Google Engineers Hacked the PlayStation Portal to Natively Run PSP Games

The PlayStation Portal was released back in mid-November 2023, and it wasn't exactly received warmly by the PlayStation community. Expecting it to function like an independent handheld console, consumers found that it could only be used if they already had the PS5.

You Can Turn the PS Portal Into a PSP

PlayStation Portable was a hit when it was first released and served as the console for many game titles from several franchises. It's been a while since Sony released a handheld that would compete with the Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and other portable consoles.

While there are rumors that a PSP 2 is set to be announced by the entertainment giant, you might be able to fashion the PlayStation Portal into a working PSP, and all you'll need is an emulator and a bit of tech skills.

Two Google engineers proved that it was possible as they "hacked" the remote play device to find a way to use it beyond remote play. It took a while, but the engineers did so successfully after a month of work.

They used the app called PPSSPP, which has been a famous emulator used on both PCs and smartphones to run PSP games. The discovery was made by Google's cloud vulnerability researcher Andy Nguyen along with Calle Svensson.

Since it was a software hack, you won't need to tinker with the actual physical device to make this possible. The two engineers did not share how they managed the hack, but it's nice to know that it's possible. Others might try to do the same and maybe even share the way they did it.

To prove that Svensson and Nguyen really did use the PPSSPP emulator on the PS Portal, they posted a screenshot of the device on X (formerly Twitter), with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories running, not even showing the UI buttons the emulator has.

PlayStation Portable 2 Rumors

You may not have to resort to using an emulator for the streaming device if rumors are true, which state that Sony is already developing a successor to the PSP or the PS Vita. It is said to be powered by a custom AMD processor.

If it's as powerful as the processor on the Steam Deck or the Legion Go, then the next-gen handheld from Sony would be able to run PS4 games, maybe even PS5. The bad news is that it won't be arriving as soon as you'd like.

According to The Shortcut, Sony's rumored upcoming handheld console is "currently in the high-level design phase." Despite that, Sony has yet to confirm that it's even in development, which means that it might be two years away at the very least.

If it does offer the ability for players to play games natively without the need for a home console, it's expected that the price will be closer to the PS5 than the PS Portal, which means that it will be upwards of $200 upon release.

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