Sony's PSP 'virtual console' in the works

In a brief interview with MTV Multiplayer late last week, Sony's Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller says that Sony plans to expand its digital catalog to include non-PlayStation console titles as well as back-catalog games from the PlayStation One console.

"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," John Koller says. "It's not always easy. There are 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 the PlayStation Network.

In an effort to further improve the offering of digital games available to PSP users through the PlayStation Network, the company is preparing more portable versions of PS3 downloadable titles including Flow and the upcoming PixelJunk Monsters, in addition to producing more internally developed download-only titles and to eventually match the largely available titles to the Japanese market.

As multiconsole service appetites grow--such as with Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console and evidenced by already hacked PSPs out there--Sony is also reaching out to other publishers for their back catalogs, showing an interest to expand to non-PlayStation platforms.

Sony's drive to digital content is backed up by the sense that this is what consumers want. "We know that 50 percent of our base is interested in downloadable games for pay, not for free, from the network," Koller said. "That's something that needs to be acted on."

I'd opt for free, but I hang out with the wrong crowd. I'm grimy like that.