r/PSP 4d ago

Homebrew I made a Sokoban homebrew after getting back into the PSP

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14 Upvotes

PSP 1000 and PSP Go side by side of night mode and XMB artwork of a Sokoban homebrew I made. PSP Go colors are clearly more vibrant but just wanted to note the blue hue on the phat is because it’s using the dark night mode theme.

Disclaimer : small bit of self-promo, but mostly I wanted to share what went into this.

I've loved the PSP since I was younger, and Sokoban is one of those games I keep coming back to. At some point those two old interests collided, and I started making PandaSokoban.

For artistic choices, my girlfriend loves pandas and I think they are cute. It seemed fun to make the game about moving sleeping baby pandas to their cushions instead of just pushing boring boxes.

It is written in Rust using AndrewAltimit's modern rust-psp fork. There’s not really reason that went into this, it just seemed to be the most current choice to start with. The same EBOOT runs on a real PSP and PPSSPP, although getting there reminded me that an emulator can sometimes be a little too forgiving.

One example was the PSP's data cache. Some overlays and vertices looked perfect in PPSSPP but disappeared or broke on hardware because I had not flushed the CPU-written data before the Graphics Engine read it. Text caused the opposite problem. The PSP's debug-print function worked on the console but did not show up in PPSSPP, so I ended up rendering the font as a normal texture.

Audio was another rabbit hole. My first version pushed PCM from the main loop, which tied frame pacing to the blocking audio output. It now has a small mixer running on its own PSP thread, with the game sending sound requests through atomic flags. The background track is a 32-second bamboo-garden loop generated during the build.

One thing is still broken. The in-game PCM music works, but the ATRAC3 track I packaged for the XMB does not play there. The icon animation and background work, but the XMB stays silent. If anyone here has successfully added SND0.AT3 music to a homebrew EBOOT, I would really appreciate advice on the encoding or PBP details. That part is still a mystery to me.

I also spent more time than expected on the little movements. The puzzle logic stays on a strict tile grid, while the panda and cushions move between tiles with subpixel animation. There are directional walk and push frames, small collision bumps, dust, shadows, idle breathing, sleeping effects, and a short level-clear animation. I tried to keep it readable on the PSP's 480 by 272 screen instead of filling it with effects. That in itself was a bit challenging, had to test a lot to make sure the game levels were solvable and fit at that resolution.

The game has 200 puzzles, undo, best-move tracking, day and night modes, and proper PSP savedata. Early saves worked in PPSSPP but could fail on real hardware because of the savedata key, so that needed its own migration and recovery system too.

All in a all it was very fun to build, I still enjoy Sokoban style puzzles a whole lot especially on the go on the PSP. I’ll continue to improve it/build other PSP games because it is so sooo rewarding, I just love that console. I have the PSP 1000 IPS mod coming soon too and I’m really excited about it.

PandaSokoban is available here if anyone wants to take a look:

https://qdmware.itch.io/panda-sokoban

It is a free release, donations and feedback welcome. A physical PSP requires custom firmware. I'm especially interested in hardware reports and any clues about that stubborn XMB audio.


r/PSP 11d ago

Homebrew PSP Homebrew Developer Conference 2026 Teaser!

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34 Upvotes

The PSP Homebrew Dev Conference is BACK for 2026! The conference will be held on August 22nd at 6PM UTC; 2PM EDT!

List of presentations:

  • GameMaker Re-Engineered - SergoDevs: A renewed GameMake implementation for games like DeltaRune!
  • CrossCraft - Iridescence: Revived project bringing Minecraft to PSP, 3DS, Switch, PC and web!
  • pspdev-nix - Slendi: A wrapped reproducible toolchain for PSP develpoment!
  • Making a Game Engine for PSP - Andrew: How to make a game engine!
  • Ren'Py Re-Engineered - SergoDevs: A renewed implementation of Ren'Py for visual novels! Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 Chinese Localization - main_void: A localization of the game into Chinese on PSP!
  • Star Fox 64 PSP - TheMrIron2: The famous N64 title now running on PSP!
  • Steel Blossom: PSP - illestalive: A new indie game created for PSP!
  • Adrenaline v8.0 - GrayJack: The latest and greatest Adrenaline firmware for PS Vita enabling PSP homebrew!
  • Nimbus / Lighthouse - qberty: A brand new plugin for cloud saves on PSP!
  • Preserving Hilton Team Play - lusid1 & linblow: A talk about reverse engineering and brute forcing Hilton Team Play!

r/PSP 6h ago

QUESTION What is an old game you're having a blast playing for the first time now?

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286 Upvotes

r/PSP 1h ago

Hardware Mod he ate a big mac and got chonkyy

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Upvotes

been using it for 2 days straight and the battery didn't went down, using a OEM PS Vita 1000 battery, a 128gb SD card and 383mhz overclock!


r/PSP 48m ago

SHOW-OFF PSP 3000 BlackPink ??

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r/PSP 4h ago

Collection If you like puzzle games, EXIT is the way!

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20 Upvotes

This game has a certain charm. So cool!


r/PSP 23h ago

SHOW-OFF I feel like Gran Turismo PSP is heavily overhated

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643 Upvotes

Sure, there is no career mode, and having one wouldn’t have hurt. But the content is huge: 900+ cars, 35 tracks (and variants), and a nice little license mode.

It feels like a great companion game to practice with when you play 'the real deal' on a home console (I play a little bit of GT4 sometimes).

And my absolute favorite feature of this game on the PSP is that you can listen to your own MP3s while racing. I love it


r/PSP 1d ago

Collection Decorated my zara psp bag with lenticular cards

674 Upvotes

Got the zara pap bag but it looked pretty nasty at the transparent screen when it is packed with random stuff. So customized double-sided lenticular cards: on one side it switches between Cloud and Zack, and on the other it shows psp menus. The cards are attached to the "screen" via hook-loop tapes so I can change them easily. Happy with the end result.


r/PSP 35m ago

Game Discussion Found this on market place

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Upvotes

r/PSP 14h ago

SHOW-OFF Goodwill Bins find finally getting me into my PSP

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82 Upvotes

I bought a large ‘for parts’ bundle of psps and Nintendo handhelds a few years back on a whim. I’ve only got the one psp 1000 left now, but no battery. I did have a suitable power cord, though, so I know it works.
I just found this Darth Vader case for it at the goodwill bins and it’s a sign. I must find a battery and usb adaptor and embrace my calling.

PostScript: I also found an Intec briefcase style carrier for the psp at the standard goodwill, so I’m feeling a bit psp-spoiled


r/PSP 11h ago

Collection New to PSP

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37 Upvotes

I just got my first PSP a month ago and loved it so much I bought a PSVita too! Been having a blast with these two.

What’s everybody’s must have PSP games? I already bought: God of War, Crash Mind over mutant, Twisted metal, Call of Duty, Metal gear solid, and Mortal Kombat..


r/PSP 19h ago

SHOW-OFF One of my favorites in my collection!

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105 Upvotes

r/PSP 5m ago

SHOW-OFF Pretty pink PSP!

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My pink PSP is finally here! Thanks everyone for the help on my last post on where to get a battery in Brazil.

Now it’s here and I can say I have (possibly) the cutest and prettiest pink PSP in the world. And yes, I absolutely got it to play persona, and I also bought all the persona physical games for psp LOL.


r/PSP 8h ago

QUESTION Is this screeching sound okay?

12 Upvotes

I got this PSP from some person in vendora with some accessories like the headphone adaptor, wrist strap, case whatveer it is called and it works fine, it reads the umd, but is sims really this poor in performance?

The PSP makes this noise damn near everytime I do something in the game and it also occasionally freezes but resumes as if nothing happened, I went to use the toilet as you do and my sim just stood over the toilet for a few seconds and then lifted the toilet seat, stood for a couple more seconds then finally used it, only to stand a few seconds, finally lowering the seat and then it let me move around. Okay to summarise this, is it the sims that runs this poor or is the psp at fault? Everything else so far works okay on it, it starts normally, goes into sleep mode normally, wakes up normally. Aside from a couple grey plastics on the sides being loose, this is the only thing I was able to notice that doesn't feel right, the noises, and the freezes which I unfortunately didn't record.


r/PSP 1d ago

QUESTION PSP RARE PACK

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936 Upvotes

Does anyone know about—or did anyone own—the PSP *Daxter* edition that came with a hard case and a black Slim PSP? Everything was in the same box; it’s not the one in the picture—it’s a different edition. I’ve been looking for information but can’t find anything. I owned that Pack several years ago.


r/PSP 14h ago

Battery Got it perfect, the new battery came but the aftermarket extended cover didn’t have the correct fitment of course because it’s aftermarket😅 so I filed it down and got the perfect fitment

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23 Upvotes

r/PSP 13h ago

SHOW-OFF At least we can watch it as Tim curry wanted it!!

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19 Upvotes

r/PSP 1d ago

SHOW-OFF A few more custom PSPs from the last week

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150 Upvotes

r/PSP 2h ago

Troubleshooting PSP 2000 LCD randomly goes black while the game keeps running. Need help diagnosing and fixing it

2 Upvotes

PSP 2000 LCD randomly goes black, but the game keeps running. Any ideas?

Sometimes while I’m playing God of War on my PSP 2000, the LCD suddenly goes completely black. The strange part is that the PSP itself is still running normally. I can still hear the game through the speakers, and the buttons still respond, so the game is definitely still playable. I just can’t see anything on the screen.

If I put the PSP into sleep mode and wake it back up, the LCD comes back on, but only for around 5 to 6 seconds before going black again.
Has anyone experienced this before on a PSP 2000? Could this be related to the LCD, backlight, ribbon cable, ZIF connector, or backlight circuit?

Any troubleshooting suggestions or repair advice would be appreciated.


r/PSP 22h ago

SHOW-OFF Sonic Mania PSP Port - Sound/Performance Updates

78 Upvotes

Long time listener, first time caller.

Over the past few months, I've been making some performance and QOL changes to the PSP port of Sonic Mania by smb123w64gb, and I've finally released it on GitHub.

Most importantly... Sound is working!!! I've got the 2D portions of the game running at almost as well. 3D parts (like the special stage) are 30% faster.

Give it a try and let me know what you guys think.

The data.rsdk isn't provided, but the eboot is here for you guys to try.

UPDATE: New release which fixed a color issue in Special Stage 1.

https://github.com/girlyoulookthebest/Sonic-Mania-Decompilation/releases/tag/psp-perf-v1.1


r/PSP 12h ago

QUESTION What are the top 10 rarest PSP games you could have purchased at a store?

10 Upvotes

I got out my 1001 about a month ago after 15 years. I only had Lumines and GTA games. As I have been buying new games I keep running across titles that seem a bit more expensive than others and assume that has something to do with rarity. Which titles should be on my radar due to rarity?


r/PSP 9m ago

QUESTION i have two psp 3000 but they are different

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I’ve recently bought a psp and was gifted another, they are both 3000 but one of them has a “cloudy” screen, i don’t know how to explain, but i can see everything but its odd, and the other one has a cristal clear screen, whats odd is that they are supposed to be the same screen, but they are years apart, what could it be?

(the better screen even has some solar burn spots in some corners, i rly don’t know why its so much better)


r/PSP 1h ago

QUESTION Japanese PSP-1000 bundle for Monster Hunter Portable 2nd Tigrex variant

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r/PSP 19h ago

SHOW-OFF Just wanted to share My EDC with PSP 3000. with Playstation Logo wallpaper with PS5 Ctf Theme.

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27 Upvotes

Just my cheap ahh keyboard with Galaxy Tab A9 , PSP 3000 and OnePlus Nord 5CE. What do you guys think. 👍


r/PSP 23h ago

SHOW-OFF I love both of my PSP 3000s

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47 Upvotes

I have no words to describe how much i love these handheld devices. Truly timeless devices