PSP game downloads have swept across the PlayStation community like a storm in the past couple of years. Sony Playstation portable units have been faithful companions to so many kids and teenagers of today. In terms of popularity, it is almost synonymous to games, just like music is to iPod. But before you start to download games for your PSP unit, there are some things you need to know about playing those PSP game downloads.

Our computers run on an operating system, ie Windows or Mac. Unlike PCs, our PSP units run on PSP firmware. This is the core operating system of the PSP that gives your PSP the ability to play games, video and audio. The firmware is installed in the flash disk of your console. Sony would occasionally release new versions of firmware to add more functionally to your console or to troubleshoot some bugs that are inherent in older versions.

However, you may not be aware that only the older versions of PSP firmware such as version 1.00 and 1.50 can allow you to play PSP game downloads. How do you check out your PSP's firmware version? Simply take a look at the system software information in the system settings menu. Newer versions come with firmware versions higher than 2.00. If you just bought a new PSP, then there is no need to check if it supports the PSP game downloads.

This feature is a security-protection feature to prevent any user from running unauthorized software on their PSPs. While it does have its merits in expanding the functionality of your PSP, it can be crippling if you plan to play some older console games such as Nintendo, Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis games or PSP game downloads. You may not be aware also that Sony only allows you to upgrade your firmware to higher versions. You cannot reverse the process once you upgraded your PSP. This inability sounds more like a double-edged sword to a lot of people.

Some software designers have been working hard behind the scenes for years before they came up with ingenious ways to overcome this problem. The solution is in the form of PSP emulators. PSP emulators are software that can read and run game programs that operate on a different architecture, ie console unit such as Nintendo. There are so many emulators out there, free or paid version that can easily "convert" your PSP to play any kind of console game and PSP game downloads, new and old, proprietary or non-proprietary.

Did you know that there are now many PSP game downloads sites that offer you lifetime access to their huge vaults of PSP games, music, movies, software, etc? Learn more from my blog on how you can join the millions of online users who are downloading PSP games right at this moment as you read this article, without having to spend more than the cost of a pizza meal for the family.

The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Sony, PlayStation, or any company or subsidiary of Sony. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction. Davion is a successful webmaster, author and PSP fan. Discover where you can have instant access to unlimited psp downloads - latest PSP games, movies, TV shows, music and more at http://unlimited-pspdownloads.blogspot.com">unlimited-pspdownloads.blogspot.com.