Via Chubigan

There’s a unique situation at hand when the PS3 launches in November: it succeeds two other Sony consoles that are still being strongly supported...one that has dominated the console industry for the last few years, and one that has not done quite as well in sales as expected. While the PS2 will continue to be supported and live on its own for the next few years, it is the PSP that opens a world of potential to the PS3...one that could help sales of both the PSP and PS3 over the next few years.

Why It’s Different.

Before we get to talking about the PS3 to PSP connectivity’s future, it is first important to note why this is different than any other console to handheld connectivity that has failed beforehand...namely, the Gamecube and GBA.

The GBA has a huge install base that easily surpasses any handheld on the market today. Couple that with the Gamecube and you have a recipe for success, no? Unfortunately few games supported the connectivity, and the whole idea dropped off before the Gamecube’s support waned. But why?

There are a few major reasons: one, the GBA is just not powerful enough to do much outside of providing maps and information to Gamecube games. The second and biggest reason is the adaptor users needed to purchase...while it was only $10, it was still an entry fee that needed to be bought before connectivity could happen. Players asked themselves...did they really want to pay $10 to, say, download Pac-Man on their GBA temporarily? Not many games aside from the one Zelda game that focused around the entire concept gave enough reason to make the investment, however small it was.

There were more reasons, namely the fact that you needed a specific cartridge for it to work and the fact that the connectivity was not supported inside the Gamecube hardware, but rather software only. This was not really Nintendo’s fault, as they’ve learned from this enough to make the DS and Wii more easily accessible. While previous generations separated handhelds and consoles with a big, thick line, as we move onto the future the gap is closing. While no plans have been announced by Nintendo to use the DS and Wii together, it will certainly happen.

Which brings us back to the PSP and PS3...the main benefit being if you have a PSP and PS3, you’re set to go, whether it be via USB (with the controller cable you already get with the system) or Wi-Fi. There’s no deciding whether or not you want to invest in a cheap cable, or if you need a certain game to get the content...the accessibility is already there, and its ready when you are.

PS3: Your Media...on Demand.

One of the most important things to note about the PSP to PS3 connectivity is that it’s ready to go right outside the box. We won’t have to wait a few months for the first firmware update to come in; it’s available right on November 17th, whether it be downloading media or buying PS1 games for your PSP.

The great thing is that the PSP isn’t recognized as just another USB hard drive, rather the PS3 takes the content as its little media cousin on the go (going as far as to display your name you chose for the PSP way back when you first booted it up...remember that?)

The great thing about all this is how you can stream content from your PS3 directly to your PSP...while it’s limited to the house at launch, in the next firmware update we’ll see it expand to across the world. Anything that’s on your PS3 media wise, you can stream it directly to the PSP. On the other hand you can plug in your PSP and stream any media you have on it to the PS3.

Yeah, I know...this is all news you’ve heard before. But when you hear people say the PSP to PS3 connectivity will likely fail, and you see all these options on day ONE with NO extra equipment to buy, it’s hard to see how it could “fail” at all. It’s only going to get better from here.

How so? We’ll, let’s find out.

PS3: Your Bank of Awesome.

The PS1 downloads are going to be quite excellent to have for the PSP on launch day...just buy a $5 PS1 game, hook up your PSP and start gamin’! According to Sony soon after the holidays we’ll even be able to play downloaded PS1 games on the PS3.

Once that happens you’ll see a whole new level of sharing and swapping...play some PS1 on the PS3, then transfer that save over to your PSP and continue where you left off. Once you get back home plug that PSP in, sync saves and continue yet again on the PS3. That’s pretty sweet if you ask me.

The problem we may run into is the size of PS1 games...you may need a big memory stick if downloads range from 200mb to 1GB. How are you going to be able to fit all those games on just a 2-4GB stick? Maybe it won’t be such a problem since you can swap them out when you get home, but what about going on a trip?

That’s where the PS3 comes in. Acting as a bank of your PS1 game library, you can directly access your PS3 with your PSP in, say, a hotel room. Then perhaps sometime in the future we’ll get a program on the PSP that shows all the PS1 games on your HDD back home. Now you check off what games you want to download, and leave the PSP plugged ...