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More solid homebrew with a fun storyline to back it: This is gSquare from developers Geecko and Meastnt. You may remember our earlier coverage when gSquare was in its demo state. Now it’s a full-fledged story with new graphics, a new physics engine and plenty of new levels. It’ll no doubt keep you busy.

This is a music-free version; however, there are sound effects. Geecko dropped Aalib (audio library) to ensure smooth, crash-less gameplay. Mind you — you may experience the odd crash here and there; fortunately though gSquare implements an autosaving feature, resuming your last level should you quit or the game crash.

gSquare is entered in the PSP Genesis Competition and deserves your vote, should you find it worthy. Me personally, I’m having a very difficult time casting my vote … there is so much quality brew.

And be sure to check out the gSquare center too for a little DLC action — new levels, tile sets, etc. Enjoy

http://psp.dashhacks.com/2011/06/30/...1-0a-released/

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via http://blackbird.usask.ca/wordpress/?p=25

I have acquired an Xbox 360 XDK recently and am in the process of acquiring a Test PS3 as well. The main reason for me buying these two is to further improve the already existing emulator ports on PlayStation3 – the lack of any decent performance profiling tools was really becoming a hindrance to the future development of the ports, and to get anywhere, I thought it was necessary to take a financial hit and buy proper debug units.

Screenshots

Some still images I’ve taken from the 360 XDK -

360 XDK screenshot album

Future of the PS3 emulator ports

Now that I’m able to target both Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 (and also given that the two consoles are quite similar to each other), I’m planning to make the emulator ports cross-platform in a similar vein to FBANext. FBANext runs on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 with only minimal differences. If I take a look at my own PS3 emulator ports – there exists the possibility to do something similar for projects like VBA, SNES9x, FCEU and Genesis Plus GX PS3. VBA PS3 is very heavily based on Lantus’ VBA 360 – and since Lantus does not actively maintain VBA 360 anymore and there is still some work remaining to be done on the 360 front (such as Sonic Advance 1/2 support and D-pad controls) – I’m planning to make a separate project on Google Code so that both platforms will have an up-to-date version of the emulator -

VBANext

https://code.google.com/p/vbanext/

VBANext will target both PS3 and Xbox 360, and will be based on the VBA PS3 codebase. It will most likely supersede VBA PS3 as it stands.

MAME 360/PS3

https://code.google.com/p/mame-360-ps3/

This is Lantus’ MAME 0.72 port to Xbox 360. I have co-ownership of the project – and I will be porting it to PS3 shortly.

Games like Mortal Kombat 1/2/3/Ultimate run at full speed on 360 – similar performance is expected on PS3.

I could target even more machines than just these two – I have DevkitPro set up for Wii and I’m also able to compile for Xbox 1 – but perhaps it’s best to focus on 360/PS3 for now instead of spreading myself too thin. I’m still intent on helping out madmab with his Xbox 1 port of SNES9x 1.52 though -

SNES9x Slim

https://github.com/squarepusher/snes9x-slim

SNES9x Slim aims to be a slimmed-down version of SNES9x for use on platforms that currently struggle to run the latest versions. The codebase still lags behind the PS3 version considerably – but once done, it will target PS3, Wii, Xbox 1, Android, Xbox 360 and other systems. Most of the improvements/removals are totally platform-agnostic. ...

After a lengthy period in hibernation, the NintendoAGE eZine is back with Vol. 5 Issue 1 July 2011 edition. Returning back to its monthly release, this issue’s highlights contents include a Q&A with Ralph Baer, Nintendo Fun Club News collecting, Accessory Spotlight, Super Price Guide and more. As before, the eZine can be downloaded for free in PDF format from the NintendoAGE website.

http://retroactionmagazine.com/retro...vol-5-issue-1/ ...

via http://wololo.net/wagic/2011/07/03/p...-now-possible/

I rarely post about the PS3, but this one is pretty big news since Sony managed to salvage their console from perpetual hacking, with their firmware 3.6 which seemed to fix some of the major issues in their security system.

user dospiedras1973 of the Elotrolado forums shared a series of tools/techniques allowing anybody to downgrade a 3.6x PS3 (apparently, this works for the latest 3.66 too) back to a more CFW-friendly Firmware such as 3.55. This techique also allows to repair bricks from a failed waninkoko install.
The technique involves using the InFeCtuS modchip, and is described in the source below. Some additional English help can be found on ps3-hacks.com, but be warned that this is not an easy hack! Nevertheless hardware is always the first step, and if you have the guts it means you don’t have to stay on 3.6x



Here is a full English translation by user Ghaleon B from ps3-hacks:

Hello, I’ve been working on this project nearly for two months now and now that I got this working, I’m making this public so everyone can use it,this tutorial is for 256mb NAND flash consoles, It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work on the 16mb model, It’s actually modified in a similar way as NOR flash models, but due to my fat 80gb with 16mb being busted, I haven’t been able to to test and verify.

With infectus, we extract our NAND flash0.bin and flash1.bin and like Lukin’s tutorial for repairing bad NANDS, we do the same process until we have our 256mb flashfinal.bin dump file.

We are going to open this file with a simple hex editor and search for this part:

“00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 6F FF E0″

You’ll see that there’s a very similar line just below, I find this data in offset 000C0020, depending on the NAND, results may vary and now the party begins

we replace INCLUDING THAT LINE with the archive 1patchcos.bin if we use hxd put in the first 0 of that line -> Left click and paste writing, before you must have opened 1patchcos.bin on the hxd and copy in hex all it’s contents in order to paste it..

Now were gonna search for the second archive to patch we search on the hxd in the dump file for this part:

“00 00 00 00 00 00 10 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 40″

Then we use the same patching method from the first archive to patch this one but with 2patchtrvk.bin and replace all the content including:

“00 00 00 00 00 00 10 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 40″

then with flowrebuilder, we use the “re-scramble” option on this dump to get our new flash0.ECC.bin and flash1.ECC.bin and we flash the result, when were finished, you’ll notice that the PS3 powers up but has a pretty black screen, now we get our “Jig” device, put the PS3 in Factory Service mode, load the typical lv2diag with the pup file that you want.

Note: the first pup that you use will say as the minimal version, which you’ll be able to downgrade later, if you want to downgrade from 3.55 to 3.41, INSTALL 3.41 FIRST!!!, otherwise you have to do the ENTIRE procedure AGAIN!!

then use lv2diag file 2 to exit service mode and DONE.

NOTE:this method also works for Waninkoko’s brick including sem-001 motherboards (tested)

Thanks to:

the entire channel #darkps3 in the Hispanic irc for supporting me for so long
austaquio32 for donating the infectus so I could carry on with my project
Nodial2ne for his/her help localizing the archives in the nand
robs1 for helping me during the process with ideas making this possible

and everyone who was patient and didn’t harass me in private xD

pack :

http://pastebin.com/7tmtcdNN

regrets:

I’ve been unemployed for 4 years, whoever uninterested wants to donate something can contact me privately (sorry, but I got 2 kids and thePS3 doesn’t put bread on the table xD)
or give me a job

PS3′s that this method works on (Thanks pdnked):

PS3 Fat:
CECHA = 256MB
CECHB = 256MB
CECHC = 256MB
CECHE = 256MB
CECHG = 256MB ...

Yabause Wii is the Wii version of Yabause, a Sega Saturn emulator, and is the first for Wii to emulate the complex processes of the Sega Saturn. The Wii port is not released officially. Some unofficial versions have been released. Note that the Wii port is in testable status, and won't be officially supported until a later date. You must not ask the Yabause Team about unofficial versions.

Change Log
Unofficial r2649 beta18 - Jul. 2, 2011
base on the original yabause r2649 (cmake branches)
compile with devkitPPC r23 and recent libogc except r4078 audio.c
use scsp2.c instead of scsp.c (some games works, but, sound quality seems to be lower)
fix clip bug of vdp1 in vidsoft.c
some minor fixes and changes

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Yabause_Wii

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Xamphear released JTAG Content Manager 1.3:
[QUOTE]
What This App Does:
* Browse 360 files on your PC by their real info, like game name and package title.
* Upload files (XBLA, DLC, GOD, Avatar, Title Update) to your console over FTP with a single click. Files are automatically uploaded to the right folders.
* Drag and drop files to other applications, if you'd prefer to use your own FTP client.
* Organize a messy folder of downloaded content into 1 of 4 different directory styles. Restore the original filenames for XBLA and DLC files.
* View the MediaID of Title Updates and GODs so you can match them, and search JQE and XBUC for matching TUs.
* View the MediaID of ISO files. (Requires abgx360)

What's new/fixed:
Size column on upload screen. Fixed size labels on upload screen, all
sizes listed in MB now. Fixed bug in abgx360 detection. Fixed bug that
caused error messages when selecting files and uploading in some regions.
More accurate speed during uploads. Time remaining and progress percentage
added to window title and tray icon. Other bug fixes.
http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...FEoXkMbXbN.php ...

You know that amazing glow you feel for a few weeks after getting back with an ex who screwed you over horribly? Yeah. That's about to end.

Sony's Welcome Back program ends tomorrow, July 3, taking all your dreams of free content, a white picket fence and an abuse-free relationship with it. Sony is offering free games, virtual items from PlayStation Home and 30 days of PlayStation Plus for jilted users to choose from. If you've been procrastinating, redeem your free content through the Welcome Back tab on your PS3 and, if you have any questions, hit up the PlayStation Blog. But whatever you decide, don't ever forget to put the toilet seat down again.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/02/ps...xpires-sunday/ ...

Hold on to your butts, Internet, because this party is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better. According to Game Informer, a Senate Bill has been introduced which, if passed, would make streaming unauthorized copyrighted material a felony, resulting in up to 5-years of jail time.

Bill S.978 states that "10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works" will result in "not more than 5 years" of imprisonment, so long as the performance in question is valued at at-least $2,500 USD, or if the value of a license to legally "perform" the content is valued at $5,000 or more.

These are, in essence, the same criteria that allow for DMCA take-down notices to be issued by copyright holders, however jail time and felony status are not currently associated with this particular flavor of copyright infringement. Should this bill jump through all the right hoops, its broadly worded contents could potentially cover everything from homemade gameplay clips (commonly referred to "Let's Play" videos), to fan-made music videos, webcam cover songs, and anything else that involves copyrighted music or video. S.978 could also potentially cover cell-phone videos of concerts and press events, making 13-year-old Beliebers and jaded gaming journalists alike equally in danger of losing their right to vote.

If accepted into law, these addenda will be attached to existing copyright laws and will not only apply to YouTube users, but to the sites that embed YouTube content as well. Internet activism group Demand Progress has set up a web-form for those who disagree with the legislation and wish to communicate their displeasure to their local representatives. We would be concerned about the bill's implications as well, but fear not dear reader: the legislation doesn't cover puppet shows as far as we can tell, so Joystiq Playhouse's shadow-kabuki production of Battle Arena Toshinden should still be on track.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/02/le...s-to-senate-b/ ...

People who dedicate a significant portion of their lives to the honorable art of capturing and training Pokemon deserve some recognition and, this summer, they're getting it. The 2011 Pokemon Black and Pokemon White Video Game Championship just completed its Regional Tournaments, and the kingdom's most powerful trainers have revealed some strategies regarding their noble creatures, as compiled by IGN.

Hydreigon, a Dark/Dragon Pokemon with three pairs of wings and a vicious cry, was the clear champion at Regionals, helping compose 53 percent of winning teams. Dark and Grass Pokemon made up 15 percent each of the most-used primary types, while Steel took a low 1 percent. Trainers used Protect for 14 percent of their moves, a clear majority when compared to the next-highest move, Rock Slide, at only 5.5 percent. For some pretty pictures to go along with the stats and a list of Regional winners, take a peek at IGN's post. National Championships run July 8-10 in Indianapolis, Indiana, because that's where heroes are made.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/03/po...rush-of-stats/ ...