There is a small hardware modification needed, IF it is used on the original Playstation. I will attach the FAQ from the website.
So what. I just plug PSIO into my PlayStation 1?
Yes. However, an internal modification is required. The modification is a small printed circuit board (PCB) with a logic gate array based integrated circuit (IC) that detects whether a PSIO cartridge is plugged in or not.
That does have me a little leery....I am no good at shit like that.. I guess we will know more on that later. I mean, is it soldered in, plugged in, what?
What is PSIO?
PSIO is simply a cartridge that plugs into your PlayStation 1's Parallel I/O Port (PIO).
It will then let you play your backed up games from an SD card, to which then they will be playable on the console.
Should you wish to continue using CD-ROM's whilst PSIO is plugged in and not load games from the SD card, you may switch to "CD Mode" within the "PSIO System Software" (read below).
Is PSIO an emulator for PlayStation games?
PSIO does not emulate PlayStation games. PSIO is an emulator of the CD-ROM coprocessor (SUB-CPU). That being said, it is a hardware emulator, which, is almost identical to the original Sony CD-ROM controller MCU.
How much will it be?
We can't put a price tag on PSIO at the moment. More information will be disclosed upon release, or, when pre-ordering is available.
When will I be able to purchase PSIO?
Plans are to have it on the market and for sale sometime during 2014 (hopefully).
What GUI/OS will be running?
A custom built menu system called the "PSIO System Software". It runs on the PlayStation 1 directly and allows you to select and boot games from the SD card with the controller.
Can I boot my backed up CD-R's from PSIO instead of from the SD card?
Yes.
Will vibration work?
Everything thing will work exactly as normal when PSIO is running. The only difference is that instead of booting from the CD-ROM to the license screen and then the game, the PlayStation will boot into our menu system as mentioned above.
Will it have a Virtual Memory Card?
We plan to have this feature incorporated.
Will PlayStation 1 games run at their original speed when using PSIO?
Yes. The PlayStation 1 Parallel Port can handle up to 3 megabytes per second on the system bus. The original CD-ROM (at 2x speed) could read at a maximum of 352 kilobytes per second, so there is plenty of bandwidth available.
What regions will PSIO work in?
It will work in all regions. This includes PAL, NTSC-U/C and NTSC-J.
Do all games work on PSIO?
According to theory, all games should work once we have perfected the logic in PSIO's main processor.
For now, we have not yet tested the entire PlayStation game library, but you may see which games have been tested here.
My PlayStation 1 is a PAL system. Can I play NTSC-U/C or NTSC-J games on it?
Yes, however you will need to play over RGB video output or else a modification to the PlayStation mainboard will be required in order to generate a colour picture. We will have more detailed information about this upon release and how you may perform the modification.
Can I listen to music?
Yes. However, it will be a custom format because the PlayStation 1's CPU can not decode MP3's.
What about multi-disc games. Can I play games such as Abe's Exodus or Final Fantasy that use more than one disc?
Yes. This will be supported. Whilst playing your game, you can simply bring up a menu (using a button combination) that will allow you to mount a different CD-ROM or we will simulate a disc swap. This will all depend how the prototype performs during our tests. More information regarding this feature will be explained upon release.
Can I watch movies/video?
Possibly. If the system can not decode MP3, then it will be near impossible to decode MP4 or AVI. Most likely it will be a stream of 320x256 video (also known as STR interleaved with XA).
Can I use a Hard Disk Drive to play my games?
This is was originally planned to happen, but was soon after scratched.
After a lengthy and careful consideration, we will be releasing an SD based version only for the time being.
So what. I just plug PSIO into my PlayStation 1?
Yes. However, an internal modification is required. The modification is a small printed circuit board (PCB) with a logic gate array based integrated circuit (IC) that detects whether a PSIO cartridge is plugged in or not.
For example, if PSIO is not plugged in, one would want their PlayStation 1 to function as it normally would with the CD-ROM drive. On the other hand, when PSIO is plugged into the "Parallel I/O" (PIO) port, one would want to boot from PSIO and not the CD-ROM.
The "Detection Board" is included free with any PSIO cartridge purchase, and is open source. This means that anyone can make one themselves (should they loose it) and have it be installed in another PlayStation 1 (EG: a friends PSX). If you do not want to make one yourself, we will of course have spares for sale. More information about this topic will be explained in detail upon release.
What about the PSone / SCPH-900x PlayStation's?
The PSone (Sony's re-designed mini PlayStation 1) and SCPH-900x series, will not be plug-and-play since they do not have a Parallel I/O port. To get around this, we have a special version that will not include the PIO header connector on the PCB. You will be required to solder approximately 17 wires from PSIO's custom pin design to the PSone mainboard manually (like a PS2 modchip).
When did you start working on this?
PSIO began as a concept on August 15th, 2010.
It is an incredible device in which countless man-hours, and late night programming sessions have gone into its development.
Ever heard of an emulator?
A what? >_>
What is the point of this. I can play my games fine from a disc!
That's fantastic! Bookmark this site because those discs and drive mechanism will eventually fail.
Will it have debugging options?
Yes. PSIO will have a USB port for a direct connection from your PlayStation 1, to a PC so you may program games and upload homebrew to the PlayStation 1 (check out our PlayStation 1 Homebrew website here).
Will it have a built in GameShark?
Yes. We will add in a cheat system/hexadecimal editor.
Will you post Worldwide?
Yes, of course!
