As we reported yesterday, retro PlayStation games are now available for download to the PSP through the PlayStation Network. There are currently five titles on offer with more on the way over the holiday period. The service resembles Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console, the latter of which launched last week.

The five titles will set you back $5.99 (£3.00 sterling) each and range from 150mb to 535mb in size. Each download is playable on up to five PSPs. The line-up looks like this: Cool Boarders, Crash Bandicoot, Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter, and Tekken 2.

It's not quite as straightforward as you might think, however. Titles must be downloaded through a PS3 (sorry Brits, looks like we're waiting till March) and then transferred to your PSP via memory stick. You'll also need a firmware upgrade to allow the PSP to run the emulated PS1 games.

The method of downloading the titles is likely to draw criticism from PSP and PS3 owners alike. PSP owners obviously need to own a PS3 to make use of the service (making it a regional exclusive for the US and Japan for the moment). Conversely, those who only have a PS3 won't be able to play the games. Even though the games must go through the PS3 (which is backwards compatible) they are coded only to play on the PSP.

Peter Dille, Senior Vice-President Marketing of SCEA said: "Downloadable PlayStation emulated games on the PSP is just the beginning, but it underscores our vision for leveraging the wide breadth of content that's available from the PlayStation brand, and delivers value to gamers well beyond the initial purchase of their PS3 and PSP."

Are you feeling a bit PSPeeved at the whole thing? Let us know on the forum.