PS3 firmware update to include support for playing PSP Minis

The official European Playstation blog has confirmed that the PS3 will soon be able to play PSP Minis, which were launched back in September. The blog confirms a December 17th release date for EU territories but does not mention a US release date.

PSP Minis are bite-sized games similar to iPhone and iTouch games from the Apple App Store, with similar price-tags. For example, the massively popular iPhone game Fieldrunners is also available as a PSP Mini for $6.99.

No more details have been announced yet, so we’re not sure whether these games will be accessible from the “Game” option in the PS3’s XMB or from some other menu option. It was also rumored earlier this week that many of the Minis would be receiving a resolution boost for when they’re played on an HDTV. We assume that this rumor is true, considering that the Playstation blog mentioned that the “majority” of current Minis will be ready on launch day, and that all Minis following will be required to have the PS3 functionality built-in. It also mentions that the PS3 will be playing these Minis through an emulator, which makes us wonder: how far away is a an official PSP emulator for the PS3?

It makes sense, has huge potential, and would seemingly be a good business decision. Imagine buying a new PSP game from the PSN the night it releases, playing it on your PS3 for a few hours, then continuing your adventure with your synced saved files on your PSP Go during your morning commute the next day.

It seems to me that this would be a great selling point for the PSP platform, especially for the PSP Go.