The PlayStation Portal handheld has been hacked to let it run unsigned code, including a PSP emulator.
No release date, if at all, was mentioned for the hack, nor has the maker said which emulator is being used. Chances are it’ll be PPSSPP, though.
The hack itself comes from Google security’s own Andy Nguyen, AKA TheFlow along with XYZ and Calle Svensson. In a screenshot on Twitter, TheFlow showed off a version of GTA running on the cloud streaming console (pictured below).
Why does any of this matter? The PlayStation Portal was released purely as a cloud streaming title. It wasn’t, in Sony’s eyes, meant to be a PSP 2 or a PS Vita 2. What’s especially interesting is the involvement of TheFlow and XYZ. Time for a quick history lesson, I think.
Although the PS Vita saw several hacks over the years, Sony was quick to patch the console. Years passed without a new hack until June 2016 when Yifanlu, with help from XYZ, Davee, and Proxima, released HENkaku, an assumed kernel exploit that bypassed the PS Vita’s security and blew the system wide open. I actually chatted with Yifanlu, TheFlow, and a few others about the hack for Vice back in the day.
Following the exploit, TheFlow would go on to release several must-have utilities for the PS Vita including VitaShell – an app to transfer files from a PC directly to the Vita’s memory card, among other things. They also released a host of mods. Arguably the most sought-after being one that lets PS Vita users use the Vita’s right stick for camera movement in the PSP GTA games. Cool, right? In a roundabout way, it’s almost fitting to see TheFlow be part of the group that hacked the PlayStation Portal.
Naturally, I’ve reached out to Sony and will update should I hear anything back.
