After that “unscheduled” bit of downtime earlier today, the PlayStation Store is back in full force, bringing with it the digital release of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation. Joining SOCOM are playable demos for MotorStorm Pacific Rift and PSP title LEGO Batman. Moving on, add-on content this week consists of an expansion set and bundle for Eye of Judgement, a […]
A number of users over at the official PlayStation forums are reporting that the LCD screen found in PSP-3000 units has poor de-interlacing quality, resulting in a somewhat noticeable reduction of image quality in fast-moving sequences displayed on-screen. Forum user Prothean supplied a video clip that shows the aforementioned issue in action. As you can see, scanlines are visible when […]
The NPD Group has published its software and hardware sales figures for the month of September. On the hardware front, sales were up across the board overall. Nintendo once again obliterated the competition with 687,000 Wii units sold, up 234,000 from the previous month. Sales of the 360 nearly hit the 350,000 mark, largely thanks in part to the September […]
Update: And the store is now back online! If you find yourself unable to access the PlayStation Store – here’s why. Certain PSN features, including access to the PS Store, along with account management and registration have been temporarily disabled. Rest assured, however, that this period of maintenance will not affect online gameplay. PlayStation Network Temporary Unscheduled Maintenance [PS Blog]
Following the recent firmware 5.0 release, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has updated its PSP custom theme converter utility to version 1.4.0.0. The update adds support for replacing new first-level icons found in firmware 4.0 and above, namely the “Internet Search” and “Account Management” items. Note that themes built with this version of the custom theme converter are not backwards compatible […]
As part of an extensive interview with director Satoshi Sakai, 1UP has received official word from SEGA that the currently Japan-only PSP RPG Phantasy Star Portable is scheduled to reach North American shores in March 2009. Phantasy Star Portable will feature four co-op, in addition to the standard single player campaign. However, like the original Japanese release, the multiplayer aspect […]
According to recent findings from Alek, the motherboard housed inside of launch PSP-3000 units is none other than a TA-090. However, unlike previous hardware revisions, the TA-090 chip in 3000 units fails to turn on if a Pandora battery is inserted. This seems to suggest that additional changes have been made on the hardware end to prevent end users from […]
Sony’s Grace Chen walks us through the recently announced direct PSP store that is set to appear in firmware 5.0. Sporting the same look and feel of the current PS3 store, users will be able to download content straight from their PSP via WiFi connection. New features have been added, such as the ability to redeem PlayStation Network vouchers through […]
SCEA PlayStation Network director Eric Lempel has released details on the forthcoming firmware updates for PlayStation 3 and PSP. First up is firmware 5.0 for the PSP, which in addition to the direct PSP store announced last week, will include a sleep timer function that can be used while playing music on the PSP, a full screen keyboard option for […]
Homebrew developer Zx-81 has released an update to PSPWrite, a simple yet powerful text editor that allows users to edit any ASCII format plain-text file on the PSP. The application supports input through either a wireless IR keyboard or the built-in Danzeff virtual keyboard. Notable additions in version 1.2.0 include syntax highlighting for certain file types (C++, LUA scripts), a […]
It’s back! After nearly a year with no updates in sight, the original PSPoste team makes a triumphant return with the release of PSPoste beta 7, a collaborate effort between developers David Cummings, Ben Biron and Sajeeth Cherian. In case you missed previously releases, PSPoste is a full fledged email client designed specifically for PSP, supporting SMTP and POP3 protocols, […]
This week’s PlayStation Store update kicks off with episode 5 of Sony’s monthly video magazine Qore, bringing with it exclusive access to SEGA’s Valkyria Chronicles demo and a selection of “spooky/creepy” artwork. On the PSN games front, this week’s lineup of offerings include Linger in Shadows, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, and Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars. Accompanying […]
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has confirmed that the direct PSP store will officially launch on October 15, alongside the release of a new system software update: firmware 5.0. The update adds an XMB icon that allows users to access the PlayStation Store straight from their PSP. Following the launch of the 5.0 firmware, Sony will begin offering select UMD based […]
Update: SCEJ just confirmed that PSP firmware 5.0 is scheduled to hit next week. German site Elhabib is reporting that a “very reliable source” has told them that a new PlayStation 3 firmware update is due out by next week — 2.50. Additionally, the same source informed them that firmware 5.0 for PSP will drop during the same week and […]
Reports are surfacing that select Best Buy locations across North America (specifically in the Mission Valley area of San Diego, CA) have already broken the street date on Sony’s third PSP hardware revision, the PSP-3000. As announced back in August, the unit is currently being sold as part of a Ratchet & Clank Entertainment Pack bundle, which includes a 1GB […]
A Japanese homebrew developer who wishes to remain anonymous has released an unofficial update to FinalBurn Alpha for the PSP, a multi-purpose emulator designed to emulate MC68000/Z80 based arcade games. The latest release adds support for arcade titles based on Capcom’s CPS3 chipset. However, the author notes that emulation of CPS3 titles is currently slow at the moment and requires […]
Nintendo announced its third DS hardware revision earlier last week, the slimmer, lighter, camera-equipped Nintendo DSi. It’s been making waves in the gaming community ever since. What do the folks over at Sony think? Are they at all worried that the multimedia features of the DSi will give Nintendo a stronger competitive edge against the PSP? Here is John Koller’s […]
According to a Eurogamer hands-on session with the PSP-3000, which is scheduled for a worldwide release next week, the unit comes with firmware 4.20 preloaded. The updated system software revision includes a “USB Auto-Connect” option, which automatically begins charging the PSP within the XMB when a USB cable is inserted. Elsewhere, a “Color Space” setting has added to the firmware. […]
While not quite as stellar as last week’s massive PlayStation Store update, this week still manages to pack a punch in the add-on content department. Up for grabs now is two Soulcalibur IV weapon sets priced at $4 each, along with the usual round of Rock Band tracks and a free Oklahoma City pack for NBA Live 09. Moving on, […]
Following up on the rumor posted earlier this week, the folks over at French site PSPGen have posted video proof of PSP firmware 5.0 in action, running on a testing tool unit. Keep in mind this is a development version of said firmware and as such, certain features may not be present in the public release.