Sony launches PSP PS one downloads on PS3

Angus Kidman
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 01:51

Your IT - Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment has launched the first five in an ongoing series of classic PlayStation games which can be downloaded for use on its PSP handheld, but the move has attracted criticism from PS3 enthusiasts.

The initial set of games -- Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter and Tekken 2.-- are available for $US5.99 each, with more titles scheduled for release later this month. Each can be downloaded to the a PS3 via the PlayStation Network online service, and then transferred to the PSP via memory stick. A firmware upgrade is also needed to allow the PSP to run the emulated PS one games.

While the download service allows Sony to exploit its library of ageing PlayStation code and link together its current console and handheld offerings, many gamers are up in arms that the downloaded games can't be played on the PS3 itself. Although the PS3 is backward-compatible with older PlayStation discs, the downloaded games have been coded to run only on the PSP.

Of course, gaming enthusiasts outside the US and Japan can't take advantage of any of this yet, as the PS3 isn't scheduled for international release until March 2007.