Sony Planning Virtual Console Service for PSP?

Kris Erickson • Mar 5, 2009 • Comments ()

Nintendo's Virtual Console allows Wii owners to download and enjoy classics from the golden age of 8- and 16-bit gaming. Amazingly, Nintendo has managed to release titles from the back catalogs of old rivals like the Turbo Grafx 16, Sega Genesis and Neo Geo. By all accounts, this paid service, which charges between $5-10 USD per download, has been a major money maker for the company. Now, Sony marketing boss John Koller says that his company would also like to get a piece of the retro gaming action. Specifically, he envisions classic downloads coming to the PSP handheld through the newly-accessible Playstation Store. Earlier this week in an interview he said:

“In general there’s a lot of discussion about [publishers'] back catalogs that will finally find its way to PlayStation Network in the back half of this year. PSOne is included, but everything is on the table…We look for some of those big hits from all of the past games in their history and look for ways we can bring them over. It’s not always easy. There’s obviously technical areas that need to be bridged. But when those are solved, consumers will see a wide variety of retro games and brand new games coming to PSN.”

We think this could be a fantastic move by the company, however considering the sad state of the PSOne catalog here in North America, we think that Sony needs to sort out their own game catalog first. Hackers have already proven adept at turning the PSP into an emulation heaven, but it remains to be seen if Sony can coax gamers to pony up additional cash for old games. It works with the Nintendo console, but that could be because Nintendo gamers are older, more affluent, and more nostalgic for 8-bit titles. Tell us what you think in the comments below. Should Sony introduce a VC service on the PSP, and if so how much should they charge for games?