Do you think the cost of the PSP games are a little steep?  Can’t afford that game you’ve been eyeing since it came out?  There may be a solution for you.

Users are creating free “homebrew” games and posting them in various internet forums and on web sites, making them available for any PSP user to download and play.  All you need is a PSP (with an early version firmware – 1.0 or 1.5) and a PSP compatible memory stick.

Before you’re ready to download free PSP games, you need a memory stick to store the files onto.  Buying a larger card than the one that comes with your PSP, you’ll need to look carefully for the size you need.  Different games come with different compression rates, but in general, you’ll need about 5 MB for every minute of video.  Once you’ve bought the memory stick, you’ll need to reformat it for use with your PSP.

The memory stick completed, now you’re ready to download free PSP games.  There are many places where you can find a free version of the game you want – just make sure that it is the right type file for your firmware!

Firmware versions 1.5 and earlier seem to be the only ones that can play most homebrew games, as with each upgrade to their firmware, Sony has increased measures to block people from using the illegal games.  If you download free PSP games and try to play them and receive an error, it is because your firmware is not compatible.

With the game downloaded, you should connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.  Put the PSP into USB mode and using the PSP USB connection settings, connect with your computer.  Copy the downloaded game into the proper folder.

It is important to note that the correct file path is PSP>GAME.  If these two folders aren’t already on your PSP’s memory stick, you need to create them and name them in all caps – the GAME folder should be inside the PSP folder.

When the game has finished downloading onto your memory stick, the PSP can be disconnected from the computer, and you’re ready to play!  Simply scroll over to the GAME column and onto the memory stick option, where you should find a list of games, including the one you just installed.

Now you are ready for hours of entertainment – for free!  Just remember that the quality could be different or the file itself corrupted.  When you download free PSP games, you get what you pay for.