New PS3 Firmware Enables PSP minis, Better Data Transfer

When I bought a new, slim PlayStation 3, I had to go through the data transfer process by backing up everything to an external hard drive. What they didn't tell you, though, is that a lot of that data is "protected," meaning it can't be transferred between consoles... it's only there as a backup. I ended up redownloading everything I've ever downloaded on a PS3, a process that I'd classify as "a pain in the ass."

Well, you new-fangled kids with your new-fangled Internet will never know my pain, as PlayStation 3 firmware 3.15 will add a new, proper data transfer utility. It involves connecting the two consoles together with an Ethernet cable, transferring everything, and then "activating" the new system with your account information. Man... this would have been nice to have a few months ago.

That's one of my personal PS3 gripes corrected, but the real news coming out of this optional firmware update is that it'll enable PSP minis--the inexpensive and "small" PSP games that were released alongside the PSPgo--to be played on a PlayStation 3. This doesn't mean you can run right out and play those games today, though. This update paves the way for minis support, but according to the official PlayStation blog, the PS3 versions of the minis will be available for download "in the coming weeks."

Does this mean that PS3s are now executing PSP code? If they're just emulating the PSP on the PS3, I hope this leads to full-on PSP emulation. Sure, I can already take my PSPgo, sync up a PS3 controller to it, and connect the whole thing to a TV, but actually eradicating the PSP hardware entirely would be pretty cool, too. Obviously, in cases where a game is available on both platforms (like Tekken 6), playing a PSP version on a PS3 is pretty silly. But there are plenty of PSP-only games that'd benefit from a wider base of hardware that plays PSP games.