Homebrew developer Zack has released an update to his excellent Wolfenstein 3D port for the PSP. Notable features include improvements in audio processing, as well as the ability to quick save/load game data while playing and VSync support, to diminish the effect of ghosting.

Unlike the previous release, version 4.8 supports both the retail and shareware versions of Wolfenstein in one package. Of course, in order to play the retail edition, you will still need the original WL6 files from id Software’s Wolf3D. Installation instructions can be found in the included readme file.

For the full changelog, hit the jump. more »

According to forum posters at PSPChina, the long-rumored PSP-3000 in is production and will include a built-in mic, along with minor cosmetic changes.

To substantiate their claims, one of the forum goers supplied a photo of the unit, which depicts a new button with the PS brand logo next to the two volume push buttons, in replace of the HOME button found on the PSP-1000 and 2000 series. To the right of the volume buttons is the microphone.

Again, the validity of these photos is questionable. Take this rumor with a grain of salt, though to be honest the PSP-3000 is more a matter of when rather than if. more »

Homebrew developer Chilly Willy has released the first official build of his PSP port of Basilisk II, a 68k Macintosh emulator supporting OS 7.01 through 8.1. Based on the Basilisk II JIT project, Chilly’s PSP port features use of UAE CPU emulation, along with new SoftFloat FPU emulation for increased compatibility.

In addition to 44kHz audio support, this version of Basilisk for PSP supports on-the-fly change of desktop colors and resolution, as well as support for mounting the PSP’s memory stick as a media device. Other features include support for the extra RAM on slim units and the ability to use TV-out.

For the full-lowdown, hit the jump. more »

Resident forum staffer Acerthief recently caught up with homebrew developer jas0nuk for an insightful interview on his involvement in the PSP homebrew community.

Before jumping straight into the interview, we’d like to give you a brief backstory. Age 17 and currently residing in the United Kingdom, jas0nuk’s roots strech back to what is now commonly called the golden-era of the PSP scene, a time when software-based firmware downgraders were all the rage, and when a number of homebrew developers were pumping out major releases for the PSP on an almost weekly basis.

His homebrew efforts include a number of widely used applications, including PRXdecrypter, PSPident, and the Pandora ELF/PBP Menu. Read on for the full interview!

jas0nuk Interview

All the hustle and bustle of E3 isn’t stopping Sony from delivering yet another content-packed PlayStation Store update this fine Thursday. Spearheading this week’s selection of downloadable offerings is PS3 puzzle game Elefunk, which challenges players to lead a herd of Elephants through 20 levels of fire pits to murky swaps.

Awaiting for you on the demo front is a playable demo of PS3 titles Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and as previously mentioned, Elefunk. In addition to PSP UMD title Star Trek: Tactical Assault going digital, rounding out this week’s update is PSone classic Rayman, along with a series of HD videos highlighting Sony’s E3 2008 conference. more »

The NPD Group has released its hardware and software sales figures for the month of June. As Nintendo just announced, the Wii pushed 666,700 units, surpassing the Xbox 360 with a total sell-through of approximately 10.9 million units in North America. Unsurprisingly, the Nintendo DS took top honors this month with 783,000 units sold.

Moving on, Sony’s PlayStation 3 saw a nice bump in sales for the month of June, shifting 405,500 units, which can be attributed to the launch of a Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots hardware bundle. In comparison, the Xbox 360 pushed a total of 219,800 units during the same timeframe. Clearly, MGS4 had quite an impact on hardware sales, unlike Grand Theft Auto 4.

“Platform-exclusive content usually fuels hardware system purchases, and PS3 sales certainly reflect the impact of Metal Gear Solid 4,” said industry analyst Anita Frazier. She added, “PS3 unit sales were the highest of any month outside of that recorded during previous November/December holiday timeframes.”

Hit the jump for the full software and hardware sales breakdown.

more »

Homebrew developer Raphael has released an update to JoySens, a highly-configurable custom firmware plugin that allows users to adjust the sensitivity of the PSP’s analog stick.

Fully compatible with custom firmware 4.01 M33-2, version 1.41 features support for adjusting analog stick configuration parameters on a per-game / EBOOT basis. Additionally, it is now possible to map analog movement to button key presses and vice versa.

While the installation process has been greatly simplified this time around, the author notes that users should try formatting flash1 via M33’s built-in recovery menu, if they are having trouble with getting JoySens to run correctly on the latest firmware.

For the complete changelog, hit the jump. more »

Homebrew developer Notaz has released a bug fix focused update to his PSP compatible port of PicoDrive, a Sega CD and Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator.

In addition to several minor tweaks and fixes, version 1.51 adds the ability to configure ABC turbo actions. The full changelog can be found after the jump. more »

Unsurprisingly, Polyphony Digital is taking its sweet time with Gran Turismo 5. Speaking during E3, franchise creator Kazunori Yamauchi stated that the complete Blu-ray disc version of GT5 might not arrive until 2010.

That’s a long time away! So will we see anything from Polyphony during that time? Yes, Yamauchi says that Prologue — the downloadable prequel — will be further expanded upon, with additional updates adding new cars, tracks and features.

This news certainly doesn’t bode well for PSP title Gran Turismo: Mobile, which Yamauchi assures is still in development and scheduled for a release after GT5 is finally out the door.

Kazunori Yamauchi: More Prologue, no GT5 soon, GT PSP still coming [Joystiq]

Developer roe-ur-boat has released an update to AutoStart PRX, a 4.01 M33 compatible custom firmware plugin that allows users to specify a number of separate homebrew applications to load at launch. Each application can be bind to certain key. When that key is held during bootup, the PSP will automatically load your homebrew.

Now at version 4, users can bypass the autoboot system by leaving WLAN switch on while booting. Other notable changes include support for autoexecuting PSone games at startup and a redesigned configuration interface. The full changelog can be found after the jump. more »