Sony PSP
Ranked 7 of 18 handheld game consoles by recommenders
Owners recommend the PSP for its strong game library, easy modding and emulator support, and nostalgia. Critics point to bloating batteries and Wi-Fi that lacks WPA2 and WPA3.
Owners recommend the PSP for its strong game library, easy modding and emulator support, and nostalgia. Critics point to bloating batteries and Wi-Fi that lacks WPA2 and WPA3.
20 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 65%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 20 years
Median of the 4 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy to mod and run emulators
“The PSP was so easy to mod and run pirated games and emulators with that I'm not sure if I've ever tried to run a UMD in the one I have.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “The lost joy of music piracy” “I fondly remember loading up a janky version of MAME that only ran Pac-Man via the newly discovered kxploit on my PSP”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” “as it had an r3k interpreter/loader for PSX games”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “IRIX 3dfx Voodoo driver and glide2x IRIX port” Fond childhood memories
“I fondly remember loading up a janky version of MAME that only ran Pac-Man via the newly discovered kxploit on my PSP”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” “there's something quite nostalgic about holding the console you had as a kid”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” Strong game library from big studios
“what using PSP, PSP Vita, Game Gear, and all others have in convenience, battery, and game library”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Nintendo DS code editor and scriptable game engine” “supported by the biggest studios and had amazing games - no equivalent device exists today”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking” “Way more modern, easier to find games for, and way cheaper as well”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” Nice hardware design and size
“the PSP had nice hardware design going for it”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” “the right size to be played everywhere”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Batteries bloat and swell
“Barrel jack charger, some of the worse sticks ever made, and infamous battery bloating.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Why Everyone's Picking Up a PSP Again in 2026” “the battery in them consistently turn into a rather spicy pillow”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “PSPi 6 – Raspberry Pi in a PSP” Wi-Fi lacks WPA2 and WPA3
“my PSP from <20 years ago doesn't support WPA2 or 3 and therefore can't talk to my home wifi”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “The Ferrari of Espresso Machines Is Fueling a Hot Resale Market” “my PSP's WiFi capabilities”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “56k.rip – the 1996 dial-up internet experience”
Other handheld game consoles people recommend
The four most recommended other handheld game consoles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | 143 | 103 | 58% | 12 | 8 yrs12 owners | — |
| Playdate handheld console | 43 | 15 | 74% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Sony PlayStation Portable | 24 | 4 | 86% | 5 | 21 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Nintendo 3DS | 21 | 6 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Sony PSPThis page | 13 | 7 | 65% | 6 | 20 yrs4 owners | — |
What people said
21 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have a first run PSP (complete with dead pixels when it was brand new).”
“the battery in them consistently turn into a rather spicy pillow”
“my PSP's WiFi capabilities”
“Things like Google's PSP already achieve that while still being hardware acceleratable”
“still working well-enough with its still-flat lipo cell from 2008”
“The PSP was so easy to mod and run pirated games and emulators with that I'm not sure if I've ever tried to run a UMD in the one I have.”
“trying to get everyone to buy UMDs for their movies and store music on memory sticks”
“it wouldn't load. I was quite disappointed.”
“I remember even the loading/downloading screens looking so futuristic on the PSP.”
“Way more modern, easier to find games for, and way cheaper as well”
“the right size to be played everywhere”
“it'll feel nothing like the actual PSP”
“Barrel jack charger, some of the worse sticks ever made, and infamous battery bloating.”
“there's something quite nostalgic about holding the console you had as a kid”
“I fondly remember loading up a janky version of MAME that only ran Pac-Man via the newly discovered kxploit on my PSP”
“there is a pretty strong aftermarket ecosystem for them”
“the PSP had nice hardware design going for it”
“my PSP from <20 years ago doesn't support WPA2 or 3 and therefore can't talk to my home wifi”
“as it had an r3k interpreter/loader for PSX games”
“what using PSP, PSP Vita, Game Gear, and all others have in convenience, battery, and game library”
“supported by the biggest studios and had amazing games - no equivalent device exists today”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.