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PS Portal can now stream loads of PS Plus Premium classic games

onQ123

Member
PS Portal owners can now take advantage of the PS Plus Premium streaming update for March 2025, which adds PS1 and PSP games to the Cloud Gaming beta library.

It looks like Sony's expansion of its cloud gaming features continues at pace, with even more features now available to PS Portal users (in qualifying countries). After the recent PS Portal PS Plus Premium streaming update for March 2025, handheld owners can now find almost every PS1 and PSP game available in the Classics Catalog listed in the Cloud Streaming beta library.

PlayStation Portal owners can now stream PS1 and PSP games​

  • There are 32 new PS Plus Premium games on the PlayStation Cloud Gaming list
  • These PS1 and PSP games, along with previously listed titles, are available to stream directly to your PS Portal
  • Adding these classic games marks a big update for the PS Portal Cloud Streaming beta
If you're lucky enough to live in one of the 30 countries that have access to the PS Portal Cloud Streaming beta — a feature that lets handheld owners with PS Plus Premium stream games without their PS5 — you've got a bunch of new games to check out. After a recent update, it looks like you can now stream nearly all of the PS1 games on PS5 in the Classics Catalog!

Not only that, but 32 of the PSP games on PS5 listed on PS Plus Premium have now been spotted in the Cloud Streaming beta library as well. That means you can now play everything from Ape Escape to Killzone Liberation without having to boot up your PS5.

This marks a significant update on Sony's initial outline for the PS Portal's Cloud Streaming beta, which was initially only supposed to include PS5 games available in PS Plus Extra's Games Catalog. Now, we're seeing well over 50 games from across PS Plus Premium's Classics Catalog available to stream directly to the handheld.


The only caveat is that there are a handful of PS1 and PSP games that have still to receive streaming support. As far as we can tell, you still can't stream the PS1 emulated versions of Worms, Worms Armageddon, Grandia, or Harvest Moon Back to Nature. Also, the PSP titles Disney Pixar's Up and Toy Story 3 haven't been included in the update.

Still, that gives us a lot of new games to consider for our best PS Portal games list! Will you be checking out any of these classic PS1 and PSP games using the Cloud Streaming beta feature? Let us know down in the comments below.


 

spons

Gold Member
That's so half-assed. Sony dropped the ball on backwards compatibility since PS4, which is odd since they did well previously.

K-Pop GIF
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
That's so half-assed. Sony dropped the ball on backwards compatibility since PS4, which is odd since they did well previously.

K-Pop GIF

I love when people talk so confidently out of their asses.

Sony had BC from PS1 to PS2 and PS2 to PS3. They did this by including the entire chipset of the previous system in the new system. This greatly contributed to the sky high price of the PS3. They removed the chipset of the PS2 in order to reduce the price of the PS3 and kept it to software emulation of the PS1.

BC has only so much value and isn't worth drastically increasing BOM of a system. Hence there was no way Sony was going to include the very price PS3 chipset in the PS4, nor could they emulate the PS3's architecture on the PS4.

Neither the PS4 nor the PS5 play CDs so they were never going to be compatible with PS1 discs and there isn't really any incentive for Sony to enable PS1-PS2 BC on the PS4 or PS5 even via software emulation.

But the big thing is, it's just something people like to complain about. The vast majority of major software titles from PS1-PS3 have been ported to PS4 or remastered and any time a new one comes over, no one actually cares. It's a complete red herring.
 

nial

Member
BC has only so much value and isn't worth drastically increasing BOM of a system. Hence there was no way Sony was going to include the very price PS3 chipset in the PS4, nor could they emulate the PS3's architecture on the PS4.

Neither the PS4 nor the PS5 play CDs so they were never going to be compatible with PS1 discs and there isn't really any incentive for Sony to enable PS1-PS2 BC on the PS4 or PS5 even via software emulation.
Which was bullshit. There wasn't any reason as to why PS4 couldn't be like PS3 Slim in that aspect, neither it made sense for Sony to NOT bring the old Game Archives program to PS4 when they DID bring it to PS Vita (for PSOne games, at least) back in August 2012.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Which was bullshit. There wasn't any reason as to why PS4 couldn't be like PS3 Slim in that aspect, neither it made sense for Sony to NOT bring the old Game Archives program to PS4 when they DID bring it to PS Vita (for PSOne games, at least) back in August 2012.

There was more value in having the Vita play PS1 games than the PS4 play PS1 games...
 

Perrott

Member
Which was bullshit. There wasn't any reason as to why PS4 couldn't be like PS3 Slim in that aspect, neither it made sense for Sony to NOT bring the old Game Archives program to PS4 when they DID bring it to PS Vita (for PSOne games, at least) back in August 2012.
Well, PSOne Classics started out as a PSP initiative and since Vita had the ability to fully mimic the PSP environment, it was natural for the Vita to carry on the support for those classic titles.

There must have been a technical reason for Sony to not migrate those initiatives (PS2 Classics as well in their first iteration) to the PS4 since, as we've learned through the Insomniac leak PS Store revenue figures, some - if not most - of these classic re-releases had proven to be more profitable than the majority of Sony's efforts in the indie and VR space.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Speaking as an active Vita owner, it acts more like a PSP machine most of the time.

When I had my PSP half the games I played were PS1 classics.


It's a shame that PS1-3 games are all tied to timing, otherwise, it would be great to be able to properly enhance these games with better graphics, framerates, and load times. Even PS4 games to a degree.

But that's why you'll never see me complain about a remaster.
 

nial

Member
There was more value in having the Vita play PS1 games than the PS4 play PS1 games...
Why would I care about anyone's perception of value? The fact is that these efforts not being made in the PS4 gen are why Sony had to start from scratch in the PS5 era, and that absolutely sucks.
Well, PSOne Classics started out as a PSP initiative and since Vita had the ability to fully mimic the PSP environment, it was natural for the Vita to carry on the support for those classic titles.

There must have been a technical reason for Sony to not migrate those initiatives (PS2 Classics as well in their first iteration) to the PS4 since, as we've learned through the Insomniac leak PS Store revenue figures, some - if not most - of these classic re-releases had proven to be more profitable than the majority of Sony's efforts in the indie and VR space.
Yes, as it started as a PSP initiative, it actually took time for it to be on PS3, until April 2007.
I genuinely think that they just never cared, which explains why SCEI didn't even attempt to bring the PS2 to PS4 program in Japan after over a year it started in the West.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Why would I care about anyone's perception of value? The fact is that these efforts not being made in the PS4 gen are why Sony had to start from scratch in the PS5 era, and that absolutely sucks.

Yes, as it started as a PSP initiative, it actually took time for it to be on PS3, until April 2007.
I genuinely think that they just never cared, which explains why SCEI didn't even attempt to bring the PS2 to PS4 program in Japan after over a year it started in the West.

I think you're just ignoring the difficulties involved both technically and legally from one region to the next... And if it isn't worth that time and resources, why would you do it?
 

Bartski

Gold Member
Since those are 1:1 emulations I’m as interested as playing them on PS5. It’s an infinitely inferior way to re-experience vintage games nowadays, instead of using modern emulators with controller layout patching, geometry correction and tons of other features for where those games aged the most
 

nial

Member
I think you're just ignoring the difficulties involved both technically and legally from one region to the next... And if it isn't worth that time and resources, why would you do it?
I can tell you that there was absolutely nothing legally stopping SCEI from bringing up Fantavision to PS4 in Japan. Let's not get ridiculous with the technicall difficulties, please.
As I've said countless of times, the fact that SCEI never cared about the PS2 to PS4 program proves why the Japanese R&D team never bothered to make the old emulator work correctly on PS5 BC.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
I can tell you that there was absolutely nothing legally stopping SCEI from bringing up Fantavision to PS4 in Japan. Let's not get ridiculous with the technicall difficulties, please.
As I've said countless of times, the fact that SCEI never cared about the PS2 to PS4 program proves why the Japanese R&D team never bothered to make the old emulator work correctly on PS5 BC.

The Japanese version of fantavision had its own soundtrack. If those tracks were licensed out, yeah, there might have been issues around whether it was worth re-licensing those songs.
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
SIE owns the Japanese soundtrack, it's literally available digitally BY them.


Like I said, I'm specualting, it could be any number of reasons why. You have no idea if they owe the artist royalties even if they own the music.

Why does disney take down disney original tv shows on their own service? To avoid paying royalties.
 
Can someone please explain the appeal of cloud streaming with the Portal?

I pay for the highest tier so I've had access to the cloud streaming beta. It's simply loads the game but you don't have access to UI or voicechat, etc. I'm assuming you can't do any formal coop.

The remote play aspect works outside the home and it gives you access to everything on the PS5 when it comes to gaming.

The only perk I can see is that you don't have to download the game, that's negligible IMO.
 

nial

Member
Like I said, I'm specualting, it could be any number of reasons why. You have no idea if they owe the artist royalties even if they own the music.

Why does disney take down disney original tv shows on their own service? To avoid paying royalties.
Okay, what about Dark Cloud, Okage: Shadow King, Wild Arms 3, Ape Escape 2, Dark Chronicle, Siren and Rogue Galaxy?
Sony suddenly worrying about paying Soichi Terada royalties is laughable, especially when they were selling Ape Escape on the Japanese PS Store since *checks notes* 2007. Not only that, Space Fishermen was available since 2013, while Ape Escape: On the Loose was re-released in 2023.
Yep, but SCEI only cared about specifically Fantavision, and specifically in 2015.
 
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ZehDon

Member
Yeah, because the PS4 was getting games, while the Vita wasn’t.
Tangent, but I'll never forgive Sony's mistreatment of the Vita. Holy heck, what a great handheld that was absolutely left to die. If it wasn't for PS1 Classics and the homebrew emulation community, I'd literally have had nothing to play on it. It's gone into permanent hibernation now, since my Steam Deck does it all and more, but man - it deserved so much better.
 
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Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Okay, what about Dark Cloud, Okage: Shadow King, Wild Arms 3, Ape Escape 2, Dark Chronicle, Siren and Rogue Galaxy?
Sony suddenly worrying about paying Soichi Terada royalties is laughable, especially when they were selling Ape Escape on the Japanese PS Store since *checks notes* 2007.

My point that doesn't seem to be getting across is you don't know the whole story, none of us do.

But in a world where Japanese language dubs aren't included in international versions of releases, I wouldn't put it beyond licensing issues for things like this.
 

nial

Member
My point that doesn't seem to be getting across is you don't know the whole story, none of us do.

But in a world where Japanese language dubs aren't included in international versions of releases, I wouldn't put it beyond licensing issues for things like this.
I added more to the previous post, btw.
We don't need to know about the whole story, when it's clear as fuck when comparing to their re-releases before AND after, that they just didn't give a fuck.
Your example would hardly apply to the Japanese version owned by a Japanese company, and the fact that they DID release Jak and Daxter 1/2 in Japan on the PS2 to PS4 program proves that this was never a problem for them.
 

Spiral1407

Member
Weird, the SoC in the Portal is more than capable of running an emulator for these titles and yet they still chose streaming?
I love when people talk so confidently out of their asses.

Sony had BC from PS1 to PS2 and PS2 to PS3. They did this by including the entire chipset of the previous system in the new system. This greatly contributed to the sky high price of the PS3. They removed the chipset of the PS2 in order to reduce the price of the PS3 and kept it to software emulation of the PS1.

BC has only so much value and isn't worth drastically increasing BOM of a system. Hence there was no way Sony was going to include the very price PS3 chipset in the PS4, nor could they emulate the PS3's architecture on the PS4.

Neither the PS4 nor the PS5 play CDs so they were never going to be compatible with PS1 discs and there isn't really any incentive for Sony to enable PS1-PS2 BC on the PS4 or PS5 even via software emulation.

But the big thing is, it's just something people like to complain about. The vast majority of major software titles from PS1-PS3 have been ported to PS4 or remastered and any time a new one comes over, no one actually cares. It's a complete red herring.
The EE+GS in BC PS3s only cost around $30 to include iirc. The BD drive and RSX were actually the main cause of PS3s high pricing.

Oh and many big PS2 games still don't have PS4 ports. There's no Ratchet & Clank, no GoW, no Ico etc
 

Mibu no ookami

Demoted Member® Pro™
Weird, the SoC in the Portal is more than capable of running an emulator for these titles and yet they still chose streaming?

That's not weird at all. The portal isn't fit for emulation, it doesn't have the suitable onboard storage for that. They could have increased the onboard storage, but that would have come at a cost and you still have to deal with piracy.

The EE+GS in BC PS3s only cost around $30 to include iirc. The BD drive and RSX were actually the main cause of PS3s high pricing.

Not sure where you're getting the BOM costs for the emotion engine and graphics synthesizer, but when you're selling a product at a loss, every dollar counts.

Oh and many big PS2 games still don't have PS4 ports. There's no Ratchet & Clank, no GoW, no Ico etc

I believe all of those are available via streaming.
 

Spiral1407

Member
That's not weird at all. The portal isn't fit for emulation, it doesn't have the suitable onboard storage for that. They could have increased the onboard storage, but that would have come at a cost and you still have to deal with piracy.
That's such a missed opportunity then. They had a chance to make the portal not shit and they never took it. Also, why would piracy be an issue when everyone and their mother have been able to emulate these games on phones for over a decade?
Not sure where you're getting the BOM costs for the emotion engine and graphics synthesizer, but when you're selling a product at a loss, every dollar counts.
There's been a table circulating for a while showing the various costs. Let me see if I can find it again.
I believe all of those are available via streaming.
And the experience is shit since its PS3 streaming. You don't see a problem with that? Plus, you said ports/remasters anyways.
 
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