PS3 to Wi-Fi with PSP

The US patent office's website is a strange and beautiful thing. As well as all manner of unusual and downright wacky US inventions, it's often a repository of the great big things that companies like Sony simply don't want to tell you. Today's revelation courtesy of the US patent office is news of wi-fi connectivity and distribution between the PSP and the as yet unseen PS3. Sony has filed a patent number 20040266529 (for those of you who'd like to check it out in full), which appears to show that the PS3 and PSP will be able to connect wirelessly and share content including games, movies and music. "In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a portable game device that is small enough to truly be portable, is capable of providing rich interactive content, and is reasonably priced." So what we'd picture is an online-enabled PS3 providing a channel to the net, plus the raw grunt and processing power which it wirelessly communicates to the PSP where you'll play or enjoy the actual content. Fascinating stuff. So it looks like Sony envisages the PS3 and PSP working almost as one unit, to bring you the latest in games, movies, music and audio. Intriguing, and it will also mount a direct challenge to Microsoft's Xbox 2 as the all-in-one entertainment system to capture your living room. [computerandvideogames.com]