PlayStation Portable emulators

PlayStation Portable

PSP-1000
Developer	Sony
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Seventh generation
Release date	2004
Discontinued	2014
Predecessor	PocketStation
Successor	PlayStation Vita
Emulated	✓

For emulators that run on the PlayStation Portable, see Emulators on PSP.

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console made by Sony. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005. It was retailed for $249. It had a MIPS R4000 CPU at 333 MHz with 32 MBs of RAM. Later revisions of the PSP came with 64 MBs of RAM, allowing for faster load times.

The PSP had one of the most active modding scenes of any handheld console starting from the very early days of its life, utilized for homebrew, emulation, and piracy. Additionally, the PSP's software architecture that required the use of Sony's static libraries for many console functions made the simple and fast HLE approach both reasonable and accurate. Emulation efforts began as early as 2006, with games booting two years later, although overall game compatibility was poor. This early work was used as a basis for PPSSPP at the start of the 2010s, which has developed PSP emulation into a polished, fast, and accurate experience.

Emulators

Name	Platform(s)	Latest Version	Enhancements	Hardware features	Compatibility	License	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
PPSSPP		Dev Builds Dev Builds (Artifacts) libretro core 1.17.1	✓	~	84% 3288 out of 3905 reported titles	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✓	✓
JPCSP		2024-08	~	~	78% 837 out of 1068 reported titles	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	~*	~*
cspspemu		git	✗	✗	?	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✗	✗
jspspemu		git	✗	✗	?	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✗	✗
PCSP		0.5.5	✗	✗	?	Proprietary	✗	✗
Potemkin		1.00 Alpha	✗	✗	?	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✗	✗
PSPE		0.9b	✗	✗	?	Proprietary	✗	✗
Mobile / ARM
PPSSPP		Dev Builds Dev Builds (Artifacts) 1.17.1 0.1 Pyra libretro core	✓	~	84% 3219 out of 3820 reported titles	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✓	✓
PSPe+ (PPSSPP fork)		3.2.1	✗	✗	?	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✗	✗
DamonPSP (呆萌PSP模拟器)			✗	✗		Proprietary (stolen PPSSPP code)	✓	✗
Console
Adrenaline		6.61	~	~	?*	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	~	✓
PPSSPP		Switch Xbox 360 Wii U libretro core	✓	~	84% 3219 out of 3820 reported titles	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	~	✓
Official Sony emulators		psp_emulator (PS3) SYRUP (PS4/PS5)	✗	✗	48% 414 out of 854 reported titles (PS3) 26% 52 out of 195 reported titles (PS4/PS5)	Proprietary	~	~

Comparisons

PPSSPP

An HLE approach PSP emulator and released in November 2012. Compatibility is higher than JPCSP and games runs significantly faster. Despite limitations in its PSP hardware feature support, PPSSPP shines as an emulator with impressive enhancement capabilities. The emulator is currently capable of playing the vast majority of the PSP library, while remaining 3687 titles are still unreported.

JPCSP

An LLE approach PSP emulator, and it requires the Java Runtime Environment to be installed. It is also slower compared to PPSSPP, and it was built around debugging and was never really meant to be a standard emulator. They made it so they could understand the PSP's inner workings better. Thanks to the JPCSP team, and other PSP homebrew teams, PPSSPP developed at breakneck speeds. Both teams communicate a lot and contribute with each other.

Official Sony emulators

Emulating some of the PSP library of games is possible with a Jailbroken PS3. Using the unlocked firmware's internal PSP emulator, there are 2 available modes: Remaster & Mini's we can utilize each giving different result depending on the title. See this guide for more information.

Hardware features

Name		PPSSPP	JPCSP	Adrenaline
Connectivity	PS2 communication	✗*	✗*	~*
	PS3 communication	✗*	✗*	~*
	PlayStation Network	✗	?	✗
	Ad-Hoc	✓	✓	✓
	Infrastructure	WIP	?	~*
	Infrastructure LAN*	✗	?	✗
	Game Sharing	✗	?	?
	Infrared	✓	✗	✗
Peripherals	Camera	✓*	?	?
	Microphone	~*	?	?
	GPS	✓	?	?
	1Seg/DMB TV Tuner	✗	?	?
External Controller Vibration*		✗	?	✗
PSOne Classics*		✗	✗	✓
PlayStation minis and Digital PSP titles		✓	✓	✓*
UMD Music UMD Video UMD-PG		✗	~	✗
XMB and apps		✗	~	✓

Connectivity

PSP supports local multiplayer on the same network via Ad-Hoc and local multiplayer over the internet with XLink Kai (see setup guide). PSP also supports online multiplayer using private servers via Infrastructure mode.

• PPSSPP supports local multiplayer on the same network[1] and local multiplayer over the internet[2][3] via Ad-Hoc PRO Online. However there is no support for XLink Kai at the moment. Infrastructure mode emulation support is in work-in-progress, see this issue page for more information.
• JPCSP supports local multiplayer on the same network and local multiplayer over the internet via XLink Kai.

See these sources for Ad-Hoc PRO Online compatibility list and revived private servers for Infastructure mode;

• Ad-Hoc local wireless connection compatibility list, Ad-Hoc local wireless multiplayer over internet servers for PPSSPP. See LAN Tunneling programs for more information about LAN Tunneling.
• Infrastructure-compatible PSP games with revived private server for online multiplayer, see Preservation projects page for more information about private server revive projects.

PlayStation 3 communication

Adhoc Party support, remote play (via the PS3 system's wireless LAN), copying games to play on a PSP system that can be played on either PS3 or PSP systems etc.

Using remote play (via the PS3 system's wireless LAN)

Copying games to play on a PSP system that can be played on either PS3 or PSP systems

UMD Music, UMD Video and UMD-PG

During the era of the PlayStation Portable (PSP), "UMD Movie" was more common as it represented the main function of the format but as UMD adoption expanded beyond movies and included other types of video content such as TV shows, music videos, and documentaries, "UMD Video" became a more generic term to encompass the full range of applications. While UMD primarily focused on movies and video content, there was also some limited use of the format for UMD Music. However, it wasn't nearly as widespread as movie or other UMD Video content. UMD-PG on the other hand stands for UMD-Players Game, and it was used for a unique type of interactive media released on UMDs for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

• PPSSPP has no UMD Video or UMD-PG support at the moment: UMD Movie request and UMD Video and UMD-PG request for PPSSPP. See PPSSPP FAQ: Can PPSSPP play UMD video discs? section.
• JPCSP has partial UMD Video support (demonstration). Also see UmdVideoPlayer.java for how it's implemented.
• Adrenaline never had UMD Video support.

See this dedicated page for more information about interactive media and home media playback support for emulation softwares.

See Ripping games.

XMB and apps

Vsh psp emulation using JPCSP emulator

PSDevWiki: XrossMediaBar

The XrossMediaBar (pronounced "cross-media bar" and officially abbreviated as XMB) is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. You can launch various applications from this interface as well.

• PPSSPP do not support XMB, but for better immersion with XMB-like interface there are additional UI features for PPSSPP such as;

• You can use custom sound files for PPSSPP UI and game list navigation feedback sounds. Also you can use custom sound files for RetroAchievement notifications, for setting these up you need to set "Settings> UI Sounds: On", "UI Background animation: Waves" and "Theme: Default", after these you need to change .wav files from "\PPSSPP\assets" directory with your custom .wav files. Also there is a feature request for intro sound implementation to PPSSPP UI similar to XMB (concept demonstration).
• PPSSPP supports music playback when a game selected in the menu screen similar to XMB, but currently there is no video support on this screen for PPSSPP UI as "hrydgard" mentioned in that pull request.
• PPSSPP supports background wallpaper change when when a game selected in the menu screen similar to XMB.
• PPSSPP's UI font could be changed if you want. For this you need to change .TTF font file from "\PPSSPP\assets" directory with your custom .TTF font file but it needs to be renamed as “Roboto-Condensed.ttf” just like original PPSSPP one (easiest solution).

• JPCSP is able to boot the official PSP VSH interface, though the menus are not yet working properly, it is currently only an alpha release.

• Booting VSH in JPCSP Guide.

Enhancements

Name		PPSSPP	JPCSP	Adrenaline
Graphics	Resizable Internal Resolution	✓	✓	?
	Ultrawide hack Widescreen already supported on PSP system. But there is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 and 32:9.	✓	?	✗
	Texture Replacement	✓	✗	?
	Pre-rendering AA (MSAA, SSAA)	✓*	?	?
	Ray-tracing (DXR, VRT and MRT)	Implementing ray-tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. However you can try "Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination" shader using ReShade.[4][5]
	Super-resolution techniques (DLSS, XeSS and FSR 2+)	Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors so it's quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides any GPU that can use DLSS can run PPSSPP at 8k native with ease anyway.
	RTX Remix	Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. Besides, PPSSPP already supports most of RTX Remix features such as texture replacement and post-processing effects etc. On top of that you can use ReShade for post-processing.
Performance	Overclock	✓	?	?
	Internal Framerate Hack	✓	?	?
	Frame generation technologies (LSFG, DLSS-G, ExtraSS and AFMF)	Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as motion interpolation is quite possible. Input latency will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique employed, it's recommended to use after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack". While AFMF or LSFG can be used with PPSSPP, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
	Preload optical disc image to RAM For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement might offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when disc images reside on a network drive. Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.	✓	?	?
	Rendering latency reduction technologies (LatencyFleX, Reflex and Anti-Lag+)	While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is likely doesn't offer enough benefit to justify the development effort.
Post-Processing	Post-rendering AA (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)	✓	?	?
	Post-rendering scaling (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1)	✓	?	?
	Filters	✓	?	?
	AI-powered filter compatible (Freestyle)	?	?	✗
	Shader Chain	✓*	✗	✗
	Inverse tone mapping compatible	?	?	✗
TAS features	Macros/Scripts/Lua	✓*	?	✗
	Rewind	✓*	?	✗*
	Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed	✓	?	~*
	Savestates	✓	?	✓*
	Movie recording/playback	~	?	✗
Controls	True/dual analog control	✓*	?	?
	Mouse Injector Compatible	✓*	✗	✗
	Input lag-mitigating technique	✗*	✗	✗
Quality of life	Built-in mod editor and manager	✗	✗	✗
	Built-in Cheat Manager	✓	?	✗
	Built-in Patch Manager	?	?	?
	Streamable compression format	✓	✗	✗
	Per-Game Profiles	✓*	?	?
	Command Line Options	✓*	?	?
	Variable Refresh Rate compatible	?	?	?
	Big Picture Mode	✓	✗	✓
Misc	Free Look Free Look is a enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera.	PPSSPP VR is a PPSSPP build for the Oculus Rift that lets you actually be inside PSP games. You are not playing on a virtual handheld or screen, you are inside the virtual world. Also there is a feature request for adding VR capabilities to PPSSPP windows builds. See Virtual Reality page for more information about PPSSPP VR build.
	EmuVR support	Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment.
	AI Service With the help of OCR and other techniques, the AI service can provide a live translation of a game, or text-to-speech capabilities for the visually impaired among other things, either on demand or automatically.	Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment.
	RetroAchievements	✓	✗	✗
	Debug Features	✓	✓	✗

Emulation issues

For more information about PSP hardware and reverse engineering;

• MVG: PSP in 2023, How the Sony Playstation Portable PSP Security was defeated, A closer look at the Sony PSP DTP-T1000 Development Kit, Another look at the Sony PSP GO Handheld in 2018
• Rodrigo Copetti's PSP Architecture Practical Analysis
• PPSSPP: Blog, Discord
• PSDevWiki - PSP

References

• PPSSPP Wii-U Compatibility
• PPSSPP Pandora Compatibility
• PSP Minis List