Hacking the PSP Blog

Cultural Differences Change What Games We Like (PSP-News)

Looking at the world of gamers and we are a somewhat funny bunch, the japanese love their Role Player Games while the Americans love their American Football and Baseball Games whilst for me in the UK we love games like Fifa and Championship Manager.

Whilst hardcore gamers will try any type of games some people are stuck to just 2 types of games.

So for the sake of interest and this doesnt have to be PSP Specific because some game types dont exist yet, lets have your 3 favourite types of games and where your based and see if a pattern emerges (all in the name of fun)

I'll start...

UK
1) RTS Games
2) Management Sims
3) FPS/War Games

answer with yours via the comments

PSP Busting new Moves (Gamespot)

According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Taito is developing a new installment of its Bust-A-Move puzzle series for the PSP. The game is titled Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket, and is slated for release on March 23. Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket keeps the traditional rules of the series while spicing up the gameplay with 16 different puzzle modes. The player is required to connect three bubbles of the same color in order to erase them from the screen. The puzzle modes in Ultra Puzzle Bobble Pocket include Blind Puzzle, where the colors of the bubbles on the screen are hidden with symbols, and See-Saw, where the screen tilts and sways if there are too many pieces on one side. As expected, players can challenge one another by using the PSP's ad hoc connection.

PSPMPVerter v0.9 for PMP Mod - Simple PSP Video Transfer App for Windows (PSPUpdates)

BaLdMoNkEy has updated his useful application which makes it a snap to create AVI media files (DivX/Xvid) for the full resolution media player PMP Mod. A whole host of new options have been added since the last version, making it simple to customize your video files just how you like them. Here are the changes in the newest release:

- Save destination support
- File information
- xvid option
- one/two pass options
- bitrate calc.
- subtitle support (untested)
- queue support + shutdown feature (untested)
- process priority support

This app requires:

- A copy of mencoder from [here] under "Precompiled Mencoder binaries" (mencoder.exe)

- A copy of PMP Muxer from [here]

- VB6 Runtimes (included in most versions of Windows 98, 2000, XP and later anyway)

How to use:

Click browse, choose your file. Most of the settings will be automatically set from this. Choices are divx/xvid, 1pass/2pass, but these are not fully tested and we would be glad for feedback as to wether they do.

There is also a bitrate calculator which slightly over-estimates the file size for good measure... I think.

Audio bitrate is a bit self explanatory... Subtitles function may not work at all, sorry if it doesn’t, notify us :p

The queuing function is also quite easy to use, just due to the nature of VB you have to delete mistakes from it manually at the moment, so watch out :D

We haven't tested the "shutdown computer when finished" function either... Hope it works!

Download it here.

1941 Mod for Kill Everything That Moves

A couple of days ago, Deniska released a port of the popular shooter game "Kill Everything That Moves" or KETM, and now Bourbon bot has created a new mod for this homebrew game to imitate the classic 1941 arcade game. To install this mod, just unzip the contents of the downloaded file to the "DATA" folder in your KETM directory. This will overwrite the original version of the game, so be sure to backup these files if you want to revert to the way it used to be.

Download it here.

Doctor Bans Boy From Playstation To Stop Head Twitching (Local6.com)

Hahaha... interesting story! -Auri

A 9-year-old boy in California who suffered from uncontrollable head jerking movements after long hours of video game playing stopped the twitching after his doctor banned him from playing PlayStation, according to a report.

Nicholas Lavin said that he played PlayStation constantly over the holidays at his home in San Diego and began to notice that his head would jerk back and forth."I would do funny things with my head," Nicholas said.Lavin's mother said her son began to twitch so badly that she took him to the family's pediatrician.The doctor told her he was not allowed to play PlayStation anymore. Once he stopped playing PlayStation, the twitching stopped, according to the report.

"All the head jerking is gone and his eyes are completely back to normal," Barbara Lavin said. "I think it's a direct connection to the PlayStation and the amount of time he spent on it."The San Diego Epilepsy Foundation said some video stimulation at certain frequencies can cause epileptic-type seizures or body jerks.Doctors said to set time limits for games, keep lights on in the room so it's bright, and make sure children stay at least two feet way from the screen.An MRI ruled anything else out, so for at least the next month, Nicholas will not play PlayStation, according to the report.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Cheat Device v0.7b for Grand Theft Auto

Edison Carter has updated his groundbreaking Cheat Device for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories again, to version 0.7b. The cheat device lets you cheat at GTA, including helicopter rides, weapons cheats, saving mini-movies of your gameplay and more. Fanjita even used it to hack the 2.01, 2.5 and 2.6 firmware to run homebrew!

Here's what's new in this version:

• Support for cheats with pplayer or pobj in them.

There are different versions of the cheat device for the U.S. and U.K. versions of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

For the U.S. version, click here.
For the U.K. version, click here.

Trio of new PSP games use new features (Gamespot)

Sony Computer Entertainment is experimenting with some new features for the PSP with three of its upcoming titles. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, a trio of games slated for release by SCE on March 9--I.Q. Mania, XI Coliseum, and Bomberman: Bakufuu Sentai Bombermen--will include a number of unique bonuses that take advantage of the handheld's ad hoc and Wi-Fi abilities.

Up until now, PSP owners could only compete against each other over Wi-Fi when both parties owned a copy of the game. However, the three aforementioned games will include game sharing, which allows users to play multiplayer games with only one copy of the game. The only catch is those involved must own a copy of one of the three games. For example, if one gamer owns I.Q. Mania and another owns Bomberman, the two players can play a multiplayer game of I.Q. Mania or Bomberman together.

Aside from being able to cross-connect in ad hoc mode, each game comes with playable demos of the other two games. Although game demos aren't anything special for the PSP, this is actually the first time that three simultaneously released titles will include demos of one another.

Last but not least, all three games will come included with a number of mini-games that can be unlocked online. Two mini-games will be available by default; a mahjong game, and XI ColoBowl, a bowling game that can be played with up to five people. Additional mini-games can be unlocked by downloading wallpapers at a special site by using the PSP's online connection.

In-The-Air (Homebrew Game) Released (PSP-News)

Lylatitude has released the game "In The Air" for the PSP. it is a new vertical scrolling shoot em up game for the console,

Heres what the coder says:

In The Air (ITA). It is a shooting game. And on PSP, the screen is rotated 90degree. The original game is based on WinAPI on Windows platform, from wzysj[at]citiz[dot]net. And I rewrite the game to suit to PSP platform, make it working and add some sounds. I know the game is not a big one and it is written without GU(in sdk). Just writing VRAM buffer simply. The source is written in C style.

The game works OK on firmware 1.5, but I must say that there are 2 bugs: sound control and exit exception. These 2 bugs wouldn't influence PSP after exiting the game. I have tested it on my PSP for many times. The problem may be caused by the "huge switch" and playing sound.

Download it here.

Download the source code for the game here.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Rings In New Year With Six Titles For PSP (Sony Press Release)

Press Release from Sony:

Sony Computer Entertainment America is continuing to feed consumer demand for the market-leading PSP TM (PlayStation ® Portable) system by delivering six new software titles to the revolutionary portable device in early 2006. The upcoming titles span across multiple genres and will provide innovative, exciting entertainment content to gamers of all ages, continuing the momentum for the PSP system post-holidays. The PSP system brings an unparalleled gaming experience to consumers, and with the addition of these action-packed first-party titles to the PSP system's software library of more than 70, along with the ability to watch movies, view photos, listen to music, and browse the Internet using the PSP system's built-in Wi-Fi capability, consumers have many new reasons to celebrate well after the holiday season has ended and the new year has begun.

"Our first quarter lineup is yet another example of our continuous pledge to consumers to deliver viable and innovative new entertainment choices for the PSP system," said Jack Tretton, executive vice president, co-coo, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "With the PSP system's first holiday season demonstrating incredible sales and market penetration, we will continue to drive the unprecedented demand for the PSP system with compelling content for gamers of all ages."

With PSP hardware and software sales continuing to flourish, momentum for the PSP system is strong, and will continue with the addition of the following much-anticipated first-party titles available in the first quarter of 2006:

PURSUIT FORCETM

Developed by BigBig Studios, Ltd., Pursuit Force for the PSP system brings Hollywood-style movie action to life by delivering high-speed vehicle chases and thrilling shootouts, all in the quest for justice. In Pursuit Force , players take the role of a young rookie police officer, responsible for tracking down and thwarting five criminal gangs in and around Capital City. Pursuit Force presents a variety of gameplay elements for each criminal case, including collect and follow assignments, high-speed pursuit, on-foot action, and aerial attacks. Featuring an innovative gameplay mechanic where players can jump from vehicle to vehicle at speeds of more than 150 MPH, Pursuit Force keeps the action moving seamlessly. Players will hang perilously as they battle with enemy gangs and attempt to commandeer a number of vehicles. Players will skirt along city highways and dusty tracks in speeding cars, bikes, SUVs, and buses, and high-powered speedboats are available for chases through metropolitan waterways and scenic, canyon-lined rivers.

Available March 2006 – Rated T

SYPHON FILTER®: DARK MIRROR

From the development team of the critically acclaimed Syphon Filter® franchise, comes their first project exclusive to the PSP system, set to deliver an intense, edge-of –your-seat thriller. Gamers assume the identity of Gabe Logan, a highly-trained Precision Strike Operative, commanding a black box United States Agency that legally doesn't exist. As Gabe, players will have to strategize quickly, as he is responsible to infiltrate, recon and execute decisively. Once inserted, Logan is his own authority –making life and death decisions, quickly choosing his course of action. An immersive single-player experience also delivering an evolving online multiplayer experience, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror features melee attacks, target lock, precision aiming, target and vision enhancements, enhanced artificial intelligence (AI), and high-tech weaponry. Gamers can choose between difficulty modes that monitor and adjust skill level, multiple unique online maps using both Ad Hoc and Infrastructure connectivity, and four types of gameplay modes in multiplayer.

Available March 2006 – Not Yet Rated

MLB® 06 THE SHOW

As the longest running officially licensed baseball franchise on PlayStation platforms and already widely considered the most authentic baseball simulation available, MLB® 06 The Show picks up where last year's game left off and pitches the complete portable package for the PSP system. G amers can play their entire career "on the road." An all-new Career Mode allows baseball fans to create a player and attempt to land a spot on the roster of their favorite team based on their abilities, while an updated Season Mode, now tracking multiple seasons, lets users take their team and make a run for consecutive rings. An all-new Rivalry Mode allows players to set up and maintain multi-game rivalries, while tracking stats for the life of the rivalry, and the Historical Greats option allows core baseball fans to go up against baseball's heroes of yesteryear. Sports fanatics can now stay up-to-date with news with an all-new online news service, providing users with MLB updates on current events from around the league or their favorite team.

Available March 1, 2006 – Rated E

DAXTERTM

After years of standing in Jak's shadow, Daxter finally gets his turn in the spotlight as he stars in his very own self-titled game. An all-new adventure platformer made exclusively for the PSP, Daxter is centered around the world of the famous orange ottsel made popular in the multi-million unit-selling Jak and Daxter franchise. As the first title developed by Santa Ana-based Ready At Dawn Studios, Daxter will push the popular Jak and Daxter world in new directions through the eyes of Daxter as it completes the Jak and Daxter story and allow players to find out how Daxter became a hero, freeing Jak at the beginning of Jak IITM. Daxter, on his own in an unfamiliar place, realizes that being small and furry won't help his chances of survival or saving Jak, so he takes on a job as a pest exterminator - a job in high demand due to a mysterious metalbug invasion. His new job enables him to explore parts of Haven City in an effort to collect the clues that will lead him to Jak...but Daxter soon discovers more excitement than he bargained for.

Available March 2006 – Not Yet Rated

NEOPETS: PETPET ADVENTURESTM THE WAND OF WISHINGTM

Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing is an action/role playing game exclusively for the PSP system . Developed and created by Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. and Neopets Inc., Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing brings a hidden Petpet world of Petaria to life in 3D for the first time. Players move through the game using characters they create from among four popular Petpet species and, utilizing the wireless Ad-Hoc mode, can compete head-to-head in the Battledome using their characters from the single-player game. In their search to overcome evil and recover the fabled Wand of Wishing, players will discover more than 100 unique characters and enemies, as well as have the opportunity to collect and use over 800 items. With more than 30 million registered users worldwide accessing the site in 11 languages simultaneously, Neopets.com is the fastest growing youth-oriented website in the world. Neopets.com is consistently ranked among the top 10 stickiest sites on the Internet, generating more than seven billion page views worldwide per month.

Available February 28, 2006 – Rated E

APE ESCAPE® ACADEMY

Created by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, Ape Escape Academy delivers a whole new twist while retaining the fun and frenetic flavor of the Ape Escape series. Specter has failed over and over again in his attempts at taking over the world, all because of a few inept monkeys. To rectify his problem, he decides to form the Ape Escape Academy, where he will serve as principal and train the monkeys so that he can help improve their behavior. In a collection of more than 40 diverse mini-games that make up the academy, players can work their way through six school years by winning each mini-game. Combining the franchise's trademark personality, excellent visuals and featuring ad hoc wireless functionality, Ape Escape Academy will offer an engaging experience to players.

Available January 17, 2006 – RatedE10+

The PSP is available for a suggested retail price of $249.99 (USD) in a PSP Value Pack. In addition to the revolutionary PSP hardware, the PSP Value Pack contains an unprecedented added-value package of accessories and entertainment content, including 32 MB Memory Stick DuoTM, headphones with remote control, battery pack, AC adaptor, soft case, hand strap and cleaning cloth, and a movie/music/game video sampler UMD disc including multiple non-interactive game demos. There are currently more than 70 games available for PSP and more than 250 feature films, TV programs and videos from major studios combining to create an unmatched library of entertainment content.

Japan Charts: PSP leads hardware sales as DS stocks dwindle (GameIndustry)

Sony's PlayStation Portable has overtaken the Nintendo DS in Japan's hardware sales chart for the first time in months as Nintendo struggled to keep its handheld in stock - but DS titles continue to dominate the software charts.

The PlayStation Portable sold almost 133,000 units during the week, while the DS fell into second place with just 91,000 units sold - despite Nintendo's pledge to switch to air shipments of the DS in an effort to keep stock levels up.

In previous weeks the DS had sold 310,000, 600,000 and 390,000 units respectively, and last week Nintendo was forced to apologise publicly for the stock situation - although many industry watchers believe that the firm is keeping the channel dry deliberately to prepare for the launch of a redesigned handheld in the coming days.

Software sales for the DS continued to be impressive, however, with the recently launched More DS Training for Adults: Work Your Brain continuing the success of the brain training series by racking up a further 290,000 sales, meaning that it has now sold a total of over 700,000 units in just two weeks.

Three other DS titles also sold over 100,000 units, namely Animal Crossing: Wild World, which was the biggest-selling game in Japan last year and racked up a further 133,000 units this week, Mario Kart DS, which is now close to breaking a million unit sales, and the original DS Training For Adults: Work Your Brain.

Mario and Luigi RPG 2, which came in at number four, sold some 98,000 units - and Simple Brain Exercises, Tamagotchi Connection, and Pokemon's Mysterious Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team all also charted in the top ten for the DS.

That left only two places for other consoles in the chart, which were occupied by a solitary PS2 title, Square Enix' Kingdom Hearts II, at number six with 83,000 sales - the game is also very close to breaking the million units mark and may well do so next week - and another Nintendo title, the GBA edition of Pokemon's Mysterious Dungeon, at number ten.

For those following the fortunes of the Xbox 360 in the market, just shy of 7,500 units of the console were sold during the week, down from the 12,000 units sold in the previous week, when Dead or Alive 4 charted at number 13.

PSP-OSS 0.2b Released (PSP-News)

Mondy has posted news that the PSP OSS Team have updated their Open Source Shell for the PSP, heres all the info posted

"Remember to visit us at http://www.psp-oss.com/

MAIcrosoft has released a very nice skin. Its so nice i though it would fit right in here with the new release.

BMIIDX12 Happy Sky

+ Changes from 0.2:

*Homebrew launched from PSP-OSS should always go back to
PSP-OSS when pressing Home

*LUA Files are supported and also go back to PSP-OSS

*Mouse Speed can be edited from the Settings Menu

*Short cuts can be created by clicking O on any item in the file
file browser, then click on Make Ql and they will apper on the desktop. Eboots will have to
be renamed.

*CPU Speed bug fixed in this release

*Vista Skin Included

I really dont recommend going higher then a mouse speed of 3. You can edit the file from outside psp by going to
\PSP-OSS\SYSTEM\CONFIG\MOUSE_SPEED.cfg
open it in notepad and change the number to “1″

Download it here.

Donations Raised for 9 Year Olds Dream (PSPUpdates)

Jose Luis Junior, age 9, wanted a PSP so badly that he would pour over catalogs scooping up every morsel of information he possibly could. He would read strategy guides like they were novels, and could go into minute detail the different aspects of Grand Theft Auto, though he had never played.

Junior had a full folder of clippings from various catalogs that he would use to draw pictures to scale. He would then sell them for 25 cents to friends and neighbors.

A collection started by Mr. Jalopy over at hooptyrides was taken up and due to the generosity of many people, most whom have never met and will probably never meet the young boy, Junior now has a PSP to call his own. What a wonderful world we live in when the dreams of a small child can be fulfilled by a PSP. Lets hope he enjoys playing it as much as he does drawing it.

PSP HTTPD (Web Server) Updated to v0.5

Elxx's has updated his PSP HTTP PSP web server software to version 0.5. New in this release:

New in 0.5 are some nice interface enhancements - the server now has a status bar at the top of the console, showing how much it has transferred, the current uptime, and internal IP. In addition to this, PSP-HTTPD is now a standalone app - copy it to your /PSP/GAME directory and serve away. Here's the official list of changes:

* Server is now a standalone PSP app, using a custom compiled version of LuaPlayer
* New WLAN connection code in LuaPlayer core, allowing for quick checking of connection status without freezes
* Network profile selector now able to save your selection
* Network profile selector auto-connects if you only have one network profile
* Added top status bar to show input/output/uptime/IP info
* All server execution is within a single loop now, allowing for soft restarts
* Added slight margins and line spacing to console output for better readability
* Changed directory listing template to 90% relative width to make viewing on mobile/PSP browsers easier
* Split code and templates into separate directories
* Title of directory listing page reflects location
* Added auto_restart config setting
* Added autorestart_method config setting
* Fixed crash when trying to view non-existent directory
* Added MIME type for MP3 files
* Added screenshot function (press Triangle when idling to save to screenshot.png)
* Changed 'bytes' to 'b' in file size parsing function

Download it here.

The Witch Doctor Doumajoutarou - Official Website Open (PSPUpdates)

The official website of The Witch Doctor Doumajoutarou for PSP has been launched.

Dr. Doumajoutarou us a “Jui” (witch doctor) that deals with ghosts. He charges high price with each commission, listens to the sound of the spirits and casts proper magic to resolve it.

With the spirit-power knife “Karuneadisu” in his hand, the music of his assistant, Dr. Doumajoutarou guides the lost souls, and fights the evils. During the process, deplorable stories are revealed.

The game is not a simple text reading game. Players will experience text story, as well as the essence of dialogs and adventure.

The game is slated for February 2, 2006. Price normal (5,040 JPY). US release plan unknown.

Lemmings for PSP - Official Web Site Open

If you don't know what Lemmings is (or are), you need to look it up - it's one of the most popular time wasting next to Solitaire, and hasn't been released in a while.

The PSP version combines classic and new levels.

Check it out here.