Sony to Integrate P2P into PlayStation 3 via Home?

If you were at all interested in the Vudu box announcement—which promised an HD set-top box capable of streaming movies via P2P—this rumor may just give you a reason to get excited about the PS3 again. A source tells Sony Protection Group that Sony’s planning on integrating a P2P file-sharing service transparently into PlayStation Home in order to lessen the loads on Sony’s own servers.

Why should Sony’s bandwidth bill matter to you? Well, if it means you can download or stream a movie faster through P2P compared with just plain downloading, then you should care. If Sony’s serious about making the PS3 a multi-media center, then they’re going to have to start putting real HD movies on there to compete with the Xbox 360. With Sony’s big bucket of movies thanks to their film division, it’s only a question of whether they want to. – Jason Chen

Sony’s P2P Network [Sony Protection Group]