The Playstation Store, indeed the whole Playstation Network, has seen a great number of improvements since its inception in November of 2006: content has piled in, the Store received a much-needed facelift, and this week, Sony launched its own video rental service for PS3 and PSP owners. Kaz Hirai has pointed to the Network’s growth as part of the strategy that bring the Playstation division back into profitability, but some people continue to see the PSP as under-developed.

A good start for the PSP would be its own Store on the Playstation Network; as it stands now, downloads much be transfered from the PC store to the PSP via USB. John Koller, the PSP’s Senior Product Manager, seems to agree, and has confirmed his team at Sony is already checking out the possibility.

"Having a native store on the portable is something we’re looking into," Koller told Pocketgamer today.

There are a so many ways that the PSP can be utilized better within the Playstation franchise, and Sony is just starting to scratch the surface of what’s possible. They announced earlier in the year that the PS3 would be able to export Blu-ray movies for viewing on the PSP, and when Sony launched their video store, it was announced that the PS3 and PSP would be able to share purchased content, so they’re not sitting idle with the handheld; all that is required to push me into buying one is a better solution for storage, but I hope to hear more good news soon.