Zumba Fitness has retained its position at number one in the UK software chart for a third week, outselling the games in second to fifth places combined despite a five per cent drop in sales.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean sits in second, pushing L.A. Noire down to third and FEAR 3 to fourth. Wimbledon week has undoubtedly helped to push Virtua Tennis four up from 20th to fifth.

New entries are sparse in another quiet release week, with Resident Evil 3DS managing a debut at 21. The only other new entry, UFC Personal Trainer from THQ, sits one place below at 22.

Last Week This Week Title
1 1 Zumba Fitness
5 2 LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
2 3 L.A. Noire
3 4 FEAR 3
20 5 Virtua Tennis 4
17 6 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
4 7 DiRT 3
10 8 Top Spin 4
9 9 Brink
7 10 FIFA 11
6 11 The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D
8 12 Duke Nukem Forever
15 13 Wii Sports Resort
19 14 Portal 2
11 15 inFamous 2
13 16 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
21 17 Call of Duty Black Ops
28 18 The Sims 3
32 19 Red Faction: Armageddon
14 20 Dungeon Siege 3

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-uk-number-one ...

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has announced that the PlayStation Network will return to full functionality in Japan on July 6.

Japan is the final territory to be restored after the shut down at the end of April, a full month after Europe and America. Services have been returning since the end of May, but this final move will see access to the PlayStation Store reinstated.

One reason for the Japanese delay was the demands placed on Sony by the government and credit card regulators, which included preventative measures to ensure the security of the system.

The security breach and subsequent shutdown is expected to cost the company approximately $170m.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...k-on-wednesday ...

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. ...

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 ...

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/ ...

What's killing the magazine industry? Could it be the lack of PlayStation compatibility or maybe the absence of "ultra-high" resolution? These are the questions Lucent Pictures Entertainment plans to put to the test with its upcoming iQueen magazine, a publication distributed for the PS3 via the PlayStation Store, offering up images of Japanese actress Masami Nagasawa in a staggering 4,096 by 2,160 resolution -- it's sure to make real life look downright lo-res by comparison. The magazine will be available in August for around $25 or so -- which is a bit of a steal on a per-pixel basis.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/03/p...resses-in-ult/ ...

Four weeks ago today, Sony announced its 'Welcome Back' campaign following the weeks-long PSN outage that began in April. Now, the program is entering its final weekend, giving you just two more days to download your pair of free PS3 or PSP games, along with 100 virtual items from PlayStation Home and 30 days of PlayStation Plus. To claim your gratis package from the PlayStation Store, click on the "Welcome Back" tab and make your pick. Sure, a few handouts may not make up for those countless days you spent offline, contemplating a switch to other networks, but free stuff is free stuff, so head over to PSN to claim what's rightfully yours before the clock strikes midnight on July 3rd.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/01/s...ay-takes-free/ ...

Jack Buser, director of PlayStation Home, has explained why the users of the virtual world are some of the most dedicated gamers on the console.

“If you look at the average Home user, they are the most hardcore gamer on the PS3,” said Buser, speaking to GiantBomb.

"They buy more games than the average PS3 user, they play more games than the average PS3 user. They also watch more movies than the average PS3 user, who is already a highly self-selective consumer. We're talking about rabid consumers of media and hardcore gamers. That's who these people are."

Sony's Second Life style virtual world has over 17 million users, who can play over 200 free games or purchase 9000 virtual items, from costumes to furnishings for their virtual homes. Often these items are tied to specific game or film releases like Killzone, and Star Trek. But Buser wouldn't talk specific figures for those purchases.

"We don't comment on exact revenue for PlayStation Home," he said. "PlayStation Home is heavily reliant on the microtransactions business model. Microtransactions tend to be profitable due to the low cost of virtual item development and the high traffic on the platform."

Home launched in December 2008, after three years of development, but still carries its beta tag, and Buser is happy for it to stay that way.

"We're in open beta," he said. "We don't talk much about it. The reason why the tag is there is because we really want to drive home this message that Home is always evolving, it's always changing, that we're always working on it. [...] We don't have anything to announce at this time, but we do like the idea that that tag reinforces this always evolving message. But I can't say more than that."

The game's last major update was on June 16.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ardcore-gamers ...

Sony's named the tech behind the PSP Remaster series of PSP to PS3 HD remakes, and offered an overview of what it's capable of.

The 'PSP Engine' was introduced by Sony's Kentaro Suzuki during a session at the Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2011 event in Tokyo last night.

The tech acts as a middle ground between the PlayStation 3 operating system and a PSP game, while offering the following features:

High res rendering
Control (with Dual Analogue support) through wireless controllers (Dualshock 3/Sixaxis)
3D stereoscopic output
Ad-hoc Party unification
Main memory and graphic memory expansion
Common save data
One such PSP HD remake for the PlayStation 3 is Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, announced at E3 earlier this month. Have a look at the gameplay video if you missed it.

Speaking about HD remakes on the PS3 more widely, new group president and CEO of SCE International Andrew House told CVG that the glossy sheen will be given to games where there's demand.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS ...