A new patent suggests Sony is considering -- or considered at one time -- its own take on a 3D depth-sensing camera. The patent in question was filed by Dr. Richard Marks, the inventor of the PS Eye and PlayStation Move, back in October.

The filing calls for "a real-time three-dimensional interactive environment using a depth sensing device" that players would move in front of and interact with. "Embodiments of the present invention provide real-time interactive gaming experiences for users. For example, users can interact with various computer-generated objects in real-time." That sounds awfully close to Kinect, doesn't it?

Another patent suggests Sony is also considering a separate set of hardware that would allow for better backwards compatibility. Rather than provide an on-board solution, this would plug into your game console and provide the hardware needed to properly run an older game. (Sound familiar?) Patents are quite a few steps removed from reality, but they might just give us a glimpse at how we might play our games in the future, whether they're new or old.

It seems everyone's got a Kickstarter nowadays. Double Fine just surpassed $2 million, inXile is going to use Kickstarter to reboot a classic and now the Idle Thumbs video game podcast is using the site to finance its future.

The interesting thing about this Kickstarter campaign, however, is that it includes an exclusive game called Thirty Flights of Loving by Blendo Games. It's a sequel to the one-man indie development studio's previous effort, Gravity Bone, a spy-based affair blending adventure and first-person shooting elements. Thirty Flights of Loving will be given to all backers who drop $30 or more down.

If you want to throw down more cash, Vincent Perea and Graham Annable, the artists behind The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and Puzzle Agent, respectively, will toss in some of their doodlings. So hurry up and help the crew finance their -- oh, they already hit their goal? Okay then, head on over if you want to pay for some stuff you want.

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Naturally, a large part of this week's PSN content dump is devoted to the launch of the PlayStation Vita -- Escape Plan, Hustle Kings, and Super Stardust Delta are all available for download, the latter being the revealed free 3G game. For launch game reviews and pertinent PS Vita information, check out Joystiq's convenient launch guide.

PSN Plus subscribers get the aforementioned free copies of The Simpsons Arcade Game and Far Cry 2, while PS3 users looking to pay for something to download have House of the Dead 3, Worms Ultimate Mayhem and Inferno Pool to choose from. You can check out the full list of this week's content over on the PlayStation Blog.

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Where's the fun in playing a Tiger Woods-infused golf game as the seasoned, acclaimed sports figure? Wouldn't you rather play as a small child? Having somehow extracted this incredible wish from your heart of hearts, EA Sports has announced a new mode for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, which follows the legend from toddler to titan.

The Tiger Legacy Challenge allows players to "relive Tiger's most memorable golf accomplishments," and revisit each era of his career. Playing through each of the ten eras will unlock unspecified bonus content. It all starts -- seriously -- with Tiger practicing in his backyard between the ages of two to six and runs into the future where Woods is chasing his 19th major.

It's unclear how much of Tiger's early years will be reserved for clean up your room-themed mini-games.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will also feature Kinect support for the Xbox 360 and Move support on PlayStation 3, when it arrives on March 27.

Gallery: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (Legacy Challenge Mode)

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LittleBigPlanet probably can't get cuter, but it can get cart-er -- LittleBigPlanet Cart Racing will be crashing into the PlayStation Move, complete with a Move-compatible racing wheel, Sony revealed at its Destination PlayStation event, as reported by Future Shop Gamer.

LittleBigPlanet Cart Racing will support full 3D, but Sony offered no further details.

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Despite being into awards shows before they were cool, we're hoping you're not above voting for this year's Independent Game Festival "Audience Award." Voting has just kicked off for 2012's entrants, which comprise all finalist games across all IGF 2012 categories (yes, the list once again includes Fez).

Should you choose to cast your favor towards any particular game, you'll want to head to this particularly yellow form and fill things out before February 19. Once you've done as much, we're told a verification email will come through to make sure you're not an evil robot. If you are, in fact, not an evil robot, things should go swimmingly.

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