Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - Posts

Top 10 PSP Games as 19-Dec-2006

Shopping for PSP games for that special gamer? According to Epinions.com, these are the top 10 games as of December 19, 2006...

  1. Need for Speed: Underground Rivals
  2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
  3. NCAA Football 2007
  4. WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw 2
  5. SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals: Fireteam Bravo
  6. Madden MFL 2007
  7. NBA Live 2007
  8. The Sims 2
  9. Star Wars Battlefront II
  10. ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails

Enjoy!

Best,

-Auri

posted by Auri with 0 Comments

Chaos Zero apologizes for releasing fake TA-082 downgrader

Chaos Zero has written an apology for releasing the fake TA-082 from dark_thug that I posted about yesterday. Many people who posted in the comment sections on various PSP blogs/websites reported success and a few claimed that the downgrader bricked their PSPs. Dark_Alex and birdman were quick to assert that downgrader was a fake and would neither downgrade or brick your psp; it just didn't do anything. Here's the apology that Chaos Zero published on PSP-HaXors:

On behalf of PSP-HaXors, I would personally like to apologize for the recent release of the fake TA-082 downgrader by dark_thug.

Once it was emailed to me, I was skeptical. The sizes of the so-called “.thug” files matched the sizes of the Official Sony 1.50 firmware eboot and 2.71 eboot files.

So instead of releasing a fake downgrader to the scene, I held on to it.

With no proof, I finally decided to get it tested in a live test.

Without a TA-082 PSP myself to test it, I gave it out to test to 3 people who asked for it.

When all three came back saying it worked, I released it, with the proper cautions.

After which, PSP-Hacks and QJ posted the article. I kept an eye on the comments, on the post and on the forum.

Numerous people from PSP hacking sites reported success, and a few, bricks, so I assumed it was working.

That was until birdman and Dark_AleX said it was a hoax, and could neither downgrade nor brick a PSP.

So that said, I would like to apologize to PSP-Hacks, QJ, DCEmu, MaxConsole, and any other site who stumbled upon the article.

It was fake, and we’ve all seen fakes in the past. And will probably continue to see them.
Instead of pointing fingers at the testers, it’s better to just move on.

Again, I am sorry for posting it without the proper proof.

- Chaos Zero -

Via PSP-HaXors

posted by Auri with 0 Comments

What We Should Learn From Sony's Fake Blog Fiasco

Sony and agency Zipatoni have come under fire for one of their marketing tactics for the Sony PSP. Sony has added its name to a growing list of flogs [fake blogs] including McDonald's, WalMart and Lonely Girl 15, that are being called out by consumers.

This isn't the first time Sony has been caught and questioned about the ethics of its marketing practices.

Back in December of 2005, the brand came under fire for a graffiti tactic that was used as a disguise for its marketing efforts. Neighborhoods spoke out against the company for using what some consider vandalism to sell a product and graffiti artists cried foul for "duping" people passing by.

This time the wrath comes from a blog titled alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (which has apparently been taken down by Sony) that featured two guys trying to spread the word about convincing family members to get one of them a PSP for Christmas. Except the whole thing wasn't really a blog -- a fact revealed by cyber sleuths who looked up the domain's registration file. It was all just an advertising ploy. Once this news broke, it only took a matter of hours for the word to spread and the rapid fire comments and responses began.

I'm sure the one thing Sony did NOT expect was the amount of active bashing of the brand [and the site] that has virally spread over every gaming site and marketing blog out there. Top gaming site Penny Arcade had this to say,

"Unwilling to let an increasingly savvy portfolio of titles speak to gamers directly, they chose instead to bring aboard guerilla marketing gurus Zipatoni to do irreparable damage to their brand."

Read the full text here...

Noelle Weaver
December 18, 2006

Source: Advertising Age
posted by Auri with 0 Comments

Sony: No One Will Use 100% of PS3

Companies love to brag about how their latest-and-greatest release pushes hardware farther than anything before it. Gears of War was the last time we'd heard such remarks, but Sony's President of Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison, who has become a treasure trove of precious PR statements destined for ridicule, believes PlayStation 3 will never be maxed out.

Speaking to MTV, he said "nobody will ever use 100 percent of its capability" due to firmware upgrades and new uses for the Sixaxis controller.

What he does want, however, is to change the public's perception of video games. Harrison believes the term is too constricting. "I fervently believe that the biggest challenge we face is that our industry is referred to as 'video games,' and games are supposed to be fun. Games should deal with fear, should deal with comedy and with death. They should deal with peril, with drug offenses."

So, more Grand Theft Autos and Resident Evils? Harrison seems to want deeper, more meaningful games, but where's the motivation to play if it isn't fun? Can't they deal with off-beat, serious subject matters, but still have enjoyable gameplay mechanics? Sounds like a Metal Gear Solid game to me.

Patrick Klepek
December 18, 2006

Source: 1UP
posted by Auri with 0 Comments

PSP Year in Review

In 2006, Sony's PSP had its strongest year yet. Numerous developers released what would normally be called "killer apps" during a launch period, though sadly it seems that many of these titles were overlooked a bit due to all the next-gen hype that lasted year-round. Regardless, 2006 was a fantastic year for the system.

Games like Killzone: Liberation, LocoRoco, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, GTA: Vice City Stories, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Lumines II... the list goes on and on. To say that the system has matured would certainly be an understatement, as developers have now fully begun harnessing the system's power and are creating full and unique titles rather than simple ports. It's a fantastic time to be a PSP gamer.

The release of the PlayStation 3 has helped bolster the PSP's strength. PSone games have begun showing up on the PlayStation Store, allowing you to download them directly to your PSP and play them on the go. These include titles like Tekken 2 and Crash Bandicoot, AAA titles of years past. The Remote Play feature allows you to use your PSP as a wireless display for videos and images, and though it's only usable locally at this point, we're told you should be able to use this feature anywhere in the world where an Internet connection is present soon.

Read the full article here...

IGN Playstation Team
December 18, 2006

Source: IGN
posted by Auri with 0 Comments

Ceramic-white PSP and ProStroke Golf up for grabs

Is there anyone else here who doesn't own a PSP? Dude, if you're reading a PSP blog, chances are, you've already got one (maybe even two - one used for homebrew, the other with continuous firmware updates). But whether or not you have the said handheld, no one's stopping you for getting one.

Kikizo is making someone's new year even brighter by giving away a ceramic-white PSP unit in their contest. The winner gets not just a brand new PSP but also the latest golf-sim from Oxygen Interactive ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007.

What formats is ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 available for, besides PSP?
A) PC, PS2, Xbox
B) Xbox 360, Virtual Boy
C) Dreamcast, GBA, SNES
D) DS, Lynx, Game Gear
That seems easy enough. I'd put my bets on D. Maaaan, you can never go wrong with Game Gear. Hahaha! If you know the real answer, just click on the "Read" link below and swing over to check the rest of the contest mechanics.

Read more about the contest here...

Source: PSPUpdates

 
posted by Auri with 0 Comments

From PSP to PST: Amsterdam's PlayStation (Trans)Portable vehicle

We've seen a lot of strange things in Amsterdam. If you've been there yourself (or if you actually live there), you might have spotted the creative PSP ads zebra-striped onto pedestrian lanes. In light of this, another unique PSP "ad" has been sighted. Surfing through the net brought us to theskar's personal PhotoBucket account where he's posted this pic which was taken during a trip to Netherlands. Notice the neat little stickers splashed on the side?

Put this little joy ride side by side with the PSP Vespa, and you'd start to think that PSP should now be PST. PlayStation TransPortable.




Source: PSPUpdates
posted by Auri with 0 Comments

Rumor: Sony Survey Hints At Plans For New PSP?

From Kotaku:

Right about now, I think a revamped PSP is the only thing that can truly save Sony's handheld ambitions in the long-term. They need to give the PSP a clean break, take stock of the lessons learned from the original then come back and improve on it.

Sony sent around a survey last night that, from this weary writer's point of view at least, looks like they may well be thinking of doing just that. They threw a bunch of questions at PSP owners about what they'd like to see improved or added to the console, some good (hard drive, GPS), some not so good (book reader) and some sadly absent (decent games), but most telling was this question:

"Would you buy another PSP system if it included a hard drive and/or video out?"
It's very suspicious that the single-most desirable add-on mentioned (the HDD) is repeated in a further question that specifically asks whether you'd go out and buy another PSP for it. Very suspicious indeed.

Luke Plunkett
Decmber 19, 2006



posted by Auri with 0 Comments