Unless you go to PAX or hang out on a school bus, finding friends to play PSP games with is a difficult endeavor.

Sony hopes to rectify this by bringing its adhocParty app to the United States. Hooking up Japanese gamers since last year, the software allows gamers to use their PlayStation 3 to connect with other gamers online. PSP's ad hoc wireless gameplay requires players to be in close proximity to another PSP owner to play together, but with the adhocParty software, players can hook up online instead.

This service will only be available for select games, so don't go dusting off all your old UMDs quite yet. Sony has confirmed that Gran Turismo and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite will work with the service.

According to the PlayStation blog, the application will soon be available as a free download in the PlayStation Store.

Providing this kind of enhanced interoperability is exactly the kind of thing Sony needs to be doing now to strengthen its brand, especially considering how poorly the PSP has been performing lately. If Sony wants to keep the momentum it gained last month with sales of the PS3 and Uncharted 2 (and see some of that business bleed over to their portable division) it had better have more upgrades like this up its sleeve.

Image courtesy Sony

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