PSP’s PlayStation Home named Room

Sony has used the Tokyo Game Show to unveil PlayStation Room, a downsized version of the PS3 virtual social space Home. While details about the service are sparse, Room is apparently designed to allow real time communication between users.

The service, marketed as PlayStation R∞m, will be made available via a forthcoming PSP firmware update, and will allow owners of Sony’s handheld to create custom avatars, which they can use to host gatherings in rooms and visit other users’ social hubs.

Launched from the handheld’s XrossMediaBar, Room is to be made available to all Japanese PSP and PSPgo owners by the year’s end, and is currently in being beta tested in the territory.

Room, which is a free service, will also enable the creation of blogs and albums.