Hacking the PSP Blog

Introducing the PSP right analog stick mod

Remember the whole business about analog sticks last month? When we started seeing videos and schematics of left analog stick mods for the PSP?

Joe Stranger, creator of the "ghetto stick" version has returned. This time, we're talking about a right analog stick for Sony's strangely versatile and hackable handheld.

Yes folks, right analog stick. He sent us a video link for you guys to see it and says that the modification works fine, though FPS fans might have some trouble with it as the right trigger is hard to reach because of the stick's placement. Still, that's some fine work.

Of course, Joe Stranger may have done the labor, but he also wanted us to inform everyone that it isn't all him. Cyberpyrot from Acidmods developed the modification, and both Joe Stranger and every PSP gamer who loves mods would probably like to give him props for thinking up the mod.

For now though, enjoy the video, and just so you know: it might be called an analog stick, but it's actually DIGITAL.

Check out the video here...

Source: PSPUpdates

Nokia to take on the handhelds

Established publishers and developers have already signed up to produce content for the Finnish giant’s Nseries phones and S60 software, which are due for release early next year.

And now Nokia’s head of games for UK and Ireland Martin O’Driscoll has told ME sister magazine MCV that games consumers will be forced to make a choice between its mobiles, Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.

“There’s going to reach a point where we and other handheld platform owners are battling for the same partners and the same consumers,” said O’Driscoll.

“We’re moving into a new competitive space, where we have a real attractive offering for the games consumer. The research is showing us that people are playing games on phones more often and spending more time doing it. These are no longer just ‘casual’ games – they are real games played by real gamers.”

He added: “The consumer will have to make a decision: does he wants a standalone gaming device with a limited browsing capability or a phone with an MP3 player, a camera and a bloody good games platform? I think consumers will be prepared to spend £300 on a phone that offers all those different things rather than £100 to £150 for a standalone games machine.”

The news comes after Nokia released a new study revealing worldwide mobile gaming habits. The research found that the average length of a mobile gaming session is 28 minutes, and that over 80 per cent of mobile gamers play at least once a week.

The report also concluded that community-based play will prove vital in the future growth of mobile gaming.

Tim Green
November 28, 2006

Source: Mobile Entertainment

Load gameboots from memory card on 2.71 SE

If you don't want to flash a new gameboot to your PSP due to flashing risks, then the amazing Birdman has come up with a way to load a gameboot from your memory stick on Dark_Alex's 2.71 SE Custom firmware. That's right, no more harmful flashing, just a bit of time and you can load your gameboot from your memory stick. All you need is a decrypted 2.71 dump, a hex editor, and you're ready to go. Here's how you do it:

1. Get a decrypted 2.71 dump and a hex editor
2. With your hex editor look in vsh/module/opening_plugin of the decrypted dump
3. Press ctrl+f and find gameboot.pmf
4. Then change "flash0:/vsh/resource/gamboot.pmf" to  "ms0:/PSP/SYSTEM/gameboot.pmf"
5. Start from the F in flash0:/ and rewrite the whole line
6. Use filer to flash modded opening_plugin to flash0:/vsh/nodle

If you dont have a memory stick in or the memory stick without the custom gameboot stored on it and load a UMD, it will just show a gameboot similar to the 0kb gameboot. and game will still work! Thanks to Birdman for making this guide and to kando for the tip!

Source: PSPUpdates

PSP "scam" sites? Dark_Alex homebrew sold? And how to avoid scams

pj1115 over at PSP3D made a list of top sites to avoid online. We'll cover those before discussing the sale of free homebrew on eBay.

• Dark-Alex.com. We talked about this before.
• UnlimitedPSPmovies. This download site says you'll get unlimited movie downloads if you pay US$ 34.95. According to pj1115, "these files are probably illegal" and are "illegal torrent downloads with no seeds." The site also asks you to turn off your firewall (kids, this is something you shouldn't do). pj1115 is concerned about spyware - we're concerned about identity theft and nasty viruses; if you have no firewall, anybody can take all your important info.
• FeedmyPSP and PSPwizard123. Same thing as above: you pay a fee and get free movies, cheats, music, games... But pj1115 points out that the "Hacker safe" and "100% secure" labels are pixelated and are not hyperlinked to any real certificate or agency.
• UnlimitedPSPGames. From the same people who brought you unlimited PSP movies for only US$ 34.95. They offer P2P, and tell you not to download anything illegal from them.

Now let's look at two eBay sales. Basically, people are selling homebrew on eBay. They've been doing this ever since the PSP came out, but we're not going to keep quiet about it just because it's a tough issue.

One sold "53 old and new homebrew applications" for nearly 40 US dollars. As for the other one, pj1115 says "this person is selling the Dark_AleX 2.71 generic downgrader for £5" and this defeats "the purpose of free software and indirectly abuse Dark_AleX" (£ 5 is about 10 US dollars).

There's also a part that looks like the seller claims to be the coder: "THE ENTIRE FILE WAS CREATED AND WRITTEN BY ME SO THEREFORE I HAVE RESELL RIGHTS." I think the "file" the seller is talking about is his "guide" on downgrading, but if pj1115 and others think he's claiming the homebrew is his, then it's a bit ambiguous. Even if the guide on how to download was written by the eBay seller, there's still that sticky issue of the homebrew. Is it the seller's homebrew? Or is it Dark_Alex's? We make no judgments until we hear the full story.

Read the full text here...

Source: PSPUpdates