PSP Joystick Mods

- Check out these awesome PSP Joystick mods.
- These fix one of the biggest problems with the PSP.

Quick Updates

- Sony Releases Firmware v2.81
- v2.80/81 Decrypter Released
- v2.00/01 Easy Downgrader Release
- More Details on the GPS Addon
- And finally, if you are quick you can get a 4GB Gaming Memory Stick PRO Duo for $90

Tiff Image Exploit On PSP's v2.00 to v2.80

- PSP Updates covered this pretty well, so I'll just let them tell you how it is:

"Today hundreds of PSP's will say hello to the world as they run their first piece of homebrew - the "Hello World" application. This will be made possible by a new exploit found that does not require one to own a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, but rather load a simple image off of your memory stick. This remarkable demonstration can be executed on 2.0, 2.01, 2.50, 2.60, 2.70, 2.71, and 2.80 firmwares!

If you are stumbling while reading this sentence, I wouldn’t be surprised. I just told you that you are now able to execute a homebrew application on 2.0-2.80 firmware. Now that you know it is possible, you are probably wondering how. With the combined effort of several dedicated users – NOPx86 (provided the original x86 proof of concept), psp250, skylark, joek2100, jimp, cswindle and Fanjita, they have managed to execute the first piece of homebrew on all firmwares above (and including) 2.0!

Less than a week ago, Fanjita dropped by our forums to tell us that a newly discovered exploit is indeed genuine and a usable exploit. This “exploit” started off as a discovery by NOPx86 in libtiff. He managed to find vulnerability and as a result – alter it to crash the PSP and many other image viewers. Fanjita, NOPx86 and the rest of this exploit team have put their hearts and souls into this exploit, and as a result they were able to execute a Hello World application on all PSP’s with the ability to view tiff files (2.0+). This application runs in "User Mode", but kernel mode will be achievable on all firmwares except 2.80.

To execute this “Hello World” application on your 2.0+ PSP, please follow the following directions -

1. Unpack the ZIP file to your PSP's PHOTO folder
2. Navigate to your PSP's PHOTO director and attempt to view the newly transferred picture

Note: You may find that the screen does not show correct (occasionally happens) - just restart your PSP (fully shutoff by holding the power button up) and open the picture again."

MGS:PO Pre-order Bonus

- Pre-order the new Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops game from the major game retailers in the US and get a free, hard shell, MGS themed, PSP carry case.
- Here is the EB Games link.

GPS And Camera Price And Date

- PSP Updates lets us know that the GPS and camera addons for the PSP are now priced and dated.
- December 7th in Japan, the camera is priced at 5,000¥ (approx. $44) and the GPS is 6,000¥ (approx. $54).
- Both are to be showcased at the Tokyo Game Show on September 22nd.
- More pics of the GPS addon.

New PSP Bundle

- September 20th in the US you can get your hands on the new Sony PSP Entertainment Pack.
- This new bundle costs $250 and includes:

- Sony PSP
- Memory Stick Pro Duo - 1GB
- Game/Music/Movie video Sampler Disc
- ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails
- Lords of Dogtown UMD Movie

Mod Memory Stick Pro Duo To Memory Stick Pro

- wikiHow has put up a (risky, but simple) guide to modding a MS PRo Duo to fit in card readers that only take MS Pro's.
- A bit of tape and a paperclip and you are done. Just be careful, you are on your own with this one.

N64 Emulator, Daedalus R8, Released

- PSP Updates tells us another version of Daedalus has been released, bringing us to R8.
- More speed optimizations and a bug fix for the controls make this the best version yet. While not full speed, Mario 64 is apparently more then playable.

Camera And GPS Addons, Plus Pink PSP

- Check out a new pic of the GPS addon for the PSP. Engadget has it.
- Still no details on price, availability or functionality though...
- PSP Updates has the Camera attached to the new Pink PSP too.

ISO Loader For v2.60/TA-082 Soon?

- PSP Updates have been contacted by 0okm. He is developing an ISO loader for v2.60 PSP's which means those with TA-082 boards in their handheld, (who can't downgrade,) will soon be able to launch ISOs.
- Piracy is a bad thing people, but this is a big step towards homebrew, which is cool.

N64 Emulator Video

- Check out the R7 version of Daedalus, the N64 emulator ported to PSP.
- The R8 version is supposedly coming soon with even more speed improvements.

Upgraded PSP Coming March 07?

- PSP Updates has scans from (unofficial) PlayStation Magazine"

"Is this the reason why Target pulled the plug on UMD movies? Is this why there hasn't been any price drop for the PSP? si1enc3ed from the QJ forums has posted magazine scans from PlayStation Magazine (not the official one though) with details of how Sony's plans on making "PSP 2." The scans are rather poor and it was hard to decipher what's written, so to spare you the trouble (and save your eyesight), here's the introduction to the whole of the article. Thanks to milkman for the tip!

Rather than follow the traditional five-to-six-year product cycle of videogame consoles, Sony is expected to introduce an upgraded version of the PlayStation Portable in Japan before the end of March 2007. It will not be the "PSP 2" however, as Sony is instead eyeing a page(?) from Apple's iPod strategy and upgrading the existing PSP's specifications while keeping the retail price the same. It is also expected that, as Apple does with its generational iPod rollouts(?) the current PSP configuration will be discontinued when the new model goes on sale.

Sales of the handheld continues to be strong more than a year and a half after it was released in the U.S. It is believed that a combination of strong sales and plans for an enhanced version of the system is what has prevented Sony from dropping the price of the current PSP hardware itself. Instead, it introduced the PSP core pack earlier this year which offered a lower-priced alternative at the expense of previously bundled accessories.

The article in the scans goes into more detail of what changes are going to happen (The features they listed so far were built in 8GB flash memory, new configuration of the UMD slot -where The games will be inserted directly into the system- and a camera. The PSP 2 will be much smaller then the original. There has been no word about there being a second analog stick.) and what won't.

How come I feel like I've opened Pandora's box after writing this article?"

Warning Over Late Print PSP Games

- Hey, how's it going? I've been playing a copy of GTA:LCS for PSP recently using DevHook v0.45 to emulate the v2.00 PSP firmware that the game requires.
- The disc I was using was purchased at launch by my brother who didn't mind updating his firmware. I wanted to stick to v1.50 so couldn't play until DevHook turned up.
- Anyway, I went I purchased my own copy of GTA a couple of days ago at Best Buy here in CA.
- When I tried to run it, this copy wanted me to update to v2.60. Luckily for me, DevHook v0.46 now emulates firmwares upto v2.71, so I was saved.
- My point is, be careful when buying UMDs. Sony obviously do update the games between prints and DevHook might not be around much longer.

Cheap Deals

- USA: Office Depot have a SanDisk 1GB MS Pro Duo for $30, (even though the 512MB version is $60!)
- UK: Virgin Megastores have Tekken Dark Resurrection at over 50% off for £17!

Gangs-of-London Video

- Check out some leaked in-game footage from Gangs-of-London:

GPS On PSP Hack

- deniska on the DC Emu Forums has hacked a GPS receiver together with a PSP.
- It costs about $120 though, so perhaps we should all just wait for the official Sony unit.

Firmware v2.80

- As mentioned previously, firmware v2.80 has been released by Sony and adds RSS video feed compatibility.
- It also fixes the file structure to be more user friendly, ("VIDEO" "MUSIC" and "PHOTO".) There is not a simple folder for downloading games though...
- Support for the iPod video format is another plus, giving users access to much more content available on the internet.

Gangs of London Demo

- Want a free UMD Demo? Try the Gangs of London website.
- You just need to sign up to the PlayStation Underground, if you are not a member already.

New Firmware This Thursday

- Sony have announced a new firmware is due out on Thursday, (July 27th, my birthday!) and will include a demo of World Tour Soccer 2.
- The main new feature is to include RSS Video feed support for the Web Browser.

Download And Play Sony Games For Free

- You should check out GameTap. It is pretty sweet.
- Right now they have a 2 week free trial which gives you unlimted downloads and playtime of their games, of which there are over 500 so far.
- And these are decent games too, such as:

Galaga
Sonic & Knuckles
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Racing Deluxe
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series
Tomb Raider series including The Angel of Darkness

- Even better, there is no commitment. So signup, play the games and quit if you don't like it!

v1.50 To v1.00 Downgrader Soon

- Mathieulh, Yoshihiro and Dark_Alex will be releasing yet another downgrader tomorrow, this time from firmware v1.50 to v1.00.
- This is big news because v1.00 was only released in Japan. Security flaws allowed unsigned code to run without any exploits whatsoever. This was of course fixed for the USA release of the PSP, leaving us with v1.50.
- After a little more testing, expect this great release tomorrow.

PSP Development Library Installer

- PSP Updates has heard from Dalejrrocks and Whazilla who have created a PSP Development Library Installer so developers can easily get the stuff they need to code for the PSP on their machine.

"It currently supports SDL, SDL_Mixer, PSPGL, LibBulletMl, LibTremor, Jpeg, libpsp2d, libpng, libmad, zlib, and libmikmod. It is based on the newest versions of the libraries available. This installer is mainly for precompiled toolchain/sdk, but hopefully we will be able to add cygwin support later in the next release. And more libs ;)"

UltraHLE: Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye

- PSP Updates has news that UltraHLE, the famous Nintendo 64 emulator, is coming on leaps and bounds with the PSP port.
- In the alpha teaser it is revealed there will be full speed and sound versions of Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye available soon.
- The emulator will be released as separate EBOOTs for each game so that settings can be easily tweaked to perfection for each game in future.
- Expect this great release to hit the scene soon.

DevHook v0.42

- For those just getting access to the v1.50 firmware, you may well want to get the newest version of DevHook.
- DevHook v0.42 allows users to emulate v2.50 firmware on their v1.50 PSPs. This means you can trick the update checker, play UMD's that require upto v2.50 and use the offical web browser!
- Need help installing it? Check out this thread.

More Downgrader News

- The final version of the v2.50/v2.60 downgrader has been released and while there is not much of a change, (since it already worked!) it is a little simpler and safer to use.
- More interestingly is this Easy Downgrader from Xtrusion, a Spanish coder from the PSP Updates forum. Apparantly simpler to use than the original downgrader which this is based on.

PlayStation Portable White Is Coming

- PlayStation Portable White Is Coming is the tag line on these Sony advertisements in the Netherlands.
- Racist imagery, or just another eye-popping campaign from Sony, ("Go On, Jump" anyone?)
- The Dutch PSP site has more images from the campaign.

Firmware v2.50 / v2.60 Downgrader

- Good news for those that upgraded their PSP a bit too far.
- This has been mostly developed by Dark_Alex, along with Mathieulh and Yoshihiro from SonyXTeam. They also want to give thanks to Hitchhikr for the exploit that made this all possible.
- Make sure you do not have a TA-082 PSP, since you could brick it. You'll need a mate with a v1.50 firmware PSP.

1.50 User Instructions

1. Copy the folders downhelper and downhelper% from the folder 1.50 HELPER folder to /PSP/GAME/ in your memstick.
2. Obtain the 1.50 update and put it in /PSP/GAME/UPDATE in your memstick. You may find the 1.50 update in our download site here.
3. Init the downhelper program.
4. It will dump your flash and some files from the updater eboot to the memstick. (These files are illegal under US copyright laws, so please do not distribute them in the comments or on our forums)
5. After that, the program will exit. You can now delete the updater from /PSP/GAME/UPDATE
6. You'll notice that you have a new folder in the root of your memstick called "DOWNDATER".
7. That's the folder you'll have to send to a 2.50/2.60 to let him test the downgrade.

2.50/2.60 User Instructions

1. Copy the folder the DOWNGRADER/2.50/DOWNDATERTEST if you have 2.50
2. or DOWNGRADER/2.60/DOWNDATERTEST if you have 2.60 to /PSP/GAME/ in your memstick
3. Wait for someone with 1.50 to pass you a folder called DOWNDATER and copy it to the root of your memstick.
4. Init GTA and the eLoader
5. In the eLoader menu, choose the downdater test. WARNING: the program won't output any display and any warnings, it will init the downgrader process immediately.
6. You'll see that your memstick flashing. That means that your psp is being flashed from the memstick.
7. You won't see any type of output in the screen (this is for safety). When the memstick finishes of flashing, WAIT at least a minute, and then reinit your psp by holding the power button.
8. That's all. If all went right, you'll have 1.50. If it went less good, you'll still have 2.50/2.60. If all went wrong, you'll have a bricked psp (except in the case you have the modchip) Remember that you have accepted that risk.
9. If your PSP is showing up as v2.01, this is fine. Just use Wab Version Changer and change it to v1.50

- If you see "Disc cannot be read" when you have a UMD in the drive, remove the battery from your PSP, (for up to 5 minutes.) That should fix it.

PSP To Host 7000 PSone Games

- According to UK PSP Magazine, these five games should be available when the PSP's PSone emulation service launches:

* Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
* Final Fantasy VII
* Final Fantasy VIII
* Silent Hill
* Tomb Raider

- They also said that up to 7,000 PlayStation titles will be available for download by the end of 2007.
- Apart from that "up to" part, this could be good news and actually puts the PSP on a par with the GameBoy line's backwards compatability... except you have to buy them again...

PSP Games For $8.96

- Cheap Ass Gamer has posted details of "The Circuit City Summer $8.96 Sale".
- The sale does not officially start until July 4th week, but some are already marked as $8.96, although those games are often being hidden out the back until this Sunday.
- PSP games involved are:

Darkstalkers
Exit
FIFA Soccer
Gretzky NHL
NBA Street Showdown
Need For Speed Underground Rivals
Spiderman 2
Tiger Woods PGA
Tony Hawk Underground 2 Remix
World Soccer Tour

Undiluted Platinum - PSP Mod Chip

- ModChipStore.com have gotten their first shipment of Undiluted Platinum chips and they look very impressive, (hell they will allow you to run a bricked PSP again!)
- Costing $100, here are some of the features:

* Run your Homebrew Code in even the latest PSP's
* No need for Hacked Firmware anymore, Dual Flash boot will bust your PSP wide open with possibilities
* Play your Homebrew or Backup Games, Movies and Apps
* Ultra reliable and feature rich Actel ProASIC Plus FPGA
* Full Speed USB 1.1 ASIC onboard
* Branded 32MB NAND flash onboard (same flash as used in PSP)
* Stable and reliable flashing software freely available for download
* Installation verification using flashing software
* Ultra compact four layer PCB
* High quality Japanese connectors
* USB cable included
* FPC cable included, reducing installation effort and improving shock resistance
* Copper enamel wire included
* Open platform development system for software developers
* Installation has been optimized to fit entirely inside PSP
* All PSP hardware versions/regions supported
* User updatable flash
* Low power consumption
* Flash select via button press
* Ultra compact PCB has been designed to avoid signal bounce

- Hold L button during power up to boot from PSP flash, or don't hold anything to boot from the U.P Flash.
- There is one version of the PSP hardware that currently is not supported by U.P, but these are only in the very newest units. To see if you have one of these "TA-082" motherboards, check this guide.
- Here are the install diagrams. It does not look too easy, but ModChipStore.com has an installation service for $99.
- Finally, there is the Epsilon BIOS. This is the firmware you will be flashing onto your U.P, (until more options start appearing since U.P is going ope source with everything!) and it has some tasty features:

* Ability to launch homebrew software from the memory stick
* Kernel mode access for software requiring this app
* Support for 1.0 and 1.5 EBOOTs
* Simple UMD ISO loading
* Their own compressed ISO format

- Here is a video of it in action, showing ISOs, homebrew and all kinds of fun stuff:

PMP VLC v0.0.8 - Media Player

- Check out this guide to the PMP movie format to see how to convert your videos and get them working on your PSP.
- You can then use PMP VLC to play them and other file types from the memory stick or streamed from a PC.

X-Flash v9h - Firmware Mod Tool

- X-Flash is a firmware modification tool that runs on your PSP and flashes it to change various things about the way your PSP behaves. Because it messes with the firmware and flashes your PSP, you need to be careful when using it.
- PSP Updates shows it is up to version 9h right now and has the following options:

- Apply Debranded Intro Screen
- Apply Alternate Sound Effect
- Toggle Network Updae Capability
- Toggle XMB Menu Wave Effect
- Replace Month Background
- Install Custom Font
- Apply Custom XMB Menu Label
- Change Game Boot Intro
- Apply Firmware Version 9.99 Spoof
- Spply Firmware Version 13.37 Spoof
- Perform Complete Firmware Dump
- Perfrom Registry Restore / Backup
- Change X-Flash Menu Theme

Peripherals and Upgrades Release Dates

- PSP Updates posts images scanned from the UK's Official PlayStation 2 Magazine which apparently dates the PSP EyeToy for September, then the GPS adaptor in October, followed by the PSOne emulator also in October, along with video calling.

Sony Access

- Seen those Sony Access veding machines in a mall near you yet? If not, here is a video of what to expect:

TiVoToGo And PSP

- TiVo have added functionality to their TiVoToGo software to export recorded shows straight to PSP.
- $24.95 for the software.
- 320 x 240 resolution output only.
- Software works on Windows only.

Tomb Raider PSP Not Cancelled

- It seems the 10th anniversary remake of the first Tomb Raider adventure has not been cancelled after all, and will be available for PC and PS2 as well as PSP.
- This from SCi-Eidos after Core Design's website said the opposite yesterday.
- Said Larry Sparks of SCi-Eidos:

"Our 10th Anniversary Edition of Tomb Raider is a one-off title to celebrate both Lara and Tomb Raider. It will appeal not only to the loyal fans of the Tomb Raider series but will also attract a totally new audience."

Tomb Raider PSP Cancelled

- UPDATE: Perhaps not.
- This quote comes from Core Design's website concerning the Tomb Raider remake for PSP:

"Following speculation on the internet, we would like to offer the following clarification.

The video of Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition that appeared on certain sites was an unauthorised release of an internal presentation of a game that was being developed by Core Design until very recently. It was running on PSP and used a Core-developed engine. However, following a recent review this project has been officially cancelled by SCi.

Core is alive and well and working on some great new projects, and we are still planning to announce some exciting news very soon!"

- And for completeness, here is the video in question:

New SanDisk 4GB MS Pro Duo

- GameStop have put up a new product page for a 4.0GB Memory Pro Duo.
- Available 3rd July 2006 for $239.99.

More Details On PSP Mod Chip

- Max Console have gotten hold of all the details concerning "Undiluted Platinum," the upcoming PlayStation Portable mod-chip.

"Features:

- Ultra reliable and feature rich Actel ProASIC Plus FPGA
- Full Speed USB 1.1 ASIC onboard
- Branded 32MB NAND flash onboard (same flash as used in PSP)
- Stable and reliable flashing software freely available for download
- Installation verification using flashing software
- Ultra compact four layer PCB
- High quality Japanese connectors
- USB cable included
- FPC cable included, reducing installation effort and improving shock resistance
- Copper enamel wire included
- Open platform development system for software developers
- Installation has been optimized to fit entirely inside PSP
- All PSP hardware versions/regions supported
- User updatable flash
- Low power consumption
- Flash select via button press
- Ultra compact PCB has been designed to avoid signal bounce

Package contents:

- U.P. MAIN MODULE x1
- U.P. USB BOARD x1
- USB CABLE x1
- INSTALLATION AIDS 1 SET
- COPPER ENAMEL WIRE 1 SPOOL
- FPC CABLE x1

Suggested Retail price: 75 Euro's/ 90 US$"

GTA: Vice City Stories Due This October

- In case you missed it, Portable Gaming Revolution reprints Rockstar's latest press release.
- The big details? Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories will be out for the PSP on October 17th 2006 in the USA, 20th in Europe.

Undiluted Platinum: PSP Modchip

- MaxConsole got wind of a new PSP Modchip. New details soon.

"Undiluted Platinum: World's first PSP Modchip!
Here's a picture of U.P. (Undiluted Platinum), a flash replacement system for the PSP which allows the use of previous flash updates or custom flash builds. Installation has been optimized to fit entirely inside PSP, this opens up the possibility to run unsigned Homebrew code on the latest PSP systems. More info will be available next week."

Sony Turns 60

- May 7th 1946 was the day Sony started their plan to take over the world. Happy 60th Birthday Sony!

Locura Personal Media Server

- I expect it is easiest to let VillainousMind tell you about Locura, (PC software to work with your PSP,) himself:

* Browse your entire video collection! Download your videos wirelessly with a simple click.
* View your audio folders and create auto-updating streaming music feeds on the fly.
* Browse your dynamically resized pictures from your favorite hotspot or anywhere you can connect to the internet.
* Access all your media from a standard browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox (no PSP required!)
* Change the look of your media pages with built-in themes or create your own!
* If you have a background in HTML and Visual Basic, you can make more advanced page changes.
* And since the Locura Personal Media Server is simply a personal web server with PSP extensions, no homebrew is required! Just a browser.

- To quote Gizmodo:

The basic version of the Web server is free, but you are restricted from downloading video or listening to streaming audio, which is kind of a bummer. With that in mind, power users may want to investigate upgrading to the $30 single-user version which has no such restrictions. And if you’re in a family of media-hungry PSP users, the $50 family version will allow up to five connections. Oh, and locura means “madness” in Spanish, but we assume that the Web server does not actually cause that terrible affliction.

PSP Camera

- Joystiq spied the new PSP camera on their travels.
- No applications to demonstrate it, but go take a peek.

White PSP In Europe Tomorrow, Platinum Games Range In June

- During E3 Sony said that the Ceramic White PSP will finally be released in Europe tomorrow (Monday 15th May). Expect to pay £179.99 in the UK, (about €249).
- There will also be a range of Platinum game titles, including Everybody's Golf and ATV Off Road, available for £19.99, (€24.99,) in June.

Tour Sony's E3 Booth

- Go on a tour of Sony's E3 booth through pictures and the magic of the Internet. Engadget has it all ready for you.
- I like the "PSP's on a subway" setup.

E3: Sony Press Conference Video Stream

- In the last few minutes GameSpot have released their free (lo-res) stream of the entire Sony Press Conference.
- Coming soon is a downloadable version too. Signup to GameSpot Plus for hi-res versions.
- UPDATE: Download just released to watch at your leisure. Warning, it is a 2 hour presentation so the download may be large and the stream takes some time to watch, (I just got finished up and it was pretty cool!)

E3: Downloading Games

- Getting games onto your PSP from Sony's upcoming multiplayer online service and content store will be a reality by this Winter.
- You can use the shown prepay cards to pay for your purchases before downloading and saving a game image to a Memory Stick Pro Duo.
- One of the first games is the PSone favourite, Ridge Racer.

- Images via Joystiq.

Firmware v2.70

- Games Industry tells us that firmware v2.70 is now available for the PSP.
- As usual, upgrading will mean homebrew will not be an option, but you will have these new features:

* Macromedia Flash 6 playback
* Apple's AAC music format playback, (DRM-protection compatibility unconfirmed)
* Simplified and Traditional Chinese

PSP2 Rumors

- Joystiq has a post about some of the rumors out there right now regarding the probable successor to the PSP.
- Shacknews.com claims the PSP follow up is "a successor rather than a redesign of the current system" but recognise a redesign of the PSP may appear too.
- Features of PSP2 would include a hard drive, no UMD and would be called "PSP 2."
- Problem is they say it "may" appear "in the next three years." No sh*t Sherlock.
- New Tech Spy, much less reputable, the PSP will soon have a touchscreen, will be smaller and have a ton of wireless (WiFi, WiBro, UMTS, EVDO, WiMax.)

Pics Of The Official PSone Emulator For PSP?

- Joystiq has these images of what could be the PSone emulator for the PSP... the official one from Sony which lets you download games to your Memory Sticks.
- According to the images Gran Turismo 2 will cost $15 and include a 2-6 player Wi-Fi (infrastructure) multiplayer support.
- Other games available would include:

* Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
* Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
* Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror
* Doom
* Doom 2: Hell on Earth
* Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
* Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes
* Final Fantasy VII
* Gran Turismo 2
* Grand Theft Auto 2
* Metal Gear Solid
* Twisted Metal 2
* Quake 2

PSP Purse

- Vain and loaded? Then check out the PSP Purse.
- A bargain for the metrosexual-PSP-owning males out there with a spare $115.

Nvidia Working On New Sony Product

- Engadget tell us that Nvidia are working on a GPU for a new Sony product that is not the PS3.
- So what is it? A PSP2? A cell phone? A DVD player? Who knows.
- I'll guess its Sony's version of a handheld PC.

Fate Of UMD Mixed

- Future Publishing in the UK are preparing a new magazine, "Official PSP Guidebook" which goes on sale 27th April.
- What makes this special is that it will include a cover mounted UMD with new demos.
- Meanwhile, Wal-Mart are expected to drop UMD movies from their shelves after movie studios cut back on production last month.
- Engadget reports on that very story. Joystiq wonders if this bodes well for Blu-Ray.

News From Sony Keynote At GDC

- Having returned from GDC we can finally update you with what we learned.
- "PlayStation Network Platform" is just an internal name, not the name consumers will be seeing.
- There will be free online multiplayer. So what will the premium subscription be for?
- Here are Joystiq's notes.
- GamesIndustry.biz tells us that Sony intend to allow PS3 owners to download some PSone and PS2 titles to their PS3 hard drives.
- They are also allowing PSP owners to play PSone titles from Memory Sticks.
- Not a bad feature to have when Nintendo are improving their library of downloadable titles for the Revolution all the time.

New PSP Hardware From Sony

- Sony have let information leak about some of the accessories they are releasing for the PSP, and we have listed some links below.
- Email and GPS
- Keyboard and Cellphone
- More on the Keyboard and Cellphone patents
- EyeToy, GPS and boot from MS Pro Duo
- Downloading original PlayStation one titles to a Memory Stick should be a great boost to the PSP library. They EyeToy could be fun too.
- The GPS and cellphone addons could be just plain cool.
- But after Logic3 killed off their keyboard it is a bit shady of Sony to start releasing their own.

Homebrew On v2.00 - v2.60 PSPs

- Got a PSP with a firmware v2.00 or above? Still can't get homebrew working? Here is a guide to help.

Griffin Accessories

- Griffin, famous for their third party iPod accessories, are putting some new PSP products on the market.
- $50 gets you an "iFM PSP Radio Tuner with Remote" or an "iTrip PSP Radio Transmitter" while a "SmartShare PSP Headphone Splitter" is just $15.

Homebrew Links

- Mario Bros for v2.60 PSPs
- PSP Mod v1.00 Media Player
- Modified version with more features
- And even more!
- Quake 2
- Custom Firmware based on v1.50 with Media Features (Load with MPH's Firmware launcher.)

Google WiFi and Sony PSP

- Old news, but Google and Sony have been talking about how Google's WiFi service in San Francisco can best serve the PSP.

Bluetooth Headphone Adaptor

- Check out this Bluetooth adaptor for the PSP from Bluetake.
- The "i-PHONO mini Bluetooth Stereo Pod Transmitter" clips onto the bottom of your PSP and transmits stereo sound wirelessly to your Bluetooth headphones, (which they also sell.)
- No price or date yet.

Congas

- Remember that we mentioned some of our conga lines have a 90 day limit now? Well FreePay who run those free gift sites has let us know why.
- If you don't want to read the below, just be safe in the knowledge that it does not affect most users since they get their gifts really quickly. Most in around 6 weeks.
- So sign up to some of our congas now and score a Free PlayStation 3, Free Sony PSP, Free Xbox 360 and a Free iPod Nano.
- There are more options if you follow the links on the sidebar to the left.

"We instituted the 90-day change so that our operations would work in tandem with the way people actually use our sites. The bottom line is: You move fast and we want to do the same.

We did a survey and found that 93 percent of our users complete their offers within 90 days of opening their account - and a sizable majority of those users (about two-thirds) actually complete their offers within six weeks or less.

It seems that if you're using a Gratis site to score a free iPod, or flatscreen or PlayStation 3 or whatever - there are 15 offers in all, check out freepay.com to see them all - you want to get the whole thing wrapped up pretty quickly - and that's fine with us.

Another reason we've made the 90-day change is that, without having an "end date" for accounts it was impossible for us to figure out where we were financially or to make accurate plans about ordering new goods to ship to our users. Sure, only about seven percent of our users had these never-ending (but never completed) accounts, but how many were going to finish the process and get their free item? None?, 10 percent?, 50 percent? More? Less? You get the picture. Too many loose ends and none of them actually doing anyone any good. So we made the switch to a 90-day structure.

However, we wanted to make the change in a totally fair and aboveboard way. Rather than instituting some kind of retroactive approach - i.e., "Hey there, wanted to let you know your account has been cancelled!" - we decided to set the clock evenly for everyone.

As of March 1, 2006, and going forward, all accounts need to be completed within 90 days of being opened. If you have an older account, whether it was started a couple of months ago or several years ago, you have until June 1, 2006 (i.e., 90 days on from March 1) to complete your account. So far, no one seems to mind, as (like we said) the vast majority of our users complete their offers within 60 or so days, sometimes less. If you're one of the few people who is disappointed by the change, then we're sorry, but we hope you now see why the change needed to happen."

Sony's PSP Media Manager

- Joystiq sits down with Sony's PSP Media Manager software and writes a review.
- The results are not good, according to them.
- The software costs $20 to download or $30 from a store, (with a USB cable and some free songs.)
- It also requires firmware v2.00 to be installed on the PSP to use their video codec.
- You may want to look elsewhere for your PSP media converting. There are plenty of third party apps on the Internet.

Boot From Memory Stick Officially

- IGN have also noted the "E-Distribution" features of the PSP just announced.
- PSP owners will soon be able to boot software directly from Memory Sticks without the use of homebrew hacks.
- This will first be used to play downloaded PlayStation 1 games.
- Just wait until this baby gets hacked! New firmware updates for all!

New PSP Prices Worldwide

- IGN have said the PSP will be priced at $199 in the US on 22nd March.
- Europe will get a 199 Euro price point too.
- Canada will get it for $229.99 CND.
- This isn't so much of a price drop, though; more of a re-release. Japan got a basic package at launch (PSP, AC adaptor and battery only,) while the rest of the world had to buy the Value Pack, (carrying case, wrist strap, memory stick etc.) All that is happening is that the basic pack is now being sold in other territories.
- However, lucky Japan will get "a new white PSP SKU... starting April 15th... for 19800 Yen (~$168 US)."

PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 Summary

- Joystiq has a great summary post on all the news from the PlayStation Business Briefing today.
- Details on the PS3 launch, new PSP price, PS2 staying at $150, online plans and more.

More Weird PSP Advertisements

- Take a look at these new PSP advertisements.
- They are appearing around the UK at train stations, and like previous PSP ads, seem a little odd.
- What do you think?

Me & My Katamari

- Joystiq says that Namco have confirmed that "Me & My Katamari" has gone gold and will be out for your PSP on 21st March.
- That looks like the end of the Katamari series though, so you better get out and enjoy it!

Flash Player And Halo Mod For Iris

- Check out some great images over at MAKE, a PSP Flash Player from PSP Hacks

"The current version supports most action script through version 7 and runs on 1.5 only. We are currently testing for 2.x PSPs and will announce when it is working on 2.x firmwares. If someone gets it working, be sure to let us know."

- Also out now is an initial release of a Halo Mod for popular multiplayer game Iris.

Conga Changes

- Freepay, who run some of the offer sites for our congas, have changed their terms and conditions as of yesterday.
- You now have to complete all requirements within 90 days of signing up.
- That should mean our congas start moving faster than ever before, so it is a great time to sign up.
- Lines affected are:

Free PS3
Free PSP
Free Xbox 360
Free iPod Nano

- Conga pages are here:

Free PlayStation 3
Free PlayStation Portable
Free Xbox 360
Free iPod Nano

Another New Site!

- PS2-Files.com now joins in on the fun, for those still in the "current-gen."

PSP Keyboard Cancelled

- IGN have said that Logic 3 have cancelled the planned production of their keyboard accessory for the PSP.
- They blame Sony for not providing command protocols necessary for the keyboard to function.
- So are Sony bringing out their own keyboard first, or they just don't want one available? They may see it as an extra tool for hackers that want to run things like Linux on their PSP.
- But if Sony Mail in firmware v3.00 is real, this would have been really useful.

Firmware v3.00?

- Images have been floating around the Internet that are supposed to be of PSPs running a new v3.00 firmware over the past few days.
- The first set look a little rough and were thought to be fake.
- A new set look more convincing, but there are still some flaws. There is no glow around the selected icon for instance. They could well be faked images loaded onto a PSP for viewing, (and photographing.)
- I'm not sure how real these images are. To me the icons do not quite fit the PSP's style.
- If these are real however, expect some of the following new features to be added, (along with tougher security):

* Sony Mail
* SonyPaint
* Sony Organiser
* AlarmClock
* Writepad
* Console Security
* Music Store connectivity
* PS3 connectivity

PSP2 Upgrades?

- PSP World is claiming an anonymous source has tipped them off about the expected PSP 2's new capabilities.
- According to them, it will be available in black, white and silver, the in built storage will be 4GB of NAND memory and a video camera will be built into the bottom of the unit (where the PSP logo is now.)
- The camera could be used for video conferencing using the PS3, Wi-Fi and the PlayStation HUB service.
- A camera would make sense. Sony love to put their Motion Eye's in Vaio laptops and some of the Sony Ericsson phones.
- Intriguing, but until we hear something official, post this under "sure buddy..."

PSP With 8GB HDD?

- Engadget have a little bit of rumour mongering about a new version of the PSP to be released this year with built in memory.
- It could mean upto 8GB of onboard storage for all your game saves and media (and homebrew hopefully!) making the PSP much more of a threat to the iPod market Sony so badly wants to penetrate.

SOCOM 3 Can Use PSP To Save Downloaded Content

- SCEA has announced downloadable map packs for the SOCOM 3 on the PS2 available for $5.99.
- The relates to the PSP because you would normally need the official HDD, but this game also has support for "compatible USB Mass Storage Device[s] (such as a USB Flash/Thumb drive)" and "Memory Stick Duo Media (minimum 32MB)" using a PSP.
- This allows PStwo owners to get in on the action!

New Sites And Conga

- Brand new sites have just open for you, dear readers.
- PS3-Files.com and DS-Files.com, each with all the hacking news of your favourite consoles.
- We have also launched a new conga to celebrate. Get yourself a Free PlayStation 3 preordered and ready for this September.
- Didn't get an Xbox 360 on launch day? Don't miss out again!

"Sony May Consider Working With Microsoft"

- DigiTimes has a quote from SCEA's Tetsuhiko Yasuda.

"Sony does not regard Xbox as a competitor. Rather, the company may even consider working with Microsoft to develop games together."

- Not gonna happen any time in the foreseeable future, but hey, Sega make games for Nintendo now right?
- But since Nintendo have previously stated they are not fighting for market share with Microsoft or Sony, it looks like no one is fighting anyone. So does that mean there are three winners or three losers?

Text Based Business Sim

- 1UP are reporting about a new PSP game ready for release in Japan from Kokuyo.
- "Business Experience Series: The Path To Starting A Company" is a text based adventure in which you play as a guy who quits his job to start his own company.
- The idea is to teach people the basics of how to start a compnay in real life, creating and marketing a new product. But more than that, to teach creativity to the workers of the business world.

Upcoming Games

- The Dog Happy Life, 27th April (Japan) - NintenDogs ripoff.
- Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, Out Now - PSP's D-Pad can't stand up to the fighter's requirements.
- Tekken Dark Resurrection, 30th August (Japan) - A 3D Fighter! On the PSP! And it looks pretty sweet too.

UMD Movie Sales Drop

- Before the release of GTA:LCS UMD movies were selling well. At one point they accounted for about half of all sales when compared to PSP games.
- Now though things have changed with an average sale of around 40.000 to 50,000 per movie title.
- This has prompted many movie studios, including Sony, to reduce plans to release new movies in the UMD format. What with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD coming up, they have enough to worry about I suppose.

PS3 & PSP Online Service And PS3 In September

- Next-Gen.com have posted an article which could be great news for Sony gaming fans.

"According to well-placed industry sources, PlayStation HUB will offer PlayStation 3 owners much the same services as Xbox Live, including chat, downloadable demos, independent games and online play. The service is also designed to support PSP online play as well as PS3. It's a departure from PlayStation 2's online strategy, widely regarded as vastly inferior to Microsoft's."

- Moreover, Sony is aiming for a September launch for the PlayStation 3 in Japan and North America.
- Add the Nintendo Revolution into the mix and its going to be a great year for gaming!

Site Updates

- Hopefully you have noticed the new style added to PSP-Files.com this week.
- Sorry the news has been a little slow but we have been working on some new stuff for you which should be announced soon.
- Don't forget to check out Xbox360-Files.com too!

Bug With Snes9x TYL On v2.00 PSPs

- Warning of a bug in Snes9x TYL on v2.00 PSPs from PSP Updates.

"Yoyofr has posted a notice on his website concerning about the save state function not working on 2.0 PSP.

The solution is to delete the logo.bmp, and replace it with the bmp from the previous version, or a 480*320 8bpp bmp file made by yourself. The issue should be fixed by this method. The solution was first discovered by thecradle on Snes9x TYL official forum.

Yoyofr also mentioned the emulator won't work on [PSPs with
firmwares higher than v2.00 -ASH]. And on 2.00, the emulator runs slower than on 1.50 and lower.

Laxer3a, one of the creators of Snes9x TYL, has launched his website. You can view it [here]."

Nyko PSP TV Adaptor

- GameStop brings word of another TV adaptor for the PSP.
- The Nyko PSP TV Adaptor is $79.99 and is expected to be available on 4/3/2006.
- Problem is, its a camera captured image, so the pictureon your TV will probably not be that great.

"Play PSP games and watch UMD movies on your TV!
* Snap-on design allows you to watch PSP movies and play UMD games on your TV without modifying your PSP
* High quality CCD sensor and lens combination 'tuned' to the PSP screen
* Stereo audio output directly from the PSP to the TV
* Includes RCA cables for connecting to standard video-in jack on your TV
* Plug and Play- does not require user tuning, tweaking or adjustments
* Auto white balance, auto contrast and auto brightness"

Lock PSP Screen At Brightness Level 4

- PSP Updates have posted a way of locking your PSP's screen at brightness level 4.
- You can normally only get this when the power cord is plugged in.
- It will use more power, but this is not a permanent change and is non-invasive.

"Brightness Level 4 is bright, but we need the power adapter plugged to keep it. The problem is obvious - we can't drag the damn power cord everywhere.

The problem is over now. We are glad to share a very handy method for keeping your PSP locked on Level 4 Brightness, without any messy process.

1, Plug your power cord.
2, Adjust your brightness to Level 4.
3, Start a UMD game/homebrew.
4, When the program launch video is being played (the one with green balls flashed and PSP text in the middle of the screen), make sure you unplug the power cord from the PSP when the launch sound effect is over. You will notice that the brightness didn't fall down to level 3.

And now, your screen brightness is locked at Level 4! You can suspend and resume the PSP, turn it off and back on, or even turn the screen off by pressing and holding the brightness button until the screen is turned off, and none of the actions above will make your PSP lose Level 4 brightness!!! The power saving screen shutting off function will not change the brightness too.

The only way to go back to brightness level 3, is to adjust it manually by pressing the brightness button."

Free iPod Nano With Game Pre-Order

- In other free gift news, PSP Updates reports that you can get a free iPod Nano with the purchase of a PSP game.
- Well, a pre-order of Suikoden 1 & 2 Limited Edition... in Japan... and you had to order by 19th January from Konami...
- Best just join the PSP-Files.com iPod Nano Conga Line to get one for free. No purchase necessary ;)

Xbox Live! Style Service For Sony PSP?

- A while ago Xbox-scene.com posted a story about the makers of XLink Kai, a game tunneling service to allow system link multiplayer games to be played over the Internet, may be creating a commercial version of the service for the PSP.
- If true, this could mean an unofficial Xbox Live! style service for the PSP will appear before the summer hits.

Free D-Pad Cover With Street Fighter In USA Too

- We reported earlier about Capcom offering a free D-pad cover with pre-orders of Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX in Japan to make it easier to play.
- Now, word is that the USA is getting the same deal. Sweet.

Xbox360-Files.com Opens

- Proud news today as Xbox360-Files.com opens for business.
- Be sure to drop by for all the latest in Xbox 360 hacking news.

Fanjita Owns v2.0+

- Fanjita is the man of the PSP hacking scene. Here are some of the things he's done recently:
- Releases 2.0 eLoader for v2.00, v2.01 and v2.50 PSPs.

"This is still beta quality, so it doesn't run reliably every time and doesn't run as many homebrew applications as the TIFF-based EBOOT Loader, but it still runs a lot of things."

- Has a v2.60 version coming soon

"Thanks to a brainwave from Ditlew, we've had a breakthrough finding the v2.6 firmware syscalls, and we think we have about 90% of them figured out.

So this means, basically, that a version of the eLoader that works on v2.6 is really not very far away now. Woohoo!"

- Put together a pack of save games to use with GTA to launch homebrew apps directly.
- Made a package developers who wish to code for v2.0+ firmwares with expanded source for GTA Tetris along with instructions and info on how to adapt it into other software.
- Thanks Fanjita!!

Coding Tutorial

- Another PSP coding tutorial from Barbdwyer Lesson 05: Onwards and Upwards.
- This tutorial covers topics such as overclocking, colors, and graphics-based text.

Multiplayer Quake

- PSP Updates brings news that Chris Swindle has added Ad-hoc multiplayer support to Peter McKay's PSP port of Quake.
- There are still bugs and the sound has been removed temporarily, but this is still great news.

FlashMod 2.0 Released

- Orbis PSP Development have announced the latest version of their PSP customization software, FlashMod v2.0.

"WARNING: If you used FlashMod 1.0 or 1.5 to change Backgrounds please Restore the Default Backgrounds with 2.0 and install your custom background again. This is due to the original writing to flash code when it couldn't find a file it would just write it as 0 bytes.

New Features:

.:UMD 2.00 or higher support:.
Not yet finished and requires a 2.00+ Firmware in the root of your Memory Stick in the folders "Flash0" and "Flash1". Right now the only fix i have is a untested SOCOM fix. It will also run your UMD's at 333Mhz for the CPU and 166Mhz for GPU. This will not write to your Firmware or UMD.

.:UMD Loading support:.
This will runs UMD's without 2.00 or higher support. It will also run your UMD's at 333Mhz for the CPU and 166Mhz for GPU. Which means Faster Loading time and smoother Gameplay.
.:Change XMB Menu Names:.
This will let you change your XMB Menu Names just follow these steps:

1. Extract the Utilities folder on to your Desktop.

2. Go into the Utilities folder and run "PSPMenuEdit.exe"

3. Now select you Language and click on the button [...] under [Edit topmenu_plugin.rco]

4. Now select [topmenu_plugin.rco] which should be located in the utilities folder.

5. Once you are done editing all your Menu Names just click [Patch File] and copy the [topmenu_plugin.rco] out of the utilities folder to the root of you Memory Stick.

6. Now go into FlashMod and select [Install Custom XMB Menu Names] and your done.
.:Even safer writing:.
Now will not write if it can't find the file and will display the [Flash Complete] Picture longer.

.:Version used Info:.
Now if you are unsure of what version you have used of FlashMod just go to your XMB (Cross Media Bars) and go to [Settings]-[System Settings]-[About PSP™] and after it shows the copyright information it should tell you "Firmware Flashed with: FlashMod Version 2.00"

.:New Graphical User Interface:.
Now with discriptions for all the features included on the GUI.

.:New Agreement:.
The new agreement is due to FlashMod being Open Source and Public Domain which could cause people to download a Version of FlashMod that might not be from Orbis PSP Development. So for yours protection I urge you not to download FlashMod if it does not say Orbis PSP Development. As for people that want to release their own version of FlashMod please tell me before releasing any unofficial versions.

I Agree by downloading FlashMod Version 2.0 that I relinquish Orbis PSP Development of any liabilities concerning the software effect on my PSP."

SNES Emulation On v2.X PSPs

- I'll leave the talking to Fanjita

"We finally made a more solid breakthrough with the EBOOT loader for GTA tonight. Not only does the menu now work properly, but I've also managed to run the uo_SNES9x emulator, and play the Pilotwings ROM (the only one I have), on both v2.0 and v2.5.

At the moment everything is hanging together with a pretty nasty hack. Ideally I'd like to get that fixed up before release, but it's more likely that we'll decide to release things as they currently are, and iron out that issue later.

Please note that lots of basic homebrew is still not working, but I thought that getting SNES emulation running was a big enough milestone to celebrate! Also, if we do decide to release, it will take a few days to knock the code into a releasable format."

Sony MS Pro Duo Capacity Issues

- It seems PlayStation.com of Japan has warned of a free space issue with some of Sony's Memory Stick Pro Duo cards.
- Models affected: MSX-M1GST, MSX-M2GS and PSP-MP1G.
- Apparantly when you format your Memory Stick to initialize it the free space may be less than it should be. You need to re-format the Memory Stick again to fix the problem.
- You should see the following capacity for each model:

MSX-M1GST: 940MB or more
MSX-M2GS: 1850MB or more
PSP-MP1G: 940MB or more

Homebrew On ALL PSP Firmwares

- It is now possible to play homebrew on any PSP with all versions of firmware.
- Fanjita has modified his Tetris game to use the GTA Save Game Exploit to launch on newer firmwares such as v2.50 and v2.60.
- From the ReadMe:

"- v2.6 support
- Better compatibility with 2.01 and 2.5
- Improved the game slightly - now faster, with speed increase as you fill more lines.

To install:

Unzip the contents of this package into the /psp/savedata folder on your memory stick. Note that if you have an existing savegame that uses slot 5, then this will be overwritten by the Tetris savegame.

To use:

Start up GTA as normal. When it has loaded, select "Load Game", select the Tetris savegame and confirm the load as normal. After a short delay, the Tetris game should start.

To quit the game, you will need to hold your power button for 10 seconds. The HOME button looks like it might work, but it doesn't, yet.

Note that this version might be more stable than the 2.50 Tetris released on 1/9/06."

PSP2TV Install Video

- Want a PSP2TV, the device that lets you play your PSP using a TV as the screen and a PlayStation 2 controller for input? How about after watching this video of the install process?
- Best find one premodded I think. I've seen them online for only $10 more than the price of a PSP and the PSP2TV.

Atari Lynx Emulator For PSP

- PSP Updates have posted a new emulator:

"PLynx has just sent us an email containing his port of Handy, an Atari Lynx emulator, to the PSP. Here are the features of PLynx v0.2b:

* Atari Lynx emulation
* Bad sound support :)
* Save/Load emulator state
* Change the PSP CPU/Bus clocks

In the future, PLynx plans on adding speed improvements, better sound support, better screen extrapolation, and zip support."

Google Video For PSP

- Now that Google have their Video Search with PSP formatted downloads, you should get yourself searching for some high brow entertainment on the go.

European Talkman

- Sony have announced a European release for Talkman, the voice-activated translation/language learning "game" packed with a USB microphone.
- The Europe Language Version will support up to six languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, German, French and Japanese.
- The release date is currently marked as May 2006.

Coding Tutorial Update

- Still struggling trying to write homebrew code for the PSP? This may help: Lesson 04: Simple Image Processing
- Previous tutorials: Lesson 01: Setting up the Development Environment
- Lesson 02: Creating Your First Program
- Lesson 03: A Programming Primer
- There is also this post on porting software to the PSP from deniska