James Bond Skyfall tie-in is DLC-only

July 1st, 2012, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster

007's latest cinematic adventure will not be heading to retail.
Activision has revealed that the Skyfall segment of upcoming shooter 007 Legends won't be on the disc. Instead it will be released as DLC.
The publisher has previously announced 007 Legends will feature a single-player campaign that ties in classic Bond films with Daniel Craig's next flick.
The latest release – detailing the new On Her Majesty's Secret Service mission – reveals the Skyfall levels "will be available post-launch as free downloadable content".
007 Legends is due for release on October 19th, with the Skyfall DLC presumably following when the movie hits the silver screen on October 26th. Perhaps to avoid spoilers.
It's an interesting decision, but not entirely unprecedented. Earlier this year, EA released a downloadable UEFA Euro 2012 expansion pack for FIFA 12, rather than a standalone retail release.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/james...lc-only/098771

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LittleBigPlanet Karting can't stop here, this is beta country

July 2nd, 2012, 01:31 Posted By: wraggster

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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier 'Arctic Strike' DLC delayed

July 2nd, 2012, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

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PSN Summer Sale discounts Shadow of the Colossus, Closure, more next week

July 2nd, 2012, 01:48 Posted By: wraggster

PSN's Summer Sale offers discounts on a bunch of random PS3 games, none of which seem particularly summer-themed. The lack of seasonal appropriateness is forgiveable, however, when you see that Shadow of the Colossus HD is available for $13.99, or $9.79 for Plus users.

From this Tuesday, July 3, through July 9, eleven games will be discounted 30%, or 50% with Plus. The games include Crysis, Gotham City Impostors, Closure, and – why not? Real Steel. Find the full list, including prices, after the break.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/...-plus-members/

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Sony: New racing wheel peripheral has "double the accuracy of a DualShock"

July 2nd, 2012, 01:55 Posted By: wraggster

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Samsung UN60D6000 60" 1080p HD LED LCD Internet TV - Best for 360 & PS3 Gaming ?

July 2nd, 2012, 02:07 Posted By: wraggster

Looking around it seems the Samsung UN60D6000 60" 1080p HD LED LCD Internet TV is the biggest TV around at the moment and with it weighing in at an impressive 60 inches with LED and also Full HD is this the ultimate TV for Xbox 360/PS3 Gaming.

What do you the DCEmu fanbase think is the ultimate setup?

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PS3 Tools Gui Edition 2.5

July 2nd, 2012, 13:46 Posted By: wraggster

Developer PsDev released a new version of his tool for PS3 Developers: PS3 Tools.

This windows GUI allows you to manipulate various PS3 files by decrypting/encrypting them. This latest version allows you to decrypt and extract Retail PKG files.

Credits for this tool, besides PsDev, go to naehwert, KaKaRoToKS, geohot, Math, eussNL and Fail0verFlow.


Notes for this version: New GUI, + the following improvements

SFO READER
Dump category_friend.rco
Dump category_game.rco
Dump category_music.rco
Dump category_network.rco
Dump category_photo.rco
Dump category_psn.rco
Dump category_sysconf.rco
Dump category_tv.co
Dump category_user.rco
Dump category_video.rco
Added loading bar on both GUI
added dialogs to see completion
add messageboxes for errors and PUP completion
fixed minor bugs
Fixed Core_os image reader tool

http://www.mediafire.com/?1u838ik6yzzvi8q

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PS3USerCheat 2.2 reverse engineered by oct0xor

July 2nd, 2012, 13:51 Posted By: wraggster

Oct0xor, who had reverse engineered the PS3UserCheat dongle, is coming today with a new version, and an updated cheatlist (6.0).

http://depositfiles.com/files/07regb2v8

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Bumps in the road to VHBL

July 2nd, 2012, 13:53 Posted By: wraggster

Hey guys, just a quick update to my ongoing port to VHBL, with sadly, not-so-good news so far.as I posted a few days ago, I have access to a few interesting user mode exploits in PSP games, all of them candidates to a VHBL port. One of them is actually ready (the one I showcased in videos so far), but for various reasons it cannot be released.
I’ll stop with the secrets here, and give a few of the reasons:
First, it’s basically the only user mode exploit I have with a fully functional port of VHBL. I’d like to have at least a second one available, as a “backup”. Second, the owner(s) of this exploit are not really inclined to make it public for now. Third, the game is not available in the US store, and this would dramatically limit the amount of people interested in the exploit.
Now, what about the other exploits? I have been working on a promising one for the past 2 weeks, but sadly, it’s a tough nut to crack. I could get super simple homebrews to run, but not more complex ones such as (sigh) the VHBL menu. I am still not giving up on this particular exploit, but it is taking much more time than I initially imagined (I’ve already spent close to 30 hours working on that exploit alone). You can see a few details here.
Some other exploits just don’t have the necessary functions required for VHBL. In particular, many old games do not import the function sceUtilityLoadModule, which is today a central piece of VHBL. Thankfully, it is easy to detect these issues early in the development process, and discard the games.
Other exploits are just incomplete (I hate those) : basically, the author of the exploit sent me a lose proof of concept that only works in some very specific conditions (example: set your language to Spanish and run the exploit on a Tuesday night during a full moon, while singing some Justin Bieber song), without giving me any sort of indication. So, I basically have to figure out why the exploit works for them and not for me, then rewrite the exploit from scratch in a more portable way, which is taking lots of precious hours.
Finally, other exploits have “political” issues. Things such as “yeah, it’s a great exploit but XXX is using it as a way to access their kernel exploit and we’d prefer not to release it publicly”. In essence, the exploit I showcased in the recent VHBL videos is one of those. I don’t think it is actually being used by anybody, but it has some good potential and shouldn’t be used for VHBL if alternate solutions are available.

http://wololo.net/2012/06/30/bumps-in-the-road-to-vhbl/

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Wagic project on hold

July 2nd, 2012, 13:54 Posted By: wraggster

Hey guys, I am a bit sad to announce that as of today, we don’t have a single active dev in the Wagic team. Those of you who have been following the SVN might also have noticed that there hasn’t been any significant activity in the past months.



What this means is that we don’t have any plan to make a new Wagic release in the foreseeable future. Nobody will be fixing bugs officially either.

Still alive and kicking

But does this mean the project is dead? No. For one, I still plan to work on it, “one day”, when my free time and priorities shift again (for now, my main interest is in the Sony scene). But more importantly, we still have a very active community on the Wagic forums, that can help you with your issues, and constantly creates new content: new cards, new themes, mods, etc… This is where all the action will be for now, and this is where I suggest you go if you have questions about Wagic.

Wagic is not your typical “it was promising but will never be complete” type of homebrew. Since day one, it was a complete game with goals, victories, stuff to unlock, customizations…, and over the past 4 years, we’ve kept adding to it, while always maintaining a high quality bar. The latest challenge for Wagic was a port to android and iOS. We somewhat succeeded, even though we would have loved to see improvements in the interface.



Nevertheless, as I type this, Wagic is by very far the best MTG “simulation” (I don’t like to call Wagic an MTG simulation because it is much more than that) you can get on iOS and android, including official commercial products.

Wagic is far from dead. The latest version, 0.18.6, still runs perfectly fine on a wide range of devices. It is available on the PSP, the Vita (if you have VHBL), Android, iOS, Nokia phones, Windows, and Linux. It supports more than 9000 cards out of the official total of 13’000 MTG cards. It is available in many languages, and open source.


http://wololo.net/2012/07/01/wagic-project-on-hold/

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Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops II to get the Nuketown 2025 map

July 2nd, 2012, 14:02 Posted By: wraggster

Just got this is an email from Amazon UK:



As you've shown an interest in Call of Duty, we thought you'd like to know that when you pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops II, you will receive the Nuketown 2025 multiplayer map as an additional bonus.

Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favourite map, reimagined in a visionary depiction of the 'Model Home of the Future'.

Nuketown 2025 enable players to relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favourite map, reimagined in a visionary depiction of the 'Model Home of the Future'.

More info --> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.h...d_i=B007WPF7FE

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OpenTube MOD

July 2nd, 2012, 14:13 Posted By: wraggster

This application is a video player from our PSP’s browser. Simple, but very useful. It has several advantages over other similar programs like PSPTube because it uses the RAM of the PSP as a cache, which makes impossible rewind the video. It also has a nice graphical interface and more.

There are problems with viewing videos in 4:3. The cache management is still not optimal. Homebrew tested [on] 5.00M33-6/5.50GEN/6.20 PRO CF-B5.


Improvements:
•Improved graphical interface.
•Compatible with custom firmware 6.XX
•Still fails with JavaScript and videos in 4:3.
http://pspcustomfirmware.com/opentube-2-0-mod.htm

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SIMULE For PSP

July 2nd, 2012, 14:14 Posted By: wraggster

This nifty little bit of software will let you use your PSP to play more than 10 different instruments. It also offers customizable themes… ok well you can pick from classic keyboard and iPod keyboard and you can also set up a metronome. So why not give SIMULE a try and play until your hearts content… I mean what’s the worst that could happen? Let's make some music!


Playable instruments :
•Flute;
•Pan flute;
•Ocarina ;
•TheOcarina to Zelda (5 notes);
•Violin;
•Acoustic guitar;
•Electric guitar;
•Marimba;
•Acoustic Grand Piano;
•Electronic piano;
•Synthetic speech;
•Stringed instrument;
•Instrument Lead

http://www.pspgen.com/simule-v3-joue...VcxiQvsfL5z5TA

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Sony acquires cloud gaming firm Gaikai

July 2nd, 2012, 20:32 Posted By: wraggster

After months of speculation, Sony has finally confirmed that it has acquired cloud gaming firm Gaikai for $380m.
Back in May PCR's sister magazine MCV speculated that Sony had significant interest in the cloud gaming sector and would soon make an acquisition. Whilst Gaikai appeared to be the favourite option, its boss David Perry denied the reports shortly after E3.
This new deal sees Sony take ownership of Gaikai’s technology and infrastructure, including its network of data centres. It's not clear yet how Sony will use the technology, but there is likely to be yet more speculation, this time on what it could potentially do for the PS4.
"By combining Gaikai's resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE's extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences," SCE CEO Andrew House stated.
"SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices."
Gaikai’s Perry added: "SCE has built an incredible brand with PlayStation and has earned the respect of countless millions of gamers worldwide.
"We're honoured to be able to help SCE rapidly harness the power of the interactive cloud and to continue to grow their ecosystem, to empower developers with new capabilities, to dramatically improve the reach of exciting content and to bring breathtaking new experiences to users worldwide."
In the long-run, are we going to see console manufacturers moving entirely to the cloud - and if/when they do, will the PC/console war fade away for good?

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-gaikai/028608

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Assassin's Creed III Limited Edition announced for North America

July 2nd, 2012, 22:34 Posted By: wraggster

Ubisoft has revealed a Limited Edition of Assassin’s Creed III exclusive to North America and Latin America.
The extras-enhanced version of the upcoming title will release on both Xbox 360 and PS3, while a Digital Deluxe Edition with its own share of goodies is currently in the works for the PC version.
Along with the retail version of the game, the limited edition will include a 9.44" Assassin statue of protagonist Connor, a 28"x48" Assassin's Creed-inspired colonial flag, as well as a 3"x3.25" metal belt buckle that apparently works with most belts.
The Assassin's Creed III Limited Edition will cost $119.99 and will launch on the same day as the regular version. It's available now for pre-order via GameStop, Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy.
Assassin’s Creed III arrives in North America on October 30th and Europe on October 31st for consoles, while a PC release is planned for November 23rd.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/assas...america/098863

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Ghost Recon Future Soldier DLC delayed

July 2nd, 2012, 22:43 Posted By: wraggster

The Ghost Recon: Future Soldier first DLC pack Arctic Strike has been pushed back to later in July.
The map pack, which was originally set for a July 3^rd release, has been delayed for some additional polish.
Ubisoft has yet to set a new release date but still plans to have the content out for July.
“We decided to take a small amount of extra time to further polish the content,” said a Ubisoft spokesperson. “The pack is planned for release later in July and the exact release date will be announced as soon as possible.”
Arctic Strike will include additional multiplayer maps, multiplayer modes, co-op map and weapons. It will cost 800 MS Points on Xbox Live or £7.99 on PSN.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ghost...delayed/098854

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Sony and Gaikai: The Cloud's Silver Lining

July 2nd, 2012, 22:45 Posted By: wraggster

What has Sony bought for its $380 million, and what does it mean for its competitors?
Gaikai Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment is a Japanese videogame company specialising in a variety of areas in the...

www.playstation.com


Sony's $380 million acquisition of cloud gaming platform Gaikai is big news, but it will surprise very few people within the industry. Rumours of the tie-up have been circulating since before E3, and many people expected it to be announced in Los Angeles last month; instead, somewhat unconvincing denials were trotted out, along with the news that Gaikai had struck a deal to build its technology into Samsung TVs. An acquisition deal was always inevitable, though, and it's taken less than a month after the show for one to materialise.
Why inevitable? Because that's what Gaikai was built for. There are start-up companies which are designed for the long haul, with a long-term business plan and perhaps even the chance of an IPO down the line, but Gaikai was not one of those companies. Rather, it fell into a second category - the sort of start-up which is designed to rise fast and far off the back of great technology and intense self-promotion, to garner as much attention as possible, and ultimately to be acquired by a larger firm as close to the top of the trajectory as possible. If it hits that target, everyone makes millions - think Instagram, or Draw Something. If it misses, though, it crashes back to earth with absolute finality, because there's no real business plan for the long term - no way to make money as a standalone enterprise.
"There's no question that cloud gaming companies today exist to be acquired. There's no real market for their products yet"

Gaikai's founders might deny belonging in that category (they would have yesterday; they might not today), and OnLive's certainly would, but there's no question but that cloud gaming companies today exist to be acquired. There's a simple reason for that - there's no real market for their products yet. There will be; everyone knows that. But right now, the technology platforms they're espousing are running ahead of market realities by a matter of years rather than months. The world isn't ready for cloud gaming, which means that standalone firm providing a cloud gaming platform to consumers has little chance of commercial survival - but platform holders have to start preparing for the day when the world's network infrastructure catches up with the potential of the technology, so the acquisition exit is wide open.
A number of obvious questions arise from the Sony/Gaikai deal. Some of them are strategic - what will Sony do with Gaikai and its technology? How will Microsoft react? What happens to OnLive now? Other questions are purely financial in nature, most specifically, was $380 million a reasonable price and what does it mean for the valuation of Gaikai's competitors?
From a strategic standpoint, there's an expectation in some quarters that streaming technology will eventually replace client-side gaming entirely, with Sony's Gaikai acquisition already being trumpeted as proof of this "inevitable" market movement. The reality in the short- to medium-term will be much less dramatic. PlayStation 4 is not about to become a $99 thin client for cloud gaming; it will be a powerful client-side gaming console with lots of storage for digitally distributed titles and a Blu-ray drive for boxed titles. It will also, however, use Gaikai technology, not to replace the existing functionality of game consoles but to supplement it.
What Gaikai promises, rather than an alternative path forward for high-end gaming, is a variety of new opportunities at the low- and mid-range of the market. It's a fantastic option for selling access to a back catalogue, for example, and should provide Sony with many new opportunities to monetise the impressive back catalogue of PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS3 titles. Those opportunities are not merely technical (although this should, in theory, eliminate some of the barriers to making legacy titles available on new systems), but also commercial. Subscription business models or the ability to use back catalogue access as a sweetener for other subscription products are also opened up by Gaikai - and Sony has already demonstrated an affinity for that kind of proposition with PlayStation Plus, which makes an increasingly impressive library of software available to customers for the duration of their subscription.
Gaikai is also, as its founder Dave Perry has been keen to emphasise from the outset, a great marketing tool. As game demos have grown in size, now often clocking in at multiple gigabytes, they've become less and less appealing to consumers - many of whom, especially in the United States, face tough bandwidth caps from their ISPs. Streaming offers a chance to let players try a game instantly without the inconvenience of a large download. It's a lot less appealing for a full game (the visual quality and input lag will be worse, while streaming a full game would probably end up being more bandwidth-intensive than downloading the client) but perfectly suited to demos. Given Gaikai's low client-side requirements, I feel that Sony would be missing a trick if this functionality didn't appear on PS3, let alone PS4.
"Gaikai everywhere means PlayStation everywhere. Televisions, smartphones, laptops, tablets, consoles"

Yet talking solely about consoles actually misses out on the real potential offered by Gaikai. The fact is that this kind of streaming technology is part of the answer to a challenge which Sony has been trying to overcome for the best part of a decade. For years, Sony has wanted to sprinkle some of the PlayStation magic dust over the rest of its consumer electronics range, but its efforts have never quite worked out. From the PSX, an ill-fated set-top box integrating a hard disc video recorder and a PS2 console, through to the Xperia Play, an ill-fated Android smartphone which plays a horrendously limited selection of PSone software (and doesn't sync up to your existing compatible purchases from PSN, a stark demonstration of just how much work Sony still has to do on getting its right hand to even acknowledge the existence of the left, let alone talk to it), Sony has tried many times to make PlayStation's success rub off on the rest of the business, but it's never worked.
Gaikai holds part of the answer. It won't solve the hard problems that exist within Sony itself - the right hand and the left really need to be on cordial terms - but it will provide a technological platform that can deliver content where it's needed, regardless of platform. The vision is straightforward - Gaikai everywhere means PlayStation everywhere. Televisions, smartphones, laptops, tablets, consoles, all accessing PlayStation Network and streaming your content from the cloud, finally allowing that extraordinary 15 year history of software to become a proper selling point for everything Sony. In fact, if Sony is being really clever, it will even extend this access beyond its own devices - honouring end extending Gaikai's E3 deal with Samsung to create an ecosystem around PlayStation which is accessible even from phones and TVs that don't carry Sony's brand.
As to the long-term future, who's to say? Actually, plenty of people are saying plenty of things - but we have a bad habit, as an industry, of conflating technological possibilities with market trends. The question of whether network infrastructure will leapfrog advancements in client-end hardware is a fascinating one which is worthy of debate, but at present - as the price, power and capacity of consumer chipsets and storage continues to plummet at a much more reliable and smooth rate than the growth in network throughput - it's not a business reality. Cloud gaming is one possible future; for now, though, it's just one part of a wider picture, not a looming threat or logical certainty.
"EA and Activision could be in the market, with OnLive being a better fit for EA's digital strategy, although EA's depressed share price makes a cash-and-stock deal harder to negotiate"

In terms of the second set of questions, regarding valuation, that's tough to answer simply because the valuation of a firm like this is largely in the eye of the beholder. Gaikai reportedly wanted half a billion; $380 million is a reasonable fraction of that, especially given that for the company to keep going for much longer would have required a significant new round of investment, seriously diluting the proceeds of an eventual sale. Gaikai is likely to be happy with the money it's received, while Sony won't consider itself to have overpaid, although talk of this being a "bargain" is also misplaced.
It does also pitch an interesting price point for OnLive, whose bosses would be hoping for a much larger price tag - given their high-profile consumer business, dedicated client hardware and so on - but may find themselves settling for less simply because their consumer business isn't actually that interesting to buyers who already own platforms, while the Gaikai/Sony deal takes Sony, one of the most likely bidders to drive the price up, off the market. Microsoft are probably interested - although they have some cloud services of their own they're a radically different technological proposition from cloud gaming - but would consider OnLive's consumer business an unwanted distraction. EA and Activision could be in the market, with OnLive being a better fit for EA's digital strategy, although EA's depressed share price makes a cash-and-stock deal harder to negotiate. I'd be surprised, though, if a deal isn't forthcoming before the end of the year. The early movers in cloud gaming are at the peak of their trajectory; the time has come to cash out.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-silver-lining

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How would you change Sony's Tablet P?

July 2nd, 2012, 22:57 Posted By: wraggster

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Activision and High Moon announcing Marvel project at SDCC

July 3rd, 2012, 01:17 Posted By: wraggster

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Battlefield 3 players get double XP this week

July 3rd, 2012, 01:20 Posted By: wraggster

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BloodRayne 2 bound for PSN

July 3rd, 2012, 01:24 Posted By: wraggster

BloodRayne fans will be pleased, we're sure, to know that PS2 entry BloodRayne 2 is on it's way to the PlayStation Store as an emulated PS2 Classic.
Everyone else maybe not quite so much. The game received a luke-warm reception when it hit PS2 and the first Xbox in 2004 in US and 2006 in EU, and never really achieved cult status either.Which makes us question who's choosing the PS2 releases on PSN? PS2 has one of the biggest and richest libraries of any console, but the selection of emulated digital releases for PSN has been questionable so far.
Perhaps Sony is reserving all its best retro titles for the pricier HD remakes that have seen a far better selection of PS2 classics come to PS3.
Which PS2 games would you most like to see released on PSN?

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...bound-for-psn/

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PlayStation 4 development underway since mid-2010 - dev CV

July 3rd, 2012, 01:25 Posted By: wraggster

Development on the next-generation PlayStation 4 was fully underway by August 2010.
That's according to the Linkedin CV of a former SCEA R&D director Attila Vass. According to Vass' list of 'projects', he was working on the 'Graphics Library' and 'Security' for the "Next Generation PlayStation" from August 2010 to April 2012.With his work on Vita listed separately, it would seem that he's referring to the as yet unannounced PlayStation 4 console.
"I worked on graphics ( COLLADA, PSGL ) and a lot of network related technologies ( advertising, telemetry, PVRs ) for the Playstation2-x, PSP, Vita and Next Generation platforms," said a now-removed summary statement on Vass' CV.
Sony UK has declined to comment.
Sony has said it's not prepared to reveal its PlayStation 4 console until the system can demonstrate 'a significant leap' in technology.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...d-2010-dev-cv/

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Gaikai deal 'a strategic move to sell more Sony TVs,' says Pachter

July 3rd, 2012, 01:26 Posted By: wraggster

Microsoft doesn't necessarily need to respond to Sony's $380m acquisition of Gaikai, analyst Michael Pachter has said.
According to the Wedbush analyst, Sony's proposed purchase of the cloud gaming firm is likely more related to pushing Sony TVs than traditional game products, as well as a strategic move to keep the cloud tech away from its rivals."I think that this is more related to Sony's integrated strategy, and ties into their hopes of selling more televisions. I know that Gaikai was purchased by Sony Computer Entertainment, but essentially, they provide a solution to play games without a console, so they make a lot of sense if built into Sony TVs," he told CVG.
"This could be both a strategic move to sell more TVs and a pre-emptive move to keep others from using the service. It's actually a very interesting deal, and the price is reasonable if it gives Sony an advantage over other television manufacturers while keeping the technology off the market so that others can't eliminate the need for a console."
Pachter said he's not sure Microsoft needs to respond to the deal because "they are making the [Xbox] console integral to the delivery of television content, so they have a different approach."
For in-depth analysis of Sony's Gaikai acquisition - and what it could mean for the next-generation of games consoles - read Dan Dawkins' Sony Gaikai dissection.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-says-pachter/

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PCSX2 Mac updates

July 3rd, 2012, 12:40 Posted By: wraggster

The developer of the Mac port of PCSX2, zedr0n, came back with a bang after some time of silence! He has released a new version of his 0.9.6 port of PCSX2 for Lion with some additional compatibility fixes. Here is what he had to say about it:

You can download the new version from our Mac Downloads section.
In addition, he released an early 0.9.7 alpha port. This version should be considered unstable and pre-beta but you can give it a try. Here is what was posted about this:

And the day has come – I’m releasing a very early alpha version of 0.9.7 – it does play some games but you are advised to do a lot of save states.

I’m going to continue working on this so hopefully will get better as the time goes on.

You can grab it here: pcsx2 0.9.7.dmg

The installer includes another mandatory package – WXWidgets.pkg which should be installed after Libraries.pkg. Note that Uninstaller.pkg is going to delete the whole install but otherwise 0.9.6 and 0.9.7 coexist well.

You can get this one from the PCSX2 Mac homepage. Keep up the good work zedr0n

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Multiman Cobra 04/04/02

July 3rd, 2012, 12:42 Posted By: wraggster

The team behind the Cobra USB is once again updated his dongle.


New / fixed: 04/04/03 - Changed the "Game Updates" (different server, no longer works on older versions) - Changing the "Download Game Covers" (different server, no longer works on older versions) - Added option "Blu-ray Disc Movie Region" parameter to change in the region / target Id for better compatibility with the films (not for Customs Cobra / True-Blue) - Support for themes ICON1.PAM 04/04/02 - Added 4.20 and spoof of the "4.20 to firmware version" - The "paste" will not remove the more contained in an existing file - Ability to set the timeout from January to September minutes or not timeout of the FTP server - Added 3 combos in MMOs (for full list refer to navigation.txt) -> Select + Cross maintained: select all -> Select + L2/R2: down or up in a folder or file cobra Multiman USB Base 04/04/03 04/03/03 FULL Multiman Cobra USB (sendspace 294Mo) Official site: http://www.cobra-usb.com

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Jb-king: Firmware 2.7

July 3rd, 2012, 12:43 Posted By: wraggster

After Pb2, it is the turn of the Job-King to receive the update 2.7.

New / fixed: - Improved the code, stability and security dongle - Support of the following games: -> Devil_May_Cry_HD_Collection -> Meikyuu_Touro_Legasista_JPN -> Summer_Stars_2012 -> Armored_Core_V -> MUD_FIM_Motocross_World_Championship -> Metal_Gear_Solid_HD_Collection - > Sniper_Elite_V2 -> Prototype_2 -> NINJA GAIDEN 3 -> Yakuza_Dead_Souls -> Order Up -> Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 -> Warriors Orochi 3 -> Attouteki_Yuugi_Mugen_Souls -> Shin_Sangoku_Musou_Moushouden_ASiA -> Max Payne 3 - -> Dragon's Dogma -> Dirt_Showdown_PS3-Vimto -> SBK Generations -> Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - Future Soldier -> Major League Baseball 2K12 -> Game of Thrones milerwan Thanks for the information. Firmware Jb-king 2.7 Official Site: www.jb-king.com

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Pb2 : Firmware 1.02

July 3rd, 2012, 12:43 Posted By: wraggster

The Pb2, the last clone of True-Blue is the first clone to work with the update 2.7 of True Blue-and thus be able to get in on games.

New / fixed: - Improved the code, stability and security dongle - Support of the following games: -> Devil_May_Cry_HD_Collection -> Meikyuu_Touro_Legasista_JPN -> Summer_Stars_2012 -> Armored_Core_V -> MUD_FIM_Motocross_World_Championship -> Metal_Gear_Solid_HD_Collection - > Sniper_Elite_V2 -> Prototype_2 -> NINJA GAIDEN 3 -> Yakuza_Dead_Souls -> Order Up -> Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 -> Warriors Orochi 3 -> Attouteki_Yuugi_Mugen_Souls -> Shin_Sangoku_Musou_Moushouden_ASiA -> Max Payne 3 - -> Dragon's Dogma -> Dirt_Showdown_PS3-Vimto -> SBK Generations -> Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon - Future Soldier -> Major League Baseball 2K12 -> Game of Thrones Firmware 1.2 Pb2 Official site: http://ps3break. com /

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PS2 games to arrive on PS3 in Japan this month

July 4th, 2012, 02:03 Posted By: wraggster

Sony is to introduce a number of PS2 games for PS3 in Japan later this month.
The PlayStation 2 Archives service will arrive on PSN on July 25^th. Its debut titles are Resident Evil: Code Veronica (Capcom), Kessen (Tecmo Koei), Siren (Sony), Dragon Force (Sega) and Shin Contra (Konami).
Prices range between ¥1,500 and ¥1,200, Andriasang reports.
Unlike other titles on the PSN Archive service – which currently offers PSOne, PC Engine and TurboGrafx games – the new PS2 selection will be playable only on PS3 and not PSP.
The roster will be updated monthly, with a number of upcoming additions having also been named – Gunstar Heroes (Sega), Dark Cloud (Sony), Castelvania (Konami) and Dead and Alive (Tecmo Koei).

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ps2-g...s-month/098920

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When Riccitiello said Battlefield players could pay $1 per reload

July 4th, 2012, 02:09 Posted By: wraggster

Free-to-play is not necessarily a dangerous monster stalking the innocent gamer. But at times it feels like it could be.
Digging through the transcript of a 2011 stockholder meeting,Xbox360Achievements discovered the following comments from EA CEO John Riccitiello:
“When you are six hours into playing Battlefield and you run out of ammo in your clip and we ask you for a dollar to reload, you’re really not that price sensitive at that point in time,” he stated.
“So essentially what ends up happening, and the reason the play-first, pay-later model works nicely, is a consumer gets engaged in a property. They may spend ten, twenty, thirty, fifty hours in a game. And then, when they’re deep into a game, they’re well invested in it.
“At that point in time the commitment can be pretty high. It’s a great model and it represents a substantially better future for the industry.”
EA today said that it believes it is on the road to being a 100 per cent digital publisher.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/when-...-reload/098915

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Sony acquisition of Gaikai: "A genius move"

July 4th, 2012, 02:24 Posted By: wraggster

Analysts weigh in on the purchase and a PS4 powered by Gaikai, but don't expect Microsoft to purchase OnLive
Gaikai Inc.

Sony


"The world isn't ready for cloud gaming," says Rob Fahey. That may be true, but for how much longer? Sony has to prepare for a potentially all-digital future, and most of the analysts GamesIndustry International spoke with believe the Gaikai purchase is a very smart move, and even worth the seemingly high $380 million price tag.
But what impact will the Gaikai deal have on Sony in this generation and the next and how will it affect the video game business as a whole? Will Microsoft have to react by buying OnLive? Will Nintendo do anything at all? How will this affect the upcoming console battle? These are questions we put to several leading games industry analysts in our roundtable below.
Lewis Ward, IDC Research Manager
I think it's kind of a bombshell.
 $380 million isn't chicken feed, especially for a company that's had a rough financial ride in the past year.
 I don't know the particulars of the Zipper interactive, Sucker Punch, or Guerilla Games buyouts but this has to be one of the biggest deals in the history of Sony Computer Entertainment. That gives you a sense on how strategic Sony views the Gaikai platform.
"I think Sony will hold off on the streaming of AAA games until the PS4 arrives and they can offer some interesting subscription levels."
Lewis Ward


I think this is ultimately more about the PS4 platform than PS3, although I wouldn't be surprised to see some streaming game demos at least surface in Home and in the PS Store within the next year. I think Sony will hold off on the streaming of AAA games until the PS4 arrives and they can offer some interesting subscription levels.

I also believe the deal is important in the context of PlayStation Mobile: There's no reason games and game demos couldn't be streamed over WiFi to PS Certified smartphones and tablets. That may be phase two though, after it's up and running in a PSN/PS4 context.
 I suspect Microsoft is working on their own cloud platform and won't buy OnLive and it would be out of character for Nintendo to buy a company like OnLive. So buckle up - it's going to be an interesting ride in the next year!
Jesse Divnich, EEDAR
Without a doubt this was a genius move by Sony. Although they've been doing quite well in video games, as a company Sony has been struggling. What the acquisition of Gaikai really does is it helps to future proof Sony, because no matter where the industry transitions, whether we're getting entertainment through Wi-Fi, through a Blu-ray player or discs at the store, it doesn't matter because no matter where technology goes over the next 10 years, they will be able to utilize Gaikai and its technologies to deliver entertainment straight to the consumer.
"Without a doubt this was a genius move by Sony... I don't think the market necessarily realizes how impactful and important this acquisition is for them"
Jesse Divnich

I think a lot of industry insiders thought the price of the acquisition was quite high, but really it's pretty reasonable when you think about the value this is going to give Sony five years from now, even 10 years from now. I don't think the market necessarily realizes how impactful and important this acquisition is for them. They may not realize all the potential of the Gaikai acquisition initially - obviously there's bandwidth issues, but I don't think anyone would argue with you that cloud won't be the dominant form of entertainment delivery five years from now. It works beautifully now and once we get the bandwidth there - it's more a problem in North America - Sony will be there. And this could be theoretically that five years from now, everything literally goes straight to the TV. You don't need a Blu-ray player or a game console; all you need is a TV and it could very well be a Sony TV.
Microsoft is working on their own forms of cloud technology, but I don't think this Gaikai move forces Microsoft to make an acquisition. I think this is something they will probably handle internally - they certainly have the skills and money to throw at this. Purchasing OnLive, which is probably valued at a lot more than $380 million, I don't see Microsoft making a play to acquire OnLive, whioch would probably be well over a billion dollar valuation. I think the Gaikai purchase puts OnLive's valuation beyond the reach of most entertainment players now - but I could see some cable companies or cell phone companies potentially looking at OnLive. I don't think anything's going to happen with OnLive for at least the next 12 months. OnLive only works when it's part of a bigger network, so I think it's going to happen. It's a matter of price and I think it's a little bit too early for anyone to make an acquisition, especially after the valuation Gaikai got today.
Billy Pidgeon, M2 Research
I think acquiring Gaikai is a good move by Sony, but this buy will pay out in the long term. Cloud gaming has terrific potential and will have a substantial disruptive impact on the industry realized gradually over the next ten to twelve years. Streaming high end console games will add value to free or inexpensive online services currently available from console vendors. However, cloud gaming isn't cheap and will have to be subsidized by subscriptions and advertising. I think we'll be likely to see tiered service levels and pricing for streamed games, with lower end casual games offered for free with advertising and high end game services bundled for premium subscriptions.
"It might seem counter-intuitive, but I think Sony should use Gaikai to bypass consoles and use streaming games to bring PSN to PC, tablets, smartphones and televisions"
Billy Pidgeon

Streaming games are going to be an important feature in Sony's next generation console, but I'd like to see Sony integrate cloud gaming with PSN for PS3. In the short term, Gaikai's cloud gaming service will help Sony provide wider game demo distribution and back catalog PS One and PS2 games to PSN consumers. It might seem counter-intuitive, but I think Sony should use Gaikai to bypass consoles and use streaming games to bring PSN to PC, tablets, smartphones and televisions. Consumers are going to be able to access games on multiple devices from a variety of hardware vendors using networked services from Apple, Google and Microsoft, and Sony will also have to compete on hardware other than its own.
Microsoft may be working on a proprietary cloud gaming system, but could buy OnLive or (another cloud gaming provider) to acquire any patents or unique technology that would help Microsoft to match or outperform Sony's Gaikai service. Cloud gaming is likely to be included in the next generation of Xbox, but could also be a valuable add for the Windows 8 platform on PC, tablets and smartphones. Microsoft should also consider using cloud gaming outside its usual hardware, specifically for television.
Wii U will allow local streaming, as games processed on the console can be played on the GamePad. Still, Nintendo should also invest in technology for streaming games from the network, as cloud gaming could be a "must have" feature in the next generation Xbox and PlayStation even though the potential won't be realized until further out. Dedicated console vendors without cloud gaming could be squeezed out between services provided by competitors and more accessible networked games from Google, Microsoft or Apple on multiple devices. And even with cloud gaming Nintendo will have to work harder to compete as its business model doesn't extend to convergent devices.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-a-genius-move

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Sony plans Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, PS All-Stars panels for SDCC

July 4th, 2012, 13:28 Posted By: wraggster

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OnLive support dropped from Sony media player post-Gaikai purchase

July 4th, 2012, 13:31 Posted By: wraggster

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Sony's House: Gaikai expansion to other Sony platforms 'absolutely' possible

July 4th, 2012, 13:32 Posted By: wraggster

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Atlus discounts PS3 and PSP games through July

July 4th, 2012, 13:33 Posted By: wraggster

To celebrate summer, Atlus is ensuring that you have absolutely no reason to go outside. A new PSN sale announced by the publisher will keep you far too occupied to see the sun, and doesn't even require leaving the house to buy the games! It's called the "Half Off Just About Everything For Just About A Month" ("HOJAEFJAAM") sale and it's active through July 31.

If you've been waiting to try Catherine, it's $20 now. Curious about Class of Heroes before the sequel hits? It's $7.49. Don't have enough games with "Badass Rumble" in the title? Might we suggest Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumblefor $7.49? Politely reading along until we mention Persona? 1, 2, and 3 are all on sale for PSP, for $10, $15, and $10 each, respectively. Find the full list after the break.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/03/at...-through-july/

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD 'THPS 3' DLC brings back the revert

July 4th, 2012, 13:35 Posted By: wraggster

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Vita firmware 1.8 to add PSOne Classics support

July 4th, 2012, 13:38 Posted By: wraggster

The next Vita firmware update will add the PSOne Classics support originally announced during E3. There's no exact date for version 1.8, but it's due sometime this summer.

The update won't simply enable all PSOne Classics; according to Sony representatives, support for PSOne games will be rolled out a few at a timefollowing the new firmware. The good news is you'll just have to buy (or have already bought) each supported game once for use on PS3, PSP, or Vita.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/03/vi...ssics-support/

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution augments Euro PlayStation Plus this month

July 4th, 2012, 13:39 Posted By: wraggster

European PlayStation Plus users will be able to add Deus Ex: Human Revolutionto their "Instant Game Collection" from tomorrrow through early August. That's this month's "Game of the Month," downloadable at no additional charge with your PS Plus subscription.

If you want even more Deus Ex, three DLC packs (Explosive Mission, Missing Link, and the "Explosive Mission and Tactical Enhancement" pack) are half price for PS Plus members in Europe for the next two weeks.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/03/de...-plus-this-mo/

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Sony: Gaikai acquisition was games-focused

July 4th, 2012, 23:49 Posted By: wraggster

The recent acquisition of cloud gaming service Gaikai at the hands of Sony IS a PlayStation-centric business move.
That’s according to Sony, whose confirmation will rub dirt into the noses of the handful of onlookers who claimed otherwise.
Speaking to Wall Street Journal, PlayStation boss Andrew House confirmed that “Gaikai's services will be focused on Sony's game machines”, adding that "it's recognition on Sony's part that the cloud and cloud streaming technologies are going to have profound and possibly a very positive impact on not only our game business, but also in the way our consumers interact with and obtain content in general".
Also confirmed was the definite intention “to start an online videogame streaming service”, though no timing was specified.
That’s not to say that Gaikai won’t touch upon Sony’s many other businesses, of course.
The most obvious route will be to bring to PlayStation business to other sector, such as Sony’s HD TV, laptop, smartphone and tablet operations.
Indeed, House added that “expanding the technology to other Sony products is absolutely within the frame".

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sony-...focused/098988

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Sony's Cloud Platform: The New Gaming Frontier

July 4th, 2012, 23:53 Posted By: wraggster

Digital Foundry on why the Gaikai acquisition goes beyond simply streaming PlayStation games
Despite some bizarre denials, the news that Sony was going to move into the cloud gaming space ranks as one of the worst-kept secrets in the games business, leaked to the press over a month before the official announcement. Perhaps what is more surprising in the light of Monday's confirmation of the Gaikai acquisition is that we still have very little idea of what it all actuallymeans for the gamer.
"Gaikai is more than just a delivery platform for existing content - in the hands of Sony's game devs, the possibilities for new gaming experiences built for the system from the ground-up are mouth-watering."

The only additional piece of detail that tells us much of interest is that it's Sony Computer Entertainment that is the buyer, meaning that this is a PlayStation deal, not just a shot of gaming adrenaline into the arm of the company's ailing HDTV business. Sony's statements on its plans for the cloud sound suitably grand, but don't really tell us anything we didn't already know anyway:
"By combining Gaikai's resources including its technological strength and engineering talent with SCE's extensive game platform knowledge and experience, SCE will provide users with unparalleled cloud entertainment experiences," explained SCE overlord Andrew House.
"SCE will deliver a world-class cloud-streaming service that allows users to instantly enjoy a broad array of content ranging from immersive core games with rich graphics to casual content anytime, anywhere on a variety of internet-connected devices."
The obvious conclusion to take from this would be the migration of existing and planned PlayStation content to Gaikai infrastructure, representing an enticing opportunity: state-of-the-art titles in combination with an enormous back catalogue running on an ever-expanding range of streaming devices. Kotaku ran with a great headline on this story yesterday: You May Already Own PlayStation 4.
To a certain extent, we've already had a preview of just how cool cloud streaming the latest games can be: on Digital Foundry at Eurogamer, we've already suggested that OnLive running on an Xperia Play smartphone offers something approaching a true next-gen handheld experience: latency is still an issue but downscaling an HD image onto a smaller, mobile mobile screen solves many of the image quality issues that have blighted cloud gameplay thus far, and the overall effect can be very impressive. It's a taste of the future, and improvements to infrastructure in combination with server-side technological advances are almost certain to turn what is currently a great tech demo into a viable cross-device gaming platform.


Sony's Xperia Play smartphone runs OnLive very well indeed, the smaller screen resolving many of the image quality issues. Latency is still an issue but it is a tantalising glimpse of the future of streaming gameplay.

Looking at things from a more short-term perspective, there's already been some talk that we could see Gaikai tech implemented to supply playable demos. While this is a possibility (running PC versions on the existing Gaikai network), there's a strong chance that developers and publishers wouldn't want to see their console games represented on the PlayStation Network in this way - perhaps it would be better to use streaming tech to get demos seen by a new audience, one perhaps not so concerned with matters like input lag or video quality - things that are noticed by the core audience.
I would hope that Sony would take a more measured approach in how Gaikai is deployed, especially as there are major technological issues to overcome in integrating the technology into the PlayStation Network. Gaikai's chosen infrastructure uses a completely different hardware architecture to any PlayStation platform, past or present. Sony has traditionally created its own gaming hardware, while David Perry's outfit uses server farms based on Intel processors and NVIDIA graphics cores.
"Streaming existing PlayStation content over Gaikai can't happen overnight - the cloud infrastructure runs on fundamentally different architecture - Sony will need time to adapt."

The obvious solution would be to roll-out a mass of back-compat PlayStation 3s to the Gaikai datacentres, perhaps utilising a variation of Sony's Remote Play technology to get everything integrated fairly easily. Unfortunately, this wouldn't produce very good results: even when using a local network, Remote Play is very laggy, and factoring in the internet would reduce a sub-optimal experience to a borderline unplayable one on any fast-action game. This approach would fly in the face of all the hard work Gaikai has done in making cloud gaming work, and to be frank, Sony could do it themselves without forking out $380m for the privilege. It's the know-how, tech and infrastructure that Sony has paid for.
The basics of "how cloud works" in providing a playable experience are fairly straightforward: the idea is to get close to current console latency by running games at 60Hz (or even higher) compared to current console standards of 30Hz. Running game code at twice the speed has the effect of significantly lowering input lag: the time you save is then budgeted towards encoding/transmission/decoding of game video. Conceivably this technique could be applied to Sony's back catalogue titles running under PC emulation - and the platform holder knows plenty about that.
For PS1 and PSP, Sony already has extremely strong software emulators that can run virtually any piece of software - this is how PS3 can run any PS1 title, and how Vita can host PSP downloaded games. The company is also starting to roll out PS2 titles for the PlayStation 3 that run entirely using software emulation - an impressive

technical achievement in its own right. All of these different emulators could be ported to PC and deployed on Gaikai servers - the performance of the PCSX2 open source emu suggests that the 60FPS gameplay cloud thrives upon shouldn't be a problem.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...cloud-frontier

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Square: RAM will be 'biggest challenge' for next-gen games

July 5th, 2012, 00:01 Posted By: wraggster

To achieve the visuals Square demonstrated in its impressive Luminous Engine demo shown last month, next-generation consoles will need an ample serving of RAM.
That's according to Square's creative director and senior manager Takeshi Nozue, who told Edge (via TSC) recently that "memory size is the biggest challenge" to any hardware hoping to achieve that level graphical fidelity.The textures in the demo, Nozue explained, are of such high detail that their sheer size puts a strain on system memory. The demo ran on a high-end PC packing Nvidia's beastly GTX 680, and Sony and Microsoft's consoles will need to cough up serious figures to keep up with it.
Square is confident, at least, that PS4 and Xbox 720 will "come to a level of quality that will support". It's perhaps not quite so confident that the Blu-ray disc format will be up to the job of storing a next-gen game on a single disc.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ext-gen-games/

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The current state of Vita hacking

July 5th, 2012, 15:42 Posted By: wraggster

I receive an increasing number of messages asking me if the PS Vita scene is dead before it is even born. My typical answer is: there’s some stuff happening, you just don’t see everything, because some things are not worth mentioning, others are “too important” to be publicly mentioned until they’re more mature.



Today I want to make a summary of the stuff I know. Some of the things you will read below are a mix of things I know and of personal guesses… but in general I tend to be right about these things



Currently, the only public way to run unsigned content (homebrews) on the PS Vita is VHBL. The hack in itself is fairly limited (it only allows to run a subset of PSP homebrews), and is also not widely spread since only a few thousand lucky people are able to grab the releases (the other 2 million vita owners are people who are still not following this blog, how foolish of them) before Sony patches the exploits (or, rather, pulls out our attack vectors).



I’m not completely stupid, and I know that running fanmade homebrews is not exactly hat most people expect from a console hack. So, besides VHBL, what could or could not be done currently with Vita hacking?

I’ll first describe what’s going on with the PSP emulator side, because it’s the one I know the best, and then I’ll move on to other stuff.

Attacking the PSP emulator, more than 5 teams in the race

The PSP emulator is a nice attack vector for Vita hacking, for various reasons. The most obvious one is that we know the PSP system quite well since the scene has been studying it for years now. VHBL itself relies on user mode exploits in the PSP emulator. Those of you who have been on the PSP scene for a while know that when it comes to the PSP, the holy grail is to get access to a kernel exploit. A Kernel exploit on the PSP is synonymous with the possibility to run a Custom Firmware, with all the benefits that come with it (perfect homebrew compatibility, plugins, but also the controversial iso loaders).

Before we get any further, I want to clarify that when I am talking of a kernel exploit in this article, I am talking of a PSP kernel exploit, running inside the psp emulator, sandboxed on the vita. It is essential to understand that a psp kernel exploit alone will not give us any access to the PS Vita specific content, including its ram, its hardware, or its games. A PSP Kernel exploit, at best, would give us the equivalent of a PSP CFW inside the emulator itself. It would be a sandboxed CFW (SCFW) <– hehe coining a new term here, does any of you remember who came up with the term “LCFW” ?

• Related Read: Flash0 dump, then what?

Ok, now that this clarification is made, what do we have? Well, what I can tell you is that I have been personally contacted by 5 different teams or individuals who have access to psp kernel exploits that do work on the Vita. Now, this does not necessary mean there are 5 different kernel exploits out there (some of these teams might be using the same exploits, either through random luck, or because they are communicating with each other), and it does not necessarily mean that a release is around the corner either.

Let me develop on that last bit. The people I’ve talked to (the anonymous “Tony” is one of them) all have various goals and constraints with their hacks.

•Related read: PSX on the Vita: an Interview with the mysterious Vita hacker

Some of them just want to use the hacks for personal experiments, and have no plans to release their work (for those of you who are shocked by this form of egoism, please remember that depending on your country, the laws against hacking on devices such as the Vita can be pretty convincing…). Others have plans to release their hacks “one day, maybe”, but not in the foreseeable future.

Others strongly believe that making those psp kernel exploits public now would be a bad move, as a psp kernel exploit on the vita emulator could be one step closer to a real vita hack. Revealing such a hack too soon would mean it would get patched by Sony, closing a possible “door” to more interesting vulnerabilities. Their point is therefore: would you like to do on your vita what you can already do on a hacked PSP, or would you rather wait a few months, or maybe a few years (sob) in order to see a true vita hack? Of course, there is no guarantee that a psp kernel exploit can be a valid entry point to a vita hack, but surely digging into the interface between the psp emulator and the vita (the now famous “kermit” module) could prove to be interesting.

•Related Read: Who’s Kermit?

Other people, finally, are hard at work to release “something” for the scene, but could not provide any specific date to me. Although there doesn’t seem to be any specific technical obstacle to run a PSP SCFW on the Vita, these things take time, and timing is the essence here, as basically all the hackers I have been in contact with agree that psp kernel exploits are quite rare and should be used wisely.

Nevertheless, the fact that so many people are working on hacking the vita with positive results is, I think, good news, and should lead to good stuff in the months to come.

Of course, none of this makes VHBL irrelevant. As a matter of fact, it actually makes VHBL, or rather, our ninja releases, more relevant than ever. PSP Kernel exploits need to be run through a user mode exploit. User mode exploits on the PSP emulator are currently found in games, and Sony can pull those games out of the store fairly fast. The ninja releases tend to counterbalance that by giving people a chance to grab the games before the information goes public. Of course, as these releases get more and more popular, they also become more and more difficult to handle, so I guess the message here is, if you already have access to a user mode exploit through one of our VHBL releases, it might be wise to not give it up, assuming you are ready to stay on the same firmware for a few months. If not, fear not, there will most likely be other ninja releases to give more people the opportunity to run VHBL on the latest firmwares.

Hacking the Vita, not going through the PSP emulator

In addition to the ongoing work on the psp emulator, some people have contacted me with “leads” on hacking the vita through other means. If you think about it, every “interface” on which the user can control the input to some extent, is a possible attack vector. With the PSP emulator, we used the savegames so far, but other entry points exist, such as the media files we copy on the device (images, music, movies), the web browser, some of the internet-connected apps (facebook, youtube,… <– although it might not be wise to attack Sony through a vulnerability in a Google or Facebook, unless you really like to make several powerful enemies at once).

As I mentioned a while ago though, all these leads are useless without knowing anything about the ram layout of the Vita (which is also why it is much simpler to hack into the PSP emulator, since the PSP Ram layout is well known).

•Related read: Where are the real Vita hacks?

Initial reports also show that the Vita is integrating several “anti hack” measures. This is not a surprise since the Vita ships for example with an ARM Cortex 9 processor, which includes a bunch of security measures. Of course, this is Sony we’re talking about here, and they are known to mess with the stuff they use in a way that eventually backfires on them, so there are probably still ways to get into the system

What are your expectations regarding Vita hacks? would you be happy with “just” PSP access? Or would you rather wait for something bigger? Should Sony be worried of “just” a psp breach on the vita?

http://wololo.net/2012/07/04/the-cur...-vita-hacking/

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PS3 Firmware 4.21 available

July 5th, 2012, 15:42 Posted By: wraggster

Sony announced a few hours ago that PS3 Firmware 4.21 is coming “soon” (Update: it’s now available).It is an optional update, with minor stability improvements.
Note: You can already download it here if you’re interested.
source: Sony’s twitter

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OpenBOR v3.0 Build 3711 - Beats of Rage for PSP, Dreamcast, Wii, GP2X, Dingoo, Wiz

July 5th, 2012, 15:57 Posted By: wraggster

OpenBOR is a continuation of the Beats Of Rage 2D game, which was originally
created by the wonderful folks over at http://www.senileteam.com
This release is for the Dreamcast, PSP, Wii, Wiz, GP2x, Dingoo, Linux and PC:
Heres whats new;

-

r3711 | utunnels | 2012-07-03 21:27:59 -0400 (Tue, 03 Jul 2012) | 1 line
Changed paths:
M /engine/openbor.c
M /engine/openborscript.c
Fix a crash issue in 3710.

DOWNLOAD AND GIVE FEEDBACK VIA COMMENTS Attached Files

• OpenBOR v3.0 Build 3711.7z (5.45 MB, 0 views)

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Jpcsp SVN r2593

July 5th, 2012, 16:29 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Jpcsp SVN r2593 is compiled. JPCSP is the most advanced PlayStation Portable(PSP) emulator, allowing you to play your PSP games on a PC. Even though Jpcsp is written in Java, it can already reach 100% PSP speed on a lot of commercial games... and the emulator performance is constantly increasing. Jpcsp takes full advantage of dual-core processors, matching the PSP dual-core architecture. Even a quad-core can give a small performance improvement by leaving free CPU cores for the Java JIT Compiler and the graphics cache.

Jpcsp SVN changelog:
r2592
Further progress on PRO Online support:
- added list of members in chat window
- added timeout handling for sceNetAdhocPdpRecv
- improved sceNetAdhocctlJoin and sceNetAdhocctlDisconnect
Added draft implementation for sceNetApctlScanUser,
sceNetApctlGetBSSDescIDListUser and sceNetApctlGetBSSDescEntryUser.
r2593
Fix in network: update the peer timestamp also when receiving a Matching
message.

Download http://www.mediafire.com/?pmrng45llbsg44r

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Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN r51

July 5th, 2012, 16:34 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN r51 is compiled. A XInput input plugin for PSX/PS2 emulators, and as of r48 nullDC 1.0.4 too. Pokopom is a PSEmu Pro pad plugin that emulates a DualShock1 and DualShock2 controller for PS1 and PS2 emulators respectively. It only uses XInput, so as to avoid the DirectInput troubles with X360 controllers.

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin function
- Supports rumble, with a nice custom curve.
- Extended analog sticks range on corners. (for games like Ape Escape)
- Guitar build for XInput Guitars on Guitar Hero games.

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN Changelog:
r51
Pokopom:
-. Added Chankast support... O.O"
-. Some minor GUI work

Download and Give feedback Via Comments

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New PS3 model underway, suggests FCC filing

July 5th, 2012, 23:34 Posted By: wraggster

New release could be announced at Gamescom, according to reports

Sony is working on a new model for the PS3, a filing to the US Federal Communications Commission suggests.
As unearthed by NeoGAF, a potential new 4000 series – the CECH-4001x – could be yet another smaller and slimmer model of the current-gen console, following on from the previous PS3 Slim released in 2009.

Whilst Sony is widely believed to be working on a next-generation console the PS4, a cheaper PS3 could be seen as a way of tempting late adopters to purchase the system and increasing its lifespan.
It is reported that Sony could unveil the new super slim model at German games industry consumer event Gamescom next month.
Sony has declined to comment.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...sts-FCC-filing

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Battlefield 3 dev says modern FPS setting getting "stale"

July 6th, 2012, 00:38 Posted By: wraggster

DICE's general manager calls out the next FPS trend as near-future
EA DICE

www.dice.se

DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson believes first-person shooters need to do more to innovate. Before Modern Warfare hit the scene the big time period in first-person shooters was World War II, but these days players can't get enough of fictionalized version of current conflicts. Troedsson called out the modern setting as one way FPS developers have been resting on their laurels.
"I think we're going to start seeing people moving away from the modern setting, because every now and again settings or themes start to get stale and then everyone jumps over," Troedsson told Edge Online. "You know, at some point dinosaurs are the hottest thing and everyone is making games with dinosaurs, but there are trends. It used to be WWII, and recently it's been the modern era and people are now moving towards near future."
"But it's a bit cheap to just say, 'Okay, we're going to switch and go back in time or into the future and that will be innovation'. It will definitely drive the franchise forward for whatever game, but it's not true innovation, it's more a thematic change that has a perceived value to the gamers out there. But as a developer you can only make so many games in one particular era, and then you personally start to get a bit bored with it," he added.
Troedsson said that developers need to push themselves, technically and thematically.
"I think it's our responsibility as game developers to always push ourselves when it comes to the experience of games. To always make sure that when we put games in the hands of consumers that we are proud of what we've done," he said.
"We want people to be amazed when they look at our games. We want to make the best game that we can, and we want that game to be the best one on the market. If gamers think that, then we've done our job. We're not there yet, but we're working on it."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-getting-stale

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Report: Sony planning super slim PS3

July 6th, 2012, 00:40 Posted By: wraggster

Sony could be ready to announce to a new PlayStation 3 model, according to new documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission.
The images posted on Pocket News refer to a CECH-4001x model, which Eurogamer suggests is a new, slimmer console that will be launched at Gamescom in August.
Sony has yet to comment on the FCC documents.
"We haven't announced anything new on PS3 in terms of hardware revisions," president of Sony's Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer in June.
"We should never say never - hardware guys are always looking at ways to make things cheaper, smaller."


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...super-slim-ps3

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PlayStation 3 to get downloadable PS2 catalog later this month

July 6th, 2012, 00:44 Posted By: wraggster

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Persona 4: Arena is PS3's first region-locked game

July 6th, 2012, 22:07 Posted By: wraggster

Atlus has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 version of Arc System Works fighting game Persona 4: Arena will be region-locked. This, we believe, makes it the first PS3 game to feature any region protection since the system's launch in 2006.
The news was revealed in a post by a member of Atlus USA staff on the publisher's official forums. "The PS3 version will be region-locked," the post reads. "To reiterate, [the North American] version of the game works for the North and South American regions.
"Also, keep in mind that both the NA and JP versions have both English and Japanese text and voice options, making them nearly identical. I'm unsure of what the case will be for the EU version."
The announcement was immediately met with widespread criticism from Atlus' committed fanbase, many of whom feared a repeat of the Catherine delay. Persona Team's erotic horror was released in North America six months after its Japanese launch - and it took a further seven months to reach European shores.
Geraint Evans, director of Zen United, the Bristol-based company which is working on the European release of Persona 4: Arena, does not expect the game to suffer Catherine's fate. The game launches in Japan later this month, and in America in August.
"It is always our intention to release as close to the US date as is humanly possible," he tells us. "We don't have an official date to confirm at this moment, but we hope to be able to do that soon, and we appreciate people's patience in the meantime.
"We want to serve the people that enjoy our games as best as we possibly can, and try to reduce any kind of delay. That's always been our goal with all the games we work on."
While Evans won't be drawn on the thinking behind the decision to make Arena PS3's first region-locked game, our suspicion is that it was inspired by the committed western fanbase that Atlus games enjoy.
When Catherine was finally released in the UK in February, it debuted in a lowly 20th spot; how many of the chart-topping 162,000 Japanese week-one sales came from UK importers? Atlus has no idea, and this is surely the way to gauge the true demand for its games in the west - region-locking seems like a small price to pay, even if doing so will inconvenience its die-hard fans for a handful of weeks.
Based on the time we've spent with the game - look out for a preview in E244, out August 1 - it's going to be worth the wait. It'll make its western debut at Evo 2k12, the world's most prestigious fighting game tournament, in Las Vegas this weekend.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/pers...on-locked-game

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Tales of Xillia confirmed for Europe

July 6th, 2012, 22:11 Posted By: wraggster

The next game in Namco Bandai's Tales Of series is coming to Europe.
The Japanese PS3-exclusive RPG was released in Japan last September and the direct sequel is already unerway for a November 1st 2012 Japanese launch.
Series producer Hideo Baba states at the Japan Expo in Paris, "there's a good chance" the West will see Tales of Xillia 2 if sales of Xillia perform well.
The Tales of series has sold over 13 million units worldside with the latest title, Tales of Graces, due to release this year on August 31st for the PS3.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/tales...-europe/099158

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Borderlands 2 for Vita not possible at Gearbox

July 7th, 2012, 11:23 Posted By: wraggster

Gearbox would love for another developer to make Borderlands 2 for Vita
Gearbox Software

www.gearboxsoftware.com

At the Rezzed event, Gearbox Software head Randy Pitchford said he would love it if another developer created a version of Borderlands 2 for PlayStation Vita. Pitchford loved the idea, but said Gearbox was too busy with the game to make the port.
"One of the things I wish Sony would do is get behind Borderlands, because I'd love to see a Vita version of the game," he said, according to Eurogamer.
"Perhaps some of you folks can convince Sony to start that. We're too busy to develop it ourselves. But I know there are a lot of talented developers who could take our code, our source and our content and perhaps create something like that."
Pitchford played up the cloud-based capabilities of a Vita version, allowing PlayStation 3 owners to continue playing their game on the go.
"I want to be able to have the character I'm working on with my PS3, and then when I'm on the road with my Vita I can just keep developing that same character because it exists on the cloud somewhere," he said. "Technologically, that's possible."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ble-at-gearbox

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LittleBigPlanet Karting beta pulls into PSN on July 10

July 7th, 2012, 23:14 Posted By: wraggster

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Atlus explains Persona 4 Arena's region lock, expresses surprise

July 7th, 2012, 23:17 Posted By: wraggster

The unprecedented decision to region-lock the PS3 release of Persona 4 Arenawill not lead to a "slippery slope," Atlus PR and sales manager Aram Jabbari said in a statement (available in full after the break).

"This is NOT the beginning of a new ATLUS policy, nor do we view it as a precedent or a slippery slope," Jabbari said. "If anything, your determination and dedication to what you believe in has certainly stood in the face of that. This is an isolated case, a situation precipitated by a number of factors, some of which are simply out of our North American hands." He admits that Atlus was "completely unprepared for the force with which the community communicated their disapproval."

Jabbari explained that the North American release contains both Japanese and English audio tracks, and will be released very close to the Japanese version (August 7 in North America and July 26 in Japan). "The unforeseen consequence in all of this was that we had a version of our biggest game of the year releasing within a couple weeks in two territories, both identical in content, but at radically different price points."

Because of the difference between the yen and the dollar's values right now, this situation could lead to mass importing, which would "cannibalize the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of another." For reference, the Japanese retail price of Persona 4 Arena is ¥7,329, roughly $92, versus $59.99 in North America.

"The decision to region-lock P4 Arena was a business one, one that has very clearly affected how many perceive the project," Jabbari concluded, "but we ask you to please not overlook the exceptional efforts of the people behind the game and to work with us through constructive dialogue."

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/06/at...sses-surprise/

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PlayStation All-Stars joined by Heihachi and Toro

July 7th, 2012, 23:18 Posted By: wraggster

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Sony: Retail still important in wake of Gaikai purchase

July 7th, 2012, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster

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Left 4 Dead running on PS Vita is homebrew heroics

July 7th, 2012, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster

One ambitious coder has managed to squeeze Valve's 2008 zombie classic Left 4 Dead into Sony's high-spec PlayStation Vita handheld.
It is 100 per cent unofficial, of course, but as the video demonstration shows it's also entirely feasible. Frame rate and graphics appear solid, while the handheld's gyrosensors have been used for smart aiming options.The application could be the first of many homebrew designs that come from the PlayStation Mobile development suite, which essentially opens up the handheld to more indie studios and bedroom coders.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ebrew-heroics/

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Neur0n gets VHBL to run with a new exploit on the Vita

July 8th, 2012, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster

Developer neur0n, famous for his psp CFW “6.60 ME“, announced today on twitter that he got VHBL to run on his brand new Vita.

A few days ago, he had announced that he had a working user exploit on the vita, so getting VHBL to run sounded like the “logical” next step.

For those of you who don’t know yet, VHBL is a tool that runs PSP homebrews (emulators, fan made games…) on the Vita.

A few years ago, neur0n had already ported HBL to a new exploit and a new firmware (6.35 at the time).

Since then, he has contributed to the scene with his Custom Firmware 6.60 ME, and has also been an active developer for “pro CFW“. In other words, if he says he got VHBL to run on a new exploit, you can trust him

No word on a release yet, but if I would guess I would say that nothing will happen before firmware 1.80 is released. This announcement could be the “second exploit” I’ve been waiting for in order to plan a release for VHBL, but of course this is neur0n’s decision. I’ll try to contact him in the days to come to see what his plans are.


via http://wololo.net/2012/07/06/neur0n-...t-on-the-vita/

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SEN Enabler & Disabler 4.21 – sign in to SEN on CFW

July 8th, 2012, 22:49 Posted By: wraggster

Developer Nathan_r32_69 released a tool yesterday to allow people on a CFW to sign in to the SEN (a.k.a. PSN) by spoofing the necessary information.People running a CFW on their PS3 can usually not connect to the SEN since they do not have the latest firmware. In order to be able to log in to the Sony network from a CFW, some information needs to be spoofed on the device, and this is exactly what this tool does.
Please note that using a CFW is against SEN’s T&C, and if detected, this could get you banned. Yup, I know that some of us want to run a CFW and *still* be honest customers wanting to buy their games, but apparently Sony is against the idea… so just so you know, you access SEN on a CFW at your own risk
SEN Enabler-disabler is compatible with most PS3 Custom Firmwares, including the DRM-dongle ones.

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Showtime 3.6.5, 3.99.41 Unofficial plugin and Disc Access

July 8th, 2012, 23:13 Posted By: wraggster

The reader Ps3 Showtime is updated to bring a lot of corrections as usual, but andbey0nd a developer takes the opportunity to release a plugin to allow access to the media present in the Blu-ray.


Showtime Disc Access Required: - CFW / FW 3.41/3.55 with peek/poke/lv1 (kmeaw / Rebug / Rogero / HERMES) - Showtime media player 3.99 + or Multiman for Showtime - A DVD / CD / BD in the player (video / music / photo) Installation: - Install as a normal Pgk - This column will appear in the video - The launch with a media in the drive Extras: - You Can Take screenshots of movies while Showtime is playing - You Can Play music from XMB [ Music] column while Showtime is displaying picture slideshows - You Can Use "Remote Play" to watch videos on your PSP / PSVita or Other Compatible Devices 3.6.5 Showtime Showtime Unofficial 3.99.41 Disc Access Plugin Showtime Official Site: www.lonelycoder.com

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March 2013 release for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, retail claims

July 9th, 2012, 23:25 Posted By: wraggster

Online retailer Amazon UK has listed Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s release date as the 29^th of March 2013.
Videogamer reported on the updated listing, which also includes information about bonus digital content named Upper Echelon.
This limited pre-order offer contains an Upper Echelon suit, special goggles that shine gold and an additional mission.
The pre-order edition also comes in an exclusive steelbook case, which contains an A2 poster of the game’s conflict zone.
Splinter Cell: Blacklist will be available on 360, PS3 and PC with a Wii U version rumoured to be in development, though not yet confirmed.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/march...-claims/099225

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Sega won't confirm Vita or phone Phantasy Star Online 2 for the West yet

July 9th, 2012, 23:57 Posted By: wraggster

Today's announcement of a North American and European release forPhantasy Star Online 2 named only the free-to-play PC version, with no mention of the announced PlayStation Vita release or the connected smartphone apps.

We asked Sega if the announcement also referred to those versions. "We can't confirm any details about the final platforms for the North American and European versions of PSO2 at this time," a company representative told Joystiq.

Both the Vita and phone versions are due in Japan after the PC version, so we expect information about those to be a bit delayed from info about the PC game.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/09/se...ine-2-for-the/

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Long PS3/360 lifecycle "biggest mistake ever", has expedited decline

July 11th, 2012, 00:11 Posted By: wraggster

The end of the traditional console cycle has expedited the decline of the overall console market.
That’s the claim of Square Enix’s worldwide technology director Julien Merceron, who has branded the long shelf life of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 and “the biggest mistake [Sony and Microsoft] have ever made”.
“We have Sony and Microsoft talking about this generation lasting seven, eight, nine or even ten years and it's the biggest mistake they've ever made,” he told Games Industry.
“This generation has been way too long, and I say this because you have a lot of developers that work on a new platform, and perhaps will not succeed, so they will wait for the next generation, and will jump on that platform. You could not do that with this generation though.
“So these developers went elsewhere to see if the grass was greener. They found web browsers, they found iOS, they found other things and a lot of them won't come back to the hardware platforms.
“So you could look at it that thanks to Microsoft and Sony and the length of this generation, it helped the emergence of other platforms and helped them get strong before the next hardware comes out.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/long-...decline/099291

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PSN Tuesday: Quantum Conundrum, Game of Thrones

July 11th, 2012, 00:38 Posted By: wraggster

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PSN Play' launches Sound Shapes, CS: GO, Papo & Yo, and The Expendables 2

July 11th, 2012, 00:44 Posted By: wraggster

Sony is gearing up for its second annual big summer digital launch promotion, which we're dubbing "PSN Play 2: Digital Sale-a-roo." Between July 24 and August 27, the following four games will launch on the PlayStation Network:Papo & Yo, Sound Shapes, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and The Expendables 2 Videogame (yes, we recognize that one of those is potentially less thrilling than the other three).

Moreover, if you buy any combination of those games, you'll get some virtual bucks back to spend on PSN. The more you buy, you the more you get back (two games gets $3, all the way up to all four getting $10 back). And if you're a PlayStation Plus member, things get even better – each game is reduced by 20 percent just because.

Update: Sony announced the dates of all the PSN Play games in a press release (after the break). The promotion begins with The Expendables 2 on July 31. Sound Shapes follows on the previously announced date of August 7, then it's Papo & Yo on August 14 and Counter-Strike on August 21. Pre-orders for each game will be available before release, granting exclusive PS3 themes.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/10/ps...o-and-the-exp/

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Sony rejected EyeToy Kama Sutra pitch

July 11th, 2012, 21:33 Posted By: wraggster

EyeToy Kama Sutra could have been a notable addition to Sony’s PS2 library – had the platform holder known how to go about QA testing it.
"There was a genuine pitch from a developer who pitched EyeToy Kama Sutra,” SCE producer Pete Smith told Eurogamer. “Seriously, this was a genuine pitch.
"So, the guy is going to me, ‘there's an outline on the screen with the EyeToy' [and] I'm like, I get it, yeah!
“Obviously we didn't sign it and it never ever saw the light of day. But we were going, how exactly would we QA it? You can imagine these two big hairy testers going, 'No, you're the bitch tonight'. How would you demo the game to press?”
That’s not to say that Sony didn’t acknowledge the possible appeal of the idea.
“In one sense I think, god, I wish it would have been done,” he admitted. “We could have maybe got some celebrity endorsements and stuff like that.
"What I just find strange is, sometimes you get these pitches and you think, this is just bonkers. But the developers absolutely believe in it, which is great. I'd much rather that than they come along half-hearted.
"This guy – I can remember it, I will never forget him – he was like, 'We want to do this. We think it could be great’. We get all kinds of pitches, but that's definitely the one that stands out for me."

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sony-...a-pitch/099376

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Trophy patch incoming for Metal Gear Solid 4

July 11th, 2012, 21:43 Posted By: wraggster

Metal Gear Solid 4 will at last receive a patch that will introduce support for PS3’s Trophy system.
Andriasang reports that the news was broken by Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima in an interview in this week’s issue of Japanese weekly Famitsu.
Trophies will be integrated into disc copies of the game’s budget re-release in August in Japan. Owners of the current game will be able to download a patch that adds Trophy support.
Metal Gear Solid 4 was released in June 2008. Sony didn’t add Trophy support to PS3 until the following month.
Most games that had been recently released on the system saw their developers patch in support but – despite the calls of fans – Kojima productions never made it happen.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/troph...solid-4/099367

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Battlefield 3 'Matches' mode now available

July 11th, 2012, 23:13 Posted By: wraggster

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Awesomenauts update out soon, adding new characters and balance tweaks

July 11th, 2012, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster

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Mass Effect 3's 'Earth' DLC officially detailed, still free

July 11th, 2012, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster

Before you hunt through files or track down voice actors to get more info about the "Earth" DLC for Mass Effect 3, read the official description of the multiplayer content released by BioWare today.

As previously rumored, "Earth" features new Rio, Vancouver, and London maps, three new weapons (Piranha assault shotgun, Acolyte pistol, and Typhoon assault rifle) and six new classes of human N7 character.

The pack will be released on July 17 for Xbox 360 and PC everywhere, and on PS3 in North America. European PS3 owners have to wait until July 18 for the free DLC.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/11/ma...ed-still-free/

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PSN action game 'Malicious' arrives in North America on July 24

July 11th, 2012, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster

We first heard about the PSN game Malicious back in 2010, when it was first announced for Japan. It's finally been announced for North America, and we don't have much more waiting to do – it's coming July 24, for $9.99.

Malicious centers on a series of boss fights in which you employ a sort of magical scarf that can change shape into various melee or even projectile weapons. Like Mega Man, you can choose the order in which you face these boss battles – and like Mega Man, you absorb powers from defeated bosses.

The version coming out here is for PS3. There's also a Vita version in Japan, but that has not been announced for North America.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/11/ps...can-ps3s-july/

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Street Fighter X Tekken hits US Vitas Oct. 23 with Near, AR functionality

July 12th, 2012, 01:52 Posted By: wraggster

The PlayStation Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken will be punching bears all over North America on October 23, according to Capcom Unity. Purchasing the game unlocks those 12 characters on the PS3 version, and though Japan receives both retail and digital copies on October 25 there has been no confirmation of a PSN release in the US.

Street Fighter X Tekken's myriad of Vita-centric capabilities were also expounded upon today by a blitzkrieg of new videos, as seen above andbeyond the veil. Near functionality has been added, allowing players to wirelessly trade custom costume color combinations when randomly in proximity. Ad-hoc multiplayer is supported for up to four players at once, and the Vita's camera can even be used to take pictures of characters doing Street Fightery stuff on your kitchen table.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/11/st...-near-ar-func/

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VHBL 154-TC For Super Collapse 3, by TheCobra

July 12th, 2012, 14:56 Posted By: wraggster

via http://wololo.net/2012/07/11/release...3-by-thecobra/

This is an “official-unofficial” release for you guys who are still lucky enough to be on 1.67 and run VHBL on the Super Collapse 3 exploit.



TheCobra released today an updated version of VHBL for this exploit. This is an official build because theCobra is the one who initially ported VHBL to this exploit, but “unofficial” in a way because the sources are not available yet, and I haven’t had the opportunity to test it on a Vita (I’m on 1.69 now…). That being said, it worked fine on my PSP, and several users have reported a better experience than the previous release (understand: better stability) overall in some games such as Jelly Car or Lamecraft.

The idea behind the fix is that theCobra hooked a bunch of functions with a generic “ok” response instead of having HBL trying to estimate their syscall. What this means is that these functions will not work, but at least they won’t crash. Depending on the function, and on how well the homebrew handles errors, this can lead to less crashes overall.

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PSPVita User Mode Exploit Hacking details

July 12th, 2012, 14:58 Posted By: wraggster

via http://wololo.net/2012/07/12/sometim...t-that-simple/

Neur0n has been kind enough to share with me the details of his latest user mode exploit, so that I could help porting VHBL to his game on the EU and US versions (yes, the game seems to be available on all stores, and don’t stop reading here, it gets better).

Sometimes porting VHBL to a new game can be a pain in the A**. Many times, as I discovered the hard way, we hit a wall and have to give up after dozens of hours of investigation.

On this exploit too, had I been alone working on it, I would have given up. It seemed impossible to free most of the ram (VHBL basically needs to cleanly remove the game from the ram, in order to load homebrews instead), and the exploit ended up with about 2MB of free ram, instead of the 24MB that we usually expect.

But hey, that’s where comes the joy of working with talented people like Neur0n: he figured out, within 24hours, how to free the additional 22MB. I am not sure really how he found out, and why it works, but it damn works.

So I can proudly show you a picture of my work in progress on the EU version of the game. But honestly, neur0n did all the hard work on this one

This is running on a PSP with Pro CFW, which is were all the initial development always happen for VHBL. I haven’t tried to run anything else than the menu yet, but getting to the menu is usually a very good sign.

There’s still lots of work to be done: confirm it works on the vita (which should not be a problem since neur0n already confirmed it on the Japanese version), code cleanup, homebrews tests and bug fixes, port to the US version of the game, ….


As far as a release is concerned, I’ll synchronize with neur0n, but I think it’s clear to most people that we’re all eagerly waiting for ps1 classics support before a new VHBL version is released. As you know, each VHBL release is quickly followed by a patch from Sony, so I’m sure everybody wants the next VHBL release to happen on a “useful” firmware. In this case, I’m sure everybody’s ready to wait for firmware 1.80.


As usual, don’t ask for hints on the game, or its price, or anything like that, as I won’t answer these questions.

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The PlayStation Network charts now in MCV

July 13th, 2012, 00:43 Posted By: wraggster

The latest issue of MCV is now available digitally, and it features both the June retail market data and the PlayStation Network Top Ten.
The PSN charts can only be found in MCV, and looks at the entire European market. It is part of our weekly seven page charts bonanza.
This week's edition also features interview EA Origin's David DeMartini and Sega Europe's Jurgen Post.
The magazine is available for iPad. Download our app now, which includes access to the last two years of MCV, and includes a free archive of back issues from during that time.
You can also read the magazine in your browser. Click here to subscribe or click here to buy an individual issue.
Individual issues cost £1.99. You can subscribe for three months (iPad only - £19.99), six months (£34.99) or 1 year (£64.99).
The issue's key content includes:

• More data than ever before, including exclusive PSN charts and the June retail data
• The biggest stories featuring Borderlands 2, Dark Souls, New Art Academy, Gamescom and EA Origin
• INTERVIEW: Sega's Jurgen Post on the publisher's European restructure
• INTERVIEW: EA Origin boss David DeMartini
• ANALYSIS: Confusion reigns over EU second-hand download ruling
• Full preview of Square Enix's Sleeping Dogs
• Namco Bandai discusses the return of Dark Souls
• Plus, trailers for Borderlands 2, Dark Souls and Sleeping Dogs
• The prizes for MCV and Square Enix's Hitman Sniper Challenge is revealed

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-p...-in-mcv/099452

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Steal a glance at two Grand Theft Auto 5 screens

July 13th, 2012, 01:23 Posted By: wraggster

"Why don't you give us more news?" a Grand Theft Auto fan asked Rockstar about GTA5. In response, Rockstar's "Asked & Answered" column provided the two new screenshots of the upcoming game. You mean to tell us that approach works? This is going to change how we do our jobs.

Rockstar explained the relative quiet since the trailer: "We don't do this because we 'don't care about our fans' 'don't respect our fans' 'hate GTA fans etc' – precisely the opposite," a company rep stated in the column. "We do it because we want to make sure we only release 100% correct information, and because we want to keep plenty back for the actual game release so there are still lots of surprises when you play it."

When Rockstar is ready to show more, there'll probably be a trailer every single day until launch, judging by previous games.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/12/st...uto-5-screens/

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Gaikai should be added to current generation of Sony consoles and PlayStation 4

July 13th, 2012, 01:27 Posted By: wraggster

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Has the 3-D Hype Bubble Finally Popped?

July 14th, 2012, 22:48 Posted By: wraggster

An article at Time speculates that the recent hype surrounding 3-D display technology has finally peaked and begun to subside. As evidence, they point to comments from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who does not seem particularly enthusiastic about it, and concedes it won't be a major selling point if the company continues to have 3-D enabled products in the future. He said, 'So, now we've created the 3DS and 3DS XL and also have some games out there that are really using that 3D effect that we can see, from my point of view, that it's an important element. But as human beings are this kind of surprise effect wears off quickly, and just [having] this 3D stereoscopic effect isn't going to keep people excited.' Revenue from 3-D films is also dropping, and while 3-D television sales are rising, only 14 percent of potential buyers think 3-D is a 'must have' feature."

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...finally-popped

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Did Sony's latest PlayStation 3 redesign just get outed by Brazil's Anatel?

July 14th, 2012, 23:07 Posted By: wraggster

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New GTA V screenshots released

July 15th, 2012, 18:38 Posted By: wraggster

Rockstar has released two new screenshots for Grand Theft Auto V.
The shots, below, were posted on a community Q&A on the studio's website. Rockstar says it will "try and get some more screens for you soon and then another trailer when we are ready."

http://www.edge-online.com/news/new-...shots-released

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D3 reveals Earth Defense Force 4 for Japan

July 15th, 2012, 18:39 Posted By: wraggster

Earth Defense Force 4 has been revealed by publisher D3.
It’s the fourth instalment in the cult ‘B-movie’ alien shooting romp. Sadly, however, a European release has not yet been confirmed.
"Unfortunately I have no additional information that I can share about EDF4,” a D3 statement released to Eurogamer read. “The game is being released by D3 Japan and they will be handling the launch of the title in Japan. If more information becomes available to me, I'll be sure to keep you posted."
The previous two releases in the series – Earth Defense Force 2017 and Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon were both released in the UK.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/d3-re...r-japan/099558

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Codemasters reveals Mario Kart-inspired F1 spin-off

July 15th, 2012, 18:47 Posted By: wraggster

F1 2012 is not the only Formula One game coming to retail this year – with Codemasters preparing an over-the-top spin-off for Christmas.
F1 Race Stars has more in common with Mario Kart than the hardcore, realistic F1 simulator series. The game presents iconic F1 stars - including Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton - as cartoon characters, and features transforming corkscrew tracks and powerups. All of which should help this F1 title appeal to a younger audience than the core series.
All-Stars is set to launch in November. The tracks, racers and cars are all based on their real-life counterparts. And development duties are being handled by the Codemasters Racing Studio in Birmingham, the same developer responsible for the main F1 series.
“We’re really excited to bring the whole cast of Formula One into a fun new world of racing," said F1 Race Stars senior producer Chris Gray.
"We’ve really let our Art and Design teams off the leash to bring F1 stars’ personalities alive in a new way and create a game where racing fans of all ages can jump into all-action solo, split-screen and online multiplayer races. It’s the game we’ve wanted to create for a long time and, building on our strong relationship with Formula One Management Limited, we’re now able to bring Codemasters’ long-standing expertise in track design and AI to create a Formula One racing experience quite unlike any other.”

Codemasters' other F1 game, F1 2012, is due on September 21st.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/codem...pin-off/099548

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Adidas miCoach out now on European Xbox 360s and PS3s

July 15th, 2012, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster

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Capcom announces Jojo's Bizarre Adventure HD, coming to PSN and XBLA August 21/22

July 15th, 2012, 23:11 Posted By: wraggster

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Need a quadcopter transmitter? Use a PS2 controller!

July 16th, 2012, 21:21 Posted By: wraggster

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EA insists Battlefield and Medal of Honor audiences are different

July 17th, 2012, 01:00 Posted By: wraggster

EA's Frank Gibeau says its two shooter franchises are dissimilar to one another
EA Danger Close

EA DICE

www.dice.se
Electronic Arts

www.ea.com

The first person shooter market, notably the modern shooter, is full of major franchises from all of big publishers. EA believes that its two heavy hitters, Battlefield and Medal of Honor, are doing the right thing by avoiding sequel fatigue as well as addressing multiple audiences with each title.
Speaking with Game Informer, EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau says that "We are very careful that Battlefield and Medal of Honor stay differentiated."
"There is inefficiency to having two different brands coming out alternating like that; there is some upside. You don't have the annualized, sequel fatigue. With Medal of Honor we tried to embrace that the game is real. The multiplayer is different than Battlefield. We're trying to use a sequencing strategy to keep it as fresh and different as possible."
Though many gamers might not be able to pick apart the differences, Medal of Honor and Battlefield are inherently different shooters. The games are sharing technology now, however. Danger Close, responsible for Medal of Honor, has transitioned to the Frostbite engine, the very engine that powers Battlefield 3.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-are-different

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Upcoming PS Plus deals: Dyad 20% off, free PSOne sports games

July 17th, 2012, 01:15 Posted By: wraggster

This Tuesday, PlayStation Plus users will get to crack their brains open for less, as Dyad is 20% off for members of the premium service. It'll launch for $11.99 for Plus ($14.99 for everyone else).

Next week, Malicious will launch at 20 percent off, and then that will lead right into PSN Play. So ... the only difference between now and PSN Play is that you get some money back and a PS3 theme for buying the games that come out later this month. The Plus discount is the same!

You'll be able to get a couple free games tomorrow on PS3 (and on PSP, through your PS3): the PSOne Classic games International Track & Field and Hot Shots Golf 2. These two freebies lead into a 50 percent off sale on unspecified games for Plus members.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/16/up...-sports-games/

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Machinarium rated for Vita

July 17th, 2012, 01:19 Posted By: wraggster

Machinarium looks set to be released on PS Vita.
That's according to an Entertainment Software Rating Board classification, which was spotted by PSN Stores.First released for PC, Mac and Linux in 2009, the highly regarded point-and-click adventure game is now also available on iPad 2, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook, while a PSN version is in the works for PS3.
Developed by Czech Republic-based indie studio Amanita Design, Machinarium sees players take on the role of a robot who has been exiled to the scrapheap. They have to use logic, collect important items, and solve environmental puzzles to get the robot back into the city of Machinarium so he can rescue his girlfriend, save the head of the city, and defeat the bad guys.
Our friends at Edge gave the game an 8/10 in the mag's Machinarium review.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ated-for-vita/

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PSPE progress

July 17th, 2012, 10:11 Posted By: wraggster

Progress on pspe is slowly but some major steps have been done.

Vertex decoding part of GE unit is now completely done in shaders (well bezier and splines are still missing) using tranform feedback .
That provides more accurate emulation (and probably more speed) since all the other psp emus are using cpu to decode vertexes.
Major drawback though is that you need a opengl 4.2 compatible card to run pspe. This means that you need at least one of the following cards :

• Nvidia GeForce 400 series
• Nvidia GeForce 500 series
• Nvidia GeForce 600 series
• ATI Radeon HD 5000 series
• AMD Radeon HD 6000 Series
• AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series

Of course having a better card isn't an issue
We are now working to add the bezier and splines to the vertex decoder and then we will move to the rest of GE unit features (lighting , dither , fogging ,texturing etc).

Keep looking the site for updates.
shadow

http://www.pspe4all.com/news.php

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Vita: Why developing for Playstation Mobile is a waste of time

July 17th, 2012, 10:15 Posted By: wraggster

When the Playstation Suite (now known as Playstation Mobile) was announced, I was extremely excited at the idea. Playstation suite was full of promises. Vita compatibility, Android compatibility, and potentially PS3 compatibility. The Playstation suite also made the implicit promise of reducing fragmentation on Android, by bringing a “playstation seal of quality” to a range of devices.



The Playstation suite was the solution for indie devs and homebrew programmers who wanted to develop officially on Sony’s new consoles.

In hindsight, I think spending some time on the Playstation Mobile SDK, for an independent developer, is a waste of time and money. Let me explain…



It’s all about numbers

First of all, with its new name, the Playstation Mobile is sending the clear signal that your applications will not be available on the PS3. PS3 compatibility was never promised by Sony, but is something many were hoping. Now it’s obvious, Sony is cutting indie developers from its 65 million PS3 owners userbase (you still have the minis for that, though…), leaving you with a userbase of somewhere between 5 and 15 million users (that’s Sony certified device owners + Vita owners + HTC Certified devices, yet to come).

Note on these numbers: I am assuming numbers of about 1.5 million Vita users, 5 million owners of Sony compatible devices, and roughly the same for HTC compatible device owners. (this is assuming Sony and HTC each represent 10% of the total Android user base, and that 15% of that is certified Playstation Mobile compatible).

15 million potential users sounds a lot? Well, compare it to the 400 million Android users, and the 300 million iOS users out there, then think again…

As an indie developer, one of the things you want for your app is a large audience. The Sony playstation Mobile does not offer that for now, and I don’t think it ever will. Bringing HTC to the party took Sony 6 months, and the compatible devices are not even announced yet, so what are the hopes to see more devices/companies join the Playstation suite certification any time soon? If you want to develop a nice touch application and make a bit of pocket money with it, Android or iOS is where you should be.

In addition to that, although Sony will try to be “flexible” on the apps it will have in that program, I’m pretty convinced it will be roughly similar to what Apple has. Apple can afford to put crazy restrictions on their apps because of their gigantic user base (every developer is ready to make sacrifices if it means such a large audience). Sony can’t really.

Finally, by not making the Playstation suite available to the PS3, Sony fails once again at bridging the gap between their devices, and once again we won’t have the full “Playstation experience” we were all wishing for. Sony’s devices, as usual, stay far away from each other, Playstation Mobile won’t be the symbiosis we really expected.

But games on the vita will use the full potential of the machine, Right? Right?

Another reason people might want to develop on the Playstation Mobile system is because the Vita is, let’s face it, a nice piece of hardware. The back touchpad is a cool addition, the screen is awesome, etc… so developing in order to fully use that kind of functionality would be really awesome…

… except Sony have been very clear several times that they will enforce strict rules on the compatibility of the devices. Your app does not only need to run on the Vita, it needs to run on (for example) the Xperia play as well, and on the upcoming pss certified devices. At this stage, let’s say that your app needs to be able to run on any highend android device, including ones that don’t have a physical pad, ones that don’t have a back touchpad, ones that don’t have such a big screen, etc…

The result? A game developed on the playstation Mobile SDK cannot fully use the power of the Vita, but rather must (technically) reach the lowest common denominator between all certified devices.

My conclusion is that if you’re serious about developing a touch game as an indie developer, you should go Android or iOS directly, without going through the Playstation Mobile SDK. If what you want is to actually develop high end games for the Vita or Sony devices, you’d rather look into becoming a Minis dev, or an actual developer with Sony (which, err, is not really easy for indie devs).

Are any of you developing on Playstation Mobile? Have you thought of developing for android or iOS instead? What are your thoughts?

http://wololo.net/2012/07/16/vita-wh...waste-of-time/

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VHBL: Neur0n’s exploit confirmed (again) to work on the Vita, US port ready

July 17th, 2012, 10:16 Posted By: wraggster

Developer Neur0n has been working on a port of VHBL using a new game exploit, and I have been providing a bit of help. A few days ago I could port his work to the EU version of the Game, and yesterday I managed to port it to the US version.


I also was able to confirm VHBL works fine on the Vita, see the picodrvie screenshot below on the EU version of the game, although neur0n had already confirmed that on the JP version a few days ago.

We will now be doing a bit of testing and debugging, while patiently waiting for firmware 1.80. Fingers crossed that this firmware will not patch anything critical

http://wololo.net/2012/07/15/vhbl-ne...us-port-ready/

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PS Vita Remote Desktop

July 17th, 2012, 10:17 Posted By: wraggster

A few days ago I wrote about PS Vita Remote Desktop, a tool that allows you to stream PC games on your Vita, and control them with the Vita.

The author of that application, DigitalArts001 (a.k.a. melfice002) just released the source code for that application on the playstation forums.



One of the “proof of concept” videos that impressed people the most was Left 4 Dead running through this application. If you have an up to date Playstation Mobile SDK, as well as an up to date Vita (yup, you’ll probably need firmware 1.691), and a bit of motivation and/or programming skills, then do give this app a try.


http://www.mediafire.com/?b68g7qa2ukzku8a
http://wololo.net/2012/07/14/release...igitalarts001/

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[PS3] CEX to DEX, connecting the dots

July 17th, 2012, 10:20 Posted By: wraggster

I’m a bit late on the “CEX to DEX” news, but sometimes it’s better to be late, in order to have a good overview of something.



If you’ve been following the PS3 scene sites this week, you’ve probably seen that a new “hack” was released, that has been nicknamed “CEX to DEX”. Later on, PS3 dev naehrwert explained the process on how the information was obtained, although most scene websites failed to make a connection between his quite complex technical explanation and the leak. Most of them treated that as two pieces of unrelated information.

In this article I’ll try to connect the dots, but please bear with me as I am still an external observer of the PS3 scene, being myself stuck in 4.11 (damn you, Uncharted 3!)

Why this is interesting for the end users

Ok, first of all, what is this hack useful for, in other words, what does it do?

Let’s start with the basics. Retail PS3 units (the ones we buy in stores) are codenamed CEX. Debug PS3 units are codenamed DEX. What this hack does is allow any Retail unit (CEX) to be converted into a Debug unit (DEX). A DEX unit lets you, among other things, install a Debug firmware on the PS3 through the recovery menu (you can’t do that on a CEX PS3).

A Debug firmware is interesting because it allows to run official blu rays as well as unsigned content. This means homebrews, but also potentially unsigned official games. In theory a 4.21 Debug firmware could run backups of newer games (3.6+), which is where it gets interesting (currently AFAIK the only way to do that is to use one of the piracy dongles, and it only works for a few games).

There is of course a “catch” to this: 3.6+ games backups would need to be not signed, and such things are not easy to find on the internets (if they can be found at all).

So in theory this release could be good for pirates, and bad for dongles, but practically it doesn’t change much on that front.

However, this opens something new for people who have been on 3.55 CFW and don’t want to upgrade: the possibility to run official 3.6+ Blu rays.

So let me summarize here. A 4.xx Debug firmware can:
•run unsigned < 3.55 game backups (those are apparently easy to find) (a 3.55 CFW can do that)
•run unsigned eboots (homebrews) (a 3.55 CFW can do that)
•run unsigned 3.6+ game backups (a 3.55 CFW can’t do that, but those are impossible to find anyways)
•run all official (legit blu ray) games up to 4.xx (a 3.55 CFW can only run up to 3.55! That’s the interesting bit)
•Upgrade and downgrade at will between all versions of Debug firmwares

And please don’t quote me on that, as this is just my understanding of what a debug firmware allows, but I can’t confirm this myself as I don’t have a CFW. I’m just gathering the bits of information I’ve read here and there. But my understanding is, a 4.xx debug firmware gives you the best of both OFW and CFW: 3.6+ games and homebrews

What this cannot do

Since in order to convert your console from CEX to DEX, some per-console specific information needs to be obtained directly from your ps3, this is not a magical solution if you are currently stuck on a 3.6+ official firmware. You would still need to downgrade to a 3.55 CFW first (in order to run the tools necessary for the hack) using a hardware chip, and then run the hack from there to install a Debug firmware.

In other words, Going through 3.55 is a necessary step of this hack.

It is also worth noting that by running a Debug unit, you lose access to the PSN (which you can get back by installing a clean flash back).

Ok, let’s do this thing, where are the tools?

Ok, so, if you have a 3.55 console (if not, you need to downgrade, read the paragraph above!), you might want to try and convert your own console into a Debug version. For now, no “easy” tool is available to do this, sadly, and if you mess things up you could end up with a brick (also, do not try to get somebody else to send you their modified Flash, some of the encryption keys involved are specific to each console!). It is strongly recommended that you have a hardware flasher (and a clean dump of your flash) handy in case you mess things up..

If you’re lucky enough to have a 16MB NOR console (that’s the recent PS3 FAT and all PS3 Slim, see details here), you can use the tool C2D by andbey0nd to ease the process. It will build the stuff to flash for you, but you still have to provide the EID root key (obtained with metldrpwn)

If you’re a developer, you might want to download libeeid here, and use the sample provided as a base to build your own tool.

But ironically, the easiest way for now seems to follow the leaked guide below and do it manually.


Hi Scene Sorry for my bad English. I want to give you info you pls make public. I want be anonymous. I only can say I’m from Hong Kong. I have way to get a dex, it works and is complete nothing missing

Manual to get a dex (here is everything you needed) and you have a full working dex

EID0 Key Seed and EID0 Section Key Seed are hardcoded in the isoldr

EID0 Key Seed
AB CA AD 17 71 EF AB FC 2B 92 12 76 FA C2 13 0C
37 A6 BE 3F EF 82 C7 9F 3B A5 73 3F C3 5A 69 0B
08 B3 58 F9 70 FA 16 A3 D2 FF E2 29 9E 84 1E E4
D3 DB 0E 0C 9B AE B5 1B C7 DF F1 04 67 47 2F 85

EID0 Section Key Seed
2E D7 CE 8D 1D 55 45 45 85 BF 6A 32 81 CD 03 AF

If you dump they isoldr key (EID Root Key) with metldrpwn you got from 0×00 to 0x1F the EID Root Key and from 0×20 to 0x2F the EID Root IV

use AES Encrypt to Encrypt EID0 Key Seed as data with EID Root Key as Key and EID Root IV as IV

the result contains from 0×10 to 0×20 the EID0IV

and contains from 0×20 to 0×40 the EID0Key

use AES Encrypt to Encrypt the EID0 Section Key Seed as data with the EID0Key as Key and no IV

the result will be the first 0×10 bytes of the EID0 First Section Key

the second 0×10 bytes of the EID0 First Section Key are only 0×00 bytes

EID0 is located in NAND at 0×80870 and in NOR at 0x2f070

the first 0×20 bytes of EID0 are not encrypted

at the fifth byte of EID0 (NOR example 0x2f075) your target ID is located change it to 0×82 (Debug Target ID)

use AES Decrypt to decrypt the first EID0 Section (NOR example 0x2f090). The size of the first Section is 0xC0 bytes. Use the EID0 First Section Key as Key and the EID0 IV as IV

Build the CMAC (OMAC1) hash of the decrypted EID0 Section from 0×00 to 0xA8 with EID0 First Section Key as Key. The calculated hash has to be the same as the bytes in the decrypted EID0 Section from 0xA8 to 0xB8.

At 0×5 of the decrypted EID0 Section is your target id again change it to 0×82 again

0xB8-0xC0 of the decrypted EID0 Section should be just 0×00 bytes

after you changed the target ID of the decrypted EID0 Section, create the CMAC hash of the new decrypted EID0 Section and write the new hash to the decrypted EID0 Section

use AES Encrypt to encrypt the EID0 Section and write it back to the NOR (NAND).

Now install dex Firmware with the recovery menu.

HINT: Got Petitboot on emer init go to boot gameos and do emer init again to get to the recovery menu.

You can’t login to the PSN because IDPS is obviously not valid from now on.

THIS CAN BRICK YOUR CONSOLE IF NOT DONE CORRECTLY.

有志者，事竟成 “Where a will, there is way”
一不做二不休 „You start something, you have to finish it”

The connection with naehrwert

This hack was revealed as a leak. It seems obvious (based on his recent blog post) that naehrwert was part of the people working on all the reversing work required to access this information. It is likely that this information was part of a larger scale work, and obviously for these devs the leak was not a good piece of news. I can relate, getting your work leaked at the most inappropriate time is never good. This is probably what pushed later on an “anonymous” dev to publish the work that led to this hack in the first place, in the form of a C library that any dev can now use (libeeid, download link below).

Then again, as I described above, I don’t see why this could lead to anymore piracy than there is already on the PS3 (3.6+ games are still “safe” until somebody can publicly decrypt them), so the excuses about this work leading to piracy are probably just words. On the other hand, as naehrwert mentioned, I can picture an army of noobs asking questions on how they can pirate 3.6+ games on DEX machines from now on

The Technical details

So how does that hack work? Ok, I’m trying to dumb that down as much as possible here: there are special locations in the flash memory of the PS3 that indicate if the unit is a Retail machine or a Debug machine. Reading/Writing this information requires to both know where it is located and how to decrypt/encrypt it. How this information was found is what naehrwert explains in his blog post (note: Finding and understanding this required dozens – hundreds? – of hours of reverse engineering of some parts of the PS3 firmware, which also explains why some people are pissed about that leak.).

The information lies in the Appliance Info Manager module, a module in charge of …describing the specs of the current unit, I assume, given its name.

The encryption/decryption keys are all inferred from the eid0 key seeds for this specific module. These key seeds were obtained by reading the metadata of the module, as explained by naehrwert. From there, the whole process explained in the leak is just a series of decrypt / replace / encrypt data, based on the algorithms that were reverse engineered.

The key point here is that the Target ID of the unit is replaced with 0×82 (you’ll see that number a lot in the leaked CEX to DEX hack), which symbolizes a Debug unit. The target ID is a key identifying the type of a unit, as described here.

Speaking of TargetID, the holy grail of the Debug units is 0×81, the DECR unit which apparently can also decrypt anything we want. Those are suspected to require specific hardware and firmwares however…and the legend says that some scene devs own one.

Conclusion

Until this week, people who legitimately wanted to stay on a Custom Firmware for homebrew reasons could not play recent PS3 games they owned. With such a technique, they now have a possibility to run their 3.6+ blu rays without sacrificing homebrew. As far as I can tell, this does not “bring more piracy to the PS3″, for now. It just allows more legitimate use of the PS3 for honest homebrew users.

http://wololo.net/2012/07/14/ps3-cex...ting-the-dots/

http://ps3devwiki.com/files/devtools/Cex2Dex/libeeid.7z

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“Playstation Mobile” (formerly Playstation Suite) SDK updated to 0.99

July 17th, 2012, 10:20 Posted By: wraggster

For those of you who want to create your own games and apps for the Playstation Vita, the open beta is still going on, and Sony issued an update to their SDK yesterday.The main change is not super exciting: the name of the program is now Playstation Mobile, while it was known as Playstation Suite until now (no doubt that people will still be calling it that for a while). But Sony also adding In-App purchase functionality, a feature that fans of Free To Play were probably eagerly waiting for.
The changelog is as follow:

• In-App Purchase library
• Digital Signature & Encryption library for content protection
• GamePad support for UI Toolkit library
• ModelViewer for previewing .mdx files on PC
• 50+ bug fixes

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NEO Summer Retro Coding Contest 2012 Announcement

July 17th, 2012, 10:30 Posted By: wraggster

Our friends over at Neoflash are having a new coding contest, heres the details:

NEO Summer Retro Coding Contest 2012 for all retro platform announcement
*** close time: Aug.20th 2012 ***
more info: http://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php/topic,7435.0.html

* Homebrew Game division
There are top 3 winners for all platform

* Homebrew APP division
There are top 3 winners for all platform

Note: The platform just specify to the retro console, something like NES/PC-E/MD/SNES/N64/GBA/NDS/PSP ......

The rules of NEO Summer retro coding contest 2012:

[1] All original entries will get +5 "original score " , but the second entry (same project from last contest but improved, and just enter one more time again ) will don't get any "original score" in this contest.

[2] If your production have enter other contest before, you can use it to enter this NEO contest still.

[3] The No.1 winner from last Neo contest can't use their same project (even it come with many updated) to enter this contest again.

[4] You can submit more than one project for any platform at the same time, without any limit.

[5] You must put the NEO Retro Compo badge and NEO website link to your program and show it when start to run.


The top 3 prize list for the winners:

The No.1 : US$500 cash , OR choose any items from the www.ic2005.com NEO online shop, just not over U$800 total value.

The No.2 : US$300 cash , OR choose any items from the www.ic2005.com NEO online shop, just not over U$500 total value.

The No.3 : US$200 cash , OR choose any items from the www.ic2005.com NEO online shop, just not over U$300 total value.

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Turn your PS3 Retail in Debug / Test

July 17th, 2012, 11:02 Posted By: wraggster

Last week, a Hong Kong person wishing to remain anonymous, explained a method to turn your PS3 console in Devkit.

This method was very technical, but it will not take long for a number of tools are emerging to facilitate this task. Developers who have looked at it even worked quite well in bringing new software today, CEX2DEX, which will be discussed later, which provides more support for Nand. relativize all the same, ease the task is a big word, only the creation of Nand / Nor is facilitated. To achieve it and then flash the console, a flash hardware is required. Since the announcement of this achievement, both programs allow the creation of this Nand / Nor. PS3Tools GUI has been updated to version 2.6 with support for memory Dex To Cex Nor CEX2DEX and allows for him to create Nor, as well as Nand, but also the extraction of Metldr. To achieve all this, it You will need a dump of your console, using a chip or flasher type E3 ProgSkeet then change your memory before reinjecting it into your console. As with any change affecting the Flash console, this operation is very risky for your console. CEX2DEX a PS3Tools 2.6

http://ps3.gx-mod.com/modules/news/a...p?storyid=3109

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gpSP 0.9 Signed Fix 3 - GBA Emulator for PSP

July 17th, 2012, 11:20 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

gpSP 0.9 Signed Fix 3 is released. gpSP is the best GBA emulator released for the PSP with great compatibility and performance.

gpSP 0.9 Signed Fix 3 Changelog:
initial fix:
*fixed a bug that caused the emulator to crash when you exit without a loaded rom*
fix2:
*made a boo boo(real culprit is when it calls the function "sound_exit();" causing the crash)*
fix3:
*removed a useless help line "Brings up frameskip adjust bar and menu access." now it displays help accurately when setting up the buttons... added icons

Download via comments

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Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN r64

July 17th, 2012, 11:27 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN r64 is compiled. A XInput input plugin for PSX/PS2 emulators, and as of r48 nullDC 1.0.4 too. Pokopom is a PSEmu Pro pad plugin that emulates a DualShock1 and DualShock2 controller for PS1 and PS2 emulators respectively. It only uses XInput, so as to avoid the DirectInput troubles with X360 controllers.

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin function
- Supports rumble, with a nice custom curve.
- Extended analog sticks range on corners. (for games like Ape Escape)
- Guitar build for XInput Guitars on Guitar Hero games.

Pokopom PSX Pad Plugin SVN Changelog:
r64
Pokopom:

-. Added mempak for N64 (seems functional)
-. Fixed deadzone for N64
-. Left trigger thing...

N64 rumble can now be toggled for a mempak with the BACK button.
When using the mempak, the Scroll Lock LED will be on.

Following nRage, mempak files will be saved on the MemPaks directory.
It's a raw dump with the mempak extention (I think it might work as .mpk)

Also, now if you hold the Left Trigger, the face buttons become C-Buttons.
Useful in case you need to press opposite buttons simultaneously.

And... Y/B buttons are now A and B buttons too, respectively.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzbc4lned3pxs1l

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Jpcsp SVN r2614

July 17th, 2012, 11:33 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/


Jpcsp SVN r2614 is compiled. JPCSP is the most advanced PlayStation Portable(PSP) emulator, allowing you to play your PSP games on a PC. Even though Jpcsp is written in Java, it can already reach 100% PSP speed on a lot of commercial games... and the emulator performance is constantly increasing. Jpcsp takes full advantage of dual-core processors, matching the PSP dual-core architecture. Even a quad-core can give a small performance improvement by leaving free CPU cores for the Java JIT Compiler and the graphics cache.

Jpcsp SVN changelog:
r2614
Fixed the compilation of VFPU matrix instructions: VMMUL, VMSCL, VMMOV, VMIDT, VMZERO, VMONE

http://www.mediafire.com/?kpusq77lgm1k5y6

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Anomaly: Warzone Earth marches to PSN with local co-op support

July 18th, 2012, 00:53 Posted By: wraggster

No platform is safe, as 11 bit studios has announced the PS3 is the latest to have Anomaly: Warone Earth occupy its virtual halls. The new addition for the PS3 port is local co-op play, allowing one player to act as the strategist and one to act as the unit commander – see it in action in the video above.

Anomaly: Warzone Earth is expected to launch on PSN sometime this summer; though no exact release date has been finalized yet, 11 bit studios will showcase the PS3 port at this year's Gamescom.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/17/an...co-op-support/

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Hyperkin summons the Game Genie on PS3 today

July 18th, 2012, 01:01 Posted By: wraggster

The new "Game Genie" cheat device is shipping today, July 17. Of this year.

No, Galoob hasn't returned – the new Game Genie is a USB cheat device for PS3 produced by Hyperkin. It allows users to transfer game saves to a PC, edit them using pre-programmed edits from a database, and then return the saves to PS3 – for the usual benefits of extra money, ammo, experience, etc. "Popular games that will have modifications at release are Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," the company notes.

Of course, since the days of ubiquitous cheat devices, there have been some significant changes in the game landscape. During E3, a Hyperkin representative told Joystiq that none of the premade cheats would be usable in multiplayer, and that Hyperkin would routinely remove any that were, in order to avoid cheaters using the Game Genie for online play. But for your own single-player games? Go nuts!

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/17/hy...-on-ps3-today/

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Sony puts hold on PS3 DVR release

July 19th, 2012, 02:32 Posted By: wraggster

New PS3 DVR hardware Nasne has missed its proposed release in Japan today after Sony “suddenly put a hold on the product”.
Andriasang reports that Japanese retailer Famicom Plaza broke the news, speculating that the last-minute decision was perhaps due to a discovery of a bug in the device’s software.
All stock already with retailers must be sent back to Sony.
Nasne is the next generation of Sony’s PS3 digital video recorder, which in previous incarnations ahs been known as Torne. This new model offers more general multimedia functionality with the ability to share content between many household devices.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sony-...release/099778

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Splinter Cell: Blacklist will make gamers question right and wrong

July 19th, 2012, 02:35 Posted By: wraggster

Ubisoft wants to push the morality of the battlefield in next year's Splinter Cell: Blacklist.
Speaking to Game Informer, the title's creative director Maxime Beland said Sam Fisher will be faced with morally ambiguous choices in how he deals with his enemies and the men he interrogates.
Blacklist pits Fisher against a terrorist group demanding that the US withdraw its forces from various global hotspots – and the development team want layers to think about the repercussions of the actions as the real military does.
"We love the idea of putting the player in those situations that [real soldiers] are going through," said Beland.
"It's not a question sometimes of doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Sometimes it's I need to do the wrong or the wrong-er. What do I do? There's no good option. What if you f*** up?
"The interrogations are a bit of that. We want to put the player into situations that are like the one [we showed] at E3; the guy just told you everything you needed to know. You're done. You're good. You're Sam Fischer. This guy is finished. Are you going to kill him?
"What we agreed upon after lots of interesting discussions was if you want to have true morality in a game, you cannot link it to mechanics or to a system. Because the player will play the system; he's not going to play the true world choice.
"If we told you that if you're the good guy, you're going to get this, and if you're the bad guy, you're going to get that, you're not thinking 'what am I doing here?'.
"I think it's cool to make people reflect on it and hopefully grow as humans a little bit. Because we've got some guys everywhere in the world that are making those decisions every day for us."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/splin...orality/099776

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Japanese Vita top 10 sells less than 1 million units in 2012

July 19th, 2012, 02:41 Posted By: wraggster

Data released by Famitsu indicates slow software sales for Vita in first half of the year
Sony Computer Entertainment

Sony Computer Entertainment is a Japanese videogame company specialising in a variety of areas in the...

www.playstation.com


The Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu has released hardware and software sales information for the Vita in the first half of 2012.
According to a report on Andriasang, the top 10 games on Sony's handheld have sold less than 1 million units combined - a total of 863,032 - with recent release Persona 4: The Golden leading the pack on 188,782 units.
This is in stark contrast to 3DS software, which dominated half-year sales charts in Japan. Pokemon Black & White 2, the highest selling game on 3DS, has moved more than double the units of the entire Vita top 10.
The Vita hardware sold 790,633 units. Sony Computer Entertainment told Famitsu that the figures are in line with its expectations.
The full top 10 is listed below:

• 01: Persona 4 The Golden (188,782)
• 02: Hot Shots Golf 6 (118,985)
• 03: Uncharted Golden Abyss (89,390)
• 04: Gravity Daze/Rush (74,785)
• 05: Dynasty Warriors Next (74,718)
• 06: Tales of Innocence R (71,463)
• 07: Lord of Apocalypse (69,162)
• 08: Ragnarok Odyssey (65,318)
• 09: Gundam Seed Battle Destiny (55,527)
• 10: Disgaea 3 Return (54,902)

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Foosball 2012 kicks off next week on PS3 and Vita

July 19th, 2012, 02:58 Posted By: wraggster

Yes, Uncharted is lovely and Lumines is addictive, but we know what you really bought that Vita to see: miniature, simulated foosball. Finally, next week, you'll be able to see lovingly rendered fooses (?) on that gorgeous screen, as Grip Games' Foosball 2012 launches on PSN.

The $7.99 Foosball 2012 purchase ($5.99 for Plus users) will get you not only portable Foosball 2012, but the PS3 version as well, allowing you to flip little wooden dudes in HD, with the option to use your Move controller. It even has Crossplay support, allowing you to continue your epic match on the go.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/18/fo...-ps3-and-vita/

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Free-to-play on PS3 'is huge', says Sony Online Entertainment boss

July 19th, 2012, 03:06 Posted By: wraggster

Free-to-play games are 'thriving' on the PS3, according to Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley, who's claimed that seventy per cent of DC Universe Online players are on Sony's console.
Speaking to GamesIndustry InternationalSmedley said the success of SOE's own titles, along with upcoming F2P games such as CCP's EVE Online spin-off Dust 514, will prove the freemium business model is viable on home consoles."It's 70 per cent of the audience. Free-to-play on PlayStation 3 is huge," he said. "In fact, right now, it's us with DCUO and Free Realms and our friends at CCP with Dust 514 that are going to prove that this market really works."
According to the exec one of the big strengths of the model is that it provides players with a frictionless way to purchase and consume content.
"There's a lot of people that go through that store and it's so easy to find and download these games that it's a great business model. A lot of people have already stored their credit card information so it's very frictionless if they do want to buy something.
"We can put out thousands of items and it feels very frictionless. The remarkable thing is with a game like Free Realms where there's literally thousands of items to buy it, has to be a solid platform to begin with to support that. It's no small thing to be able to that. It's a business model of the future."
Smedly admitted free-to-play was initially a tough sell at Sony, but the numbers did the talking.
"I admit there was a mindset where when you use the word 'free' people pause. 'Wait a minute, what do you mean by free?' But even then people want to see the results. With DC Universe Online the split that we're seeing ended the debate right there."
"Free-to-play is the ultimate expression of a free market in video gaming," added Smedley. "It's completely about quality, there's no purer way to see whether you have a good game or not than by saying 'this is free, do you want to play it?' I would argue that free-to-play is much more pure than regular games because with those marketing can determine who picks up the game."
DC Universe Online transitioned into F2P in November last year, in the week following it attracted a million new players.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...tainment-boss/

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PS Vita listing for Medal of Honor Warfighter 'was an error'

July 19th, 2012, 03:08 Posted By: wraggster

An official PS Vita listing for Medal of Honor: Warfighter was made in error on the Electronic Arts website, the publisher has claimed.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the EA Origin Store, which has become a routine source for information leaks, listed PS Vita as an available platform for the upcoming FPS.However, an Electronic Arts spokesperson has since told CVG that the listing was a "mistake".
The product page was first unearthed by games website MP1st. Its news story carries an image of the game's PS Vita listing on the US Electronic Arts online store - the same data is not available in the UK.
Medal of Honor Warfighter, in development at Los Angeles studio Danger Close, will launch worldwide from October 23rd.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-was-an-error/

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PES 2013 demo hits July 25th

July 20th, 2012, 02:20 Posted By: wraggster

Konami announced today that the first playable demo of PES 2013 will be available on July 25^th.
The first demo will showcase new key features and lets gamers play with eight fully licensed teams.
Available teams include England, Germany, Portugal, and Italy for European football and Santos FC, SC International, Fluminense and Flamengo available in the Copa Libertadores mode.
Konami said: “PES 2013 marks a huge advance for the popular football simulation, with the new game offering PES FullControl wherein players are given total control over every pass, shot and even first touches to the ball.
“Similarly, Pro-Active AI ensures that players move as they should both on and off the ball, creating a truly authentic big match experience. The Player ID system then enhances the feeling of individuality, with players that not only look and move like their real life counterparts, but also play just like them.”
PES 2013 is due out later this year.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/pes-2...ly-25th/099849

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Sony Gamescom press conference set for August 14th

July 20th, 2012, 02:22 Posted By: wraggster

Sony's Gamescom conference will take place on August 14th at 7PM local time (6pm our time).
The event will take place at Staatenhaus am Rheinpark in Cologne.
Sony tends to make big announcements at Gamescom. Previously, major games and hardware revisions have been announced at the show. Insiders suggest this year's event will have a big Vita focus.
Gamescom kicks off with a business day on August 15th, before opening to consumers. The event runs until August 19th.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sony-...st-14th/099842

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Wizorb breaks through as a PS Mini July 24

July 20th, 2012, 02:35 Posted By: wraggster

Wizorb is officially spreading to up to three more platforms next week in North America. Beatshapers has ported Tribute Games' RPG-style Breakout game to PlayStation Minis, allowing users to play it on PS3 and PSP, and, as Beatshapers says, "eventually on your PS Vita" – because of the vagaries of the Vita's PSP backward compatibility, it's difficult to tell if it will run on Vita, or if not, when.

By breaking bricks and defeating monsters, you can help save the kingdom of Gorudo – both by, you know, defeating the monsters, and by collecting money to rebuild the destroyed homes and businesses in its towns.
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/07/19/wi...-mini-july-24/

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Report: Square Enix cans Final Fantasy Versus XIII

July 21st, 2012, 23:04 Posted By: wraggster

Development and resources shifted over to Final Fantasy XV, claims source

Square Enix has cancelled its long in-development title Final Fantasy Versus XIII, according to a report.
Sources speaking to Kotaku have claimed that the publisher has dropped the game, at least as originally intended, and had also decided to let the game fade away rather than officially announce its cancellation.

Another source said that the development and resources from the title have been integrated into the upcoming Final Fantasy XV instead.
Back in May, Final Fantasy Versus XIII designer Tetsuya Nomura asked for patience from fans, and explained the difficulties of bringing a new concept to market.
"We would like to ask for your patience on an official announcement for this title,” said Nomura.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...sy-Versus-XIII

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PQube signs World Rally Championship 3

July 22nd, 2012, 01:40 Posted By: wraggster

The Next World Rally Championship game will be published in the UK by PQube this October.
The company says it will be the biggest sports title it has released, surpassing the launch of motorbike racers MUD and SBK Generations in May and June respectively.
WRC3 will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Vita platforms on October 12th and will give players access to officially licensed cars and teams from the 2012 rally tournament.
The title also features a completely rebuilt graphics and physics engine.
PQube will handle all UK?PR, marketing, sales and distribution for the game. “This release builds on the relationship between PQube and Milestone, with PQube now distributing all of Milestone’s specialist racing titles after successful launches earlier this year,” trade marketing manager Abid Gangat told MCV.
“WRC3 has raised the bar for all rally games. It is the biggest sporting title we have ever worked on and it is a very exciting time for PQube.”
And PQube hopes to work closely with Milestone on its future releases, including more licensed products.
“Adding these huge licences to our portfolio is a huge boost to our business and working with Milestone has been a real pleasure.”
Gangat added:?“Their team is very much committed to delivering a highly polished end product and that the licences they are working with is a testament to this.
“More will be announced about these licences in the near future.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/pqube...nship-3/099921

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GTA V will not be shown at Gamescom, says show promoters

July 22nd, 2012, 11:35 Posted By: wraggster

Rockstar continues to delay reveal of Grand Theft Auto V
Rockstar

Rockstar Games

www.rockstargames.com

Gamers hoping to get a glimpse of the next installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise are going to be disappointed at Gamescom. A statement from the show organizers has confirmed that the game will not be shown off at the largest gaming conference in the world. The word comes after speculation arose after a small segment of the game was showcased in a Gamescom promotional trailer.
Gamescom has spoken out, saying the footage was added in error, and that they have no plans to discuss or reveal anything relating to the mega franchise.
"Rockstar Games is not scheduled and has never been scheduled to exhibit at Gamescom 2012," said communications manager of Gamescom, Franko Fischer. "We apologize for any confusion this may have caused."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...show-promoters

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Gaikai deal with Sony "opens a lot of doors" says David Perry

July 22nd, 2012, 11:37 Posted By: wraggster

Perry believes publishers will be very pleasantly surprised by benefits of Gaikai sale to Sony
Gaikai Inc.

Sony


Sony's buyout of Gaikai is a strong indicator that major publishers and manufacturers are taking a vested interest in the potential for cloud gaming. Gaikai creator David Perry believes that this is a very good thing, saying that the move "opens a lot of doors that weren't there before" for many in the industry.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Perry says "It's going to make the publishers very happy, because the publishers like PC, but they love console. The message I kept getting back was, PC is cool, but I wish you could do this with console. That's the real meat in our business. That would be really good."
"Of course, we had to go, look at this new PC stuff we have. We had to keep avoiding the console question. It's a very difficult question. If you look at the P&Ls of the publishers, that's such an important piece of their business. We were like, don't look over there. Focus on the PC. But the console question never went away. I had a major publisher recently say to me: 'David, just to be clear, the iPhone is interesting to us. Not as interesting as console. PC? Not as interesting as console. Just to be clear.'
"The second thing they said was, if we're going to put our biggest games on your service, I've got to know you're going to have the financial muscle to support it. When you're a start-up, it's harder to answer that question. But when you've got Sony behind you, it's very easy to answer that question. There are multiple things that have been solved in a single deal. It's quite surprising."
The new deal with Sony is going to help things along tremendously for Gaikai; solving problems relating to the console issue have been cleared up, as well as the controller issue at hand for the service. Perry now says he has to think differently about what he and the team are going to do moving forward.
"We were doing it the way you do it if you're a VC. I have to start thinking differently now because I have one of the biggest consumer electronics companies in the world in our corner. So you have to think differently.
"It's going to open a lot of doors that just weren't open before."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...or-david-perry

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MotorStorm, SOCOM titles lose online support

July 22nd, 2012, 22:43 Posted By: wraggster

MotorStorm Pacific Rift - the second entry in the racing series on PS3 - will lose its online support on October 1, along with MotorStorm Arctic Edge and SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 on PSP.The PSP version of The Eye of Judgement Legends will also go offline-only from August 31.
As usual, the offline experiences in these titles will go unaffected.
Sony has compiled a list of all the decommissioned titles over here.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...nline-support/

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Digital Foundry vs. PS2 Classics on PlayStation 3

July 22nd, 2012, 22:44 Posted By: wraggster

PS2 backwards compatibility remains something of a contentious issue for PlayStation 3 users. US and Japanese launch models featured the principle PS2 hardware built into the system, making for excellent support for almost all legacy PlayStation titles and the ability to run older games with a precision HDMI output. By the time the EU launch rolled up months later, the design was altered, removing the PS2 CPU - dubbed the Emotion Engine - and replacing it with software emulation to mixed results. With Sony still haemorrhaging cash on PS3 production, all PS2 components were removed by October 2007, and backwards compatibility was no more.But the story doesn't end there. Behind the scenes, Sony has been working on restoring PS2 support for all PlayStation 3 consoles regardless of configuration, and we've now reached the point where you can visit the PlayStation Store and download 74 "PS2 Classics" - in truth a roster of immensely variable quality, with only a smattering of stand-out titles. Warnings are given out that the games are running under emulation and may vary from the original PS2 experience, but the real kicker is that you'll have to pay for them - even if you own the original discs. While lesser known games cost between £0.99 to £3.99, most of the titles cost £7.99 a pop.Value issues aside, we wanted to find out more. From a technical perspective, the notion of original PS2 code being able to run under emulation on the PlayStation 3 is a seriously impressive feat of engineering. Ken Kutaragi's finest hour hails from an era where games machines featured custom components built from the ground up, a necessity in an era where PC parts were too expensive to be crammed into a console box. The Sony R&D team responsible for the PS2 software emulator have achieved something of a miracle here - the design of the older console is completely alien to the hardware set-up of the PlayStation 3. The PS2's graphics synthesizer GPU in particular, with its attached eDRAM, offers levels of bandwidth that even the RSX may have issues duplicating.

"Having phased out support for PS2 backwards compatibility, Sony has been working behind the scenes on a full software solution for all PS3 owners - and the results are impressive overall."

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution running on three different PS2 emulation schemes - full hardware back-compatibility via a PS3 debugging station (equivalent to an NTSC launch unit), an EU PS3 with partial hardware support and finally the software emulator that runs on any PS3. On this game, the EU machine appears to have a slight blur, while the full hardware model has some poor deinterlacing (only really noticeable in motion). The emulator deinterlaces nicely, generally speaking, giving a 480p-style presentation.

Out of a library of thousands of games, the fact that only 74 are currently available suggests that the emulator remains a work in progress, that many games simply don't work at the moment: not surprising bearing in mind how many developers pushed the system's architecture in ways its creators never even conceived of. Additionally, it is perhaps telling that the big Sony exclusives have no representation - even games that are certain never to get an HD remaster are conspicuous by their absence.

"We set out to test PS2 emulation on a number of platforms - full hardware backwards compatibility, partial PS2 support from the EU launch PS3 and finally, the new software emulator."

Regardless, we delved into our PS2 game collection, dug out some titles available on the PlayStation Store and ran them on three different PlayStation 3s - our launch debugging station (which runs any PS2 game from any region under full hardware back-compat), an EU launch unit with the hardware graphics synthesizer and emulated Emotion Engine, and finally, a newer PS3 with no hardware support for the older console at all. The latter turned out not to be required at all, so it was quickly disposed of: even if you're running a launch NTSC unit with all the original PS2 hardware contained therein, the PSN downloads still run completely under software emulation.First up, the game that gave us the most curious results of all: Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. This is a title that relies completely on its 60Hz update - the fundamental interface between game and player is based on that locked frame-rate. As you might expect, there were no problems at all for our debugging station: aside from a couple of tiny, almost imperceptible glitches on a handful of the stage intros, there were no issues with frame-rate at all. The emulation works out OK for the most part, though the glitching does seem to intrude occasionally into gameplay. However, on Jeffry's stage, the effect is far more pronounced, with the game often slipping into what feels like slow motion with dropped frames and borked deinterlacing, resulting in screen-wobble. In these areas, the quality of the gameplay is fundamentally compromised.Switching the game onto our EU launch PS3 with Emotion Engine emulation, we find a curious middle-ground between the two extremes: gameplay is mostly similar to the "full fat" PS3 experience, but there are stages where the game suffers the same frame-dropping/deinterlacing issue. It's not as noticeable as it is on the emulator, but it's still a bit of a pain nonetheless.These video illustrates the glitching issue rather well. Using the replays stored on the DVD, we can run the exact same gameplay video back multiple times on each PS3 in our collection. Two fights are featured in the video: you'll note that we've synchronised the feeds. In the first fight, set on the troublesome Jeffry stage, you can see the interlacing issue, but more importantly you can see how it actually slows down the gameplay to the point where the exact same sequence of action takes longer to complete.

"Virtua Fighter 4 has some bizarre frame-rate and deinterlacing issues running under emulation, the same problem appearing on the EU launch PS3 - albeit to a significantly lesser degree."

VF4 Evolution running at full resolution on three different PlayStation 3s. Note how the emulated version has issues deinterlacing in the first fight, dropping frames and running slower than the other two. In the second fight, the game runs fine on all consoles. Use the full-screen button for full resolution.


It's worth pointing out that of the various games we tested, this was pretty much the only instance we could find of the emulation not coming up to scratch. Elsewhere, it seems that Sony has done a hell of a good job in using software alone to recreate the full power of the PlayStation 2.It's certainly been a bit of a long haul in returning PS2 support to Sony's current-gen console. Within months of the initila NTSC launches, Sony already had fairly decent software emulation of the Emotion Engine CPU complete - enough for the firm to feel confident in removing the chip completely from the debut EU machine. Yet PSN downloads of PS2 titles only began in earnest earlier this year. An educated guess would be that the unique technological make-up of the Graphics Synthesizer GPU caused issues for Sony's engineers.Similar to the Xbox 360's GPU set-up, the PS2 has embedded memory (eDRAM) attached to the GPU - 4MB of it, specifically. At the time the machine launched, this offered developers hitherto unheard of amounts of bandwidth - 48GB per second according to Sony's spec-sheet. Ultra-quick by nature, and faster than anything available in a consumer level PC of the time, replicating the GS chip within the PlayStation 3 must have been something of a challenge.The software emulator seems to have some issues in certain situations, causing frame-rate drops that physically slow the game down in exactly the same way we saw in Virtua Fighter 4, but they are few and far between and do not cause any substantial issues in the games we tested - Capcom's God Hand being a case in point. Something of a fan-favourite, Clover's insane fighting game illustrates this point rather nicely. You'll note that while gameplay seems to be a match on emulation (note the special moves at the end of the video - there's an identical performance dip), the cut-scenes de-sync as the emulator struggles with the alpha-intensive shot right at the beginning of this video.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...lassics-on-ps3