How Tos

How to buy Minis for PSP and PSPgo

Mini games, maximum pleasure

How to buy Minis for PSP and PSPgo
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PSP
| PSP Minis

A guide on how to buy a PSP game might sound like the sort of feature we'd have run back in 2005, but there's a lot of renewed interest in Sony's handheld, and plenty of new owners, so we thought it was worth another mention.

There's also a new platform within the PSP Store - PSP Minis - and a quick gander around the internet shows a little clarification on buying these new bite-size games wouldn't go amiss.

The first thing that's worth mentioning about PSP Minis is which handheld console you can play them on. Contrary to what some people apparently think, you can play PSP Minis on any PSP console - it doesn't have to be a PSPgo.

Secondly, that old 32MB memory stick you've got jammed into your PlayStation's small brain isn't going to suffice. In this digital download era you need to be counting in gigabytes, and you probably shouldn't waste your money on anything less than an 8GB memory stick, since that's where all your games are going to be stored from now on.

So go for a root around in the back of your cupboard, blow the dust off your old PlayStation Portable warhorse, and let's buy some Minis.

Your first task is setting up a PlayStation Store account. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’re going to do everything from the PSP itself, so go to the PlayStation Network menu and enter all the details it asks for. Also, bear in mind that you’re also going to need a good, sturdy credit card, or pre-paid PSN vouchers, so have those ready. This is a tedious job, but you only have to do it once and it takes most of the work out of your PSP Minis buying career. Once you're done having your privacy compromised, sign in to your account and let’s go shopping. Click on the blue PlayStation Store button.
As you can see, Sony has been good enough to put a PSP Minis button right there on the front page of the store. Click it. The Minis section really isn't much different from the rest of the PSP Store. The real difference - and the one we particularly like - is that these games are considerably cheaper. Anyway, highlighting each of the individual games will give you a bit of information about them. Click one that you fancy to bring up more detailed information, and to add it to your cart.
At this point, you can either pay for the game in your cart, or continue shopping if you're looking to buy several Minis. Indeed, you don't have to only be shopping for Minis. You can add a full price PSP game, or a film, or whatever else to your shopping cart at this point, then pay for everything all in one go. If you are buying more than one item this makes good sense, as, just like when you were signing up for your account, entering lots of text into the PSP is a pain. Paying all in one go means you only have to enter your password once.
Go to your shopping cart. Naturally Sony doesn't simply bill your credit card. If it did, you wouldn't wind up with a small amount of credit floating around in the PlayStation Store, urging you to buy something else. So your first job is to add some funds to your account. At the top right, you'll notice a button called Add Funds. You're then given the choice of either adding funds from your credit card or using a prepaid voucher. Either way, add enough to cover the purchases you've put in your shopping cart.
Once your new funds have been added, they'll show up immediately in your wallet. Time to go to the checkout. Here, you're asked to confirm your purchase before being taken to the download page.
It doesn't hurt to plug your PSP into the charger at this point. It won't harm your purchase if the device goes flat while downloading, but it will waste your game time. Click to begin your download(s). The game will automatically install itself and be immediately available in the Memory Stick section of the Game menu. And there you have it - a digital download fully paid for and ready to play. Who needs to go to town to buy their games? Not you, anyway.


Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.