Note by Wololo: Thanks to guest blogger Justin Taylor for this article. This is the first time an article in this blog is not written directly by me, if you guys like this it might happen again 🙂

When the PlayStation Vita came out, everyone was excited about the remote play option. Who wouldn’t like being able to play Mortal Kombat on the Vita anywhere in the house? But, Sony blew it on this feature. The Vita has remote play, but it can only be used on some less than exciting games, like Bejeweled. However, a recent series of Youtube videos and some other players online have found a way to hack the Vita, opening it up to many other PS3 games. No one is sure if the hack is real[Note by wololo: between the time this article was written and the time it was published, the hack was proven to be real, and tutorials can easily be found to test it by yourself], but this can mean a lot for the hacker community if it’s real.

Normally when you connect the PlayStation Vita to the PS3 for remote play, it reads as a game system. No surprise, considering it is one. When the alleged jailbreak hack is used, the Vita no longer reads as a game system. Instead, the PS3 recognizes it as a mobile phone.

This is able to lift many of the restrictions the Vita has, allowing players to connect with high-profile games. At the same time, the Vita does not seem to lose any of its inherent power after the hack. In a number of YouTube videos, you can see someone playing Mortal Kombat, Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption and Alice: Madness Returns. If this can truly be done, then this hack has the potential to split the Vita wide open, allowing it to play all those games you really wanted to when you heard about remote play.

This is how remote play should have been in the first place, which is causing the homebrew and hacker community to scramble. Many are now trying to find out if this hack is real, and how to duplicate it. If there is one reason why Sony doesn’t want the Vita to have such open remote play options, it is because of the gaming lags. The Vita is a strong machine, no one will dispute that, but it isn’t a PS3.

In many of these videos, you are going to notice a lot of input and gaming lags. While they look far from unplayable, it does look a little difficult to play during those intense moments when you are pulling off a 30-hit combo or shooting down 20 guys at once. Nonetheless, the games run satisfactorily, which should be enough for most Vita users.

Aside from the gaming lags, there are two other problems to worry about if this hack is real. If you do it, you are going against Sony’s ToS. If the Vita breaks, Sony isn’t going to do anything to help. Ever since PSP hacking started, bricking your system was a major problem. If this hack is real, consequences could come. Holding out to make sure it is worth it would be wise, as more is sure to come out surrounding remote play as the release date for Vita grows closer.