Launched in Japan late last year, Sony’s PS3-powered AdHoc Party service enables gamers to go online with select ad-hoc only PSP titles, such as Monster Hunter. If a recent trademark listing is any indication, Sony may have plans to extend availability of the service abroad.

As a refresher, AdHoc Party bypasses in-game connectivity limitations by utilizing the PS3 as a tunnel of sorts to connect wirelessly with other players via the PlayStation Network. While the software is Japan only, technically anyone who owns a PS3 can download and take advantage of it simply by creating a Japanese PSN account, as no regional restrictions are imposed. Still, we’d like to see a proper localized version of the software, as doing so would make it decidedly more accessible to those who are only well-versed in English.

The trademark was filed with the USPTO on July 13, categorized under a variety of tech-related goods and services. Let’s be honest: it wouldn’t make much sense for Sony to secure this mark if they aren’t planning on using it, especially since it has been eight months following the launch of the service in Japan.

If Sony is gearing up for a stateside launch of AdHoc Party, when will we see it? With PSP momentum at an all-time high and the PSPgo due out in early October, later this fall is a reasonable deduction.

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