A bunch of Google engineers have figured out how to hack the PlayStation Portal. Instead of just a glorified PlayStation controller with a screen attached, you can now use the console offline. GTA: Vice City Stories, anyone?
Google engineer, Andy Nguyen, confirmed the PPSSPP emulator can now run natively on the PS Portal. It took about a month of hard work and the help of a couple of engineering buddies. The hack doesn’t require you to modify hardware because it’s a software solution. The Google Cloud vulnerability researcher has discovered multiple PS4 and PS5 exploits in the past, so it’s no surprise that he is among the first to crack the code.
The PS Portal is basically a $200 ‘passthrough’ device. It simply allows players to stream their PS5 console games via Remote Play. A divisive console, to say the least, yet it’s popular among PlayStation fans. It not only sold out but also became the USA’s fourth best-selling console at launch. Mind you, this doesn’t account for scalpers, and we don’t know how many of them Sony actually produced. Perhaps it’s a simple case of Sony underestimating demand because every day it’s sold out means lost profit. It’s simple economics.
Nonetheless, the PlayStation Portal does have some interesting internals. It features an 8in, 1080p LCD display with a 60Hz refresh rate. It might not be an OLED, but the screen is more than good enough for its specific use case. Additionally powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon SG4150P processor, mated to Samsung LPDDR4x memory and 6GB of onboard storage. Lest we forget, it also contains a 4,370mAh battery. Suffice it to say, this little console is sufficient enough to run your PSP collection and a few homebrew applications.
Unfortunately, Nguyen says he has no plans to release the hack, and there is much more work to be done. The simple fact that it’s possible means the Internet will find a way, eventually.
