Buying a PSP from Japan: One Fault, One Easy Fix
1d 10h ago by lemmy.world/u/PerfectDark in retrogaming
Another month has passed, and another PSP has been delivered to me (...and another PSP article has been written, one of many!)
One of my favorite things to do is to keep an eye on Mercari via Buyee, and to buy cheap PSPs. When they're listed on there 99% of the time they'll have the word 'junk' attached, which can mean anything from being dusty to not being charged to being totally ruined. I find sifting through what it might be to be super fun.
This one was really cheap for the condition it was in, judging by the pictures they shared of it. The white of the thumbstick was still white, which itself is a super rarity (they get grubby or yellow SO easily!), but it did have one issue, the charger was broken inside the charging port.
Anyway, this really isn't a deep-dive of an article. Or a guide, it was really just an excuse to share what it was like to take a gamble on the 'junk' tag and buy a dead cheap PSP which in the end required a tiny little fix I did.
If you're at all interested, or nostalgic about PSPs then follow my link to read along. Warning, I ramble and haven't written this very well at all:
https://gardinerbryant.com/buying-a-psp-from-japan/
(spoiler, it came out amazingly and works perfectly for a total of like $35.50 USD)
I do the same with Nintendo DS off of eBay. Almost always just something simple.
There's something so satisfying about bringing something back to life too!
Excellent article, very interesting fix! Love the writing style :3
I still have my original PSP! A face button wore out from mashing over the years—my favorite PSP series is DJ Max Portable. I could still get the button to trigger, but it required a horrific amount of force. I disassembled my beloved PSP and did the most terrifying thing I had ever done to a console: I used a hole punch on an old NES sleeve to punch out four circles, then hand-cut a small cross out. I punched a hole in the middle of the cross, then hot-glued the sleeve bits to the D-pad and button contacts inside my PSP.
I put it back together, trying soooo hard not to get dust from the grungy apartment I was living it underneath the screen. Fully assembled, the screen was somehow immaculate! I booted up DJMP2… The buttons that was broken was now working. It was working incredibly. The D-Pad and face buttons are now incredibly sensitive, requiring half, maybe a quarter of the force my other PSPs do!
I love the audio and screen on my Vita, playing games through Adrenaline… But having the big ol’ super sensitive D-Pad and buttons on the PSP makes DJMP infinitely better-feeling to play.
Excellent article, very interesting fix!
Thank you! I think the 'writing style' on my behalf was pure laziness this time, it was just a 'hey here's what happens when you buy a broken one!' kinda tale. But thank you for saying so :)
I LOVE stories like yours, when someone's hope is lost but then they take the dive and go forward with a repair. I'm so glad you not only got yours back in action, but that it was objectively better than before! I suppose I have to go and check out DJMP now?! :)
If you like music games, it’s a HOOT! It’s very difficult at the highest levels but it’s basically IIDX for the PSP. It’s incredible. There’s DJ Max Portable 1, 2, Clazzaquai, and Black Square. I’ve completed the first two and played a chunk of Clazzaquai and BS, and DJMP 2 is easily the best of the bunch for me.
Got any favorite PSP games?