'PSP Plus' Plays With DualShock, Japan PSPs Get PS Store Access

Sony announced that PlayStation Portable owners in Japan will be able to directly access the PlayStation Store with their handhelds beginning October 15th, according to a report from video game website IGN. Previously, users needed to access the store first through a PC or PlayStation 3 in order to download content that they could later transfer to their PSP. No release date has been announced for the U.S. or other territories, but Sony is expected to launch the update worldwide simultaneously or near-simultaneously, as it has with the majority of its previous PSP firmware updates. The company also revealed PSP Plus, a new technology enabling users to play PSP games on their televisions with a wireless PlayStation 3 controller, game weblog Kotaku reports. The feature will be available to users who have copies of both Resistance: Retribution, due spring 2009 for PSP, and Resistance 2, due November 4th, 2008 for PlayStation 3. By connecting a PSP to a PlayStation via the former's AV-output (available in PSP-2000 and 3000 models), players will be able to activate the PSP Plus feature through Resistance 2. They will then be able to use a PlayStation 3 controller, such as the wireless and rumble-capable DualShock 3, to play Resistance: Retribution.