Eh. Either I'm doing it wrong or I'm the only one doing it RIGHT, but after playing literally dozens of PSP games, I've never really found myself looking for the missing stick. Even on the odd shooter like Coded Arms or Battlefront 2 it's worked well enough for me as-is.

No one seems to notice that the software that comes out is made for the system that has one stick. But I'm sure that whatever the next handheld in the line to break compatibility with older ones will have two sticks just to appease all the whiners. And then we'll have a load of handheld games where you have to spend half your inputs babysitting the camera like a PS2 game.

fuchikoma

If he modded that stick to be a second D-Pad, then you could set a control scheme up and make it work. Like if you mapped look to the d-pad and movement to the left analog stick, it'd actually work.

RaepGoblin

@slomo788: Tell that to Nintendo with their constant "rebirths" of the handhelds they go through. ;D

Witzbold

@LittlestLamshi: The lifespan of the console has nothing to do with the appearance of its successor. Yes, Sony releases a console every 7 years but effectively kills each console after 10 years. Next year PS2 will have 10 years, and God of War 2 came out last spring...

slomo788

i hate that song

zombieistired

lol this is pretty awesome

Dauragon C. Mikado

@Witzbold:
agreed

LittlestLamshi

what i dont understand is why sony didnt just put the analog stick on the right side instead of the left. The D-Pad is still used for movement, with many people used to it already, while the right analog stick controls direction. instead, sony decided to have two controls for movement and no control for direction unless you used the face buttons.

mentalboy11

Wow, it's almost as though the comments concerning music and popularity have some parallels in the video game industry!

kuraitenshikun

@Maximus9:
oh my, 10 year life span with a new console released every 6 years or so....

LittlestLamshi

@Kyle81: I so can see folks dropping their PSPs with a layout like that.

Witzbold

WOW...! This is actually what the PSP was supposed to be like. I have both the Old fatter PSP and the PSP 2000 and no matter how light they try to make it they won't ever be able to FPS it correctly with out the second nub. I mean even the DS is great for FPS games with the anolog stylus control scheme. Oh well maybe in another 5-10 years when the PSP 3000 is brought to the market.

JorgieX

@TOCATL: Not really, that really does not look comfortable at all.

Kyle81

sony ripped us off

V12themonster

Hardware modders make me laugh sometimes. I guess its the art of doing something for the challenge, but the practical application of this and many other mods for the psp are just silly.

If anything, it may prod sony into adding OEM functionality for the 3000 series that is coming down the road.

risingphoenix

Once again, Amateur modders > Sony PSP design team...

@notalkjustrock: Or a wiimote or a stylus and a touchscreen, its the d@mn truth fps with analog sticks its just no the same that with proper controls...

TOCATL

@Wolfers: a single stick legacy control scheme doesn't allow for looking up and down or strife. You'd probably be as surprised as I was to learn that "YES" legacy players do use those options. The layout is just natural to them.

SAKY

@DugDawg: Go back to 2005 sir.

How many triple-A titles is it going to take to completely banish the "psp has no gaems" crowd that still seem to pop up in every psp thread?

KurtSubvert

@LittleBigPlaneteer:
Your statement is so true. I had the bad experience of not muting it first...

I think it's safe to say that whatever the next PSP iteration is, it will have dual analog sticks - or Sony is just plain stupid.

Lstormy10

For a southpaw player like myself the PSP layout is a nice slap in the face to all the default FPS control-using jerks who have said crap to me like "just get used to it!" when I have commented about a game not having my preferred control option. Remember N64 and Dreamcast were southpaw also.

@Mark Wilson:

"Still, if you'd like to see how great an FPS would be on the platform with proper controls, hit the jump for a pretty solid video"

To me the PSP is "proper". Left analog for aiming and four buttons are just fine for movement

SAKY

One nub is enough to cripple my left hand. I can't afford to lose both. Yeowch!

How difficult is it to add an eraser stick in between the directional and the symbol buttons? I figure they wanted consistency in design, but taking out a right stick throws that whole theory out.

boopadoo

@LittleBigPlaneteer: I agree. The music is horrible and should be shot. And maybe even the people who like it.

@xyzface: Yes, it is that bad. The same people who like that crap music are the same people who made shitty movies like Napoleon Dynamite a hit movie. It liked balls and so did everyone who liked it.

(Ok, im done with my childish flaming of crappy media.)

Justcrim

@Sorwah:

You are correct , it replaces the action buttons. As it is a custom nub , it acts as a switch reather than a variable resistor like a normal analog stick would.

Pushing up on the stick acts like the pushing of triangle , thus moves the crosshair upwards in an FPS.

Deflicted

Dual analog sticks are definitely cool. This sort of thing makes me want a PSP -- if only it had any games. *Pets Nintendo DS*

DugDawg

Well, it seems they mapped the 4 buttons to the 4 directions of the second nub because in the video the nub is used to confirm things that usualy require a button press. So technicaly EVERY shooter on the PSP which uses the 4 buttons to look supports this mod! Pretty ace. Nicely done.

platinum

It's so... beautiful

FeatherNET

@Wolfers:
For a game that uses two analog sticks, plus all the buttons on a controller, it may be hard/impossibly to adequately map the extra stick to buttons. =/

StupidDufus

@xyzface: Popularity doesn't make it good music.

Spoony Bard

@xyzface:

Biggest song != Quality song

Just my preference though. I hate this song, my gf loves it

LittleBigPlaneteer

The music is bad.

That aside, there is a Ghost in the Shell FPS on PSP?! Awesome.

Yuki

Mmm, might just be me but that looks really uncomfortable.

Zenax

@LittleBigPlaneteer: the music is fine one of the biggest songs at the mo so it musnt be that bad

xyzface

What do you mean that no games support it? Its obvious that he just has the button commands mapped to the second analog nub. Down = Cross, Left = Square, Right = Circle, Up = Triangle.

It's for that reason that I'm wondering why he didn't show off an example using Me & My Katamari.

Sorwah

Maybe the PSP2 will include 2 nubs, or something just as good. I definitely would like to see that happen. And yes, why Sony didn't include 2 nubs in the first place is one of the great mysteries in life.

GlossGreen

it does look a lot more natural than using the buttons, but it's only analogue to the touch, not in action.
so there's no reason this can't be used for whatever other titles they want.
it looks like the stick just hits the triangle/circle/square/x buttons

Lion

halopsp?

Darthearl

Sony NEEDS to watch this video.

Gadgetron

@illmatic291:

Proof of concept I guess. Like the DS emulator for PSP (that's too slow and doesn't have touchscreen/microphone support, naturally).

Personally, I just want to have a click-nub rather than the flat nub that the PSP currently has, even if storage would be harder.

Byakko

@illmatic291: what's the point of showing how you can use your brain to control a game when no game supports it

Bleentastic sees bandwagon and jumps

'Still, if you'd like to see how great an FPS would be on the platform with proper controls'

Let's not go around saying dual analog sticks are 'proper controls' for FPS games.

ErskinPig

Don't expect to see a new PSP2 soon, someone at Sony recently said (can't remember where I saw it) that PSP also is looking at a 10yr lifecycle. I buy the PS3 having that, not sure about the PSP - needs a HD and dual sticks.

Maximus9

Proper controls for an FPS? I don't see a mouse.

notalkjustrock

@illmatic291:

For people who use Custom Firmware/Homebrew

LittleBigPlaneteer

No games support 2 analogs sticks, whats the point.

illmatic291

Oh god the music is terrible people. Make sure to mute that shit before playing. Other than that, this is a cool freaking mod.

LittleBigPlaneteer

I'm tellin' ya, a revamped PSP with dual nubs would be great. All the new games could just support a legacy control scheme for the older models. Why they chose the Dreamcast's button layout is beyond me.

Wolfers

PSP should have shipped with dual analog sticks...

enspik

I can play Goldeneye with analog :p lawl

-AS

Archaic Stigma

God, the music was awful.

Also, judging from what I could make of his reflection the modder who did this video appears to be a robot.

strideo

I'd give that big booty a slam.

Ahh, ebonics.

Bernard McGraw

@KurtSubvert: agreed. I find it laughable that people STILL cry about that after God of War just came out. Not to mention Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Wipeout Pulse and a number of other quality titles. At this point it is safe to say that PSP has a library that has secured it as one of the best handhelds ever conceived and has titles that are made for the unit that you can't get on any other handheld.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

I never quite understood the dual analog nub argument. Looking at this build, using the dual analog setup would only allow you to use the left shoulder and right should buttons. that's great for a fire button and maybe an action or jump button. but what about secondary fire, grenades or mines, items...? I dunno, seems pointless to me. Especially since the analog nubs on the PSP (as well as the PS3 for that matter) are not good for incremental movement. 360 analogs are better, Gamecube controllers and wavebirds have always been better. Dual analog nubs that don't allow enough incremental movement isn't good. You can't gauge your opponents movements like you need to in a FPS. PSP-2 needs some kind of touch interface. DS got it right with the touch screen and FPS even though it wasn't new tech or a new implementation. Sony just needs a touch interface with a better design to avoid cramping. Forget the dual analog set up. It makes auto-aim a necessity which takes away from real skillz.

@SAKY: you just described the old Turok layout that pretty much defined FPS gaming in the 64/PS era.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@fuchikoma: Nah I agree with you, never found it to be an issue to be honest. There are so many games that AREN'T fps out for it that I'm not exactly crying out for one to try either. I quite like the controls, I find the nub far better than the PS2 analog sticks.

TearsandScreams

@SAKY: lol yeah dude, southpaw here too. Always liked the Turok/Goldeneye/Perfect Dark/Quake 64 control scheme. Not sure if I can use it now though. Too used to the WiiMote/M/kb and the Splitfish to go back. I dunno...maybe if we got that Goldeneye rerelease on Live or VC....:-?

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@fuchikoma: I hear you. I was thinking the same until some of the most recent releases. Ninja Gaiden is a good example of what happens when developers devote real time, money and talent to DS. I'm loving that game. I really liked Hotel Dusk 215 and I have Zelda: PH to finish, Advanced Wars to get and Final Fantasy CC to pick up. So the gems I can appreciate in the otherwise suspect library are good enough for me.

PSP, well, I'm a huge Monster Hunter fan and can say that I've been playing the first two for the last two years. Monster Hunter 2 G is probably going to be another few months of play before the Wii version comes out. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is hands down on of the best handheld games ever made that has a absolutely kick ass online component that offers as much as a full console release. Can't wait to play Logan's Shadow. Wipeout Pulse is awesome, God of War is unbelievable and I'm still trying to find Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops.

So yeah...I'm loving the portables and have been since both launches.

Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: still play southpaw and have no trouble smaking dat arse!

SAKY

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: southpaw=Turok Legacy=Goldeneye

SAKY

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.:

It's just a meme at this point. It'll never die... people will always say that the PSP, PS3, and probably anything else Sony has no games. Usually in the same breath they'll claim the DS or even Wii is just overflowing with them. It's a matter of taste and prejudice.

I have a DS lite and PSPs, and they're both packed with games, even good ones, from pretty nearly each's launch. Personally I find most DS games lose appeal after the initial wow factor. It's a good system, I'm just a bit out of the target demographic it seems.

fuchikoma

@ Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: yea LS is a better story but DM vets might want syphonfilter CO...

hassan_al_bitar

@Striderhayasa - Phillyyakk on PSN and Live.: dude alt-controls.com...my site

SAKY

It seems the guy installed the analog stick as an option to the 4 buttons... so here's the question: Would this work with Katamary for PSP?
Because if it does, that alone would be a really good excuse to try this mod.

I mean, I don't see how it would be fun to play katamary with one analog stick only.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

this is SOO old news.
And I have seen both Nubs working. :S

jx1

Old news is SO exciting!

xMaverick

It seems to be put in a very awkward place? :S

Anyway, the PSP's core design has a slight offset for the face buttons, thus screwing up this mod emensly

AntiZERO

Sounds like a lot of people here don't actually have a PSP and didn't play FPS on the N64. Advanced controls FTW. Especially when they're used in Syphon Filter.

pylon_trooper

kinda pointless no?

majatt

All they did was replace the four face buttons with an "analogue stick" that presses the same buttons when you move it around. It's not analogue at all. ;)

AleeYun

@AleeYun: If you go by the technical definition for an analogue game stick neither is the actual analogue on a PSP.....it's run by two digital sliders.

krunkjuice

Oh hay, an ever bulkier and more unwieldy version of the PSP. Awesome! I can't wait to play PS2 ports on this!

Brill

@notalkjustrock:
ofcourse not lol.

Kritikul