Unleashing the full potential of the PSTV and PS Vita

Back in the days when the PlayStation TV (PSTV) was announced, I was excited. The PSTV is basically a consolized version of the Playstation Vita (PSV), with some minor changes along the way. The specs are about the same, with some differences regarding the internal storage, but besides that, they perform equally. That said, the PSTV failed to deliver, where one of the main issues was that a big share of the PSV games was not compatible with the PSTV and therefore "blacklisted". This was mainly because of the missing front and back -touchscreen features from the PSV when playing with a PS3 controller, which was the official controller to use with the PSTV at that time. With the firmware update 3.10, the DualShock 4 controller - which has a touchpad - was supported on the PSTV, but this was not enough to fix the overall downsides of the PSTV and the huge list of blacklisted games. Another issue had to do with Sony's proprietary memorycard – used on both the PSV and PSTV - which was very expensive compared to a regular micro SD card with similar storage capacity.

The PSTV had a somewhat short lifespan and never really caught on and was discontinued in 2015/2016.

Concurrently with all of this, the modding scene saw a big potential in the PSTV, since it is more or less a PSV with some different features. The PSV was already a popular console for modders / hackers, and over time there have been some great homebrew apps developed, releasing the full potential of the unit fixing some of the biggest drawbacks.

Some years ago I did hack my PSTV with the software that was available at that time. But over the years there has been developed even more great software and hardware to truly turn the PSTV into a great home console.

In this article, I want to show my PSTV and PSV setup and describe what I have done to these consoles. It boils down to three major points. The firmware hacking and installation of homebrew software, the massive space increase thanks to the SD2Vita solution, and the external representation of the console thanks to my 3D printer (PSTV) and a trigger grip / case (PSV). Since both the hacking- and SD2Vita processes are similar on both the PSV and PSTV, I chose to mod one of my Vitas along the way.

Hacking a PSTV follows the exact same steps as hacking a PSV. This is because they are very similar in specifications and use the same software and firmware. The process of this is very easy and well documented. Besides being simple to perform, another great thing about the hack is that it can be done on the latest official firmware (v. 3.74), which makes it accessible for all users. Furthermore, it can all be done from the PSV / PSTV itself and doesn't require a PC.

In short, the hacking process covers the following points:

• Connect your PSV / PSTV to your WiFi and update the system firmware to the latest version (v. 3.74).
• Open the PSV / PSTV internet browser, and connect to http://jailbreak.psp2.dev

That's about it. After a couple of minutes, the PSV / PSTV has been hacked with custom firmware, and the next step is setting up the console with some awesome homebrew software. The process is very simple and easy to follow, especially because the "hack package" includes all the software needed to install further software. Just use one of the many guides online covering this process.

There is a ton of great homebrew software on the Vita, and here are some of the ones that I found most useful.

VitaShell lets you access all the files on the Vita and enables FTP connection with a single press of the Select button. This is very useful if you want to upload games to your Vita or tweak some files.

VitaDeploy is part of the "hack package". This is used to install another operating system and other homebrew software. VitaDeploy serves as a great tool in the beginning of the hacking / homebrew install process.

VitaDB Downloader is a database with a lot of homebrew software. Some of the games need additional files as a countermeasure to piracy. Besides great homebrew games, VitaDB Downloader also offers direct download of useful homebrew apps, like AntiBlacklist, which open up the PSTV to run PSV games that were previously locked because of the missing touchscreen requirement.

Custom Themes Manager lets you browse through, download, and install themes for your system. There are a lot of well-crafted themes to choose from, and the database is getting bigger.

Adrenaline turns the Vita into a PSP. This is useful to run PSP and PS1 games. Adrenaline offers analog stick support and custom button mapping, which is great for older PS1 titles that didn't have analog support. This feature works very well on the PSV, but the option seems to be missing on the PSTV. I would assume that there is a fix for that, but I have not looked into it. I experienced a minor issue with Adrenaline, where I would have to launch the app 2 times because it would close down after the first launch after a reboot. This can be fixed through VitaShell by adding the following line into the /tai folder ->config.txt

*KERNEL 

ux0:app/PSPEMUCFW/sce_module/adrenaline_kernel.skprx

PKGj is a database that lets you download games directly onto the PSV / PSTV. Remember to own an original copy of the game to avoid being a pirate! In PKGj there are tons of PSV, PS1, and PSP games.

Adrenaline Bubbles Manager can be used to create bubbles on the dashboard that serve as shortcut links for PS1 / PSP games. This makes it possible to boot up these games directly, without the need to go through Adrenaline.

As mentioned earlier, the PSTV and PSV make use of proprietary memory cards that are very expensive. Luckily there is a great workaround for this, with the use of SD2Vita. This hack, using YAMT, exploits the game cartridge slot so that the system can use this interface instead of the memory card / internal memory. Since the system is now fully opened up and games can be downloaded, there is no longer really a use for the game cartridge slot, which makes it a great option.

SD2Vita functions as a micro SD adapter, and there are 6 versions of the SD2Vita, named V1-V6. All the versions do the same, but it is recommended to use one of the later versions because of minor improvements that make the physical appearance of the adapter more compatible and easy to use. These adapters are very cheap, and I would recommend buying a V5 or V6. These are easy to mount and get up and running through VitaDeploy. In my case, I bought 2x 128GB micro SD cards, one for my PSTV and one for my Vita. This should be enough space for a lot of great games!

Now that my PSTV and PS Vita were hacked and full of great homebrew software, it was time to make the physical appearance shine. Some time ago I bumped into a PSTV stand on Thingiverse that was designed to place the PSTV in a vertical position and make it look like a small PS5. This is such a cool design! After downloading the STL files, I did some minor rework on the core / centerpiece of the stand, making it more stable by adding some material to the top back and lower front. After printing the 3 parts, I had to do some sanding to make the parts fit perfectly together and achieve a smooth finish on the side panels. I glued the parts together using superglue, added some bandage tape to the inside of the center piece to make the PSTV fit perfectly and to avoid scratches, and added a bit of nail polish to the PS logo to make it stand out. With that done, my PSTV mod was complete!

Regarding my PS Vita, I wanted to upgrade the comfort and protection. When it comes to handhelds, I am a big fan of grips that can be combined with a fitting carrying case. There are great options for this combo on the Nintendo Switch with the products from Satisfye and Skull & Co., but for the PS Vita, the options are limited. Luckily the solution is both cheap and great, with the products from Top Player, which offers a protective case for the system that also uses the back touchpad of the Vita and turns these inputs into L2 and R2 trigger buttons. Furthermore, there is another add-on that expands on the idea and uses the lower part of the back touchpad and converts this into L3 and R3 triggers. Finally, there is a carrying case that fits this setup perfectly, with and without the L3/R3 add-on. A small downside to the grip is that it is not compatible with a screen protector, since the front part of the grip can't align and be locked into place because of the thickness of a screen protector. Since the grip itself protects the front of the Vita, it doesn't really matter, but it could have been nice to be able to protect the screen itself.

That said, this trigger grip, combined with the Adrenaline app that supports dual analog stick remapping, makes the PS Vita a beast for experiencing PS1 and PSP classics. At this point I have completed the From Software classic Shadow Tower with this setup, and this is the perfect way to enjoy these older titles!

SNES Classic Mini microSD mod

I wanted to make the all-in-one mini console for everyday use without having to deal with flaws from the individual variations. The hardware of most of the mini consoles share similar specs, with an ARM-based quad-core processor with a Mali-4XX GPU. Then there is the C64 Mini, which has weaker specs, and the PlayStation Classic Mini, which has some great specs and a lot of storage space (16GB), compared to the others that only have around 256–512 MB.

The games that I want to play on the system are, for the most part, 8- and 16-bit games. This includes primarily games for the PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16, Nintendo NES / Famicom and Super Nintendo.

The specs on the Nintendo Classic Mini, Famicom Mini, and Super Nintendo Classic Mini are similar. Because of this, I chose the SNES Mini to be the platform to build upon, mainly because of the controller, which has all the buttons needed, compared to the NES / Famicom Mini, where I couldn't have used the controller on a lot of 16-bit games. I could have used the PlayStation Classic because of the specs, but since the purpose mainly was 8- and 16-bit games, I wanted to keep the aesthetic from this era.

Often 8- and 16-bit games don't take up much space and only take up a few MB. This is also the case for a lot of great PC Engine games stored on HuCards, but if I wanted to play some of the CD-based games, I would run out of space before I could add a single game to the system. This is why I chose to add more space on the system!

There are different options regarding adding space to the mini consoles. The easiest and probably the most popular method is using an OTG adapter and a USB flash drive. The downside to this method is that it is an external mod, where the USB drive is visible. Besides that, it has been some time since I last used my soldering iron, so this was a great opportunity to do some soldering again.

The mod itself is both easy to perform and cheap. I bought a 32GB microSD card, which included an SD adapter. The SD adapter is needed for the mod, and therefore it's very convenient that these 2 items are bundled together. Besides that, I used some thin Kynar wire and a 100nF 50V SMD capacitor. The capacitor is basically not required, since I will never hot-swap the microSD card with the system on, but I added one just for good measure and for the fun of hand-soldering an SMD component that my old eyes can barely see :D

With the hardware modding done, the next part was to get the software up and running. The SNES mini was already hacked with Hakchi2 CE (v3.93). With the SNES Mini connected to my PC through Hakchi, i used the "Tools -> Format SD card" feature. After completion, the Mini was now booting up, using the SD card as storage.

From now on, there are a lot of free space to play with, and should i need more space in the future, i can just replace the micro SD card with a larger one.

 

Time to play some Gate of Thunder with my modded Score Master!

Building a game room from the ground

I have been collecting video games for the past 25 years, and during that time, I’ve had a few game rooms. As the years have gone by, my collection has grown significantly, both in terms of the number of games and consoles. The biggest challenge that comes with this is running out of space to display my collection the way I want.

A few years ago, my wife and I had twins, which meant our house became too small for our growing family. With three kids and a space-consuming hobby like game collecting, it was time to move into something bigger. After searching for a suitable house for a while, we decided to build a brand-new home. There are plenty of benefits and considerations that come with building a house, but that’s a story for another time.

In this article, I’ll focus on the most important part: the game room. A brand-new space, built from the ground up, designed specifically for gaming and game collecting. I’ll share my thoughts on everything from the planning phase to the details of creating this space.

> Planning for the Future

One of my initial considerations was to ensure the house would remain marketable in case we ever needed to sell it due to unforeseen circumstances (loss of income, divorce, etc.). With that in mind, I designed the game room to be easily convertible into three "normal" rooms in the future.

In practice, this means the room can be divided evenly into three smaller spaces, each with its own window and floor heating. I wanted the room to only have one entrance, but the walls are prepared in the other two sections with door lintels, allowing doors to be added later if needed. These features are hidden and have no impact on the current design of the game room but make the space adaptable for worst-case scenarios. Should we (or a future buyer) need to make changes, it would involve closing the openings that connect the sections, cutting out spaces for two additional doors, and transforming the area into three functional rooms.

> Managing Sunlight and Windows

When planning the house, I knew sunlight would be a major concern. Sunlight can fade the colors on cardboard boxes over time and cause glare on TV screens, which isn’t ideal for gaming. To address this, I placed the game room with its windows facing north to minimize direct sunlight. This placement also worked well for the rest of the house, where natural light is more welcome.

In our area, there are minimum requirements for the size of windows and light incidence. At one point during the design process, the game room was treated as three separate rooms (due to the individual floor heating). However, when calculating light incidence, we considered it as one large room. This approach allowed us to meet the minimum requirements while keeping window surfaces small. Smaller windows not only reduce sunlight but also provide more wall space - essential for storing games.

> Optimizing Wall Space and Layout

Maximizing wall space was a critical part of the planning process. A square room offers less wall space than a rectangular one, but if the room is too long and narrow, it feels more like a hallway and becomes impractical for gaming. I carefully considered factors like my preferred distance from the TV, walking space between sections, and enough floor space to comfortably use PSVR or play Wii light gun games without bumping into my collection.

To maximize usability, I divided the game room into three smaller sections. This approach not only created more wall space but also allowed me to assign each section a specific theme or purpose:

PC and Retro PC Section: A workspace for my desktop, soldering, 3D printing, and other hobby-related activities.
Retro Gaming Section: Dedicated to my retro game collection.
Modern Gaming Section: Focused on newer consoles, VR, and light gun games.

> Window Placement for Functionality

The windows were designed with these sections in mind. The workspace features a large floor-to-ceiling window, which provides natural light and creates extra floorspace beneath it for my desk to fit in.

In the retro and modern gaming sections, smaller windows are positioned high on the wall to minimize sunlight exposure and allow for wall-mounted storage beneath them.

> Electrical and Network Planning

Another crucial aspect was the placement of electrical outlets. I wanted to avoid power cords running across the floor, so I planned outlets where I anticipate needing power. Similarly, I accounted for Ethernet connectivity by having the electrician install 16mm conduit pipes in strategic locations. This setup allows me to easily run cables to connect my PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and other devices directly to the router. Keeping all game room-related networking on the same router ensures better organization and an optimal Wi-Fi connection for my PlayStation Portal.

> Choosing the Right Shelves

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about selecting shelves for a game collection. Many shelves are unnecessarily deep, taking up valuable floor space. I prefer shelves with just enough depth to fit games, as this saves about 15cm of space around the room. Additionally, I favor wall-mounted shelves because they keep the floor visible, making the room feel larger and easier to clean.

> The Final Result

Here are some pictures of the final result. I am very happy about how it all turned out, and it has been an awesome process from start to finish. I love how the things are organized, and I am very happy that I spent so much time planning the details regarding everything from the 3-section-room design to the placement of the power outlets and the choice of shelving.