Sony Japan Opening 300 New PSP Hotspots

There will be a lot more places for PSP owners in Japan to download content to their handhelds very soon. Sony Computer Entertainment announced that it will increase the number of PSP wireless kiosks to 300 throughout Japan. The sites will allow PSP owners to download games, game demos and other content. These new Playstation Spots will be located at major train stations, selected Internet cafes and retailers. Although the idea of these hotspot kiosks has been advertised since last October, the number available was limited to only a handful of locations. With the new push to open up 300 new locations in Japan, Sony is hoping to establish its PSP as the preferred wireless handheld of choice. In America, Nintendo™s DS machine has over 6,000 hotspots, located throughout selected McDonald™s restaurants. In Canada, there are 4,000 located in various public places. To date, Sony has no major hotspot presence in the U.S., compared to the numerous Nintendo Wi-Fi Connections. Considering the swiftness of Nintendo in introducing so many hotspot locations for its DS in a short time, it is odd that Sony has moved so slowly in introducing more PSP hotspots not only in Japan, but in the U.S. One of the main features that Sony has touted for its PSP is its wireless capabilities. If so, where are all the hotspots? Our guess is that Sony is still gun shy of hackers attacking its PSP, and is fearful of those individuals pouncing on them via the hotspots. Whether this conjecture is true or not, the bottom line is that Sony is moving much too slowly in its release of Playstation hotspots and is missing an opportunity to market itself as the leader in wi-fi usage for handheld game consoles.