While lagging behind what was available through the experience on the Xbox at the beginning of its life, the PS3 has significantly caught up to a point where the online interactivity and whole console operation has become much more seamless and enjoyable. In-Game XMB offered in-game invites to games and access to messages and trophies will bring that extra level of re-playability to lots of multi-console games that sometimes sorely needed it. For the PSP, the stream of updates offered are a great response to those who have continually stood by the handheld, and though it’s not competing against any direct competitor with the features it offers, like Skype connectivity and Remote Play with the PS3, it’s shows that Sony is taking consumer opinions to heart.

The next big updates for both platforms has been announced and should be coming soon for both. PSP v5.00 and PS3 v2.5 will contain a whole group of features to enhance the online experience for both systems. The PSP is getting the PSN built-in with this release, meaning users of the system can access the Playstation Store and download games directly to their system. It’s a big win for the handheld, and it’s something they need to keep on top of with the DSi doing the same thing within a few months.

PS3 is getting a lot more updates, and while not as momentous as the PSP, it is still a drastic set of updates. My personal favourite for the simple reason that today my controller has run out of batteries while watching a movie again, is a sleep timer that will switch the controllers off after they have gone unused for an interval of time. It’s something that the Xbox 360 has had, and has saved me many a frustrating plug into a console that sits on the opposite end of the room. The more important updates are the ability to see your friends’ status, meaning how long it has been since they were last online, along with an enhancement of your trophy profiles, which to date are significantly lacking. In-game screenshots will also be coming, allowing you to snap a quick image of whatever you’re watching/playing and send it to your console’s hard drive. Support for the official Sony Bluetooth headset will also be added.

There’s a lot of enhancements tacked on with this release, and more details will come out once it has hit. The last time a big firmware update was announced (v2.4) it took a week for it to hit the network. Of course, there was a big problem and it had to be rolled back, so keep an eye out within the next two weeks for v2.5, but also maybe wait a day or two before giving into the promise of shiny new toys.