PSIO Update

Well its been almost two years since we last checked in on the PSIO project.  The PSIO is for the original Sony Playstation 1 that allows the user to access homebrew, boot and run code straight from a cartridge with a SD slot.  As excited as I am to hear about any project at this level, a red flag came up for me here.  Upon further investigation my fears became true.  You see the PS had a good and very long run with several generational releases.  The PSIO website states in its FAQ that the prototype cartridge plugs into the parallel I/O port.  If my memory serves correctly this was only included in the first generation of PlayStations. In the years past this unique feature has made them more valuable than even the slim PS1 that looked almost as small as a handheld.  However, all is not lost since there are currently plans to PSIO cards for later generations.  Since these newer models have no PIO port they will require some 17 bits of soldering.

I was fortunate enough to have a wise friend who saw a first gen PS along side an import chip in a long gone video game store for playing Japanese PS games (Dragonball Z was really new and cool back then).  This friend also saw then hidden value of playing boot-able code like homebrew as well and convinced me to get one.  I still have that same PS from many moons year ago and it still rocks.  The PSIO's main goal is to bring that same idea into the modern age by adding SD, presumably FAT-32 format, to the PlayStation hardware.  Why you ask?  Two big reason are that CD drives do fail and even the CD's themselves begin to degrade around ten years.  The unit boasts several features like a Virtual Memory Card, multi-region support, hexadecimal editor (gameshark), and a bit more.  Development continues as the creator(s) periodically post updates that can be found on the link above.  We'll be keeping a watch on this project.

P.S.

The history of the 1st gen PlayStation parallel port is deeply rooted in Sony's history with Nintendo and the SuperNES CD-ROM that never came to be.  Curious?  You should check it out.  Even more so Nintendo been around for almost 120 years!!!  Wanna know what they were doing before video games?  Then check out the Before Mario blog listed in the right sidebar.

-kaokensho