Original PSP doesn't have enough RAM for Skype

by Andrew Yoon { Jan 7th 2008 at 1:45PM }

As reported earlier, Skype will be available exclusively on PSP-2000 systems only. The revised handheld features additional RAM, previously used for UMD caching. According to Nick Sharples from SCEE, the additional memory onboard the new PSP is crucial for running the VoIP application. He told Pocket Gamer: "We had studied the possibility of supporting Skype with PSP-1000 but had to give it up because of the smaller size of main memory on PSP-1000 series."

Skype is coming before month's end. For more images of the application, visit GPara. For those with homebrew-capable PSP-1000 systems, new homebrew VoIP applications may be worthwhile to you.

Tags: psp-2000, ram, skype, voip

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Alien @ Jan 7th 2008 2:08PM

Well that and they have to sell as many slims as possible :P

Charles @ Jan 7th 2008 2:09PM

hmmm...this sucks! Lets not hope this will not lead to a trend to future updates and whatnot because I will then be forced to buy the PSP-2000...oh well

Errol @ Jan 7th 2008 2:26PM

Damn it! The thing that i was most pumped about in the new firmware update, and now you're telling me that i can't have it because i don't own a PSP-2000?
That's just bullsh*t!
I was even mad since the day they announced the PSP Slim, there's lots of consoles out there that i wanna buy, and i had just gotten a PSP for my birthday! I can't afford it all!

Trickob @ Jan 7th 2008 4:06PM

I hear ya. I got a psp for my birthday right before they announced the slim was coming out.

FOXHOUND @ Jan 8th 2008 1:04AM

Though not cost effective, a 'nice' PR-move by SONY would be to offer some kind of trade-in/cash-in bonus for those with a PSP-1000 to buy a PSP-2000 model.

Lars @ Jan 9th 2008 2:01PM

It would be nice if it worked on the original PSP, but I don't mind too much. I've had my original since launch with no problems or damage, but I would like to upgrade to a slim anyways. I'll probably keep my old one and convert it to a homebrew player.

Ron @ Jan 7th 2008 2:45PM

no way if the original psp has enough ram to run high quality games why shouldn't it be able to run simple relatively simple application

XenoPhage @ Jan 7th 2008 3:15PM

if (PSP-1000) {
ram_bloat();
error("Oops! Not enough RAM! Buy a PSP-2000!");
} else {
skype();
}

Darayz @ Jan 7th 2008 3:26PM

This really bunches my balls. I hope this doesn't start a trend where future psp apps are only available for PSP slims. Thanks for ignoring your early-adopters Sony. Thanks.

Hector Martinez @ Jan 7th 2008 3:33PM

I bet it can be hacked and done in homebrew, like anything else.

Autobon @ Jan 7th 2008 3:36PM

Thanks $ony, your so much nicer than Microsoft. Lucky for me, i have a Slim, but all my freinds have the fats

required @ Jan 7th 2008 3:36PM

The only reason the original PSP doesn't have enough RAM for Skype is that they've used it up on all the other FREE upgrades and features additions over the past few years. Don't forget, the original didn't even have a web browser.

ryan90 @ Jan 7th 2008 4:57PM

"The only reason the original PSP doesn't have enough RAM for Skype is that they've used it up on all the other FREE upgrades and features additions over the past few years. Don't forget, the original didn't even have a web browser."

Thats main memory that gets used for storing firmware features, although the psp fat has virtually no firmware space left it is actually the random access memory(ram) that is limiting it.this is the space the programs have to run in.

The psp slim has 2 memory upgrades both double main memory and double ram, meaning that the firmware can hold extra applications like skype, xvid/divx support , enhanced web-browser with full flash support, the new firmware has 32MB extra main memory some of these features have to happen as it doesn't make sence why sony released it with double firmware size, the ram is most likely for skype, faster game loading, it should also allow more features to be added to the web browser.

Bluecrush @ Jan 7th 2008 4:04PM

Well look here the psp 1000 can also make phone calls
here
http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1389

drdre74 @ Jan 7th 2008 4:11PM

Ok so why can homebrew get it to work but Sony couldn't? that makes no sense at all to me. Oh well I'll just use the homebrew version and show Sony what they can do with their
Skype.

Haiddasalami @ Jan 8th 2008 10:03PM

becuase Sony skype is going to be all pretty while homebrew is left to a text gui

Beano @ Jan 7th 2008 4:44PM

Sound like a sloppy conversion of the Skype client than a actual limitation of the PSP.

Jon @ Jan 7th 2008 5:01PM

Skype has never been a developer who were capable to optimising their own software. I love their stuff, but the programs tends to be so bloated. They even found excuses not to port the program to Palm OS platform citing slowness as an excuse when Palm OS PDAs ran on the same processors as WinMob counterparts. No surprise that PSP-1000 owners would get screwed.

ryan90 @ Jan 7th 2008 5:00PM

What are the actuall features of skype on psp, i dont get it i thought it was just voice chat and some java games why is that so demanding?, maybe someone knows what the actuall features are anyway a sloppy conversion sounds about right to me.

stirlo @ Jan 7th 2008 5:43PM

not..happy..Jan...

I also bought a replacement phat just as the slim was being released, as I was fine with its size, and wanted a decent battery...

Sony will really shoot themselves in the foot here, don't ever alienate your "early adaptors" or core freaks!

That's Nintendo's game!

Erik @ Jan 7th 2008 6:10PM

@stirlo

Your nuts. Seriously. It's not like they dropped support, the system just can't take it. If they released it and it was too slow you guys would bitch that they shouldn't have released it. Here ya go. You can't expect all of the add-ons, software, hardware, etc to work on the older PSP. That should have been expected when the TV out wasn't supported. Wake up.

stirlo @ Jan 7th 2008 11:34PM

my nuts? you're nuts...

and it's not a psp2, it's a mild update, so I _do_ expect the hardware to work on it.

anyway, I don't really want skype on my psp, but the fact that it's not supported is a really dumb move by sony.

Erik @ Jan 8th 2008 2:09AM

stirlo - "Sony will really shoot themselves in the foot here, don't ever alienate your "early adaptors" or core freaks!"

Early adopters? It's a 2+ year old system.

PSP was released (US) in March of 2005.
PSP Slim was released (US) in Septmeber of 2007.

Your like those people that cry when the car they bought now has a new cupholder or more HP the next year. Your PSP still plays games, music, movies, etc. Skype was never promised on your system. Stop crying about it. If it could have been done (well) they would have done it. They have a legit excuse, lack of RAM. Even if it can be done with less RAM, if it's not up to their standards, they won't release it. Plain and simple. Ugh, babies, I swear.

James @ Jan 8th 2008 12:22PM

Wow, you're not too smart. Firstly Nintendo has never released an updated hardware that adds features. They're purely cosmetic and have no impact on the game at all.

Whereas the PSP Slim adds more ram and takes away the Infrared port.

Research next time?

stirlo @ Jan 8th 2008 5:51PM

I've done my "research" and... It turns out that James is "not too smart" as he equates knowledge of portable consoles with intelligence..

anyway it still sucks, I can buy a psp slim, but I don't want to! I was just commenting that Sony is making a bad move, leaving the psp phat users behind.

and erik -
your = "Your item"
you're = "You are"
I'm not crying about it, I don't just don't believe that Skype won't run on the psp phat. Cynical marketing at its finest.

TrackSol @ Jan 7th 2008 6:45PM

Man, this is definitely a poor business practice. Even Microsoft allows you to run Vista on older systems albeit with degraded performance.

The should have stuck with the confines of the PSP-1000 when releasing new firmware knowing that there will still be a great deal of those users. The PSP-2000 plays all the old games and all the new games will play on the old system, so why should this be any different.

I sort of knew this was going to happen with the announcement of the TV-out feature of the new model. By making a pseudo PSP2, they're trying to "motivate" people to purchase the new version, even if they already had the old one.

Lars @ Jan 9th 2008 2:13PM

Completely off-track analogy there. MS doesn't make the hardware, they make the OS. Therefore they have lots of incentive to make their OS work on a wider array of hardware. Plus, you can make the argument that Vista DOES NOT run on older hardware because it won't work on plenty of previous iterations of PC architecture.

Lars @ Jan 9th 2008 2:16PM

Also, why would they want to "motivate" people to buy a second PSP? Selling a PSP = loss, not profit. Selling software = profit. They want to get PSP's out there to more people, not more PSP's to the same people. One person owning 2 PSP's = $$ lost for Sony.

Andy @ Jan 7th 2008 8:55PM

This stuff didn't stop Phat DS users to go to the Lite, and that system can't even have upgrades like Skype. Just a nicer looking device with a brighter screen.

tobin92 @ Jan 7th 2008 11:48PM

What about the possibility of using memory sticks as virtual RAM?

They could be too slow, but flash tends to be fast

Lars @ Jan 9th 2008 2:20PM

It's possible, but it would be horribly slow, plus reading/writing constantly to flash memory is not a good idea since it causes degradation. Flash only has so my reads/writes before it goes kaput. Back to the speed issue, Flash is pretty fast compared to some things, not to RAM however... That's like comparing a snail to a cheetah.

Shinogu @ Jan 8th 2008 5:35AM

About my remark on the mic peripheral, turns out it's always been around since the Talkman software was released in Japan. I forgot about that. >_>

Zoltan @ Jan 8th 2008 7:14AM

(sory for my english)

I have only one answer to that question. A new hedphones with microphone!!!. Sony don`t wanna made a new one thing for old one thing... and thats all...

and its the way thats sony have make a more sold psp slim.

all sony want its more features for psp slim... to enforce owners old psp - buy one new psp slim. buy who need 2 analogical thing... and sony makes it oll only for good sold digit not for castomers///

64 ram is using only that psp slim can work 6 houers (with it small battery) couse dont need twise to rotate umd to dounload new textures. 1 time - 64 mb... on old one two time -64 but it have more powerfull battery.

James @ Jan 8th 2008 12:19PM

This is understandable.

MERCYFULFATE @ Jan 8th 2008 6:14PM

You babies need to calm down. I had a fat, and wanted a slim just because it is slim. I got my slim and damn proud. I hated the slim when I had a fat, and now I love my slim more than anything.

Expect it to support different things, it has more ram, tvout, etc. However the fat works just fine, and unlike the DS and the DSLite, one isn't extremely ugly.

At least if you upgrade to a slim, you're getting more features. So think of it Fat -> slim. New features, lighter system. etc.

DS -> DS Lite. Same shit, different package.

I know someone that had a DS, went out and bought a DSLIte. In my opinion it's more practical to keep the original DS because it is the same shit, just ugly. At least the fatty psp looks good, and is a good system. Big deal if it can't support a few things here and there.

Think about playstation one users when sony came out with the small PSone that had an attachable screen and car charger.

Stop complaining. Sony will keep supporting the old psp. It plays games, doesn't it? Regardless of all the stuff it can do, remember... its a PLAYSTATION. not a PDA, a cell phone, dvd player, or camera.

parasadalos @ Jan 8th 2008 6:57PM

ok that's it. I'm sellin my psp. I'm getting a DS.

Stamp @ Jan 9th 2008 4:17PM

Thats bullshit.

There are several devices with less power than Original PSP that runs Skype and Skype-alike applications.

Sony just wants that old PSP owners move to the new model, because in Japan they also launched the TV Tuner only for the Slim Model, where for example DS also have a TV Tuner. Now why the PSP only work with the PSP Slim? Because of the same reason of skype, its just Sony too push you to buy the new model.

Da44e @ Jan 10th 2008 10:06AM

They and their bad excuses :P

jackgeaven @ Jan 13th 2008 7:42AM

Thats bullshit.

Homebrew applications runs skype-alike applications. Skype runs on several devices, some of them less powerfull than PSP.

They also launched TV Tuner in Japan that only works on PSP Slim. Even DS has a TV Tuner.

This is Sony strategy to re-sell the new model to the original userbase.

jackgeaven @ Jan 13th 2008 7:46AM

Thats the easier explination.

Homebrew on PSP runs skype-alike applications. Skype runs in several devices, some of them less powerfull than PSP.

Sony also launched the TV Tuner that only runs on PSP Slim. Even DS have a TV Tuner.

This is a new Sony strategy to re-sell the new model to the original userbase and recycle some money.

jack @ Jan 13th 2008 7:47AM

As you know, Sony announced that the Skype IP phone service will be joining the growing list of PSP features.

Skype will be added soon to your PSP following a firmware update.

Unfortunately for most PSP owners, this ad has no meaning, since this functionality will only work in the new PSP model slim&light.

Last year, Sony as also launch the 1seg TV Tuner in Japan that also only works with the new PSP Slim. Now is Skype, tomorrow what will be?

What Sony is trying to do with this restriction we do not know for sure. What we know is that over 80% of the PSP userbase has the original PSP Model. Is this a new strategy by Sony in order to encourage the purchase of the new model by the old owners?

This petition is addressed to all PSP Owners, which invested much money in the purchase of the machine and its games, and we now feel disappointed with this discrimination. Through this petition we want Skype and any functionality in the future to be launched for all PSP Models.

We therefore to all PSP owners to sign this petition and make themselves heard. We are many and our protest will be heard.

Sign is free and no registration needed:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pspskype/index.html