Sony’s PlayStation Portal was reportedly hacked to run emulated PSP games. Google engineers have reportedly managed to get a PSP emulator to locally run on the $199.99 handheld by Sony.
Sony’s PlayStation Portal Hacked
Sony’s recently launched PlayStation Portal, priced at $199.99, and faced an unexpected turn when Google engineers successfully hacked the device to run emulated games locally. Initially, the handheld device was restricted to streaming games solely from a PS5 console, excluding titles from Sony’s cloud gaming service.
In an impressive feat, two Google engineers, Andy Nguyen and Calle Svensson, managed to run the PPSSPP emulator natively on the PlayStation Portal. This breakthrough allows games like the PSP version of Grand Theft Auto 3 to run directly on the Portal without relying on Wi-Fi streaming. Nguyen, also known as TheFlow, shared the accomplishment on X, stating, “After more than a month of hard work, PPSSPP is running natively on PlayStation Portal. Yes, we hacked it.”
The Exploit Is Entirely Software-Based
Importantly, the exploit is entirely software-based, eliminating the need for any hardware modifications such as additional chips or soldering. While only a photo demonstrating Grand Theft Auto 3 running on the PlayStation Portal has been released thus far, Nguyen has hinted at potential videos to showcase the exploit over the weekend.
Nguyen, a cloud vulnerability researcher at Google, has a history of discovering exploits on PlayStation consoles, including both PS4 and PS5. He is set to unveil a new PS4 exploit in May, further showcasing his expertise in this area.
The Availability of a Jailbreak for the PlayStation Portal
However, despite this significant breakthrough, the availability of a jailbreak for the PlayStation Portal remains uncertain. Nguyen clarified that there are no immediate plans for a release and emphasized that much more work needs to be done. If a mod is eventually released, it could greatly enhance the functionality of the PlayStation Portal by enabling the execution of software locally, including game emulators and potentially even Android games.
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