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PSP Firmware Broken - Emulation for All

Posted by Zonk on from the again-that-is dept.

ZiakII writes "Endgadget is reporting that the PSP firmware 1.50 has been broken." From the article: "a group called PsP-Dev have apparently confirmed successful a homebrew bootstrap on 1.50 (no word on 1.51 or 1.52). What's that mean for the indie developer/emulation/warez communities? Well, pretty much the same as before--use your hardware the way you want it. For SNES emulation, that is. Obviously." Tom's Hardware has the story as well.

75 comments

  1. More interesting is the news about the uncompiled by stoborrobots · · Score: 3, Interesting

    programs found on shipping PSP disks...

    The Tom's Hardware article makes it sound like we can get both detailed info about the internal hardware APIs and the DRM systems used in the PSP by reading the P-code for some of the avaliable libraries on the disks...

    --
    "Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
  2. Not Compatible with 1.51 or 1.52 by TheBashar · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article has been updated to indicate this is not compatible with firmware versions 1.51 or 1.52.

    1. Re:Not Compatible with 1.51 or 1.52 by slot32 · · Score: 1

      1.5 is broken too now (apparently)

      --
      Visit London Scalextric Club
  3. Hmm. by schild · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've commented on this at f13, but I have to admit - the prospect of playing movies at full res + enhanced homebrew webbrowsers, email clients, music players and various other web tools has me more interested than playing Final Fantasy II, which I commented on in my first post about this. It's one thing to get more games out of a gaming system, but it's another thing to actually expand functionality. Unfortunately, Sony will squash this with the next big title. Dead to Rights: Reckoning, Coded Arms, Armored Core, Death Jr., Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City - any/all of these WILL have firmware updates on them. Personally I'd skip games I'm looking forward to in order to keep my PSP working the way I WANT it to work.

    Assuming the linked hack is real - and we'll know on Wednesday 1PM EST...when they're supposed to post the "launcher" - then I'll be able to do anything I please with my own PSP. If Sony wants to forcefully drive a firmware update down my throat with GTA or Coded Arms, well, shit, I simply will never buy another UMD. There's too much use to be gotten out of the unit when homebrew code can run on it.

    --
    schild
    editor, f13.net
    1. Re:Hmm. by dostick · · Score: 1

      For GTA.. it worth buying another PSP just for it :)

    2. Re:Hmm. by lysander · · Score: 1
      Sony will squash this with the next big title. (future games) WILL have firmware updates on them. Personally I'd skip games I'm looking forward to in order to keep my PSP working the way I WANT it to work.

      Ah, I wondered how the PSP got updates. So when you insert a game with a newer firmware, it updates automatically? Does it go into a special mode for that, and how long does an update take?

      --
      GET YOUR WEAPONS READY! --DR.LIGHT
    3. Re:Hmm. by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      PocketPC and Palms are thataway -->

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
  4. Waiting for PS2 emu on PSP. by Vo0k · · Score: 1

    but seriously, how big are the differences in the firmware, between, say 1.50 and 1.51? If it differs by a 2nd minor version, how much does it differ from the previous one, and how hard does it make to hack it, once you have the previous one hacked?

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    1. Re:Waiting for PS2 emu on PSP. by DJProtoss · · Score: 1

      the main things listed for both the .51 and .52 were "security fixes"

      --
      "Success is based on knowing how far to go in going too far"
    2. Re:Waiting for PS2 emu on PSP. by PhilHibbs · · Score: 1

      Yes, obviously if it's only 0.01 different, it must be easy to crack. That's, like, only two-thirds of a percent different!

    3. Re:Waiting for PS2 emu on PSP. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, obviously if it's only 0.01 different, it must be easy to crack. That's, like, only two-thirds of a percent different!

      All right, who left the computer on in front of Grampa?

  5. Good or bad? by Oldest+European · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is this good for Sony, because they're going to sell more units?

    Or is it bad for Sony, because they're going to sell less games for it?

    Personally I think it is a good thing for Sony, even if they will never understand it. Hell I can't even understand why they didn't try to make it an open platform in the first place.

    1. Re:Good or bad? by HawkingMattress · · Score: 1

      They probably make much more money by selling games (or the right to develop games) than consoles. I'm not sure the situation is equivalent to, say microsoft's. Because in microsoft case, the mind share they gain by having pirated versions everywhere is directly correlated to the number of licenses that legit businesses have to buy because everyone knows windows.
      Here there is no professionnal use, and if the psp gains market share because it can be modded to play warez games well it just means that everybody will buy one to mod it and have free games... or run whatever they want which isn't allowed without modification.

      But it's definitely good for the consumer... In fact it gives them their rights back. If i buy some hardware not only should i have the right to mod it, but it should probably come with all the specs. If i want to have linux run on my psp and it is somehow possible with the hardware, then i shoudln't have to reverse engineer games and make guesses on how the hardware works. I bought the hardware, it's my right to use it the way i want, damnit !

    2. Re:Good or bad? by ReKleSS · · Score: 1

      I agree that you should be able to do what you want with your hardware... with the provision that it doesn't infringe on the rights of others. Writing and running homebrew stuff is fine. Piracy is not.
      Regarding the specifications bit, I wouldn't say that's fair. You should be *permitted* to do what you want, but I don't see why the company that sold you the device should help you. They want their device used a certain way, and make it easiest for you to use it in that manner. Beyond that, you're own your own.
      -ReK

      --
      md5sum -c reality.md5
      reality: FAILED
      md5sum: WARNING: 1 of 1 computed checksum did NOT match
    3. Re:Good or bad? by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Informative
      "Hell I can't even understand why they didn't try to make it an open platform in the first place."
      1. Sony is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America
      2. Sony designed the PSP to (among other things) play movies
      3. They're still burned about the whole DeCSS thing.
    4. Re:Good or bad? by dostick · · Score: 1

      it's good in long-term, it's bad for them now because they are pressed to make more money selling games, but in years to come it's good thing because PSP will be surpassed by something new and better.

    5. Re:Good or bad? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

      I bet they make a lotta bank on those overpriced accessories like MemorySticks, too.

    6. Re:Good or bad? by hubang · · Score: 1

      They say that was what killed the Atari 2600, and caused the video game crash of '83. The platform was wide open, so too many games came out, flooded the market. None of the games were profitable, due to fierce competition.

      Of course, the consumer won out. Games could be had real, real cheap. So when a small Japanese playing card company decided to release their own system a year later, everyone said they were crazy. But, with the lockout chip, they kept most unlicensed games off their Famicom, and almost all of them off the US version, the NES.

    7. Re:Good or bad? by DarkZero · · Score: 1

      Sony is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America
      Sony designed the PSP to (among other things) play movies
      They're still burned about the whole DeCSS thing.

      Exactly. Absolute best example of this:

      Burn a weird DVD. Maybe it has the wrong region, maybe it's in PAL... just something weird about it. Throw it in an Apex player that you got for $20 on sale at Best Buy. It plays the disc. Now throw that disc in a $300-$400 Sony DVD player + surround sound setup. Disc cannot be read.

  6. Unconfirmed by SimplePaul · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is unconfirmed and there is little reason not to take it as fake right now.

    The only people to confirm it working are the people releasing it :\

    They announced it a few days ago and said "we will show it to you on the 15th of June at 15:00"... sounds like a clever ploy to get more hits on their website.

    This is not news. Yet.

    1. Re:Unconfirmed by DJProtoss · · Score: 1

      Unconfirmed, mostly, however there are two things that make it rather likely: 1. It has been confirmed by a few seperate scene members 2. The group making the announcement are a generally well respected group within the scene. You don't go making announcements like that unless you have the goods (well not unless you really want your rep to take a nose dive). Although I agree, the delay seems a bit odd. Having said that, it could reasonably be considered to have been the case that: a. they mentioned it as soon as they had done it. b. they wanted to polish it up /do more testing before release c. they realised that unless they gave a date, people would be constantly emailing / checking their site for more info (probably generating more traffic, but also up'ing their bandwidth bills)

      --
      "Success is based on knowing how far to go in going too far"
  7. Congratulations! by hobotron · · Score: 3, Funny



    You paid $250 to play ROMS!

    --
    There is truth in humor.
    1. Re:Congratulations! by EGSonikku · · Score: 1

      That makes them legit now, right?

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    2. Re:Congratulations! by pluke · · Score: 1

      I'll put it beside my xbox and dreamcast.

      --
      "all through my house i set up traps, it seems like the rats have a map, so now i feed the rats crack" - Donald D
    3. Re:Congratulations! by Winterblink · · Score: 1

      And PSP games, and movies on UMD, and look at photos, and play music... etc.

      --
      "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
      -Hoban Washburn
  8. Probably a bad thing by ReKleSS · · Score: 1

    Sony lose money on each PSP, remember? The screen alone probably costs more than US$200. They may be making a profit on the memory sticks, but I'm sure the smart customers are buying Sandisk anyway. With a device with this much potential, if this exploit is real, there are probably going to be a few people buying a PSP with no intention of buying any games, which is where the real profit is.
    -ReK

    --
    md5sum -c reality.md5
    reality: FAILED
    md5sum: WARNING: 1 of 1 computed checksum did NOT match
    1. Re:Probably a bad thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The screen does not cost close to 200 USD, i hope your sarcastic...

    2. Re:Probably a bad thing by GoRK · · Score: 1

      Console sales have not been a loss leader for some time. This practice and the reporting of it as a kind of 'console truism' are way out of date. While hardware sales seldom recover the full costs of engineering, tooling, etc that have gone into their design, they tend to recover the costs of manufacturing the units themselves. Consider that you can buy a new computer for $300 including all the basic goodies -- monitor, cd burner, etc, it's not unrealistic to assume that the PSP is sold at a marginal profit relative to unit manufacturing cost.

      Remember back in the early 80's a computer with barely 2-3x the processing power of a NES was, what, at least $3000 and you could buy a NES for $199? That is loss leader. It was widely reported that the XBox was initially sold at [slight] loss as well, but considering their careful entry into the market, they were probably right to take the hit there rather than ramp production to the point where they were making a profit on the hardware at the same price point but would have lost even more money having 5 million unsold XBox's hanging around. In any case, they certainly are making money on selling you the XBox hardware nowadays.

  9. Emulation for All by BladeMelbourne · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Emulation for All


    I don't have a PSP you insensitive clod!

  10. Crackers and hackers always find ways to exploit.. by NZheretic · · Score: 2, Informative
    OS integrated DRM and Steath "hiding" technique:
    Crackers and hackers always find ways to exploit the code to access or share protected content. There is not a DRM system that has not been cracked within months of widespread release.

    Read the rest of the linked post and discover why DRM technology is a potential risk to end users.

  11. One would think... by SoulMaster · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ...that one of these days, a manufacturer would figure out that the best part of consoles/handhelds is that they are actually very versitile pieces of hardware. Personally, I think that the company that figures this out, and embraces it (by releasing all of the specs and shipping/supporting mods) will not only win the support of the modder community at large, but will also win the console war. Take TiVo as an example, they don't officially support mods to thier box, but they have forums for the mods built right in to the official TiVo Bulletin Board. People love TiVo, and (before cable company DVRs) won the DVR war, hands down. I could be way off on this, but it just seems to make sense.

    1. Re:One would think... by skadus · · Score: 1

      A few people would argue with you that homebrew/DRM-less games are what killed the Dreamcast. Not the primary reason, but one of several. I do agree, though. I like being able to do what I want with a machine I buy, especially without having to void the warranty by installing aftermarket mod chips and stuff (worst 30 bucks I ever spent on my now-dying PS2 - I don't even play copied games).

    2. Re:One would think... by SScorpio · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Do you mean something like the GP32. Sadly you can only import it and good luck on find one. But it was a cool handheld with tons of emulators and everything.

  12. Uh.. by skadus · · Score: 1

    How is it "Emulation for All" if it's only one version of the firmware that was previously unhacked?

    "Emulation for some, free plastic flags for everybody!"

    1. Re:Uh.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, not all
      but most

      all of North America got 1.50 PSPs

  13. Thank you Sony by Araxen · · Score: 1

    For not supporting WPA on the PSP. I would have downloaded the PSP firmware updates if you did and wouldn't be able to run emulators on my psp.

  14. You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Jagasian · · Score: 1, Insightful

    PSP fanboys are going nuts over the fact that the PSP can emulate SNES games. Give me a break. The GBA and N-Gage have been able to do this for a while now, in addition to being able to emulate other classic consoles. But I guess the PSP still has hype. Eventually people will realize that it doesn't make for a practical portable, the hype will die down, and they will release that if they just play it around the house, then maybe they should just play their full sized console on a full sized TV.

    1. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by EGSonikku · · Score: 3, Informative

      I can't speak for the n-gage, but as far as the GBA, SNES emulation is sss-lll-oo---wwwww

      Im talking 1/2 speed on basic games, and forget sound, not to mention on the GBA you are missing 2 buttons. Also, due to the resolution of the GBA screen you lose a decent amount of the image to cropping, making some games even less playable then they already were due to the speed and button issues.

      SNES emulation on PSP when run in 333MHz mode is essentially full speed (50 - 60fps) with sound at the moment. And those *minor* fps issues will likely be gone wit some optimising. And the screen resolution is higher than the SNES, and it features the needed buttons for input.

      The "hype" isn't because it's a Sony handheld. The hype is because it has the specifications needeed to run these emulators decently.

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    2. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Audigy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There's a small problem with your post...

      The SNES emulators for GBA and N-Gage are crap. I don't know about the N-Gage one, but the GBA one doesn't even have sound emulation!

      The closest I've come to good SNES emulation on a handheld is SNES9xj4u for my PocketPC. It can run some games full frames WITH sound. It just sucks that my iPaq 2215 isn't really made for game-playing... the buttons are too small. D:

      It's extremely exciting to know that the developer of SNES9xj4u is also working on PSP emulators (the first announced Gameboy emu for PSP was coded by this person) ...because I know they'll work well.

      Also, your statement about "maybe they should just play their full sized console on their full sized TV" holds no water for me. My PSP and DS both live on my nightstand. Every night, before I go to sleep, I have a 20-30 minute gaming session. If I fall asleep with the portable in my hands, who cares, it's plugged in. If I'm trying to fall asleep, it's annoying to have to get up and turn off the PS2/whatever before finally retiring for the night.

      I've beaten more RPGs that way... :) Also, these emulators will be sure to have save state functions, so playing games a few minutes at a time will absolutely be possible.

      It's pretty exciting. I'll finally get around to beating games like Final Fantasy V, Bahamut Lagoon, and possibly... hopefully, Tales of Phantasia and Star Ocean.

      I really hope this exploit turns out to be real, but if it's not, it's just a matter of time before someone else figures one out.

      The PSP is the most ideal portable for SNES emulation at least that I've seen. The buttons are mostly in the right places, the screen is huge and beautiful, and memory sticks are perfect for storing ROMs and saves.

      --
      [an error occured while processing this directive]
    3. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Boing · · Score: 1
      The GBA and N-Gage have been able to

      Disregarding the comparative quality of the emulators on those systems (which has been covered by other respondants), there's also a significant plus for SNES emulation on the DS or PSP... the control layout is closely analogous to the original SNES controller. D-pad on the left, four buttons in a plus shape on the right, two shoulder buttons, and select and start.

      I don't know how the SNES emulator for the GBA manages to shoehorn twelve available buttons into the nine or ten that are actually on the GBA itself, but no matter how creative and elegant their solution may be, it's still a kludge.

    4. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      There is one room in the house where portable is a good idea...

    5. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by superpulpsicle · · Score: 1

      You are giving the GBA emulators alot of credit. I have a friend who plays with this stuff, and I was disappointed to see the emulation results on his GBA. Hellish slow frame rates to incompatibility with most games. And that's being generous.

    6. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am seriously getting tired of the Nintendo fanboys on here.
      Yeah, this site needs more Sony and Microsoft. Plus they can even add in some astrotuffers!

    7. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try PocketSNES?

    8. Re:You mean like a GBA and N-Gage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Also, your statement about "maybe they should just play their full sized console on their full sized TV" holds no water for me. My PSP and DS both live on my nightstand. Every night, before I go to sleep, I have a 20-30 minute gaming session. If I fall asleep with the portable in my hands, who cares, it's plugged in. If I'm trying to fall asleep, it's annoying to have to get up and turn off the PS2/whatever before finally retiring for the night.

      If you had a moded xbox, you can play those emus and there are mods you can do to have a power on/off switch on the xbox controller itself.

  15. Not their business model by fmaxwell · · Score: 3, Informative

    one of these days, a manufacturer would figure out that the best part of consoles/handhelds is that they are actually very versitile pieces of hardware.

    The business model for most manufacturers is to sell the consoles at a loss (or close to it) and make money from licensing deals with big-name game publishers. If I buy a PSP to run a web browser, e-mail client, and various other freeware apps, Sony either loses money or makes not enough to justify the sale. They want me to buy commercial games, for which they get licensing fees.

    Take TiVo as an example, they don't officially support mods to thier box, but they have forums for the mods built right in to the official TiVo Bulletin Board. People love TiVo, and (before cable company DVRs) won the DVR war, hands down.

    TiVo's business model is selling subscriptions to their service. If you put a web server in your TiVo, an ethernet card, a cache card, bigger hard drives, and so forth does nothing to harm their subscription revenue screen. In fact, the more you invest in the box, both in time and money, the LESS likely you are to drop their subscription service.

    1. Re:Not their business model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The business model for most manufacturers is to sell the consoles at a loss (or close to it) and make money from licensing deals with big-name game publishers. If I buy a PSP to run a web browser, e-mail client, and various other freeware apps, Sony either loses money or makes not enough to justify the sale. They want me to buy commercial games, for which they get licensing fees.

      That would only be true if you bought the console to do all the things that you listed, **and nothing else** (to paraphrase Monty Python). Whilst I'm sure that some bizarre denizens of the dungeon dimensions may do exactly that, they don't really represent a market segment (more like a statistical anomaly). On the other hand, some people out there might be more interested in a console system if they could also use it for other common "computer-y" tasks. Web surfing and sending/receiving email are two things that could be done comfortably from a console/tv environment, especially since the quality of the television picture keeps improving.

    2. Re:Not their business model by fmaxwell · · Score: 1

      That would only be true if you bought the console to do all the things that you listed, **and nothing else** (to paraphrase Monty Python). Whilst I'm sure that some bizarre denizens of the dungeon dimensions may do exactly that, they don't really represent a market segment (more like a statistical anomaly).

      The "statistical anomoly" that wants to run a web browser, e-mail client, and instant messaging is currently being sold PDAs, Blackberrys, and web-enabled phones. You also ignore the fact that there would be ports of Quake, Doom, and other open-source games. That sounds pretty significant to me. Besides, if you're older than 15, you probably already recognize that many business people like Internet connectivity and have no interest in Tony Hawk skateboarding games or driving simulators.

      Of course, it would grow from there into vertical markets. You'd find Sony PSPs being used by mechanics for diagnosing cars via their OBD-II ports. Real estate agents might carry them to show pictures of properties to clients. Others would buy them to use as remote controls for home theater systems. Coffee shops could buy boxes of them to rent to customers who wanted to check e-mail, web surf, etc. There might be QA inspectors carrying them around to report defects to the company database via wireless LAN. Digital photographers would use them for downloading pictures from their cameras. Architects might use them to provide virtual tours of proposed buildings. The list goes on and on.

      On the other hand, some people out there might be more interested in a console system if they could also use it for other common "computer-y" tasks. Web surfing and sending/receiving email are two things that could be done comfortably from a console/tv environment, especially since the quality of the television picture keeps improving.

      And we all know what a rousing success WebTV was. But the problem that Sony faces is that the PSP is a handheld device, not something tied to a TV. It's portable, has a high-quality screen, has wireless capability and would make an appealing platform for many non-game uses. And I don't think that the the potential users for all of those non-game applications could be huge.

    3. Re:Not their business model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The "statistical anomoly" [sic] that wants to run a web browser, e-mail client, and instant messaging is currently being sold PDAs, Blackberrys, and web-enabled phones. You also ignore the fact that there would be ports of Quake, Doom, and other open-source games. That sounds pretty significant to me.

      I was referring to people who would buy a PSP to do the things listed above and not buy any commercial games. I don't think there are significant numbers of people out there who use their "web-enabled phones" to surf the net but not to make phone calls.

      Of course, it would grow from there into vertical markets. You'd find Sony PSPs being used by mechanics for diagnosing cars via their OBD-II ports. Real estate agents might carry them to show pictures of properties to clients....

      The PSP is overkill for pretty much all of these purposes. If people started using PSPs to do these things (attracted by the low price) then somebody (maybe even Sony) would bring out lower powered hardware at an even lower price to grab that market segment. It's unlikely to happen, because at the end of the day fiddling the firmware of a store bought appliance is something only a tiny number of people do. It is possible to run linux on a PS2, and people have done it (and then written about it at great length in places like this) but how many PS2s today are being used primarily to run linux? Heck, how many of them are being used to run any linux at all, even "just for kicks"? A fraction of a percent? A *tiny* fraction of a percent? Can you honestly say that the ability to run linux on a PS2 has had a significant impact on Sony's sales figures?

  16. SNES Emulation by yoyhed · · Score: 1
    For SNES emulation, that is. Obviously.

    Don't we have Game Boy Advance for that already?

    --
    WHO NEEDS SHIFT WHEN YOU HAVE CAPSLOCK/ DAMN1
    1. Re:SNES Emulation by Audigy · · Score: 2, Informative

      Have you actually tried running the SNES emulator for Gameboy Advance?

      Try that, then come back and let us know how you do in games like Mortal Kombat, or even Super Mario World, where you need extra buttons that don't exist.

      Also, tell me what you think about the sound... oh wait, it doesn't support sound. ;)

      --
      [an error occured while processing this directive]
    2. Re:SNES Emulation by DrWily · · Score: 1

      Show me Chrono Trigger running on a GBA, only then will I cease to seek new emulators for new devices.

    3. Re:SNES Emulation by yoyhed · · Score: 1

      I was actually referring to the fact that the best games for GBA are SNES re-releases, not actual emulation.. I should have winked

      --
      WHO NEEDS SHIFT WHEN YOU HAVE CAPSLOCK/ DAMN1
    4. Re:SNES Emulation by yoyhed · · Score: 1

      See my reply to the other guy who misinterpreted me in this thread. Nice name by the way, tell me, do you agree with me that Mega Man 3 is the best (of the originals)?

      --
      WHO NEEDS SHIFT WHEN YOU HAVE CAPSLOCK/ DAMN1
  17. "Do you hear that sound, Sony?" by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

    "That is the sound of inevitability."

    While it doesn't (yet) work with 1.51 or 1.52, it will soon enough. Plus, all many people were waiting for is for 1.5 to be cracked, as that's the one the U.S. PSP ships with. If you're not that interested in playing games on the PSP, you'll likely never be forced to upgrade your firmware from the stock 1.5, anyway.

    Okay, now, let the homebrew _hardware_ addon market begin!

    Has that keyboard been released, yet?

  18. Source of story + now I want one by tod_miller · · Score: 1

    What I do not get is that engadget do not quote their source. They are only a second hand source of news, they are not the actual people who said this, yet they do not quote their source.

    Why? Well their only link is a google friendly link to a search on their site (no doubt anticipating people searching for 'upgrade firmware psp').

    Anyway, they should quote their source of 'apparently' etc.

    In fact reading the toms hardware article, it looks like toms hardware *WAS* the source for the engaydget article.

    SONY: I wasn't going to buy a PSP, now this has been cracked, I am considering it!

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  19. Re:More interesting is the news about the uncompil by goodenoughnickname · · Score: 1

    I don't know what a P-code is, but here's to P-Wings!

  20. I was going to subbmit this story, but... by aka_big_wurm · · Score: 1

    Its not confirmed, there has been fakes before so this could be one too. However it does look like this may be the one, we will see in a few days.

  21. The minute SNES runs at full speed by marcybots · · Score: 1

    I am buying this thing, I doubt I will buy more than 3 psp games to go with it...I always dreamed of having a portable SNES, Final Fantasy III, all the translated Fire Emblem games as well as about oh 1000 or so other games on a 1gig memory card like some crazy game jukebox. That beats any single new game that comes out today.

  22. I would say bad. by LordZardoz · · Score: 1

    Game companies make their money off of the royalties per game sold. They also hope to make money on the console its self, but they dont make nearly as much.

    If the primary use of the PSP is to play SNES games published between 10 and 15 years ago by a competitor they discount as being minor, what does that say about the games made by Sony today?

    END COMMUNICATION

  23. So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by The_Real_Quaid · · Score: 1

    And the best games on PSP are Nintendo games. That's comedy gold.

    1. Re:So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by EGSonikku · · Score: 2, Insightful

      News for ya, if you use a NES emu on the GBA or DS, your just as much of a thief. Nintendo won't care what hardware your running it on, only that you stole the ROM.

      --
      - "Scientia non habet inimicum nisp ignorantem"
    2. Re:So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by antifoidulus · · Score: 1

      Which is why they should just release their roms(yeah I know, it will only be first party games but still) in an online store for a few bucks a pop. I would gladly pay for ROMs, but there isn't any way that I can. Come on Nintendo, this is a simple opportunity to make some money off of IP that you won't really use anymore anyway...

      --
      Monstar L
    3. Re:So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by vixstile · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude, how ignorant are you? This is exactly what they are doing with the revolution. Look it up.

    4. Re:So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by buffer-overflowed · · Score: 1

      Yea, but it's somehow less... I dunno... wrong.

      --
      The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
    5. Re:So PSP fans are theives, what else is new? by KidHash · · Score: 1

      But he doesn't want to play it on a revolution, he wants to play it on ANY console he owns. So that doesn't really help him, does it?

  24. Confirmed - The delay is for a reason... by Lennavan · · Score: 1

    June 15th at 15:00 for firmware version 1.50

    Gee, I wonder why they made us wait a few days.

  25. the headline ought to read... by KillShill · · Score: 1

    psp firmware broken, purchasers now own their hardware.

    running your own code on hardware you own ... such a simple early 20th century idea. maybe in another 50-100 years of DRM hell (not related to DLL hell), we might get back to the 1950's era of trusting one's machine.

    those who repeat history, often never remember long enough to benefit the next generation - ME.

    --
    Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
  26. Forget waiting. Get it now. by LeftAndDie · · Score: 1

    Here you go 8 hours early. Mirror 2 wasn't corrupt download. Some of the others are. http://web.icoiig.es/ubalda/index2.html

  27. Torrent... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    available at http://www.mininova.org/tor/56996

  28. A company... by Arimatheus · · Score: 1

    called Freescale writes the drivers for Sony/Xbox. Some of us already have ps3 dev kits... At any rate, I don't honestly see the point in emulating a psp Aside from the possible use of the games on a powerful pocket PC, and even then the games wouldn't run very well on an Xscale. I could maybe see one of those really small sony laptops being useful for the purpose, the 1700 series or whatever it is. The point of having a PSP is to have a PSP, so when you're in the bar and your friend walks in, you get a message that says something along the lines of, "let's play bitch" and all of a sudden you're playing NBA street with your friend who just walked in. I dunno, piracy is kinda cool, and breaking something that wasn't meant to be broken is cool, but I mean c'mon, you can already get a used PS for like 200 bucks, what's the point? I'd just never imagine replacing all of my DVDs with those tiny little discs. (which I believe are based on Hitachi hard drive platters, but I'm not certain on that)

    --
    OEÉæÁÄZÝÈA OEÉæé_CX