PSP World

PSP gets PSone downloads, emulator

In addition to the announcement of the $199 PSP, EyeToy camera and GPS attachments, Ken Kutaragi also covered some upcoming software enhancements to the PSP, as well as an official PSone emulator complete with downloads of legacy titles over the internet.

Dubbed "E-Distribution," the service will allow owners to download games directly to the PSP, and will include a software update that will allow for the booting of these games from the Memory Stick. This update, which is expected sometime in the fall/winter, will also include software to support both video chat and voice communication over IP. The initial specs for the video chat service claim the service will utilize the Motion JPEG format.

An update planned for this Spring will bring Macromedia Flash 6.0 compatibility, and an updated RSS feature that will allow for the playback and saving of internet radio, as well as support for audio-only feeds. In addition, video RSS will finally be supported in a Summer update that will also include an undocumented "expanded UMD video profile."

More games should be on the way to the PSP thanks to lowed development fees, as well as games that take advantage of the new camera and GPS peripherals, such as "Hot Shots Golf with GPS."