5 Classic PSP Games That Are Unplayable Today

Since the dawn of time (or the late 1980s), Nintendo has dominated the handheld gaming space. Handheld rivals like the Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx, and the WonderSwan Color tried to challenge the dominance of the Game Boy line, but they all failed. The only competitor that came close was the Sony PSP, released in 2004 to compete with the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.

The PSP went on to sell over 76 million units, which was enough to qualify as a huge hit for Sony, even if the Nintendo DS juggernaut sold over twice as many units during its own lifetime. Nevertheless, the PSP proved that Nintendo wasn't the only game in town, and it bolstered Sony's increasing status as a video game power player. It helped that the PSP also had a ton of great games, from portable versions of PS2 titles to spin-offs and original games that made the PSP a premier destination for players of all stripes.

Today, not all PSP games are regularly available. Some were only available as digital downloads. With the PSP online store permanently shut down, there's no way to legally acquire these games. On the other hand, some games, particularly licensed ones, are notoriously difficult to re-release, so the only way to play it is if you still have a UMD copy of the game and a PSP that still works. 

Let's take a look at five great PSP games that are unplayable today.

Released in 2006, "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories" is the final entry in the classic '3D' era of "Grand Theft Auto," before the series was quietly rebooted with "Grand Theft Auto IV." Set in 1984, two years before the events of "Vice City," this game serves as both a prequel to that particular title and a swan song to this whole era of the franchise. If you've played "Vice City" multiple times over the past 24 years but never touched "Vice City Stories," you don't know what you're missing!

Players take on the role of Vic Vance, older brother of "Vice City" supporting character Lance Vance. Thankfully, Lance returns in this game, once again played by "Miami Vice" star Philip Michael Thomas. The story is particularly well-done, with numerous twists, betrayals, and surprisingly poignant character beats. The game was made two years before "Grand Theft Auto IV," but you can definitely see the origins of that game's more mature storytelling here.

"Vice City Stories" was released on UMD and as a digital download, but the digital version has since been discontinued. The only way to legally play the game nowadays is if you have a UMD copy for PSP or a disk of the PS2 port from 2007. While the previous PSP title, "Liberty City Stories," was ported to mobile phones in the mid-2010s, "Vice City Stories" never got such a treatment. I can only imagine the reason had to do with music licensing costs. Like "Vice CIty" before it, "Vice City Stories" has over 100 real-life '80s hits on the in-game radio, making porting to new systems a tougher prospect compared to "Liberty City Stories," which mostly utilized original music for its in-game radio.

At a glance, it might seem an odd prospect to make a version of "Rock Band" for a handheld system. After all, "Rock Band" is defined by the unique drum and guitar peripherals used to make video game players feel like real rock-and-rollers. However, if you remember that developer Harmonix previously made games like "Amplitude" and "Frequency," then things begin to make a bit more sense.

"Rock Band Unplugged" is a perfect fusion of something like "Amplitude" with the aesthetic and sensibilities of "Rock Band," with players hitting falling notes using the face buttons on the PSP and utilizing its R and L buttons to switch instruments. It works surprisingly well and feels like an authentic, if wholly unique, "Rock Band" experience.

The game launched with 41 songs and had its own dedicated DLC store. However, that store has long since closed down, so there's no way to legally obtain the dozens of songs that were made available post-launch. Furthermore, while there are emulation solutions available for tech-savvy players, rhythm games like "Rock Band Unplugged" have issues with input lag delay that make the game a real hassle for most modern emulation solutions. The only way to get the true classic "Rock Band Unplugged" experience is on original hardware, but good luck finding the DLC.

The original "Valkyria Chronicles" was seen as something of a hidden gem for the PlayStation 3 when it released back in 2008. For some reason, Sega decided not to make the sequel a full-fledged console release, and it was a PSP exclusive. "Valkyria Chronicles II" apparently did well enough to warrant another PSP title but not well enough for 2011's "Valkyria Chronicles III" to ever get a proper English localization.

Like its predecessors, "Valkyria Chronicles III" uses a unique turn-based tactics-adjacent battle system with some real time elements. The game is set in an anime fantasy version of Europe during a conflict that's clearly based on World War II. Thanks to its charming setting, dramatic storytelling, and unique gameplay, the "Valkyria Chronicles" series is beloved by its small-but-passionate fanbase.

Alas, there's no way for those fans to legally get their hands on "Valkyria Chronicles III." Even if you can figure out an emulation solution, it would hardly be playable to English speakers, since it's only in Japanese. You'd have to find a separate fan translation patch, and at that point, maybe you're better off writing Sega a letter asking for "Valkyria Chronicles III" to finally get a official American localization. 

The title of "LittleBigPlanet" on PSP might lead you to believe this is a handheld port of the PS3 game. It is not. "LittleBigPlanet" is entirely its own unique game, a completely separate entity from the PS3 game. It's smaller than the console game and its sequels, but if you like "LittleBigPlanet"  have never played this one, it's like a 'lost' entry in the beloved series.

Unfortunately, if you don't have a UMD copy of "LittleBigPlanet" for PSP, you're pretty much out of luck. It's never been ported to other PlayStation systems and is unavailable digitally. Since the PSP online infrastructure is completely gone, any and all user-generated levels are also lost like tears in the rain.

For a similar phenomenon in the same series, check out "LittleBigPlanet PS Vita," which is similarly a completely new game (and, if you ask me, it's the best in the whole series). It makes use of the PS Vita's unique features to make levels and gameplay scenarios that would have been impossible on other PlayStation systems. It's a crying shame how Sony has neglected their once beloved "LittleBigPlanet" series. If they wanted to make it right, a collection with the PSP and Vita games would be a swell place to start, especially for players who may only be familiar with "Sackboy: A Big Adventure."

Licensed games have trouble surviving the test of time. For the most part, it's not a big deal, since licensed games have a bad reputation for being bargain bin trash. However, there are plenty of all-time classics that happen to be based on a movie or a show. One of the most notable but little-known examples of this rare phenomenon is "Miami Vice" on PSP, developed by Rebellion, the same team responsible for "Sniper Elite" and "Atomfall."

Released to tie-in with the 2006 movie reboot, "Miami Vice" features Crockett and Tubbs taking on a South American drug cartel. The story is generic but serviceable, but the game truly shines in its art direction and gameplay. Visually, it's limited by the PSP's meager tech, but it still makes use of strong animation and lighting to make for an engaging vibe. Gameplay-wise, "Miami Vice" plays like a mix of "Gears of War" and "Resident Evil 4," with the cover-based systems of the former and the camera and movement speed of the latter.

Best of all, the whole game can be played in 2-player co-op, with Crockett and Tubbs (or at least the game's Ersatz versions of Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx) storming drug dens and nightclubs side-by-side. Good luck finding a co-op partner in 2026, though. Thankfully, there's a movie reboot, "Miami Vice '85," due out in 2028. Maybe, instead of making a brand new video game tie-in, they can just do a remaster of this forgotten PSP classic.