Hacking the PSP Blog

PS2 stick on the PSP Part Deux: The Ghetto Joystik

Still remember Ben Heckendorn's "solder a PS2 analog to the PSP" project? Unwieldy as it was, dangerous as it could be (because you had to open up your PSP to wire the PS2 stick to the handheld), it was nevertheless a most welcome proof-of-concept that demonstrated that a PS2 stick CAN communicate with a PSP.

You know what happens to proof-of-concepts, right? They're the stuff of dreams! In this case, the dreams of Joe Stranger, who's been inspired by Ben Heckendorn's mod, took the idea one or two steps further, and modded a detachable PS2 stick that sits securely against the PSP! He's emailed us about it, sent us the YouTube vid, and from what we've seen, it works!

What Joe did was to add a USB junction to Ben Heck's schematics. The PS2 stick (and its USB plug) sits in a frame mounting that would also plug into a USB port that had been hacked into the left side of the PSP case. Okay, so the mod is still dangerous, since you have to open up your PSP to add and wire in the USB port. It's now immensely playable, however, and you can now think of the PS2 stick as a detachable "accessory!"

Joe even foresees that the setup could be used to create different add-ons for the PSP. One suggestion he had - since he's a fan of racing games - is a steering wheel. Let your imaginations run wild! He thanks Ben for thinking up the idea in the first place.We say Joe and Ben Heckendorn deserve their props for this one-two kick-a** control mod. Thanks for telling us about it, Joe!

Check out the video here!

Source: PSPUpdates

Killzone + PSP: France's little bundle of joy

Some gamers keep more than one PSP, some use one PSP for playing games and the other for tinkering (brick!). But it is amazing to find out that some keep on buying units for nostalgic and sentimental reasons. Take for example this specific PSP bundle that will soon hit France and probably the rest of Europe:

This new Killzone: Liberation PSP bundle, which would be available on November 8, costs € 219 or roughly around US$ 275. It features an eye-candy box art and...nothing more. Regardless though, we expect that this would be out of stock as soon as it hit store shelves.

Also, we heard that another bundle involving GTA: Vice City Stories is expected on November 15 for € 229 Euros (US$ 288).



Source: PSPUpdates

Sony warns against grey importing

Sony has warned that it will take legal action against anyone engaging in grey importing of its products after scoring a High Court victory over online retailer Lik-Sang.

In his ruling yesterday, Judge Michael Fysh found that Lik-Sang - which offered Japanese PSPs to European consumers via its website - was in breach of intellectual property rights.

Lik-Sang had claimed that it was operating within the law as the company is based in Hong Kong, and has no trading presence in the UK or European Economic Area.

But, as reported by the Financial Times, Judge Fysh ruled that, "The acts of which the complaint is made have, in my view, been perpetrated not in Hong Kong but here in the EEA, and without Sony's consent."

Sony declined to comment directly on the case. However, a spokesperson did tell GI.biz: "The law is clear; grey importing PS2, PSP or PS3 into the EU, without the express permission of SCE is illegal. Therefore, we will utilise the full scope of the law to put a stop to any retailers who chose to do this."

He continued, "Ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty."

It's no surprise that Sony is offering a strong warning against importing PS3s - there's likely to be a high demand for the consoles in Europe, following the announcement that they won't be officially arriving here until four months after they go on sale in the US and Japan.

The company will doubtless be looking to avoid a repeat of the events of last year, where several retailers, including ElectricBirdLand, ended up in court for selling import PSPs.

Ellie Gibson
October 19, 2006

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Sony Lowers Forecasts

Sony has revised its financial forecasts the 2006 fiscal year, and as one might expect given the headlines of late, the news isn't all that good. While the company still expects revenues of 8.23 trillion yen (about $69 billion), it has lowered its group operating profit forecast by 62% to 50 billion yen ($424 million) and net profit projection by 38% to 80 billion yen ($678 million).