Hacking the PSP Blog

eLoader v0.9.7 Bock Released! Runs most homebrew on ANY PSP 2.00 through 2.60!

You really didn't think that Ditlew and Fanjita would abandon us, did you? Of course not! We hope everyone enjoyed the April Fool's Day prank Fanjita was playing on us! But whatever emotional trauma some of you endured is worth it, because this release of eLoader has what you want - WiFi!

That's right, eLoader "Bock" now supports WiFi access, both ad-hoc and infrastructure, on all PSP Firmwares - without the hassle of a "WiFi hack" as was done in earlier versions! Ditlew and Fanjita want to send out thanks to Chris Swindle (who created the Wi-Fi capable Quake port) for pointing them in the right direction in freeing up WiFi capabilities for the eLoader without needing kernel access.

Another new feature for "Bock" is cacheing the list of homebrew on your memory stick, "so if it's less than an hour since the menu last scanned, then it will just load the cached data instead, making it much faster to load the menu if you have a lot of homebrew."

If you have Windows, get the AUTO INSTALLER here!
If you don't have Windows, get the regular version here!

Source: PSPUpdates

Apple Announces iTunes Downloads for PSP, Sony Connect Compatibility!

With increasing pressure from foreign governments to open up it's proprietary music format, Apple Computer today announced iTunes for Sony's PSP. iTunes PSP, will be included with Sony's new System Software Update, Version 3.0, due later on April 1, 2006.

Sony will return the favor by providing full Connect music and video store compatibility with Apple's popular iPod line of music and video players. The two companies together will form the largest joint audio and video media venture in the consumer electronics and computer industries to date.

"Enabling consumers to play both Sony's Media Connect and Apple iTunes music gives PSP users a true mobile entertainment platform, for video, audio, and more," said Steve Jobs, Chairman and CEO of Apple Computer, Inc.

More information is coming soon!

Source: PRNewswire



APRIL FOOLS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APPLE!

1976, and with a joke price of $666.66 for the Apple 1, Apple Computer was founded by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. The two Steve's inventions and innvoations - the Apple I, Apple II, Woz Integrated Machine (WIM), Woz Super Integrated Machine(SWIM), the first affordable disk controller for personal computers, the Macintosh, the Apple IIGS (my favorite computer of all time), affordable text-to-speech and speech interfaces for computers, the Newton handheld digital assistant, the Apple //c (the first affordable computer you could move room to room), the Powerbook (the first laptop to be truly usable and stylish), the Mac OS (thank you Andy Hertzfeld and many, many others), getting USB to really take off (go iMac!), and brining simple affordable home movie editing (iMovie) and the easiest to use music player + music store around (iTunes), allthewhile launching the online digital music download industry - have made all our lives richer, more fulfilled, and kept us computer users, hackers, obsessors, up for hours basking in the glow of monitors with one question on our minds - "What are we going to do next?"

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku Announced for PSP and PS2

XPLOSIV today announced that the ever popular Carol Vorderman Sudoku will be released on PlayStation 2 and PSP in QTR2 2006. The addictive and challenging puzzle craze that has swept the globe found a huge fan and supporter in best selling author and personality Carol Vorderman and these interactive games will allow Carol to show you how it’s done. Let her take you step-by-step via live action video explaining the methods of Sudoku and revealing handy hints so that you too can become a Sudoku master. If you feel you’ve mastered the methods of Sudoku then the game will allow you to lay down the gauntlet and challenge Carol to the ultimate Sudoku showdown. As gadget enthusiast Carol said ‘I love my PSP, it fits in my handbag and is really handy for someone like me who travels a great deal.’ She adds, ‘I can’t wait to be able to play Sudoku on the PSP where and whenever I want.’

Sudoku has a huge appeal globally and Carol Vorderman Sudoku is perfect for the PSP and PS2 platforms. The additional formats will add a greater offering to Sudoku fans and more ways for them to feed their Sudoku habit’ said Joanne Fawell, European Product Manager, Xplosiv. As a self-confessed Sudoku addict, the Channel 4 Countdown presenter says: 'I have become completely obsessed and a bit of a saddo. I love competitions with friends to see who finishes first.  I go for the fiendishly hard one and have got my time down from five hours to under twenty minutes.’ She adds, ‘Mind you I’m told off at home, at work and even in the hairdressers for going “into the Sudoku zone” and “not listening to a word anyone says”.

There's already a Sudoku title out on the PSP called Go! Sudoku for US and UK gamers. Not to mention several free homebrew versions!

Source: PSPUpdates

Lumines 2 Showing Itself at E3?

There has been some news surfacing claiming that Lumines 2 could be on display at E3 next month. The latest of these rumors comes from Tetsuya Mizuguchi, whom is the founder of Q Entertainment, confirming that Lumines 2 could possibly show at E3 next month. Lumines was one of the best sellers on the PSP and is a puzzle/music game which was part of the PSP's launch lineup.

Source: Gaming Horizon via PSPUpdates

Update: PS3 Information

Keeping his cards close to the chest, in his usual style, Phil Harrison (Sony VP of development) provided a bit of clarification about the future of the PS3 in a recent meeting attended by Tejstar of AVForums. Naturally, there was no mention of a release date, (not even a price or pre-order information) but there were specifics about a few things.


Here are some excerpts from Tejstar's post detailing the meeting:

Is a hard drive going to be included in the box?
Answer: Yes.

Will there be global online play?
Answer: Yes, but only for PAL regions, the US and Japan.
(There will be an emphasis on recouping costs by using online in game advertisements)

What are the plans for PSP-PS3 wireless connectivity?
Answer: You will be able to use the PSP to stream content that is stored on the PS3’s hard drive, whether that be game downloads, music or video.

When will we see some games up and running?
Answer: E3

Will there be additional content to take advantage of added Blue Ray capacity?
Answer: [They were] very coy about this, they did say that they need 50GB disks for launch titles, however wouldn’t comment how much of that will be used for games initially.

Among the hype, marketing and spin, a clearer picture of the PS3 is slowly emerging from the shadows. While some of the information is disappointing, like the decision to make the PS3's Blue Ray drive follow in the limited footsteps of the PS2's DVD capabilities; their decision to make the PS3 region free is welcome news. According to information coming from Tejstar's meeting, launch titles will be on 50GB Blue Ray disks (no confirmation on actual games size) and on board memory will be 512 MB, creating a very efficient ratio between the two. Sony has a history of creating great products, but they also have a record of not living up to some of their promises. With E3 around the corner Sony has an opportunity to make a statement and set the record straight.

Flixpo now supports the PSP's web browser!

Remember Flixpo? If not, I'll refresh your memory. It's a site dedicated to funny video clips formatted for your PSP or IPOD. Its grown from a once small site to a reasonably large one, as we reported on in November last year, with new videos being added regularly.

Recently, they updated the site to allow you to easily view the site, and download content on your PSP's browser - pretty nifty. There's a great range of video's to choose from too, from comedy, to banned commercials, and even independent movies. Be sure to add it to your PSP's bookmarks!

Source: PSPUpdates

NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition 2006 Results!

The winners of the greatest PSP and NDS coding competition for the spring of '06 have been officially announced. There have been three winners in each category (NDS App, NDS Game, PSP App). In this competition we have seen some of the best PSP and NDS developers enter their most recent creations. The greatest of them all were clearly picked, and I argee with the results 100%. All of the entries were good and all deserved to win a prize, but this is a competition! LiraNuna, 0xtob, and Danzel are names that should go in the record books. All three of these authors created something amazing that all earned a place on my NDS and PSP. Danzel's WiFi chat program worked with the most popular instant messaging clients, LiraNuna's RPG revolutionized NDS homebrew quality and 0xtob's NitroTracker was just amazing with all the music tracker features!

Sony PSP Apps
Top 1: AFKIM - Universal IM client   --- By Danzel
Top 2: Oldschool Library   --- By Brunni
Top 3: PSPosx   --- By Slasher
No.4 : PSP---OSS 0.3 Dev   --- By Mondy
No.5 : FileAssistant++   --- By 71M
No.6 : Titan Homebrew Manager   --- By McZonk
No.7 : Psp-gnuboy Pspadrive PspFCEUltra   --- By HamsterBert
No.8 : Pspaint   --- By Aerol33t
No.9 : PSPJabber   --- By Davgav
No.10: PDLPv4.0 (PSPdizaster lua paint v4.0)   --- By Psp333

Nintendo DS Games
Top 1: Tales of Dagur --- By LiraNuna
Top 2: Aztec Challenge   --- By Bodom-Child
Top 3: Cosmic Invaders   --- By Milpool
No.4 : GameBox DS   --- By Gwoin
No.5 : Fushido   --- By Didou
No.6 : Cutrix!   --- By Jandujar
No.7 : Dsudoku   --- By Ben2303
No.8 : Touch & Bomb   --- By Tipiak
No.9 : Hero   --- By AronBS
No.10: Sonic Ball   --- By N64Francois

Nintendo DS Apps
Top 1: NitroTracker   --- By 0xtob
Top 2: MarcaDS Arcade Emulator   --- By AlekMaul
Top 3: Frodo Commodore 64 Emulator   --- By GPF
No.4 : DSOrganize      --- By DragonMinded
No.5 : Watari – Supervision Emulator   --- By Normmatt
No.6 : AVI converter   --- By Delfare
No.7 : YetAnOtherMP3Player   --- By Birslip
No.8 : Yetibrowser   --- By Smealum
No.9 : Win2DS   --- By Sintax
No.10: Drummers V2   --- By Lien

Source: PSPUpdates and NeoFlash

Pac-Man World Rally's Pac-Devil - Summer 06- Finally, a Mario Kart like game for the PSP!

Namco Bandai announced today that the classic arcade game Pac-Man has been beefed up with killer graphics and will be joining the line up of games on several consoles this summer including Xbox, Game Cube, PS2, and PSP. Pac-Man World Rally is due to be released this summer bringing our favorite pill popping yellow dot to us in a whole new way. With a broad selection of environments and characters from Pac-Man World, Pac-Man Jr, Ms. Pac-Man, and several other Namco Classics, Pac-Man World Rally will be one of the most action packed multi player kart racing games since Mario Kart. Players can race through the many 3d levels or battle it out with their friends in one of the several  multi player modes, blowing each other around the map in the many Battle Arenas with a wide selection of power ups and weapons or racing head to head through ether time trial or grand prix competitions

  “Pac-Man World Rally delivers the most complete kart racing experience yet with incredible speed across outrageous and vibrant courses from well known Namco games,” said Jeff Lujan, business director at Namco Hometek Inc. “The refined power sliding mechanics allows for tremendous handling in any situation, while a roster of more than 15 classic characters ensures that every race is memorable for players of all ages.”

Source: PSPUpdates

PSP Blue Light Cable Released

Videogame Brando has released an interesting third party product called the " PSP Blue Light Charging & Data Cable." In case you couldn't figure it out for yourself, this cable contains a USB port on one end, while the other end has a PSP compatible USB port and an AC plug. To help stand out from the rest of the crowd, this cable has 3 bright blue LEDs on each head that glow when it's in use. This cable will allow you to charge your Sony PSP using a USB port or simply transfer data from your memory stick and your PC.

Update on Progress of PSPMonkey's Monkey64 Nintendo 64 Emulator for PSP

PSPMonkey has updated his blog with new info on the status of his awesome Nintendo 64 emulator for the PSP, Monkey 64. While it's not complete or in a true beta stage yet, he's working hard on it!

In PSmonkey's most recent update on his blog, he notes that he has finally gotten 3D rendering on his emulator, and it can be seen in the screenshot that he supplied the public. This is a great step in the emulator with the 3D graphics showing some detail! As many are aware, the N64 was Nintendo's first 64-bit console, and also used the N64's graphic potential to the max, squeezing out every last polygon, trying to make it as 3D as possible. PSmonkey has showed constant improvement on the emulator and says that he will be fixing a few "things" and that we should expect a release (build) next week!


Source: PSPUpdates / PSPMonkey's Blog

Sony misses another deadline: Connect missing March relaunch?

With only hours left in the month, the revamped version of Sony's promised Web-to-PSP download service is nowhere in sight.

At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in January, Sony announced that it would launch a revamped version of its Connect download service. Launched in May 2004, the service has struggled to compete with iTunes. As outlined by executives at the event, the new service would offer even more media than Apple's megapopular iTunes, such as books and games.

At Sony's main presentation at CES, Sony Computer Entertainment executive John Kohler took the stage and explicitly said that the service would be available this month. "One of the key news announcements that came out today from Sony Connect is the Connect video download service that will allow consumers to download feature-length movies and shorts to their PSP," said Kohler. "This feature will be available in March." The game and book services were expected to go online later this year.

However, now it appears that Sony will miss its own self-imposed deadline. With only hours left in the month, the Connect Web site remains the same, offering a limited number of selections in the company's proprietary ATRAC audio format.

If it doesn't go up later today, when will the new PlayStation Portable-enabled Connect launch? For now, that is unclear. As of press time, Sony reps had not returned requests for comment.

By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot

Source: GameSpot

Brain Games Head to the PSP

More games that will make you think.

Nintendo's Touch Generations! games have become such a huge success on the DS that imitators were inevitable. Sega has announced they are jumping on the bandwagon, but they need to make the wagon a little longer with a title like Sony Computer Science Kenkyuushitsu Kenichiro Mogi Hakase Kanshuu Nou ni Kaiketsu Aha Taiken! Look for this game (no I am not retyping that) to hit the PSP on June 22 in Japan.

Just Because Sony is in the name doesn't mean Sony has anything to do with this game. The head of the Sony Computer Research Lab, Kenichiro Mogi, will be supervising this game, hence the title. The game is going to focus mostly on the "Aha! Experience." That is the sensation of finally figuring something out that has been eluding you.

This title is likely to remain a Japanese title only.


Source: Advanced Media Network

PSP Vs. DS One Year Later

1up has a feature revisiting the ongoing struggle for supremacy in the handheld market. The PSP and the DS have had many ups and downs in the past year, and the column lays out the successes and failures for both systems. From the article: "And then there were two. The DS is cleaning up in Japan -- the sheer demand for the console there has siphoned every single unit from the marketplace, while PSPs sit unloved on store shelves. But here in the U.S., it's a neck-and-neck race. And, since the PSP launched one year ago on March 24th, 2005, we thought it'd be an excellent time to revisit the past year and gauge the situation as it stands today."

Source: Slashdot