Yearly reminder to charge all your portables, controllers, and anything with an internal battery at least once a year, or better yet, every 6 months.
This way you lower the risk of the batteries going bad and starting to bloat.
I had this happen with 4 PSP ones a couple of years ago, so I started taking precautions.
Excuse the mess, as this is the only place where I have more than a dozen outlets in the same spot. :blobcatscared:
@OutofPrintArchive I get that. I recently had to pack 30 consoles and hand helds into storage as I just moved internationally. Sadly sold my C64 and cried putting it into the guy's car 😭
@jellycrystals
Every single time I've sold a console or games, I have ended up regretting it.
I'm still not over having to let my collection of brand new Game & Watch systems go about 6 years ago now.
I bought them all brand new around 1990 from a shop that found a couple of boxes in a backroom.
Spent 15 months at home with a severe burnout from work and had to sell them.
Every time I see an article about G&W, I get this sick feeling in my stomach...
@gourd at this point in time we can’t really blame a system for having issues with its battery when it’s nearly 20 years old.
It’s just a matter of time.
But good that you caught it before it could do any damage to the console itself.
@OutofPrintArchive My Advance SP was indeed swoll last time I pulled it out. Replaced battery and tried to put the handhelds back in regular rotation. Got my 7yo hooked on Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes so that took care of the DS. This gave me extra appreciation for handhelds that use standard AAs or AAAs.
@HangFireBooks
The game just got a brand new rerelease in modern systems btw.
So much fun! I’m hoping it gets a physical release on Switch one day.
The battery thing is why I prefer the Xbox controllers over Sony or Nintendo’s solution.
Just keep a pair of rechargeable one close and you’re good to go.
Never have to worry about the battery going bad over time.
@OutofPrintArchive Cool! Yeah I would love a sequel or a new game w /similar system. I feel the same way re: controllers. Give me a wire or external batteries any day.
@Lorhin the 3DS is crazy like that.
It’s the same for the DSi XL systems and possible the other DSi systems as well.
Years later and they can still be at 60 or 70% depending on the battery health.
Nintendo hardware sure is made differently.
@Judeau
With some luck, the Game Boys will be fine.
I do worry about the PSPs though.
I don't know what it is about them, but those are the only ones that have gone bad for me.
I even had 2 brand new ones that had never been opened till that point.
@OutofPrintArchive I have been wanting to get out my PSP and play it, I guess this is as good a time as any to give it a charge and make sure the battery is good!
Just to be on the safe side I'll give everything a charge. Thanks for the public service announcement reminder. 😁
@OutofPrintArchive@Judeau PSP batteries are notorious for swelling, really hard to find an official Sony battery that hasn't gone bad these days
There are ways of using the original circuit boards and replacing the bad battery cells if you know what you're doing though. If you have a hacked PSP you can remove the UMD drive entirely and add a modern mobile phone battery with some soldering
@COMPU73E@Judeau
That’s what I thought as well.
None of my other system, which were many years older have had this issue up till now.
/crosses fingers.
I can only speak from my own experience but the PSP ones are very flimsy.
When I did a similar post last year on the XXX place, I was attacked for being harsh on Sony and giving Nintendo a pass. If I didn’t have anything bad happen to my GBAs, why should I have to pretend that I do? 😂
It's been probably 3 or 4 years since I've charged mine. It's buried in a box in my storage room. But I'm going to dig it out today and give it a charge and hope for the best. 👍
@Judeau@COMPU73E you should be able to spot a bad one pretty easily.
If the back cover is bulging, it’s really bad.
But open them up to be sure. If they are starting to go, it’s best to take them out of your system to avoid risking damage to the system itself.
@OutofPrintArchive@Judeau@COMPU73E I recently dig out my PSP after years packed away, and my battery was bulgng badly. Definitely worth checking sooner rather than later!
@occamydg@Judeau@COMPU73E
While I have nothing against emulation.
Heck, the more time passes, the more obvious it becomes that it’s vital from a game preservation stance.
I do 100% prefer to play on original hardware.
But as systems age, it’s becoming harder and harder to keep them in shape.
That’s why I’ll be doing my best to post a reminder like this every 6 months.
@OutofPrintArchive@occamydg@COMPU73E I totally agree! And if your PSA helped educate me about batteries and specifically the PSP, it could help others as well.
@OutofPrintArchive@occamydg@Judeau it's not so bad with systems that actually have removable batteries, like GBA and PSP etc, because you can usually keep them working with a bit of tinkering, but in a few years when everyone's Switch batteries start dying it's gonna be a real pain to keep them in working order
The EU mandated recently that all portable devices should have user replaceable batteries by 2027, which will affect the Switch 2
@COMPU73E@occamydg@Judeau
That’s one of those rules that should have been put in place a decade ago. But understandably it wasn’t since it must be such a pain to get companies to comply with it. Let alone get everyone on the same page to implement such a law.
@gourd@Judeau
It really is.
It was my main system during that gen. Even over the PS4 and 3DS.
So much potential, yet it ended up being completely wasted by a change in management at the top, who quickly abandoned it in favour of things that made much more money quickly.
Be careful with the official 64GB memory cards as well btw. They tend to get corrupted in time. 🫤
Better to go with an SD2Vita solution.
The system needs to be hacked to use it though.
@OutofPrintArchive@Judeau Mine came with a SD2Vita, been using that. TBH, I wouldn't have picked up a Vita at all if it weren't softmoddable, my primary use for it is a better PSP than my decrepit PSP-1000.
Been laughing so hard at how much the console tries to push its touchscreen and motion controls to its own detriment.
Like, Gravity Rush. There's absolutely no reason it should only let you use the touch screen to maneuver the pause screen, but it sure does. XD
@gourd@Judeau be sure to try Tearaway. That has the best implementation for all the gimmicks the system has. Such a lovely game as well.
Going the official route now with a Vita is such a pain. Especially for DLC or digital games as the shop has been wonky for like 7-8 years now. 😅
Connection errors, time outs, general errors when trying to download actual content that you own. It’s a complete mess.
And that’s when you can find it in that single purchase list…
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