was back in 2005.

It's sort of odd to move while you're using the system because the UMD drive does make some audible noise. I suppose that's something I'll get used to, but historically moving something with a disc = scratches so it seems strange.

Anyways, time to find out why Japan flips the fuck out over Monster Hunter.

Maybe I should clean that sticker residue first...

Also, Sony announced PSPs will no longer ship in Japan today. Sort of ironic, since I'm just starting out.

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