The PSP Remaster Project is a software emulation tool on the PlayStation 3 allowing for PSP games to be played in high definition (and more) on a PS3. Sony has been touting this new cross-platform inter connectivity between the PSP and PS3 with the software’s flagship title; Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Version.
Some features that the PSP Engine (an emulator/OS that is used to create Remaster versions of PSP games) is capable of, are the inclusion of high definition graphics, stereoscopic 3D support, full surround sound, and even save-game transferring.
*Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Version comparison – PS3/PSP
In a recent interview with 1UP, Teiji Yutaka, member of Sony’s Software Solutions division, had a few things to say about the PSP Engine, and how it came to be. The PSP Engine came together with the PSone Classics emulation that Sony currently uses for Playstation titles on the PlayStation Network.
"We were developing this emulation platform," said Yutaka in Famitsu’s latest issue, "and through it we came to realize that we might be able to get the PSP running in real-time on the PS3 without much problem. It was our talented engineers that made it happen."
"We had things up and running on the PSP Engine around one and a half, two years ago," Yutaka added. "The HD rendering was in operation by then, too, and that’s when we began to remold the project into a saleable product."
As listed above, the PSP Engine has the capabilities of adding 3D support to games, even if this isn’t a feature of PSP or PS Vita games. Yutaka mentions the possibility of 3D TV owners potentially playing PSP titles in full 3D on their PS3s.
"There’s a group within the Software Solutions department that specializes in 3D graphics," said Yutaka. "When they first saw the Remaster project, they suggested that they might be able to insert 3D graphics inside there. They managed to implement it with hardly any hit to performance and processing speed at all, and I don’t think that would’ve been possible without the processing power of the PS3."
*We would love to see Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep get the Remaster treatment
While Japan may be frothing at the mouth for Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Version to come out on August 25 (in Japan), European/North American gamers are surely hungry for some other triple-A PSP titles to get the HD treatment.
"We’re talking with a number of software makers about future plans for the PSP Remaster project," project head Satoshi Hashimoto said, "but it’s not at the point where we can give out a schedule yet. Dedicated PS Vita support will also be debated over at a later time."
We’ve yet to see games released birthed by this project, and at this time not all details have been released on what we should expect and when, but one thing is for sure – we’re bummed that trophies won’t make the cut for the ‘Remaster’ series.
Source: 1UP