One of the very best features of PlayStation family products (PS3 and PSP) is the ability to update the system firmware via downloadable patches. Had this main feature not been included, we’d be stuck with the same feature set that each system launched with, and when compared to the robust feature set we have now, that’s not much.

Over the years many firmware updates have come and gone. Some significant, some not so much. Have you ever wondered how Sony plans the release of any new features included with each firmware update? Eric Lempel explains how…


In a recent interview with PlayStation: The Official Magazine in the Holiday 09 issue (issue number 027), Eric Lempel spills the beans on how Firmware update features are planned and released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable:

“We go about doing that in a few different ways. We do consumer research in addition to following our roadmap. We’ve had a very had a very long roadmap that we’ve wanted to roll out, and clearly all of them couldn’t be rolled out day one when the PS3 launched. So we’ve been implementing these features as we go along and some of them, and some of them take longer than others.”

Lempel continued:

“Of course time and manpower always factor in because there aren’t limitless resources. And are sometimes key features that must go out in Firmware updates. For example, you saw on September 1, we released a 120GB PS3 and we did a Firmware update, and there were some enhancements in that specifically to bring on the new hardware.”

The director of the PlayStation Network further explained:

“We absolutely read all the feedback that we see on our blog when we do firmware updates. We have people who look across different forums and different sites. And we also do our own testing – some very extensive testing..”

“But in some cases, we can’t do complete testing because you never quite know how things will work until users have it.”

When asked the question that’s on every PS3 owners mind, on the long awaited cross-game voice chat feature Lempel has this to say:

“I think it’s incredibly popular. We know users want it, and like lots of other things that work cross-games, technically, it’s complicated. But it’s definitely something we’re looking at.”

If you want to read the full interview, pick up issue 027 of PlayStation: The Official Magazine at newsstands now.

http://playstationlifestyle.net/2009...me-voice-chat/ ...

Some progress news from the EmulateMii Team:


Awesome news for everyone waiting for N64 and PSX Emulation on both the Wii and Gamecube.

http://emulatemii.com/wordpress/?p=199 ...

Some progress news from the EmulateMii Team:


Awesome news for everyone waiting for N64 and PSX Emulation on both the Wii and Gamecube.

http://emulatemii.com/wordpress/?p=199 ...

Be careful if you spot a PSPGo on the cheap, it may be this your buying:

...

I’ll keep this one short and sweet, since we’ve covered these rumours to death already. Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry blog says that they can confirm the rumoured deal between nVidia and Nintendo for the DS2, and then proceed to toss around conceivable hardware specs for DS2 and PSP2.

Speaking under conditions of anonymity, further credible sources from within the mobile graphics industry have provided Digital Foundry with further background detail on the raw technical capabilities of the new hardware. These sources, intimately involved with the alliances and deal-making within their sector, effectively confirm the reported allegiances between Nintendo/NVIDIA and Sony/IMG, but also provide a fascinating insight into the kinds of devices the new handhelds will be, and the power levels we can expect.

In many ways, the next generation of handheld gaming technology will mirror the differences in philosophy seen in today’s devices. Nintendo’s new machine will offer a modest level of 3D power using established parts, while Sony will once again be aiming for the bleeding edge in mobile performance, which could well come with the same kind of price premium we saw with the launch of the original PSP.

That’s the gist of it anyway. It’s a long post, so head on over if you’re interested in reading about a Quake III demo running on the technology supposedly powering the DS2’s graphics. (Although, later on in the article, they debate whether Nintendo will return to a single screen format with DS2, so take it with the usual grain of salt.)

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/11/14...table-rumours/ ...

"Can portable gaming devices be more expensive than home console gaming machines?" That was a question Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said his company was contemplating the answer to, at Nintendo’s investor Q&A last week.

Late into the conference, the subject of competing with the iPhone was brought up once again when an investor inquired if Nintendo were interested in increased connectivity with their portable devices, going forward. To this, Iwata replied that, while he wasn’t a fan of services where consumers would have to shoulder a monthly fee, he was interested in a [Amazon] Kindle-like service and touched upon the subject of pricing portable hardware.

"On the other hand, I find the business model of Kindle rather interesting. Once you buy the hardware, the 3G communication functions are already inside, so you are able to do a sort of the cell phone’s packet communications. However, the customers do not pay money (directly for the communications.) When the customers make the download purchase of a book, that packet fees are included in the charge of the book. On the other hand, I read somewhere that they are yet to make a profit. Nevertheless, in this business model, customers are not required to shoulder the cost. And the service is now being expanded beyond the U.S. to the world. I do not know if the Japanese companies, say, telephone carriers, are happy about the business model. Probably, they are unhappy. Still, I think they were able to come up with a business model which is not bad.

"We have to set the price of portable game machines that are affordable to the customers. Today, some people are already starting to criticize by saying that Nintendo, whenever it launches new model, is increasing the suggested retail price. Including the need to assess such questions as, "can portable gaming devices be more expensive than home console gaming machine?," as one of the future possibilities, we would like to review the possibility of being able to be connected wirelessly and how the trend in the technologies evolve in order for us to come up with our own solutions that can smartly take advantage of new technologies but does not require monthly payments by the customers. Wireless communications and portable game devices go hand in hand very well. We would like to continuously think about that in this fashion and hope to have our answer."

Iwata concluded by stating, "Whenever I received the question, ‘Won’t Nintendo integrate cell-phone functions to its portable game devices?’, I always answered, ‘It will be OK if our customers do not have to make monthly payments.’ Basically, I have not changed that answer."

Readers might want to note that the DSi LL already costs as much as a Wii in Japan at 20,000 yen.

http://www.siliconera.com/2009/11/15...than-consoles/ ...

[svofski] has a friend who is a pixel artist. They really wanted to try out their skills on a c64, but were missing a mouse. The original mouse for the c64 was not only serial, but used a different method of communication than more modern mice. [svofski] built this adapter to translate the ps/2 data to something the c64 can use. The writeup describes the build in detail and even has the PCB and source code available for download.

http://hackaday.com/2009/11/14/mouse...o-c64-adapter/ ...

New from Divineo USA



The Blaster CK3 for the Xbox 360 from Team Xecuter.

Compatible with all versions of Xbox 360 and all DVD drives (Hitach, Samsung, Benq & Liteon
New Improved Design
USB / Liteon Support For Liteon Drives
Includes a FREE CK3 Probe for No Solder Liton 7xxx Key Dump
Includes a Free Bonus Unlock Tool for the Xbox 360 ...

A Florida teenager says he was kidnapped at gunpoint, driven to a Walmart and forced to buy his captors a PlayStation 3 for the new super-low price of $299.99. Cops have arrested one suspect.

The Naples, Fla. teen says two guys in a white pickup truck blocked his car as he tried to enter a gated community where his friend lives. Two guys, one with an assault rifle, the other with a pistol, jumped out, drove him to his stepfather's home in another gated community to steal some jewelry. Then it was off to Walmart with stepdad's credit card.

There, the victim says one of his captors demanded he buy him a shotgun. But it being past 8:30, the gun counter was closed. So the bandits said they'd settle for a PS3 Slim, which the victim bought. They then set him free, and he went running to the law.

Yeah, there's been one arrest, and it sounds like there's surveillance footage, but let's show a little skepticism here. If this is true, two dudes just went to a hell of a lot of trouble and are facing a whale of a stay in the joint to pull off the heist of a lifetime - a PS3 - before turning loose their rich captive. Kidnapping, plus a gun crime doesn't just get pled down to loud muffler and disorderly conduct because you netted $300 in merch. Plus there's the matter of the suspect's fingerprints not being found inside the house.

That doesn't stop WBBH-TV. Be sure to watch that video. I don't know East Naples or Immokalee from Muncie, Indiana but it sounds like the reporter's reminding us both places are the H-double-O-D hood. And remember, "Jane," (if that's your real name) you're not safe anywhere, even behind rich people gates. Another shining example of local news teaching you to hate and fear your world.

http://kotaku.com/5404689/ps3-it-only-does-kidnapping- ...