Hacking the PSP Blog

A look into the other side of the God of War 2 party

Contrary to all the bad press that the European press event for Sony's God of War 2 Athens, Greece had, this video clarifies a lot of things that happened in the event.

The hype surrounding the press event focused almost exclusively on the slaughtered goat that was put on display. However, what didn't make it to the news was the fact that the goat was not necessarily the centerpiece of the event. From the pictures that we've seen, it would appear as if the dead goat was right in the middle of the hall where the event was taking place, when in truth, it was sequestered in a small room where the participants of the challenge had to "taste the sacrificial food of the gods".

Neither was it ever really given attention that the event went smoothly for the most part, and that a lot of people did in fact have fun with the games put up to spice up the occasion. Those who had the desire to "challenge the gods" had to survive certain tests, like the retrieval of the key from an aquarium with snakes. Then there was this "hand to hand combat" challenge, which was the display for their dexterity and overall athletic capabilities.

Yes, there was a dead goat somewhere in the venue. But really, everybody was just in the God of War mood, that nobody actually was iffy to the fact that a dead goat was used as a prop. Not that they didn't care, but maybe it was because the event just stayed true to the feel of the game. And in the time where God of War 2 is set, we're pretty sure goats weren't the only one slaughtered.

Watch the video here...

Source: Daily Motion via PSPUpdates

Allard admits defeat, wears dreads over PSP bet

"I knew that they'd sell millions of them, but I just didn't think that demand could be higher than for the PS2," says defeated Allard

For you young'ens out there, a year ago Microsoft's most famous bald-headed exec J Allard made a bet with Newsweek writer N'Gai Croal, that the PSP wouldn't reach the same 10 million units shipped within 12 months as the PS2.

If Allard won he'd get to cut off N'Gai's dreads live on stage, but if he lost he'd have to sport a dreadlock wig for the entire month.

Unfortunately for Allard Sony eventually smashed the 10 million barrier on schedule, and the trendy suit continently ditched 2006's E3 show, Jamaican Barnet and all.

360 days later and Allard has finally done good on his wager, sporting a big head o' locks on his official Microsoft bio page and admitting that he was wrong about the PSP's popularity. "I knew that they'd sell millions of them, but I just didn't think that demand could be higher than for the PS2," he said.

"In 2006, I had shifted my focus to a new project called Zune, didn't present at E3 the annual games conference and I had forgotten about the challenge. He reminded me a couple weeks back that I never made good on the bet so here are the promised dreads - 360 days after the last E3 Xbox press conference."

Allard continues, tipping his dreadlocked hat to Sony for "outpacing the PS2 velocity with their PSP".

"For the record, I'd never have been able to cut off your dreads, my friend. I might've clipped one off for show, but could never have butchered your style like that."

Andy Robinson
May 8, 2007

Source: CVG

Off Topic: Save the Children Disses the Games

The Save the Children foundation has released a study in the UK which claims today's children are more isolated from the world -- and videogames are partly to blame. As reported in the Telegraph, the study surveyed elementary school teachers about their observations on the effects things like electronic entertainment and junk food are having on their students. Over 70 percent of the teachers polled agreed that videogames are harming children's abilities to interact with others.

Save the Children is worried that youths who don't develop strong social skills when they are young will find it difficult to establish meaningful relationships in their professional and private lives as adults.

"Children have always played alone, for example with dolls or train sets, but these activities required a certain level of imagination -- they stimulated their brains," said Lorna Redden, Save the Children's schools development manager. "That is not the case with modern computer games which do children's thinking for them and put them in their own little world."

The charity organization says the rise of videogames coincides with a decrease in more traditional playground activities like hopscotch, tag, and sports. Teachers also note a rise in "thuggish behavior" and behavioral problems aggravated by videogames.

Hal Halpin, head of the Entertainment Consumers Association, referred to the study as "pseudo research," and wonders what roles teachers and parents play in the lives of socially isolated children.

"This is another example of real world anecdotal evidence consistently flying in the face of pseudo-research," Halpin said. "If that's the case here, I've seen my son play DS with his cousins just as I've seen my daughter play hop-scotch with friends. Both sets of kids were having fun and communicating. Both were interacting and being social. One could even argue that the DS group was doing so in multiple channels more than the physical-only crowd.

Read the full article here...

Daemon Hatfield
May 7, 2007

Source: IGN

Spidey Flavored 2GB Entertainment Pack Hits PSP

Sony just announced an update to their 2GB Memory Stick Entertainment Pack for the Playstation Portable.

The new $60 pack will now let you download one of four new(er) movies on your PSP: Spider-Man2, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Hellboy, or S.W.A.T.

As with the original Entertainment Pack, the new one will come with an installer DVD that allows you to unlock one of the movies and transfer it onto a Memory Stick for PSP playback.

Source: Kotaku