Chapter 14. Twelve Cool Homebrew Programs

Homebrew software isn't a big deal for computer users. Independently developed programs are all over the Internet, and happy computer users download them, hope they don't have viruses, and install them without fear of voiding the warranties on their computers.

With the PSP, things are a little different. Sure, homebrew exists; hundreds of games and applications are available for download, but Sony looks down on using them. No one has come right out and said that homebrew is illegalunless it consists of pirated softwarebut it's certainly not as simple as installing and running it. In fact, legitimate programs often try to coerce you into upgrading the firmware, and new firmware inevitably contains code to thwart the use of homebrew.

A demo for the game LocoRoco, recently released at this writing, is not only available, but also heavily hyped on Sony's Web site at www.us.playstation.com/PSP. Without homebrew-unfriendly firmware version 2.71, you can't run it. There are no known version changers or other hacks to make the demo run on earlier firmware, and for that reason, homebrew users shouldn't download it.

If you ask me, I think Sony should make it easy to run homebrew. After all, the PSP is an open-ended device with all sorts of capabilities; why not let users exploit their PSPs to the fullest? In fact, I'd like to see commercial UMD releases of collections of the best in homebrew; give the authors their due.

Unless that unlikely product actually comes to market, you'll need to run homebrew in one of two ways: hacking your PSP by using the eloader compatible with original copies of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for firmware versions 2.00 to 2.60, or by running easier-to-use hacks for earlier firmware revisions.

If a "best of homebrew" UMD ever were released, you can bet that it would contain some of the apps and games listed in this chapter. Having tried dozens of homebrew programs, I believe that these are among the best currently available.

The apps here all worked fine for me on my version 2.60 PSP. As homebrew can be unpredictable and doesn't come with any guarantees or warranties, your mileage may vary.

I don't list any copyrighted software in this chapter. Although Doom, Quake, Mario, and other franchises have been ported, I'll leave it to you to find such titles yourself, if you dare.