PSP to Become Virtual PS3?

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.

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.