Hacking Considering getting a Vita, some questions

[Reaga]

So my PSP Go's been giving me trouble. Had its sound card fixed but now the battery temporarily stopped working (despite being a new battery) and the stick is randomly giving me dead zones or constantly reading as though its being pushed in a direction. It's currently on Infinity Pro-C latest versions.

Wanted to find a new one and transfer all things to it, but (as to be expected) it's near impossible to find one still in box and a used one is likely to land me with issues sooner rather than later.

My friend has suggested a Vita, claiming it has digital backwards compatibility so I wouldn't lose my games, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't lose anything.

So:
1. How's the CFW scene?
2. How's the backwards compatibility?
3. What all non-Vita games can a homebrew/cfw'd Vita play?
4. What's the best/cheapest Vita to buy for these purposes?

 

[Deleted member 381889]

So my PSP Go's been giving me trouble. Had its sound card fixed but now the battery temporarily stopped working (despite being a new battery) and the stick is randomly giving me dead zones or constantly reading as though its being pushed in a direction. It's currently on Infinity Pro-C latest versions.

Wanted to find a new one and transfer all things to it, but (as to be expected) it's near impossible to find one still in box and a used one is likely to land me with issues sooner rather than later.

My friend has suggested a Vita, claiming it has digital backwards compatibility so I wouldn't lose my games, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't lose anything.

So:
1. How's the CFW scene?
2. How's the backwards compatibility?
3. What all non-Vita games can a homebrew/cfw'd Vita play?
4. What's the best/cheapest Vita to buy for these purposes?

1. There's HENkaku Ensō, which launches HENkaku (Vita hacks) on boot
2. You can play all Vita, PSP and PS1 games. Additionally, there are emulators to play such consoles as NES, SNES, GBA, N64, etc
3. Read 2
4. I'd recommend buying a brand new Vita, it'll be guaranteed to be on or below a hackable firmware, except for the Red & Silver Japanese models. There's a Vita hacking guide here to get you started.

 

[dimmidice]

1. How's the CFW scene?
2. How's the backwards compatibility?
3. What all non-Vita games can a homebrew/cfw'd Vita play?
4. What's the best/cheapest Vita to buy for these purposes?

1. It's only a few devs actively working on stuff i think. But Enso is now a permanent CFW. Sticks through reboots.
2. PSP and PS1. Some PS1 games don't work completely perfectly, majority should be fine. PSP so far seems really good.
3. as mentioned PSP and PS1. There's some emulators but i don't use them so i'll leave it to someone else to answer.
4. Any vita under or on 3.60 is fine to use. If under 3.60 you'll update to 3.60 to get CFW (dont try this before reading a guide)

I love my vita, but it does have a small library (if you dont count psp and ps1 games). And it is a bit more finnicky than my 3DS when it comes to CFW/Homebrew.

I'd recommend buying a brand new Vita, it'll be guaranteed to be on or below a hackable firmware

I'd be careful with that. It used to be true but my friend bought a brand new one from amazon and it was on 3.61. It's possible it was bought, updated and sent back but i've heard it from a few others as well. It's not 100% certain like it used to be.

 

[Reaga]

1. There's HENkaku Ensō, which launches HENkaku (Vita hacks) on boot
2. You can play all Vita, PSP and PS1 games. Additionally, there are emulators to play such consoles as NES, SNES, GBA, N64, etc
3. Read 2
4. I'd recommend buying a brand new Vita, it'll be guaranteed to be on or below a hackable firmware, except for the Red & Silver Japanese models. There's a Vita hacking guide here to get you started.

So most new Vitas come on exploitable firmware? Good to know.

Final question: I'd heard VERY early on in the Vita's life cycle that if hacked it could handle PS2 games as well. Was this rumor true or false?

It does sound like I might be getting myself a Vita.

 

[Deleted member 381889]

So most new Vitas come on exploitable firmware? Good to know.

Final question: I'd heard VERY early on in the Vita's life cycle that if hacked it could handle PS2 games as well. Was this rumor true or false?

It does sound like I might be getting myself a Vita.

I think it's false, sorry.
I've never heard of a Vita running PS2 games?

 

[Reaga]

I think it's false, sorry.
I've never heard of a Vita running PS2 games?

Ok, fair enough. Would have been a nice bonus, but if the ps3 webkit exploit they're developing is successful I'll just be using my PS3 for that anyway.

 

[VitaType]

~Deleted~

 

[Reaga]

Ok, last question for when this happens for me:

I understand that to install any form of exploit so far the FW has to be 3.6 or below.However, what about after it is installed? Can I update like you can with CFWs on 3DS? Or is it just not deep enough to protect itself during the update process?

 

[Deleted member 381889]

Ok, last question for when this happens for me:

I understand that to install any form of exploit so far the FW has to be 3.6 or below.However, what about after it is installed? Can I update like you can with CFWs on 3DS? Or is it just not deep enough to protect itself during the update process?

Not yet, no, you have to stay on 3.60.

 

[VitaType]

~Deleted~

 

[Reaga]

Not yet, no, you have to stay on 3.60.

Meh, I don't foresee myself doing anything on the Vita that would require me stay updated anyway. Most games I would play on it I already have for PS3/PS4?

 

[DinckelMan]

1. There's HENkaku Ensō, which launches HENkaku (Vita hacks) on boot
2. You can play all Vita, PSP and PS1 games. Additionally, there are emulators to play such consoles as NES, SNES, GBA, N64, etc
3. Read 2
4. I'd recommend buying a brand new Vita, it'll be guaranteed to be on or below a hackable firmware, except for the Red & Silver Japanese models. There's a Vita hacking guide here to get you started.

Are the newly manufactured black/orange/blue Slims still <3.61?

 

[Deleted member 381889]

Are the newly manufactured black/orange/blue Slims still <3.61?

There are new ones? How new are they?

 

[Reaga]

Note to self: Make sure the one I get is black. I will probably walk up to my Walmart and see if they have some in.

 

[DinckelMan]

There are new ones? How new are they?

No idea, but since Vita is till being actively sold in Japan I assumed that black/orange/blue ones are still being produced for the market

 

[Xandrid]

You can play all Vita, PSP and PS1 games. Additionally, there are emulators to play such consoles as NES, SNES, GBA, N64, etc

Actually you can't play all Vita games, only games that are 3.60 and below

 

[Reaga]

Actually you can't play all Vita games, only games that are 3.60 and below

So is there a tell besides trying to play the game to let me know which games require 3.61 and above?

 

[Xandrid]

So is there a tell besides trying to play the game to let me know which games require 3.61 and above?

Yea, games that were made before the middle or so of November 2016

 

[Reaga]

ok, so that's most of them, got it