PSP Game Sharing Function Revealed

An article on consumer website IGN has revealed a previously undocumented feature of Sony's PSP handheld, called "Game Sharing". Although no official announcement has ever been made concerning the feature, it appears to allow the downloading of small playable games in the manner of the Nintendo DS’ 'DS Download Play'. Nintendo has already indicated that its feature will allow the downloading of multiplayer games (ensuring that only one player needs a game cartridge to play), as well as downloadable demos and promotions. The assumption is that Sony will also instigate similar options in the coming months. The specific example of a game using the option is the PSP title Namco Museum, which allows one of the various retro titles to be uploaded onto another player’s PSP. The remix modes of the various games – including Pac-Man and Dig Dug – cannot be uploaded, presumably because of their size, and neither can multiplayer versions of the same games. Quite why Sony have thus far been so secretive about the option is unclear, especially since they have otherwise been more proactive with online features than Nintendo, but the feature could well become more widely supported once developers learn of its existence and begin to support it.