Get the PlayStation Mobile on your rooted devices

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Get the PlayStation Mobile on your rooted devices

Get the PlayStation Mobile on your rooted devices

Who doesn’t know the Sony PlayStation brand? Even those that are not into gaming should have come across such a name somewhere. The PlayStation has survived the test of time and even the ever growing test of piracy.

Ever since the first PlayStation, the company has worked to bring to us several iterations of the product. The main line, which consists of the console starts with the PlayStation One followed by the PlayStation 2 and the current generation PlayStation 3.

The company has also attacked the mobile front, releasing a PlayStation Portable and the PSP-Go. The latest generation, the PlayStation Vita has been out for just a year.

Sure, dedicated consoles do have their uses, but often times, we like our gaming integrated into our everyday devices. In this era, the everyday device is the smartphone. In response to this, Sony has made it possible to port the PlayStation brand on Android devices.

At first, the only PlayStation certified devices were Sony Xperia Models, which began with the Xperia Play – the first smartphone dedicated for gaming. It was then followed by partnerships with HTC and Sharp.

Not everyone is into HTC and barely anyone really uses Sharp. Sony is my go to place for gaming, but not for their smartphones and support. Still, many of us would love to get our hands on some PSN games for our smartphones. Fortunately, thanks to root access, we can do just that.

Getting Started

Well, first of all, let’s get our tools ready. The first thing you would need is to get the app itself. You can get that from the PlayStation site directly. It is currently on version 1.1.1 and is around 19 MB in size.

Now, before you do anything else, you need to check first if your device is actually supported or not. If your device is in the list, consider stopping here and just proceed as Sony tells you. Your route would be the official way. For the rest of us who don’t own PlayStation certified devices, read on to see if your device can make it work. The list can be found here:

PlayStation Certified Devices

Since we are going to take an unofficial path, you have to expect that you would need to have at least rooted your device. Apart from root, you also need to have access to a custom recovery, such as the clockworkmod recovery. If you have all these things ready, we just need to download one more file.

That contains a zip file where all of the files you need would be ready for you to port the PlayStation app. It is a small 125 KB zip file, so don’t worry. Just tap on the Download button, and it should be done in a flash.

PS 1

Installing PlayStation Mobile

Now that we have our files ready, we need to install the files on your phone. To successfully install the PlayStation Mobile app, you need to allow your phone to install apps outside of the Play store.

Allowing Installation from Unknown Sources

The place to enable this feature is somewhat different depending on the version of Android you have as well as the skin imposed on it. Generally, when you have a Gingerbread device or lower, the option to enable it is on the Applications list of options in the settings app, simply select settings, then go to Applications and find that option on the list.

PS 2

For Android versions from ICS and above, you need to check the Security settings instead. To get there, simply choose settings, and then look for “Security” or “Security and Lock screen”. Just scroll along until you find the option to unable unknown sources.

Installing the APK

Once you are ready to move along, copy the 2 files you downloaded on your memory card. Don’t keep it in any folders so that they would be easy to find. Make sure to keep the files on your external memory card and not on your internal memory. You will find out why later. Make sure you copy the zip file as is. Don’t unpack it.

PS 3

Now, let’s install the “PSM.apk” file that you got earlier. Simply open your File browser of choice, and then navigate to the file in your memory card.

PS 4

Tap on the file and the installation procedure will run. Simply choose “Install” and follow the prompts. There should be no problem during this installation if you allowed your device to install from unknown sources.

First Test

Once the app has been installed, you can go ahead and give it a try if it will run. With an uncertified device, you will simply pull up an error, which means you can’t use it yet. From here, we would need to turn off your device and take another step further.

PS 5

Flashing the ZIP file in the Recovery

Now you know why you need a custom recovery. You would need to install the necessary files to fool the app into thinking that your device has already been certified to run PlayStation Mobile. This process requires a combination of root and custom recovery.

Accessing the custom recovery menu varies from device to device. For the most part, it requires the combination of volume up + power or volume up + home + power while the device is off. Please consult your device hardware to know how to access your custom recovery.

PS 6Once there, you would need to install the zip file. From the custom recovery, navigate to the option that says:  “Install zip from SD card” or something to that effect. It may vary depending on the version of your custom recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

PS 7From there, choose the option that says “Choose ZIP from SD card” or something to that effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS 8Navigate to the file that we downloaded earlier and choose it to install the file.

Once installed, go back and reboot the device. Depending on your version of Android, it may take longer for the phone to boot at this time. Have some patience and wait it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Test

Once your device boots up go to the app again and check for your results. As for the test device in this tutorial, which is a Samsung Galaxy Tab Plus, the process worked smoothly and the app ran as it should.

I downloaded the game called Lemmings and things worked out just fine on my end. Do take note that this is a trial and error process. Some devices may not have the same success story, while others just work all too well. Do remember that these devices never went through the normal certification process, so your mileage may vary.

2012-12-28 02.28.21 2012-12-28 02.28.36 2012-12-28 02.32.01

 

 

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