Sony has issued a consumer alert stating that the PC version of the PlayStation Store may have been accessed illegally. Sony said that a small percentage of user passwords may have been changed through the unauthorized access, making it possible for the hackers to view personal information. The company wants to ensure consumers that Sony is taking "immediate measures to rectify this issue and [making sure that] system security is restored."

It is very likely this is just a small incident; however, it is a smart idea to stay cautious. To verify that your account is intact, sign into the PSN with your pre-set password. If you are successful, then your account is not affected by the incident. Currently, Sony is contacting customers who may have been affected. You can find more information about that at Sony's Knowledge Center.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It took forever to translate the names of these new Japanese PSN games, but we finally got them. Recently hitting the PlayStation Network over in the land of the rising sun are four PlayStation classics: Ide Yosuke no Mahjong Kyoshitsu, Baroque Syndrome, Wai Wai Bowling, and Um Jammer Lammy.

Three out of the four games were not released outside Japan; the only one that was seen in the west was Um Jammer Lammy -- a rhythm game spin-off of PaRappa the Rapper. The Ide Yosuke game is yet another Mahjong game, while Wai Wai Bowling is, um, bowling. Lastly, Baroque Syndrome is a prequel to the PS1 RPG Baroque (which is also available on the PSN, at the same time ported to the PS2).

While there's really only one or two titles that are worth getting on that list, it still is quite annoying that the Japanese PS1 game library is way better than ours. When will our library start flooding with more and more PS1 games?

PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.

Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.)

New for PSP: Get selected videos delivered automatically to your PSP via our new RSS feed.

For PSP owners itching to test out the game-playing capabilities of Remote Play (made possible from the last firmware upgrade), you'll want to go here for a walkthrough on setting up a Japan PlayStation Network account for your PS3. Mainichi Issyo has been (and still is) only available through the Japanese PlayStation Store. As reported during the firmware 3.50 release, the Remote Play functionality will allow Mainichi Issyo gamers to "interact with Toro the cat" through any available internet access point. New details unveil the game's unique ability to complete microtransactions through the PlayStation Store in-game, instead of dumping you out to the PSP built-in browser. Feel free to have yourself a look-see. We'll be sure to update you with our in-depth impressions on Remote Play, as promised.

[Update: Changed the wording of the post to reflect the newly unveiled features within Mainichi Issyo, using Remote Play. The post title changed to reflect the description of these new in-game features.]

The soon-to-be-released PSP firmware 3.50 is starting the slow process of integrating the PlayStation Network onto the handheld. When using Advanced Remote Play, users will be required to log-in using their PSN ID (pictured, right). Although this is a feature only applicable for those with PS3 systems, its exciting to see the PSN slowly appear on the system. Hopefully, this is a sign that future integration is not too far off: we can't wait to get a PlayStation Store and a single user ID for multiplayer games. The future is looking quite bright.

[Thanks, Incog! Via NeoGAF]

Sony Online Entertainment is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the PLAYSTATION Network and Store. At yesterday's Gamer's Day event, they revealed Station Launcher, a new service that will bring downloadable content to the masses. The plans are quite ambitious, as detailed by Gamasutra's interview with SOE creative director Nathan Pearce. According to the interview, plans for a PSP version of Station Launcher is already in the works. Through it, players will be able do download movies directly to their handhelds.

"We have a version of Launcher where it recognizes when you plug in your PSP into the PC. You can download a movie straight from the internet through the Launcher straight to your PSP without it ever having touched your PC. There is no version on the PC, if you don't want it to be. It can download straight to your destination device like your PSP."

Movies will be formatted for PSP, and will not incur an additional cost. The possibilities of Station Launcher are nearly endless: imagine if PS1 games were made available for download, sans PS3. Unfortunately, because of the huge scope of the project, it will be a very long time until we see it: "It is going to be a pretty big endeavor, so I don't have a release date for it, but it is going to be a good time after summer."

[Thanks, Colin!]

IGN has up a feature in which they interview John Koller the Senior Brand Manager for Sony and they ask him how Game 3.0 will effect PSP as well as what changes are in store for the handheld.

The PSP's role in Game 3.0

"It's a developing situation for us with PSP in terms of Game 3.0. What we've always stated is that PlayStation Portable is the cultural currency between all of our products here at PlayStation. "

The PSP and Home

"All I can really say to that is what Phil Harrison mentioned, that PSP certainly has a place within the Home dynamic. We're still looking at ways to optimize that, and I think more info will be forthcoming soon on what that is."

PlayStation Network features

"There's a place for PSP inside the network as well -- that's the same as with Home -- and what that place is will be revealed soon."

PSP's Future

Mr. Koller goes on to say that they are working on advancements to the PlayStation Store and Sony Connect and those as well as the GPS and Camera will be revealed in time. Most of his answers referred to changes in the future and in speaking of the future of PSP, Koller said, "We're extremely excited for it. I was talking to a group a week or two ago, we were saying that this really is the year for PSP. This upcoming calendar year is going to be fantastic. There are a ton of initiatives that are going to kick off, that are about to happen, that will be announced soon, all of which will be very exciting from a variety of perspectives."

Interesting stuff indeed. I can't wait to see what Sony has in store for my favorite portable.

Last week PSP owners had the option of downloading the first of a game series that has a newer version already on PSP. I complained about it. Well, I probably should have just been happy there was a new PS1 game to download, because this week there's no PSP content with the weekly PLAYSTATION Store update. When I think of all the possible amazing PS1 games I could have downloaded it makes me cry that I have nothing. I'm sorry I yelled at you Sony, please give me more games to download for my PSP. In the meantime I'm going to start e-mailing Sony non-stop until they release Rival Schools: United by Fate for download.

Yet again Sony has released a downloadable game on the PlayStation Store that is already available in a better form on PSP. The original Wipeout from the days of PS1 has landed in downloadble form on Sony's PS3 market. I'm sure for hardcore Wipeout fans this is exciting and more playable games for PSP is never a bad thing, but why can't Sony focus on games that aren't already available on PSP and give us some downloadable games worth getting excited about? I'm sitting with my hands outstretched and they have money in them. Sony can take that money as soon as they give me some games I want to download and enjoy on my PSP.

I'm not sure what Sony has against those outside of Japan, but US PSP owners wanting to download PS1 games onto their PSP really haven't had much to get excited about. Nearly every game available for download on the US PLAYSTATION Store is either garbage or there is a better version in the series already on PSP. Tekken 2 or Wipeout aren't that appealing when we can already play more recent and better versions of each on the PSP. Meanwhile, Japan gets 21 PS1 game downloads to choose from and there are some heavy-hitters in the lot too, like Resident Evil, R-Types, Arc the Lad and Mr. Driller. I've only downloaded 1 of the 11 games available in the US and it isn't for a lack of desire. Stop teasing us Sony and give those outside of Japan some worthwhile downloads!

Sony seems to be having a bit of a problem. They have a portable system that is a success, but not by any means their main product. Then they have a new console that desperately needs games any way it can get them. Obviously they need to compete on the high end next gen game front, but they also need to compete against the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade. Without the backlog of games like Nintendo or the head start of Microsoft, they seem to be turning to a questionable source for their downloadable games; the PSP.

The obvious issue with PSP games going to PS3 is that it begins to negate the reasons for a consumer to own both. Sure, right now it's a Gripshift and a Tekken, but what happens if the trend just continues? Sure, this would strengthen the PlayStation Network, but at the cost of PSP exclusives. This is just not acceptable when the PSP still has a long way to go to establish itself.

If Sony does insist on continuing to take games from the PSP library to the PS3, than it needs to change how it does so. Microsoft announced Live Anywhere quite some time ago, but we're still waiting for the day when we can play Xbox Live Arcade games on the go. Part of the reason is that Microsoft doesn't yet have a portable gaming system, but Sony does. Why not have it so if I download Gripshift on the PS3 I can download it to my PSP as well free as charge. For games that require progress, it would be great if I was able to share saves between my PSP and PS3. Maybe this is part of Sony's eventual plans anyway, but until I can buy Tekken on my PSP and continue it on my PS3 or vice-versa, it seems like a missed opportunity.

It could just be that this is a temporary solution and as more developers jump on board the PlayStation Network, Sony will stop relying on PSP games as downloadable content. Even if this is the case though, it still seems like a dangerous road for Sony to travel. It could just be that I'm overreacting though. What do fellow PSP owners think of this development?