Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

PSP to Get Classic Game Download Service 106

Posted by Zonk from the can't-wait-for-portable-simpsons-wrestling dept.
Krishna Dagli writes to mention an Ars Technica story about a classic game download service for the PSP. It's supposed to work with the PS3 as well, and will at this point mostly consist of old PS1 titles. From the article: "According to Kawanishi, the new service will work either through a PC with a broadband connection, or through the PlayStation 3 itself. The user will be able to download games designed for the original PlayStation 1, which according to the Sony head works well. 'As for emulation power there is no problem,' he said, although he added that some changes have to be made to the games because the PSP only has a single analog stick and fewer control buttons than the PS1. He did not mention which titles would be made available, but he mentioned how Amazon had a list of "all books," indicating that Sony probably wants to put a large number of games on the service."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

PSP to Get Classic Game Download Service More

PSP to Get Classic Game Download Service

Comments Filter:

  • Great (Score:2, Funny)

    by MooseMuffin ( 799896 )
    Now I can play ps1 games on my already-backwards-compatable ps3!

  • My advice: (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RichPowers ( 998637 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:18PM (#16054958)
    It seems more and more consoles are providing classic game download services. This means that copyright holders will have a vested interest in shutting down ROM and Emulator sites, for these will take away business from the "legal" download service. So download ROMS while you can, before the packs of lawyers start searching for targets.

    • Re:My advice: (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Abcd1234 ( 188840 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:44PM (#16055142) Homepage
      So download ROMS while you can, before the packs of lawyers start searching for targets.

      Or, god forbid, buy a copy.
      • Care to tell me where I can buy new NES/SNES/Master system/Mega drive/whatever here then please? I don't trust places like Ebay and my local game shops no longer stock them. How about rare Japanese imports?

        Roms provide a service for people who can't get them any other way, if they set up a legal site than I see no reason it couldn't become the next iTunes.
        • Care to tell me where I can buy new NES/SNES/Master system/Mega drive/whatever here then please?

          How 'bout a classic game download service?
           
          My friends and I have had good luck finding the old goodies on 2nd hand sites like trademe and ebay.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Yvan256 ( 722131 )
            How 'bout a classic game download service?
            If you're talking about Gametap, it requires Windows and living in the USA. That might be a huge number of people but it's not the whole planet.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by puddpunk ( 629383 )
          Also, I find it amusing that you don't trust E-Bay or second hand sites but a bunch of pirates and their warez on their spyware-ridden sites are a-ok?

          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            by gutnor ( 872759 )
            Not very difficult to avoid spywares. Especially because ROM, once you get them, cannot really be infected since they run in an emulator which is generally an open source project you download from sourceforge directly.

            However there is more potential trouble using EBay and you are using real money in the real world. EBay is just an interface that put you in contact with person and you cannot just run "McAffee something" to filter the crap.

            That said, I don't think there is a lot of problem on EBay for that ki
            • it is much more convenient to download several ROM and play everything on you PC whenever you want it, than keeping for 2 or 3 old consoles hooked on the TV.

              That's fine, ROMs are legal and easy to get. You just have to own a copy of the game.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by hsa ( 598343 )
        Or, god forbid, buy a copy. Yeah, right. I am an avid fan of LucasArts games. I mean that. And I like to play them on my Mac and I am interrested the possibilities of Níntendo DS. So .. do I buy them? Ofcourse I do. I even bought two Broken Sword games because they were supported by ScummVM. Then the problems kick in. The copy protection system for example for Zak McKracken hurts my eyes and Maniac Mansion - I don't have perfect stereo vision, so reading the copy protection system would require glas
        • Your complaints are certainly interesting (though I have little sympathy for someone who pirates due to bad vision because they're unwilling to buy glasses), but they're hardly relevant to this discussion, given that LucasArts games are not ROMs and are not being re-released in this fashion (so far as I know, anyway... and if they are, then my original statement still stands).
      • I'm assuming you mean 'buy' a copy through one of these emerging download services (unlike the guy who thought you meant at the flea-market). If so, it would be more accurate to say "sorta license a copy.. that you can't use anywhere besides the device that you 'sorta licensed' it from."

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by tacarat ( 696339 )
      It'll be interesting to see [i]who[/i] the copyright holders are, especially for dead companies. Still, it's nice to see that there's finally going to be some action on this. I hate the idea of folks getting sued/arrested because a company is "defending" the copyright to a game that they won't publish anymore and isn't in the stores. Of course, I'll be equally PO'd if they try to sell them at premium collector's prices too.
      • That's a good question, but I would be willing to bet that the copyrights of dead companies are not public domain (though that is probbly what should happen to them). Usually when a company goes out of buisness all of it's IP is auctioned off, the only obvious intrested party would be the company who made the system so nintendo, soney, sega etc...

        That's really just speculation though.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by ZMech13 ( 883502 )
      Well, I've run into enough incomplete roms that I could never get to work that paying a couple of bucks for a legal (and working) copy of the game sounds good to me.

  • Sony Innovation (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:23PM (#16054989)
    I don't know why Sony keeps getting such a hard rap. I haven't seen any of the other game makers providing innovations like being able to download old games.

    In all seriousness though, there's a huge difference between downloading a game that's a few hundred kilobytes, and is not available in any stores anymore (Except ebay), and downloading a game that is the size of a CD, and is probably still available used at many B&M stores.

    Sony fails again...
    • Find me Suikoden 2 and Valkyrie Profile.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Manmademan ( 952354 )
        i know this was a joke, but Valkyrie profile was just re-released last month on PSP and is quite good. It's also getting a sequel on Ps2 in a couple of weeks.
        • It wasn't a joke, GP just used a bad example (I didn't know Valkyrie Profile was rereleased either).

          How about Dragon Warrior? If supply was purposefully limited in the US because the company was boneheaded, you damn well have a right to sail the jolly roger instead of paying a high price.
        • Actually I was trying to point out the fact that you can't find either of these games anywhere, unless you're getting them for a ridiculously high price. While VP is on PSP (and I have it, in fact), it's not on PS3.
          • about a year ago my local walmart had a bunch of Suikoden 2 sitting in a bargain bin for $20. That is until a friend of mine found out, bought all the copies, then sold them on ebay for like $120 each. . . But I know what you mean, some games just seem to have a high demand for seemingly no reason at all. Hell, I played a few hours (read 10 hours) of it and was bored out of my tree.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rwven ( 663186 )
        I'm thinking FF7 myself...

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by zarthrag ( 650912 )
      I don't know why Sony keeps getting such a hard rap. I haven't seen any of the other game makers providing innovations like being able to download old games.

      Nin-ten-do, they're developing this console called the Wii....perhaps you've heard of it?

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Who235 ( 959706 )
        In all seriousness though,


        The above is traditionally recognized as an indicator that the poster was trying to use humor in the lines that preceded it.

        Variants may include (but are certainly not limited to):

        1)"But seriously folks"
        2)"Seriously, though"

        Though humor is sometimes subtle and difficult to spot, continued study and instruction will ensure that you, too, will soon be able to recognize and appreciate it.

         
      • Or Xbox 360, which lets you do it now this second over Live Arcade

    • Re:Sony Innovation (Score:4, Interesting)

      by powerlord ( 28156 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:43PM (#16055124) Journal
      Well ... considering Sony's first entry into the Console arena WAS the PS1, just which games should they be providing?

      They will probably make other games available later on, but remember that part of the issue is not just providing a game that can be downloaded for the PSP, and porting the controls (or creating a universal way to handle porting the controls ... which probably won't work), but creating the infrastructure and network that can support this sort of thing. Since they are already creating it for the PS3, it makes sense to tie in the PSP.

      The article also mentions that you can download UMD movies (i.e. to a memory stick and the computer/PS3's hard-drive ... probably the reason the HD was NOT optional on the PS3, unlike the XBox360). Yeah, they are still DRM encumbered (as are the games), but this seems like a great step in the right direction (depending on the price).

      The fact that they expect the service to work either through a PC or the PS3 also underscores the idea of making the PSP and PS3 integrate (and perhaps explains Sony's position that the PS3 is a computer, not merely a "console"). Personally I think it bodes well for the platform.

    • Re:Sony Innovation (Score:5, Funny)

      by Volante3192 ( 953645 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:43PM (#16055130)
      Damn it Nintendo! Stop going forward in time and stealing Sony's ideas!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *
        Just last night I was sitting down, playing Street Fighter II on my Xbox 360, thinking "Gosh, wouldn't it be great if someone could allow me to download old video games on a console?"

        In all fairness though, Sony does offer ONE innovation. No one else charges $600 for it.

        -Eric

    • Re:Sony Innovation (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @05:37PM (#16055492)
      "I don't know why Sony keeps getting such a hard rap."

      - $600.
      - Blu-Ray.
      - Delays.
      - Controller.
      - Root-kit.
      - Real-time weapon switch.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by be-fan ( 61476 )
      I'd kill to play FF7 again on a portable system. Download time? A 600MB game'd take me about 10 minutes...
      • "I'd kill to play FF7 again on a portable system. Download time? A 600MB game'd take me about 10 minutes..."

        FF7 had two or three discs. Not that it defeats your point but if it breaks a gig lots of people would find themselves needing to spring for a bigger memory card.
  • Why pay for some crappy (most likely DRMed) download while you can just play generic roms on a homebrew emulator?

    • Re:bound to fail (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Manmademan ( 952354 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:36PM (#16055075)
      maybe to support the people who's hard work went into the games? Just a thought.
      • I'd be interested to see a breakdown of how much goes to Sony and how much goes back to the designers (if they even exist anymore...)

        • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

          by Sku-Lad ( 990269 )
          I'd be interested to see a breakdown of how much goes to Sony and how much goes back to the designers (if they even exist anymore...)

          So then I'm not the only one who thinks that Sony kills their developers after they've outlived their usefulness.

      • Maybe I already bought the game but the NES cartridge won't fit into the PSP
    • The PSP is much more portable than any PC, even a laptop.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by iainl ( 136759 )
      Short answer? Because this is for PS1 games on the PSP, and there is (a) no current PS1 emulator for the PSP, (ii) Sony are actually doing a bit of work on the conversion to sort out the way the controls will map to a single analogue and two triggers and (3) I can't find a copy of Symphony Of The Night in any shop here anyway, as it was a very limited release in the UK.
  • So users can either upgrade to 3.0 and play PS1 games, or stay on 1.5 and emulate SNES, GBA, Genesis, NeoGeo, or even (gasp) pirate PSP games (and probably get the 3.0 psx emulator sooner or later anyway) Sony aren't going to pull away the homebrew crowd so easily.
  • the PSP only has a single analog stick and fewer control buttons than the PS1

    this is honestly a big deal, the lack of R2 and L2, as well as no right hand stick is going to flat out cut out a number of games from being played this way.

    Meh, if they do this right (charge VERY little per game, and have some reliable way of backing them up), then more power to them!

    If they are going to be charging horrible prices and including some horribly crippling DRM (I only say this as it is Sony), then there is another mon
    • How many PS1 games actually used the right stick and the L2/R2 buttons?
      • The right stick was more or less unused throughout the PS1 and PS2's lifetime but the L2/R2 buttons were used EXTENSIVELY.

        Off the top of my head; almost every FPS game, almost every fighting game, almost every sports game, the Metal Gear Solid series and most of the platformers on both consoles.

        Now if were talking about the much forgotten, hard to use, L3/R3 buttons, I'd have modded you up. (For those that forgot, the R3/L3 buttons are when you push the analog sticks downward, into the controller.)

    • Re:missing 2 buttons (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MoriaOrc ( 822758 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @05:00PM (#16055240)
      this is honestly a big deal, the lack of R2 and L2, as well as no right hand stick is going to flat out cut out a number of games from being played this way.

      The analog sticks where barely even used on the PS1. And the games that did always worked fine with the classic DPad controller anyway. (Don't forget, PS1 didn't get the dual shock for quite a while).

      As for L2/R2, that is a pretty big problem. Best solution I can think of off the top of my head is, analog stick for movement (replaces D-Pad), and use some of the PSP's DPad to replace the missing buttons (but that's very awkward).
      Oh well, it all comes down to how they pull it off, if it is done correctly, then I can see this realy boosting PSP sales (there are some GOOD PS1 games out there).

      I have a PSP, and I'd say that if this takes off and gets some good games in it, I would seriously consider getting a bigger memory stick (since I doubt the 32-meg it came with would work all that well for storing games), and even re-buying one or two of my old PS1 games (plus there were certainly quite a few good games in that generation I missed anyway).

      Hell, I was already planning to buy Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth as soon as Best Buy (which I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole if I didn't have a 50$ gift card to spend) gets it back in stock, and it's supposed to be a "Remake with better cutscenes" deal (think the FF:Anthologies/Origins for PSX).

    • And let us not forget that Nintendo anounced the VC a decent time ago. Now I am not saying that Sony copied Nintendo, but this is the second time they are anouncing a concept very simmilar to something Nintendo already did (the motion sensetive controllers being the first).

      Well, if you're going to accuse Sony of stealing the idea from someone, you might as well accuse them of stealing it from MicroSoft. "XBox Live! Arcade" has been out for a while, and while MS doesn't exactly have previous games they can

      • Didn't all 3 sort of copy GameTap [gametap.com] then?
        • Yes, they did. The only difference is that instead of targeting the generic "PC" market, each is focused on their own Console.

          This is hardly a surprise, and I would hope that each system integrates well with their respective platform.
          • Don't take this wrong, but the Famicom allowed game downloads more than 50 years ago, and there was a 3rd party colecovision add-on that allowed game downloads as well. Services like GameTap & Live Arcade are hardly new, they're just more efficient.
    • Now I am not saying that Sony copied Nintendo, but this is the second time they are anouncing a concept very simmilar to something Nintendo already did (the motion sensetive controllers being the first).

      You say that Nintendo has actually done the motion-sensitive controllers, but I don't seem to be able to find them. Until you can buy one, the Wii is every bit as much a concept as the PS3 and its features merely vaporware.

      • Yes, because no one has been able to play a Wii and use the motion sensitive controllers. All the videos posted all over Youtube [youtube.com] and gaming review sites [ign.com] of [youtube.com] people [youtube.com] playing [youtube.com] the games [youtube.com] are doctored. Oh, and the Apollo never happened, too, right?

        WTF? Right now, Wii looks a heck of a lot more tangible than the PS3's motion controller.
        • Yes, because no one has been able to play a Wii and use the motion sensitive controllers. All the videos posted all over Youtube and gaming review sites of people playing the games are doctored.

          I never implied that they were doctored. Saying that you can see pictures of people playing is like saying that you can see pictures of people using Vista - yes, you can, but you can't buy it yet. What I was saying was, at this point, it's just marketing hype and should be treated as such.

          • You're missing MY point. The fact that people have used the Wiimote, and critiqued it, citing it's problems, it's strengths and weaknesses, indicates that it is beyond marketing hype. It is a thing, an object which exists in this world and on this planet and will be hitting stores in a few months. If it were marketing hype, no one would be able to report on how successful it actually is, or how well it works.

            Which, coincidentally, seems to be afflicting the PS3's Amazing Motion Control Sensor Controller, wh
  • finally the PSP gets original games that arent ports.. hmm on second thought.
    • Lumines, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, LocoRoco, Me and My Katamari, Metal Gear Acid 1+2, Syphon Filter: The Dark Mirror, WipEout Pure, and that's just off the top of my head.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by catprog ( 849688 )
        Orignal games: Lummines LocoRoco Sequals: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Me and My Katamari Metal Gear Acid 1+2 Syphon Filter: The Dark Mirror WipEout Pure
        • original games that would work on a GBA : Lummines LocoRoco
          need more power than the GBA: none

        • WipeOut Pure? that's really original, I still have it for the Sega Saturn...

          Look it up in an old history book.

  • Very interesting interview (Score:3, Informative)

    by antifoidulus ( 807088 ) on Wednesday September 06, 2006 @04:54PM (#16055207) Homepage Journal
    I read the original Japanese interview*(well kinda sorta, I'm not going to pretend my Japanese is good enough to grasp 100% of it, but I did get the gist of what he was saying). He goes on and on about whether or not the network will be able to handle all the data and states that they are compressing cd audio and whatnot to get the file size down. However, he didn't seem to address the fact that people's memory sticks are at most 1 gig. Are they going to be able to squeeze all that content onto a memory stick?

    At any rate, the emulator was only a small part of the interview. Most of it focuses on the interaction between the PS3 and PSP. He went so far as to say that the PS3 will be like a home server and the PSP will be like a PDA/cell phone. He even said that users would store their movies on the ps3 and then could download the ones they want onto the psp. He also dismissed PC emulation but started talking about cell phones again.

    In fact, he talked a lot about cell phones and how he envisions the future of portable media. So much in fact the interviewer asked him if he thought it would be possible to combine psp and cell phone technology and his answer was that "I think that is one possibility"(again rough translation). So I guess we won't be surprised if a few years down the road we see a psphone.

    • they are compressing cd audio and whatnot to get the file size down. However, he didn't seem to address the fact that people's memory sticks are at most 1 gig. Are they going to be able to squeeze all that content onto a memory stick?

      A lot of games for PlayStation used either Red Book CD audio, which compresses by about 11:1 when converted to a 128 kbps ATRAC stream (where the sound effects cover up any lingering artifacts), or XA ADPCM audio (especially in Capcom games), which compresses by about 3:1, or

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Mongoose ( 8480 )
      Actually if you have a PSX ( japan only ) you can save your DVR / movies to your PSP already. In fact the PSP interface is from PSX. It would be hard for them not to do something a PS2 with DVR ( PSX ) could do on the PS3. It just makes sense. If the US had PSX then the PSP might be even more popular.
  • Hmm... this seems to be one of the best reasons to buy a PSP yet assuming that they have all of the Final Fantasies available. Of course, I would still need to shell out for the PSP only to then have to shell out more dough to buy copies of games I already own.
    • Hmm... this seems to be one of the best reasons to buy a PSP yet assuming that they have all of the Final Fantasies available.

      Almost. Final Fantasy 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 (as well as Chrono Trigger) have been rereleased on PS1. But Final Fantasy Adventure was Game Boy exclusive, and the remake titled Sword of Mana is GBA exclusive. The remake of Final Fantasy III is also Nintendo exclusive.

  • it's Riiiidgee Raaaaaacer

    (oh, great)
  • But nothing has changed on the PSP exceopt a few updates. So why did it take this long to get cool stuff? Sony really has been having a hard decade. This sort of thing should have been worked into the initial PSP release and used to increase market share, instead of comming after all this time when the DS is kicking it's butt.
  • Now all you Sony fanboys that pan Nintendo for rereleasing the same old games will stop talking!
  • wasn't this news in sony's E3 press conference?
  • Jumping Flash 2: Escape from Little Moo .. that was the best PSX game ever; okay, best PSX game I played (I didn't ever play FF7.

    anyone remember that game?

Slashdot Top Deals

Work without a vision is slavery, Vision without work is a pipe dream, But vision with work is the hope of the world.

Close