When Sony launched the PlayStation Portable almost exactly 20 years ago, the value proposition was right there in the name: a PlayStation, but portable. But now modders have flipped that, introducing a PSP that can be played on a TV, console-style, and they’ve dubbed it the PS Placeable.
It’s a non-destructive mod to PSP-2000 and PSP-3000 systems that allows you to play PSP games on the TV off the original UMD physical media format, with a wireless controller like the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4—all wrapped in a miniature, PlayStation 2-like enclosure.
Let’s be frank: One of the main reasons this thing gets special attention here is that its look is both clever and, well, kind of adorable. The miniaturization of the retro styling of the PlayStation 2 is a nice touch.
Of course, there have long been other ways to play some PSP games on the big screen—but there has always been one downside or another.
For example, you could connect the original PSP to a TV with convoluted cables, but you would then have to use that tethered handheld as your controller.
Much later, the PlayStation TV set-top box made by Sony itself was essentially a console-style take on the PlayStation Vita, and like the Vita, it could play numerous classic PSP games—plus, it supported wireless controllers—but it didn’t support most PSP games, and it only worked with those downloaded through Sony’s digital store.
