Sony is big into this CrossPlay functionality between their home console and portable system. This isn’t exactly that technology, but it’s pretty darn close, and we love it. It’s called PlayStation Home Arcade, and is essentially an app for the PlayStation Vita or a download for PlayStation Home on the PS3 that lets you play old arcade cabinet games on your modern device.
There are no quarters here, as each game runs $1.50, but both WipEout 2D and Icebreaker are both free during the launch of the service. Other games include Frogger, Time Pilot, Asteroids, Centipede, Astrosmash Gen2, Shark! Shark! Gen2, Mad Blocker, and Scribble Shooter, the only game for which there is a free demo for.
We’re not sure why these arcade classics are being touted as a new experience within a new app, to be honest, as they could have just been released as standalone games for the price that they are. Perhaps Sony wanted to highlight them since some of them are such classic titles that they deserve their own emulator of sorts. Either way, we’re excited to see them available, because for a buck and a half, you can’t argue with Frogger and WipEout.
We’re far more inclined to play these things on the go on our PlayStation Vita. Even though the games were designed into massive arcade cabinets and plug-in systems, the simple nature of the games is much more conducive to something portable. Of course, if you decide to have a Centipede tournament with your buddies at home and you’ve only downloaded the game onto your Vita, link your Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) account and you can re-download the game for free into PlayStation Home.
We can indeed confirm that the app is a quick download at about 100MB and has a really beautiful interface for selecting games. Prepare to get dizzy with your first few sessions of WipEout 2D, though the game is a ridiculous amount of fun.
Do you like these classic arcade cabinet titles? Or would you rather wait for the PlayStation 4 and and the next-generation of Uncharted? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook!