Hacking the PSP Blog

Kid needs anger management; destroys PSP with katana

The headline explains it all. We've seen tons of kids with too much money destroying their electronics on the web with a variety of tools. Rifles, bats, and bombs ... now, it's a katana! Should someone that clearly has such anger management problems really have a sword?

Check out the video here... (NOTE: The posting user has flagged the video as private so they'll have to accept your friend request before you can view it.)

Source: PSP Fanboy

PSP getting ports from new sources

It's no secret that the PSP (as with any system) gets ports of games from other consoles. Most of the ports to PSP logically come from the PlayStation 2. But all that is starting to change. With the PS3 on the rise and the PS2 on the decline, PSP is starting to get ports from some unexpected places.

The DS has many a game that it's shared with the Gameboy Advance, but recently it seems like more and more GBA games are jumping over to Sony's portable. The most obvious of these are all of the recently announced Final Fantasy projects. From Final Fantasy Tactics to just plain ol' Final Fantasy, these GBA remakes are being remade again for the PSP. But it doesn't just end there, the PSP will also see a port of the GBA RPG title Riviera (which is great for me, since I never played that game).

Of course, while it seems like quite a few PSP games are from GBA land, that isn't the only system sending off titles to PSP's library. Xbox games like Xyanide and Painkiller: Hell Wars are reported to have versions coming out this year for PSP and the DS racer Asphalt Urban GT 2 will be out shortly. Even the PC isn't exempt as fantastic physics platformer Gish has a release date for our system of choice.

The future though seems to be the Wii and PSP connection. While Alien Syndrome is one of the only Wii/PSP games announced so far, the fact that Wii games have to be developed independently from the rest of the home consoles means many developers may be looking to PSP versions as another source of profit. Of course as with any business move, these ports will have to make money if this is to become a serious trend.

Steven Bailey
January 21, 2007

Source: PSP Fanboy

Daffy Duck and The OC a part of deal

SCi (and Eidos) have acquired the rights to 11 Warner Brothers franchises, including Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera and (prepare to be excited or horrified) the recently canceled Fox TV show The OC in a deal worth upwards of $80 million. Looney Tunes characters include Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales. The OC on the other hand features Mischa Barton and the other fit one. All games are scheduled for PSP. Hanna Barbera’s Tom and Jerry, the Flintstones and Yogi Bear are also mooted, plus a Batman game based on the DC comics. In truth, few Warner games are unlikely to trouble PS3, unless the latest series of The OC takes an explosive action RPG twist.

GamesRadar UK Staff
January 19, 2007

Source: GamesRadar

Google eyes in-game ads acquisition

Google is currently in talks to buy in-game ads company Adscape, a company that specialises in technology that allows adverts to be placed in online videogames.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, a deal could be announced as early as this week.

"We are always considering new ways to extend Google's advertising program to benefit our users, advertisers and publishers," said a spokesperson for Google.

"In-game advertising offers one such possible extension among many others," said the company.

The deal would follow Microsoft's purchase last May of Massive Inc, a firm that has numerous gaming partners including 2K Sports, Codemasters, Eidos, Konami and NCsoft.

Matt Martin
January 22, 2007

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

EA exec predicts software price cut

Ryan Jones, general manager of Electronic Arts Australia, has said that he believes the console cycle transition phase is now at an end - and that game prices are set to fall as a result.

As reported by Australian news site TheAge, Jones said, "I think it's safe to say that we're just about done with transition.

"Retail will show strong growth with the investment of GAME into the market, and it bodes well for the future having two strong specialists in the market as they tend to hold pricing and discount less to drive sales," he continued.

"On that point though, we do see next-gen pricing drifting down to AU $99 [EUR 60] by the end of the calendar year for all premium new releases." At present, full price Xbox 360 games retail for AU $120 (EUR 73) in Australia - the same price PS3 titles are expected to cost when the console launches there. Wii games sell for AU $100.

"We've had very successful next-gen launches in 360 and Wii, and with PS3 launching in March its initial success has become less significant," Jones said.

"Longer term it's hard to say who will win the console war out of the three hardware platforms but three strong platforms is certainly better than one strong, one average and one failure.

According to Jones the Nintendo DS is still enjoying strong growth, which he believes will make the handheld "a strong bet" for third-party publishers.

"We might see Nintendo's dominance on their own platforms challenged for the first time," he added.

"The challenges will be maximising the retail opportunities with so many different platforms in the market and limited growth in retail real estate in the medium term."

Ellie Gibson
January 22, 2007

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Do you duel? A Japanese PSP ad

High in the mountains, two samurai face each other in the beginnings of mortal combat. The waterfall between them will know the taste of blood as the two combatants draw their weapons in a duel to the death.

Okay. Maybe not, but there's definitely some gritty action behind this.

Sony's new ad for the PSP plays out a lot like a movie at first glance, where you see two guys in good old warrior attire getting ready to draw their swords in battle. Heck, they even made the film look very gritty, which also plays in the deception. With a tagline that asks us, "Do you duel?," you can expect some folks to end up being surprised by what happens in this video.

In any case, we'll leave the surprise up to you guys. As for whether or not it's actually a good ad, perhaps we'll need to make a three-way advertising battle, pitting Japan's PSP ads against that of America's and Europe's videos. Let us know what you think, alright?

Check out the video here...

Source: PSPUpdates

Sad Story Of Ziff Davis Coming To An End

For those of you who enjoy the often month-old, yet still highly informative and entertaining, gaming news found in Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine, or even the up-to-date news and media sites 1UP.com and GameVideos.com, then you know that the company that owns all three is in a lot of trouble. When William Ziff's publishing portion of the company sold for $1.4 billion in the middle 1990s, things were looking good. Then, Japanese company Softbank later bought the publishing portion for $2 billion and things peaked, promising an eventful future.

Unfortunately the events were less than desirable, and Softbank sold their involvement for a measly $780 million. Ziff Davis continued to show signs of weakness a few months ago when they announced that their U.S. PlayStation Magazine would be discontinued in January of 2007. No biggy, they moved on at Titanic speeds, Dan Hsu got his aristocratic naked portrait, and the iceberg tore a hole in the company that ensured its death. If there was a 911-style conspiracy video covering all of these events, this would be when the Fight Club background ambient music picks up and starts to get into the depressing lyrics.

Read the full article here...

Source: The Last Boss

Vice City Stories no longer a PSP exclusive

Vice City Stories to be PSP exclusive? Many doubted Rockstar, considering how Liberty City Stories made the jump to PlayStation 2. Well, looks like the doubters were right: A look at the ESRB website reveals a listing for a PS2 version of Vice City Stories. If it follows the footsteps of its Liberty City brethren, it will launch on PS2 for a measly $20, sans multiplayer.

Considering the relatively low sales of the latest GTA, it makes sense. Now, a whole new audience will be able to play with Phil Collins.



Source: PSP Fanboy