Working with the PSP
PSP game programmers, fanboys/girls, gamers, tech fiends, etc…
Enamoured once again by the PSP as a media delivery platform— particularly for the purpose of creating a PSP-book (magazine-style)—I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has had extensive experience working with the PSP.
I’m particularly interested in: what can be done natively, programming options (and how easy/difficult it is to program for), the UMD transfer process (how is it done? does Sony authorise everything that gets put onto a UMD? what are the rough costs involved?), and the possibilities of running self-contained ‘programs’ from the memory stick…
Limiting parameters would be that, whatever is done, it has to run on a standard PSP (no homebrews), and it needs to be compatible with upgrading firmware. I’m also not too interested in going all hardcore multimedia, as I think one of the true joys of a magazine is that it is something you can work through at your own pace (—and it’s more or less silent!).
If anyone is interested in filling in these blanks, please feel free to leave a comment, or email me at the address at the bottom of this blog.
And if you happen to live in Melbourne (Australia), meeting up for coffee and a chat is definitely a possibility.
(If you can’t see the comments section, click here.)
I’m not an expert, so take my input with a few grains of salt. I would advise you to forget the UMD format entirely. Even Sony has all but admitted that the medium was a miscalculation. Is it worth the headache of seeking (the very few) distribution channels alone? I think Sony (and their users) are just going to go increasingly wifi as the platform moves forward.
As far as programming for it, I don’t view it as being any harder than other platforms. Once you “obtain” the toolchain required to do platform dev, it’s a matter of it being as hard a programming exercise as the problem you’re trying to solve. What applications are you envisioning?
Having said that, I’d certainly support your efforts in any way I can, firstly by buying your future UMD book!