Even considering the entire history of portable game systems, the PlayStation Portable stands out as one of the absolute best. Though often underrated for various reasons, the PSP offered stellar graphics, rich gameplay, and a variety of multimedia options, making it perfect for on-the-go entertainment. More than most of its competition, the PSP actually puts the power of a home console in the palm of your hands, fulfilling the promise of its name. Now, two modders have taken things a step further and have whipped up the “PSP Placeable”, a consolizer mod that turns this high-quality handheld into an equally impressive home console, something that I’m exceptionally happy to see.
PSP Placeable Transforms Portable to Console
As the name implies, the PSP Placeable is a mod that takes your standard PSP and transforms it into a neat, miniature home console that will look great in your home entertainment set-up. Created by two talented modders, Dan and Stephen, who used their respective skills to make an amazing final product. As fans of physical media, one of core design goals of the PSP Placeable was to retain access to the unique UMD media discs, making it far from a digital-only device. Judging from the final mod, it’s clear to see that the pair succeeded in their plans.
For starters, the PSP Placeable is a mod that uses PSP-3000 and PSP-2000 systems, as the original PSP-1000 model is simply not compatible. That said, there are a variety of ways to tackle this project, whether you want to get a pre-installed kit, the custom board, the shell, or any combination. On their website, Retro Mod Works, you can check out all the fancy offerings, which even include a custom modding service where Dan will personally create the mod using your personal PSP. For my build, I was sent the fully assembled mod board and a clean blue shell, but there are various options available depending on your needs.
How to Create the PlayStation Placeable
If you want to tackle the project yourself and make your very own PSP Placeable, the mod is open-source, but I mostly recommend purchasing the parts directly from Retro Mod Works. As always, if you plan on performing this mod yourself, be sure to check out my PSP Placeable video tutorial on YouTube for step-by-step instructions. Once you’ve got your custom board and desired shell, you’re ready to get started, but there’s a bit of prep to consider. Before anything else, be sure to load the custom firmware to your new board (all available on RMW’s website), as it’s much easier to do it now than later.
First things first, you’ll need to tear down your PSP until you have access to the motherboard, and then splice your power cables to fit the new custom board and install the various ribbon cables. From there, you can move onto the shell prep, ensuring to install all the buttons, the retaining bracket, secure the custom board, and seat the midframe. After connecting all the cables to the PSP motherboard from the custom board, you can then secure the PSP itself inside the shell, using various screws from the PSP disassembly. From there, you can basically button up the mod, attaching the top part of the shell and securing it in place. Overall, this is a relatively easy installation that requires minimal soldering, but I still highly recommend using RMW’s tear down and installation steps to avoid any potential mistakes.
The Features, Pros, and Cons of the PlayStation Placeable
The PSP Placeable takes all the great gameplay of the PSP and transfers it to the big screen, bringing along several other features of note. Firstly, the PSP Placeable is compatible with any Bluetooth controller. All you need to do is press the pairing button on the bottom of the shell, then pair it with your desired controller, and you’re good to go. Button remapping is available for any controller, but I recommend using a PS4 or PS5 DualShock. Again, this mod retains use of the UMD slot, so you can use any physical PSP media you have, but jailbroken PSPs will work all the same. It’s nice to still have that tactile element to the console, as it keeps the PSP spirit alive, letting you even watch UMD movies on the big screen.
Overall, I was more than impressed with the PSP Placeable mod. It’s wonderful to be able to experience PSP games on the big screen (and with your preferred controller), and the modding process isn’t all that tough either. Plus, if you have a PSP with a busted screen or buttons, this is a perfect way to salvage the unit. That said, this is a completely reversible mod, so if you decide that you want to revert to the original PSP design, you won’t have any issues. The only real downside is the video scaling, which needs to be tinkered with a bit to fit on your television, but this is more of an issue with the PSP than the mod itself. Other than that, the PSP Placeable is an excellent consolizer mod that opens up the library to new fans and offers a smart way to revive damaged handhelds. If you’re a PSP fan and you’ve always wanted to experience those games on your home TV, the PSP Placeable is arguably the best way to achieve that dream.
