Sony Forgets Convenience With PSOne Games On PSP

The December 18 firmware update 2.10 for the PS3 was announced to do some wonderful things. Among the new features were picture in picture view for Blu-Ray discs, a voice changer for voice and picture chat and more video file compatibility. The PSP’s 3.80 update was announced to enable a very welcome Internet radio functionality. What they had forgotten to mention in either update was remote play of any PSOne game.

Gamesindustry.biz confirmed that it was in fact possible to play original Playstation games remotely with your PSP and PS3 after these updates. SCEA is still keeping mum about this feature. It might have something to do with the mechanics of the PSP. The absence of a second analog stick and only having two shoulder buttons will create some problems. Of course it’s always possible to reassign the buttons, but that’ll be a massive headache after you spend ten hours trying to figure out which action you want to replace so Abe can still fart.

It’s great that it’s possible to play any PSOne game on your PSP now. In fact, back before I decided that the PSP was comparable to a lifetime membership to the Natural Museum of Dildos – Novel to have, but utterly pointless – I really wanted to play some of my old PSP games on it because it has the strength to do it. However, I can’t justify playing anything on Remote Play.

I’m not going to waste electricity leaving my PS3 on with a disc in it on the off chance that I might play the one game I have loaded into my PSP when I’m in a wireless hotspot. The other option is playing at home. If I’m going to be sitting around with my PS3 on and a disc loaded into it, I think I really ought to be sitting in front of the TV playing that. I won’t be sitting in front of the TV playing my PSP. It’s just inappropriate when there’s effectively eight home consoles waiting to be played right in front of me.

The way I’ve always understood it is that portable gaming is to be on the go conveniently. Now that I no longer take a subway every single day, my Nintendo DS gets almost no play. Even when I was playing a lot of portable games the main reason I sold my Lumines machine, otherwise known as the PSP, was because it wasn’t worth taking portably. The battery life was pathetic, it was a fragile thing that I had to get a case for and the games were inconvenient to carry around with me. I had to decide specifically what I was going to play for the whole day, or at least the next two hours before it gave me the self-destruct message.

Until there’s a way to load the games directly to my PSP for true on the go play. I think Sony thought they were doing gamers a favor, but it’s in the usual Sony fashion. Misguided and inconvenient.