PSP Firmware (v5.50) Update

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Hi everyone, the next system software update (v5.50) for PSP (PlayStation Portable) will be available soon, and I wanted to provide you all with a preview of some of the key features.

The firmware update will introduce an Information Board on the PSP system’s XMB (XrossMediaBar) interface. Those of you who have a PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) may be familiar with this feature, which displays news and updates from the world of PlayStation in a scrolling ticker in the upper right-hand corner of your TV screen. Now you’ll be able to read up-to-date information about upcoming games, new content available on PlayStation Store, and other news right on your PSP whenever you’re at a wireless Internet hotspot.

In addition, we’ll be adding a few more enhancements with the 5.50 update:

  • Memory Stick improvements – You’ll be able to create and access sub-folders on your Memory Stick PRO Duo for music, videos and photos. Separately, the available space required to download a file from PlayStation Store to your Memory Stick has been reduced significantly.
  • Internet search for games directly from the XMB – You’ll be able to easily search the Internet for information about your PSP games. Select the icon for the game, hit the Triangle button, and then select [Internet Search] from the options menu to get search results based on the game title. This feature was added to PS3 with the recent 2.70 update.
  • Trend Micro trial – PSP’s Internet browser is a great tool for checking out your favorite Web sites on the go, and we’re teaming up with the Internet security experts at Trend Micro to make the Web browsing experience safer and more secure. With the 5.50 update, you’ll have the option to access a free trial of two Trend Micro services:
    1. Trend Micro Web Security uses Web reputation technology to block PSP owners from accidentally visiting a Web site that may contain malicious content designed to steal personal information and confidential data.
      Trend Micro Kids’ Safety uses URL filtering technology to prevent children from accessing Web sites that feature inappropriate content.

We look forward to reading your feedback.

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319 Comments

  • “PSP2…thats just speculated right? Sony has given no confirmations of this being an actual project being worked on right….it’d surprise me if it gets announced at E3(or ever)…Improving the recent model(s) of the psp would help longevity of the handhelds…just my opinion i suppose though…”

    Not a PSP2…..and not a PSP 4000. Something different.

  • i would like a friends list on there though.

  • even the ps3 doesnt have sub folders lol

    we do need ad-hoc party though, theres no excuse not to have it

  • Pretty nice update but I am concerned about the last one of preventing inappropriate content restriction especialy for adults who have a PSP system it may restrict sites like for the kiddies by accident other then that I’m cool with this update I would like to see a feature were we will be able to record our PSP gameplay to were we can post matches or make walkthroughs with ease I’ve been dying to do that for quite some time now to be honest

  • Woot! Nice update! Can’t wait!

  • @104: Allergic to punctuation marks?

  • when will this update be availible

  • please give us also:
    – trophy support
    – FULL INTEGRATION in the PSN, this means:
    => PSN Friendlist
    => PSN Messages
    => PSN Textchat
    => PSN VoiceChat

  • Great update. Looking forward to it.
    I must be one of the few that really enjoy the information bar. I’m curious to see how it will change the layout above the XMB. The date, time, and battery already take up a lot of the space up there.

    While I’m glad we’re getting another update, I was really hoping for my friends list. Please, please, please bring that soon. :)

  • Thanks for the update! BTW: Noobies on the blog will note that the news ticker was haevly requested feature on the PSP updates forum for at least 2 months runing last year. When the PSP site was down for good: replaced with a over drop that says check out the PSP store!

    We all thought that the PSP would never get news for it’s games and other items ever agian. Now that it’s back I’ll happly use it! I love reading about the PSP! I hate reading the PS3 info on the PS blog (Don’t have one but did and don’t want one agian Not untill Sony slims it down and drops the price of it’s games/addons/systems by a good 30% across the board)

  • sub folder support and the reduced space for PSN downloads are good, but the rest of the update is worthless.

  • Memory Stick Improvements…

    Does this mean you guys FINALLY fixed shuffle mode and playlisting across subfolders for music? Because we could already make subfolders with our PCs, but those two functions only worked within a given subfolder, and would not span across them.

  • Nice update. Love the sub-folders. I have 32GB on my PSP that’s getting full and badly needs organising. The other improvements are good too, well done.
    Now the only other thing you need to do is put the boot up Lithium’s backside so we can login and post on the PS forums with our PSPs.

  • hi evryone can one of u please explain to me what they mean by subfolders??????

  • When are we going to see more playstation 1 game the japan has final fantasy 7 so when are going to see it in US. Since we have access to our PSN account when is the playstation portable going to see trophies.

  • The sub-folders on the psp is an overdue feature. Since quite a few ps3 features are being moved to the psp, it would be nice if this folder feature could be moved to ps3 and its hard drive.

  • “hi evryone can one of u please explain to me what they mean by subfolders??????”

    Sure. It’s simply one folder inside of another folder. You couldn’t do that with the PSP before because it wouldn’t recognize it.

    For example, on my PSP my music is separated into genres, but that’s all the organizing I can do. Each folder still has hundreds of songs that are just….there. With this update, I can now further break it down. I can have a file for genres, and then have folders inside of that for different artists.

    That make sense?

  • Any screenshots of what it will look like?

  • Awesome update. You guys should put the subfolder feature on the PS3.

  • This is amazing i have been waiting for this for months

  • Very excited for this update and for the year a head…… It’s about time the psp got some Sony focus!
    I’ve had my psp 1000 since release and I have just got a psp 3000 which I love to bits. Sony don’t let us down !!! Keep the good news coming psp 4000 / psp 2 news would be good LOL.

  • My god finally sub-folders I have wanted this ever since the psp came out and always said you guys were completely retarded for not implementing them.

    Now just follow up with a ps3 update that has sub-folders.

  • ya thank you

  • “ya thank you”

    Anytime.

  • still a lot of things the psp needs work on. the browser in the psp, JUST like the ps3, has trouble recognizing pages that a lot of frames do not work.

    you can’t log into some sites (rockstar social club) because the ps3/psp wont recognize that you are hitting the “submit” button.

  • For those whining about PSN support: Please just sit and wait like the rest of us! They have siad in multiple interviews on IGN/GameSpot that they are looking into it.

    The PS News ticker is another feature that gets us a step closer to that goal. IE sub folder support has been on the PS3 sense v1.50 for those noobie PS3 owners who bash our blog post every time that we get a feature they think they don’t have.

    Last but not least thank you Sony for the firmware update! It will go a long way to makeing the PSP feel whole agian! We so missed the PSP Website, and this will help us deal with the pain of it being gone!

  • Subfolders is a good thing, but when can we get a simple SHUFFLE ALL? I would like to be able to Shuffle all my albums and artists, not just separate them.

  • NO Friends List??? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Cool update! I hope to see trophies and a friends list in the future!

  • Sony,
    Thank you for the update. It is good to see sony talking to its customer base. I am greatful for the update, but I have a complaint. I have bought a few ps1 classics for my psp. I would buy more, but SCEA is doing a horrible job of putting ps1 classics up on the store. I would easily put down 15 d ollars to download FFVII english version to play on my psp. It is out in japan.

    Please sony, please get the ball rolling with ps1 classics.

  • How about the

    Memory Stick improvements – You’ll be able to create and access sub-folders on your Memory Stick PRO Duo for music, videos and photos. Separately, the available space required to download a file from PlayStation Store to your Memory Stick has been reduced significantly.

    For PS3

  • I’d really love to have my PSN friends list on the PSP XMB! I don’t ever use the Info Board either, would rather have custom RSS feeds :)

  • do any of you know if the psp can go to youtube and watch videos and stuff???? i was just wondering.

  • Well im happy to see that the PSP is greatly improving. But lack of Friends List Makes me a little dissapointed. :(

  • Great update. Since the PSP and PS3 firmware updates are looking to be more in-sync with each other, hopefully the PS3 will get subfolders and (hopefully!) a podcast reader.

  • Will subfolders have any effect on music playlists? Ive been dying to make playlists from multiple folders and play songs at random.

  • When will this go Live?

  • Cross game VOICE chat for PS3 Sony, thanks.

  • What about the Go!Messenger icon in European Firmware> Will it be removed since the service stopped?

  • Looking forward to the update.

    And those guys (namely #5, 83) make me laugh with their “I’m not updating” tantrum posts. Who are you trying to impress, anyway? “Yeah, I’ll show those evil guys at Sony who’s boss!” Lol.

  • cool I’d like to upgrade the software. how did it jump from v5.03 to v5.50. well it has great improvements. that is what matters.

  • This is a niiice update. Subfolders are a great idea. But, seeing that Playstation is making more internet features, it would make sense that they would provide WPA-2 security support (that would be geat if they’re including that). I’m glad to see that firmware updates are still coming out for the PSP.

  • Great update,guys.Please keep it coming.

  • I’ll stick with my custom firmware.

    Nothing in that update is interesting at all.

    Give us Youtube/Hulu/flickr/whatever site uploading like you have in the PS3 firmware for future PSP games (LBPortable would benefit HUGELY from this) instead of crap like this.

    I guess the folders are useful for people that have a ton of stuff on their sticks, but meh…

    While we’re at it, release English ad-hoc party already. It’s annoying to have to wade through Japanese menus to play FFT/like online.

  • Yay, I’ve been wating for the new fw ÷D and I’m looking forward to it ÷) , especially the Memory Stick Improvements d(^_˘)b

  • Pretty useless updates imo, only worthwhile one would be the inclusion of sub folders (FINALLY!). What’s the point of ‘protection’ when the browser is slow and is SEVERELY outdated anyway?? Quit being lazy Sony and release a capable browser already or at least allow for Opera to develop one. Geez, Sony is ruling the PSP with an iron fist and getting no where. Sony is not taking advantage of their advance hardware, if DSi had released with improved graphics, the PSP would be gone.

  • What makes the PSP vastly inferior to all the other competitors out there concerning music is the inability yo make playlist.
    Why hasn’t this been implemented yet!? Yeah sure you can copy over a playlist from the Ps3 but if you do that you have to copy all the songs in the playlist as well, even if they’re already stored on the PSP. Thats pretty dump if you ask me…

  • @117
    Thanks man i also wanted to know so thanks for the info

  • Aloha, “Eric”…

    Thanks for the great news/details regarding PSP Firmware (v5.50), keep up the great work!

    peace.
    [-NBCraftsman]

  • Thats Awesome! Now I Can Look Up Walkthroughs… Instantly!!

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