One of the great things about the PlayStation Network (when it works) is its embrace of cross-platform play. Recently, Portal 2's Steam integration allowed PS3 players to play against Mac and PC players. It looks like Sony's continuing that strategy with the NGP.

The upcoming Wipeout game for NGP (title TBD) will be one of the first to feature cross-platform multiplayer between handheld and PS3. Stu Tilley, game director at SCEE, detailed how it works on the PlayStation.Blog: "It's eight players, any number of them can be any platform. So it can be one PS3 against seven NGPs; it can be the other way around. You can just mix and match ... it can even work with the 3D version of Wipeout, so someone could be playing the 3D version, someone could be playing the normal version, and NGP all mixed up in the same race. Now, the whole world of Wipeout can come together and play."

The cross-platform play suggests that the upcoming NGP version of Wipeout will share many of the same tracks as its PS3 predecessor (which simply updated tracks from the previous PSP games). However, there is promise of new content for the sequel: 10 new tracks, 20 new ships, new game modes and weapons. We plan on getting some hands-on time at E3.