Do normal region restrictions apply when playing PS1 games on PS3?
Solution 1:
PS1 games are region locked, so you won't be able to play them on your PAL PS3.
Sources: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090515104048AA4nkOp http://www.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_posts.php?thread_id=140751
Solution 2:
Only the Classics downloads from the PSN are region-free, so if you create a USA account on your PAL PSN, the PS1/PS2 games from the USA PSN will work, same goes for Japanese games.