..Retro Things & Modding Them
In retrospect, a lot of us today do game. As in, a lot. And while people my age have their own story about how they started, I’ll tell you mine.
I was maybe around 3. Growing up, I rarely was allowed to play outside with other kids and get physical. I often stayed indoors and would watch my older cousin play on his computer. He also taught me how, sometimes played with me, let me touch his PC, his iPod. I never actually told him but he changed the trajectory of my life forever and had an effect on me. So to say the least, thanks for that.
My First Console
PSP
I remember my first time holding my PSP. It was a graduation gift of some sort, or maybe for doing well in elementary school, I couldn’t quite put my mind on it. But it was that. My mother and I had a hard time traversing the controls and it took a while to say the least.
The UMD it came with was the game Lemmings. I couldn’t remember how long my mom and I played that for. We put a shit ton of hours on it. Until it grew old on us.
I remember going to a nearby store just to get “new games” on my PSP. I couldn’t actually remember if my PSP got modded or if he just dragged and dropped stuff on my SD card. But each game, music, or movie that was sideloaded on my PSP was paid for. And we didn’t have money then, so I had to carefully pick games from a random album book full of papers with printed thumbnails.
And oh, the games. The freaking games.
Given that it was paid, and my mother and I had no means to do that ourselves since we didn’t have a home computer, I took my time and played each and every game I had on that thing. It would take me months to finish all the titles loaded but, looking back… I did finish my games. And enjoyed them.
Yeah, you might be wondering: which games? What were your favorites?
These stuck with me, defined me, made me who I am today because I played them as a child:
Favorite Games
Now to say the least, this isn’t about those games.
The Modding Community Today
Modded PSP
As of today, modding has been widely and easily available. Unlike before. It’s free, you get access to communities of different homebrews. And to shock you, there are still dedicated communities modding different consoles.
What I tried modding, of course, is my PSP, PS Vita, and DS (3DS & DSi).
I didn’t have everything as a kid but my PSP ignited my curiosity into this rabbit hole.
It started during the pandemic.
Getting Older
Like all gamers, we simply grew up and didn’t have time. I went to university and life got busy. I stopped playing video games… not until the COVID hit and I was stuck at home going through multiple episodes of anxiety and depression.
Long after, I came across a PS Vita community on Reddit and was shocked they were still grinding games on remaining online servers during that time.
I was lucky to get my hands on one. It was shocking, the customization. The endless possibilities. I couldn’t believe that a decade-old retro handheld would ignite such a community and bring me nostalgia while also being able to comfort me through a very rough time.
Gaming Experience
If you mostly play triple-A titles on the highest specs, you probably won’t appreciate it a hundred percent. But it was great. No lag, responsive. At one point the homebrew community even ported GTA titles on the Vita including San Andreas, at the same time Nintendo released their “definitive edition” trilogy on the Switch. And it was still a hundred times better on the Vita. I remember making a video about it, it’s linked below.
From my YT channel: GTA Definitive Edition? No, it's the PS Vita, but better
And so this ignited my passion, and throughout the years I’ve modded a lot of PSPs, Vitas, and DS units.
All of their communities are dedicated and make it possible to offer online support.
As of today, there’s even a WiFi homebrew for the PSP, although I haven’t tried it yet since it’s still in beta.
Closing Of Servers
Freedom Wars gameplay on Vita
This motivated users and gamers to make their own separate servers for games that were closed down.
For Freedom Wars, there was XLink Kai (although I don’t know the current updates anymore).
But for the 3DS, there is Pretendo, basically a custom Nintendo server that lets you add people until today. Mario Kart 7 still has a lot of players and can cross-play with people with other retro consoles like Wii.
My Point
“Old consoles don’t die. They just wait for someone to remember them.”
We should collectively archive media. Like all old things, and thanks to the discovery of archiving them, if you have any device lying around that you know is rare, do it. For the love of discovery and preserving them.
I love how modding is accessible to people nowadays, and honestly I don’t see a point in buying new consoles if you have one of these retro devices lying around. They offer so many possibilities.
Last time, I was using my 3DS to stream Steam Big Picture and use it as a controller and it worked. Worked hella good.
I like the idea of longevity and using things for as long as possible. Although I may be a hypocrite if I say I’m an overconsumer since I have multiple things of a single type, but we should preserve old media for the years to come.
I hope if you read my site and come across a device lying around, you go to one of these communities, learn to mod yours, and make do with what the past had. I’ll update this soon with my own guide and which homebrew apps I prefer to have installed.
Why Modding Matters And Why Retro Shouldn’t Rot
PS Vita, New 3ds, PSP 3000
Modding teaches you curiosity, problem-solving, and the joy of understanding how things actually work under the surface. It’s a reminder that technology doesn’t have to be disposable — old devices can still have life, personality, and purpose. Retro consoles carry stories, memories, and entire generations of creativity, and letting them die to digital decay would be a waste of everything they shaped. Preserving and modding them isn’t just a hobby; it’s a small way of fighting digital rot and keeping our shared history alive.
