Joystiq Guide: PSone downloads hit the PSP (by way of the PS3)

Sure, a larger and cheaper selection of PSone titles hit Japanese PlayStation 3s a couple weeks ago but Sony has released the service stateside this week. The initial list includes Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2, all available for the exceptionally reasonable price of $5.99. Unfortunately, the list comes up notably short in the large jumping robotic rabbits category but, for now, we're just happy we're getting anything (see the full break down of Japanese versus American titles after the break). While the process of getting these PSone games from the ether and onto your handheld isn't quite as elegant as we'd like to see -- you need a difficult-to-find PlayStation 3 to download the games from the PlayStation Store and onto the PSP, even though you can't play those games on that PS3 -- the technology worked flawlessly and is an impressive display of the PSP's versatility and the potential interactivity between the handheld and its console big brother.

Enjoy our photo guide for getting PSone games onto your PSP using nothing only $5.99 in virtual cash, a USB cable, and some time (then some more time) ... oh yeah, and a PS3.

The PlayStation Store has a nice new banner promoting the PSone classics for the PSP.


Follow it to a list of all available PSone games with release dates and descriptions.


Select a game and you can see the price ($5.99) and storage requirements (535MB). Add to cart and ...


... you get a cart. Of course, we don't have leftover money in our wallet since it's so darned convenient to just add what you want when you want. No remaindered points here!


If you continue the transaction, someone's bound to notice your wallet's empty. Luckily, they're very polite and they quietly ask you to add some funds in there before your friends notice.


We love love love this. No silly points, no obtuse denominations (1000 points when my game is only 800 ... ). The game is $5.99, so we add $5.99.


We really bought Crash Bandicoot ... everything else has a PSP native version, y'know? There are two files necessary: a "license" file that restricts playback to your PSP (or up to 5 according to some) and the data file. That's the actual game. Duh.


This part gave us way more trouble than it should have. When you select to download either file, it prompts you to "Connect the PSP™ system using a USB cable." Conveniently, we always have a USB cable sticking out of our PS3 since it demands we plug the stupid thing in every time we update the console (please fix this Sony). What they meant to say was that you need to connect the PSP before you hit download ... and that you can't just connect it, but you need to connect it, enable USB Mode, then click Download. "Connect the PSP™ system using a USB cable" makes it sound so simple, right?


Our 466MB Crash package took almost 1-1/2 to download. We're willing to chalk this up to growing pains.


What isn't so clear is why the install process took forever. This is USB2 guys, how long can it take?


Bam! Under Games, under Memory Stick, is Crash Bandicoot!


Here's the "license" for Crash. There's "no time limit." Will we see time-limited demos maybe?


A brief note about PSone games on the PSP. Of interest: a software manual available by hitting "Home" and a warning about the converted functionality of PSone games (some features may not function properly ... like rumble).


Here it is!


We hit "Home."


There are four different control schemes. In this one, the analog nub is used to duplicate the PSone's L2 and R2 buttons.


Screen Mode options include "Original," pictured here ...


... Normal is just like Original but bigger ...


... while Full Screen stretches the image a little bit, but it looks great!


The software manual was a really nice surprise. They've included a scanned copy of the entire thing.


Page 5 of 29.


The credits. Fin.