Hacking the PSP Blog

Sony's Harrison On PSP Homebrew: "I don't like it, but I respect it."

In part 4 of an extensive interview with Newsweek N'Gai Croal, Phil Harrison discusses his unofficial view of PSP homebrew software. Here's N'gai's question and Phil's response:

N'Gai Croal: Yesterday, you were asked a question about homebrew development on the PS3, then I steered you onto the PSP. And you said that because the nature of the PSP platform is that it is more closed, and that you didn't feel that it was as appropriate. Your answer made me wonder, is that driven more by corporate goals and the piracy situation? Because when I look at the homebrew community and what they're doing, it's not massive, but there is a sizable number of people that are passionate about experimenting on the PSP.

Phil Harrison: Yes. It's always difficult, because officially, we could never condone it. Unofficially, I am always very admiring of those people, because they do some really interesting things under very technically complex circumstances. If there was a way to legitimize that--we wouldn't get all of the community, because for some people, the whole dark under the radar element is the appeal. I respect that. I don't like it, but I respect it.

And there you have it from Sony Computer Entertainment Executive Vice President and President of SCE Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison. If you would like to read the entire interview you can do so by following the link below.

Loot: The Phil Harrison Interview, Part IV

Source: Newsweek

Industry gears up for GDC 2007

GamesIndustry.biz has published an article gearing up for their coverage of the Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco and has given a preview of some of the activities that will be taking place at the conference. From the article:

The event kicks off on Monday, with a focus on mobile entertainment and a keynote from industry veteran Trip Hawkins, who will be discussing Making Mobile Phones the Ultimate Game Platform.

Other mobile focused highlights include founding chairman of GDC Mobile Robert Tercek's keynote on The First Decade of Mobile Games, highlighting the key titles, turning points and pitfalls of the industry so far.

Also sure to cause a buzz in the mobile sector will be Nokia's unveiling of the new N-Gage platform, with numerous speaker session covering the SDK, publishing partners, software and hardware specifications.

Phil Harrison's keynote will be the must-attend event of Wednesday, with the worldwide studios boss expected to reveal the next stage in Sony's intention to dominate the digital home.

Also scheduled for Wednesday is Katie Perez's session on how to develop and pitch a successful Xbox Live game submission, and Warren Spector's speech on The Future of Next-Generation Game Development.

Thursday again kicks off with a heavyweight keynote, this time from legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who will be revealing how a singular creative vision guides his work.

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux is also due to reveal more about his RPG sequel in Innovations in Fable 2 on Thursday, while Rare's Michael Boulton will take attendees on a detailed tour of the look and style of Viva Pinata.

One of Friday's highlights is likely to be id Software's Todd Hollenshead's frank session on The Videogame Piracy Problem, with insight from his experiences battling piracy over the past ten years. Also scheduled for Friday is Scott Kirkland's session looking at the physics of stand-out PlayStation 3 title Motorstorm.

Matt Martin
March 2, 2007

Read the full article here... For more information about GDC 2007, visit the official website.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Sony Announces 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

Sony announced it's raising the capacity of its Memory Stick Pro Duo to 8GB. Going on sale in Japan on March 9 for $325, the eight-gig flash memory cards won't work with all Sony VAIO laptops or Cybershot cameras—only with those sold in 2007. The good news is that your PlayStation Portable (PSP) will accept the new flash cards, but you'll need to be running firmware version 2.81.

Of course, Sony has such a proprietary mindset that some of its products aren't compatible with its own proprietary memory sticks. You might want to check the compatibility page (which doesn't include the 8GB Memory Stick yet, but promises to do so soon), listing the dozens of Sony products and telling you which one of the company's Memory Sticks will work with each. It's like navigating through a maze. Not amazing at all.

Charlie White
March 2, 2007

Source: Gizmodo

Off Topic: Games 'make drivers go faster'

More than a third of young drivers are more likely to go faster on the roads after playing on-screen driving games, a survey suggests.

And 27% of motorists aged 16 to 24 admitted more risk-taking on the road after a gaming session.

A thousand drivers were questioned on behalf of driving school BSM.

BSM's road safety consultant Robin Cummins said the results showed an 'indisputable' link between gaming and dangerous driving.

A quarter of drivers even said they imagine they are in a driving simulation game while driving for real - men are the worst offenders for this.

The poll also found that 34% of the 1,000 young drivers questioned think computer games can improve real-life driving ability, with two in five reckoning the games can help their reflexes.

The survey revealed that just over half of frequent game-players pass their driving test first time, compared with only 45% of those who only play games infrequently.

Mr Cummins said: "With more than 200 young people killed each year due to speeding alone, it's crucial that they learn to 'keep it real' on the road."

But the survey's findings have been rejected by the US-based games designer David Perry.

The multi-millionaire from Belfast, who is currently designing a driving video game, said behaviour was affected by how drivers felt while behind the wheel, not before they got in their car.

"Anything that affects your emotions will affect how you drive. The guy in front, the music on the stereo...those are the things that make you speed up, not a game you played an hour ago."

BBC News Staff
March 2, 2007

Source: BBC News