Posted Sep 01, 2006 at 02:38PM by Kyle M. Listed in: PlayStation 3, PSP Tags: Japan, Sony, PS1, PS2
Ó

PSP

Sony Computer Entertainment corporate executive Izumi Kawanishi has shared some ideas about unifying Sony's two latest consoles, the PSP and the PS3 today. The title of the interview by Japan's Nikkei BP- "PSP will become a Virtual PS3." Of course, the first question on Nikkei's mind was the upcoming PS1 emulation for the PSP. In response, Kawanishi said that it was technically possible to emulate PS1 games on a PSP (which most people know) and that internal tests are still going but progress is steady.

Of course, being a Sony man through and through, Kawanishi kept quiet about specifics, but did tell Nikkei what difficulties Sony were facing in the project. "Emulating all PSP games would be difficult. The PS1 has left and right analogue sticks and a large number of controller buttons. The PSP has just one analogue stick, and a different number of buttons. There's no power problem with emulation, but there are limitations with the user interface."

Although not PS3 or PSP related, it is interesting to know that Sony actually tried out digital distribution of PlayStation games on the PS2. In Japan, it was possible for a while to download a select few titles to the PS2 hard disk. However, Sony never went ahead with the project. Kawanishi pointed out that the broadband connections required for that kind of service wasn't available at the time so it did not seem feasible to continue with the idea.

The times have changed, however. "Now, fiber optic is already spreading," noted Kawanishi. "We felt that there was now an environment where true e-Distribution could be realized, so we made an announcement again in March." Sony may have some Xbox Live  style plans for its e-distribution scheme.

"Games for PS3, PSP, PS1 and so-forth will be distributed via the network. While popular series are a separate matter, it's becoming hard to tell what's inside the package of recent games. So, we're thinking of distributing demo versions. In the case of PS1 games, we believe that if we make a library of all games available, similar to what Amazon does for books, there will be many users who want to give the classic titles a try." Kawanashi also said that that Sony might allow gamers to play PS1 games through emulation on the PC and, in the future, on a cell phone.

Now lets get to the Juicy PSP/PS3 inter-connectivity part. "It's possible to have distribution of video imagery from the PS3 to PSP," said Kawanishi. "In other words, images that are rendered on the PS3 will be sent to the PSP via wireless LAN. If the PS3 is something like a home server that's placed in the center of your home, the PSP is an information terminal that you carry with you." According to Nikkei, Kawanishi was referring to 3D imagery that's rendered on the PS3 and viewed on the PSP.

"The PSP started off clearly with the position of a portable game machine,"
continued Kawanishi. "However, looking long term, there's the thought that it ought to become a portable network device. At that time, if there's demand for an information terminal, it is possible to take it in that direction." If what Kawanishi says is true, the PSP has a long life ahead of it and the PS3 is just the beginning.


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24 Comments


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   by PoboKun (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » O.o

Eheheh, is this supposed to be incentive to update? XP

   by HienekenIsYummy - 2006-09-01
 » looks like it

yup prob... so they can destroy the homebrew community... OOO you can emulate ps1 and have ps3 connectivitey... but you have to load 3.0...haha you sneaky hobbitses

   by BoBo (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » Sounds like

They are trying to stream content....however we already have that with Pimp Streamer. Try again Sony.

   by fdsaf (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » fdaf

Well obviously they want us to update they hate piracy of their stuff

   by NavS - 2006-09-01
 » ...

Cool I'm up for it.

   by a (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01

@Bobo think of not-Media related content, but game-related one (like the Rear-mirror for Gran Tourismo)

   by digi-anime (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » update , ok ..why not :)

LOL , i can update my psp without any problem :)

(i have 2 PSP ...heheheh)

   by Jumpin Jehosaphat - 2006-09-01
 » we are always only a step or two behind

dont worry the homebrew scene will never die as long as devhook continues to emulate new firmwares.

   by Advertising -
   by hush404 - 2006-09-01
 » is it just me?

or does it seem like Sony keeps looking to the future and what they can do later down the road with their products instead of focusing on now? THe PSP showed up with all it's fancy graphics and high price and people shot it down saying something so expensive wouldn't sell no matter what. Now, it seems Sony's taking the same approach with the PS3 and now the PSP is finially unlocking it's potential as a multimedia device along with getting some great titles. So... does that mean that Sony has big future plans for the PS3??? Will the PS3 be a tricked out machine that can do so much more then just simple games??? You bet your a$$ Sony will try it's best to make it just that!

   by RADAR (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01

congrats 2.71 users u will finally have a life now

one question (( Y HASN'T SOMEONE COME UP WITH A
RADAR DETECTOR HOMBREW WI-FI )) PLEASE GET THIS MESSAGE ACROSS THE QJ AREA

   by MNOB07 (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » Play your PS3 wirelessly while two rooms over or even outside?

That would be friggin sweet to play PS3 games on your PSP. There's no doubt that there'd be a bit of lag in the connectivity, but it could be better than online lag and could work on select games I hope they develop this feature further. (But it is Sony..)

I'd like it if the whole streaming content thing solidifies. Also if the PS3 could function as a HTPC (which seems possible all it's lacking is a tv tuner and correct software which could be added on) it could really be a success in that department. I know many people bash the PS3, but IF Sony delivers everything they say they will this could really work out for them.

$600 for a high definition Blu Ray player/HTPC/game machine/folding slave/remote content streamer "PC" and so on count me the hell in!

   by BoBo (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » @6

I understand what youre trying to say but the last thing I want to do in a game is look away from the screen and refocus on the PSP screen then back again. Besides the last thing Sony wants to do is require people to have a PSP to play certain games. $600 for a PS3 is enough injury. This is what I took away from the article.

"said Kawanishi. "In other words, images that are rendered on the PS3 will be sent to the PSP via wireless LAN. If the PS3 is something like a home server that's placed in the center of your home, the PSP is an information terminal that you carry with you."

I think the major role of the PSP in this situation is to allow you to stream media(videos, music, downloadable content etc...) which Pimp Streamer already does. Maybe the PSP will be used as a remote control also, who knows. I'm just not that excited about PS1 games and PS3 functions to upgrade to FW 3.0.

   by pyth0n13@yahoo.com (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » ps3 portable

dude i wat i take from this is that doesn't this mean that maybe you can play ps3 games on psp cause the psp wont be the console thats actually making the graphics so you send the image from ps3 to psp and you can control the game on the psp, it could just transfer the control data from psp to ps3 i think that would be freaking awsome its like portable ps3 as long as you have a wireless connection anyone think this is plausible or am i just stupid (plz don't say im stupid)

   by comedy - 2006-09-01
 » you're stupid... hahaha. god i'm funny

that's exactly what it means!

yes, it means that you'd effectively have your ps3 in your hands, you'll have glorious 1080p on psp!! (of course, that's not true, but you'd still have the games) now i wonder if you could possibly have a 2 player game, one on the tv one on psp - you could play deathmatch or something... it looks to me like they're basically implementing their own psp-ps3 vnc program, simply put.


   by some guy (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » what?

That's bull about the button stuff. A lot of the PS1 games prob don't even need analog and so the psp is only missing 2 buttons compared to ps1 (original controller). They make it seem like the PS1 has a million more buttons by saying there's a button difference.

   by pyth0n13@Yahoo.com (Unregistered) - 2006-09-01
 » 14

dude 14 i kno you won't be able to play 1080p but when they showed gran turismo on the psp as a rearview mirror thingy it looked pretty good, don't be a f**king jacka$$

   by anonymous stranger - 2006-09-01
 » yep

they r charging for it... I hate xbox live.. thsoe greedy losers charge so much each year, the free internet play ps2 got was awesome... ill never fall for u BILL GATES! and i hope sony dont betray us and become their enemies... then id have to switch to nintendo...

also, yeah nice, ps3 rokz

   by Advertising -
   by The Unbiased One - 2006-09-01
 » Intresting

Does anyone else find it funny that the largest thing the PSP has going for it is homebrew and that is what Sony is trying to take away? Sony should release a firmware update that allows for (legal) homebrew.

   by Imitation (Unregistered) - 2006-09-02
 » The Services available.

Live Anywhere, WiiConnect24 and Sony Interconnection.
Tacky!!

   by FreePlay - 2006-09-02
 » ...

It has been known for some time now that the PS3 will be a LocationFree base station. That's really all that this sounds like, to me.

   by ahnp - 2006-09-02
 » 2nd analogue

what gets me is y sony cant come up with a second analog stick to clip to the buttom and plug in the usb, therietically it cant be that hard

   by hello (Unregistered) - 2006-09-02

They should create a 2nd analog piece that fits into the headphone's remote port

   by johnny (Unregistered) - 2006-09-02
 » iii

PSP is becoming a very boring system, in my opinion. I thought it was amazing at first to run emulators and stuff on it, but those dont even run well. Then I tried out some ISOs,
and all the games arent even worth playing for free. Theyre all just downgraded versions of their PS2 games. Yes, I tried Loco Roco and I beat it in like 2 1/2 hours or so. I'm just wondering if anyone else believes that this system is just boring?

   by myth (Unregistered) - 2006-09-02
 » i have 2.80!!!!

can i still play homebrew game's with 2.80!!!!!



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