More tips

This tips should work with various games, but there are many games that don't work this way. Although I have tried again and again, I haven't been able to get a group game of Lumines going successfully. The connection starts, but then one or the other machine times out. Maybe it needs very precise timing, or maybe it isn't possible. However, I've given up on it, because I figured out another trick: just because you cannot join a WiFi game using only one UMD disk doesn't mean that you cannot all share one UMD disk.

The majority of the games available for the PSP don't actively access the disk during game play (this is how this multiplayer hack works in the first place). Rather, the individual boards are loaded into the PSP's memory and then the disk goes unused until you progress to the next level, need to save, or unlock some new cut scene. So, why not share the game among multiple PSPs?

This trick will work with most board/level-based games. Just before writing this hack, I successfully tried it with both Lumines and DarkStalkers.

Here's how it works:

1. Load up the game in your PSP and start a single-player game.
2. As soon as it starts, hit the Start button and pause the game.
3. Eject your UMD disk, select No, and hit the X button when the PSP asks whether you want to quit the game. The game will return to the pause screen.
4. Hand your UMD disk to your friend, so that she can load up a single-player game.
5. Once it loads for your friend, have her hit Start, pause the game, and eject the UMD disk, passing it on to another friend.
6. Once everybody is ready to go, unpause and begin playing.

With Lumines, you can have a contest between all the players to see who lasts the longest. After a while, the music in the background will stop playing, but the game will continue. In Wipeout Pure, you can see who finishes the agreed-upon race first. In DarkStalkers, you can see who beats his opponent first. Think about all the different group games and tournaments you could have without the WiFi connectivity, but by sharing a single UMD disk.

The best part about this trick is that once you reach time to switch boards, usually the game just hangs, waiting for the UMD. Retrieve the disk from your friend, load up the next board, hit Pause, and then start passing the disk around. You have hours of shared gaming ahead of you. Have fun!