Sony PSP News and Tips

Where to find free and legal PSP downloads

Have you ever tried to find free PSP downloads on the net, yet, your search for applications for your Sony Playstation Portable ended up becoming an exercise in futility?

There are thousands of free PSP downloads on the web. However, most of them are of the illegal variety. They involve the download of game copies that you save straight to your memory card which can be played by your PSP unit if it is updated with Dark_Alex's latest custom firmware. Some of these free PSP downloads also involve illegal copies of movies converted into MPEG-4 format which can be uploaded to a memory stick for play on a Sony PSP which should also be updated with a custom firmware. Of course, a great number of these free PSP downloads involve MP3s of popular songs.

Unless their publishers have declared them free game, these free PSP downloads are hardly legal. They violate existing intellectual property rights, and as such, they violate laws which protect copyrights. Such piracy can have a chain effect on the video game industry. Game developers will start to lose money. They will go bankrupt. And you will have fewer games to enjoy.

There are many free PSP downloads which are legal. Here are some places where you can get them:

The Playstation Store. The Playstation Store releases demos, trailers and freewares every Thursday. These are free PSP downloads you can acquire via your PSP or via your PC with the option of uploading the file to your Sony PSP at a latter time.

Homebrew websites. Most homebrew websites host free PSP downloads which are legal. Apps, themes and abadonware games are just some of the goodies that are shared in these community sites. However, you will need to update your Sony PSP to use any of these homebrew programs. Sony has warned PSP users that their units warranty will be voided if custom firmware is installed on the same.

Music websites. Most legal MP3s can be downloaded from big music websites. Singles released by popular artists to promote their albums can be downloaded legally and for free. Such would make great free PSP downloads. Also, budding artists often release MP3 versions of their songs to promote themselves. Social networking giant MySpace.com is home to many such artists who can provide free PSP downloads for your unit.

There will always be the temptation of giving in to piracy. Free PSP downloads of licensed products, after all, are everywhere. Torrent sites are filled with such files. Rapidshare and Megashare are populated with uploads of the same.

However, keeping it legit is the better way to go. Piracy, after all, is a form of theft, and you wouldn't want to be called a fraud, right? Free PSP downloads which are legal abound. It's just a matter of looking for them in the right places.