Source http://psp.scenebeta.com/.

coolguy5678 has released a new Homebrew game for our PSP. This Homebrew takes part in the Scenery Beta 2008.

I copy from the Readme of the author:

This is a game based on the game "four-square" played all over the world. If the ball goes to your square, you have to hit it so it first bounces in your square and then in someone elses. If you make a mistake, you are out, everyone who was in a lower square moves up, and a new person enters the game in the lowest square (on the bottom-left). The highest square (top-left) is the king square, and if you make a mistake here, you only move to the lowest square, instead of going out.

You are the blue player. You earn points for staying in and playing fast shots. You earn double points when you are in the highest two squares. When you go out, your game ends.

A note about the rules: Four-square is played around the world, but the rules vary dramatically depending on where its played - so, don't tell me "the rules are wrong!"

Controls

• Use the analog/or d-pad to move.
• Hold X to charge up your shot.
• Release X when the ball is near you to hit it.

The ball is hit outward in the direction of the blue cone on your player. If the ball is far away from you when you release X, the ball will be hit at a shallower trajectory, unless the ball is outside your reach. It takes a while to get used to this, but its easy to play the game once you are used to the feel of the game. Try watching the AI players on the main menu.

Credits

Programming - coolguy5678
GFX - coolguy5678
Music - AndrewPotterton of Soundsnap.com
SFX - Soundsnap.com
Font - P. Wiegel

Special thanks to Brunni for writing OSLib.

If have tried to attach it into Dcemu forum, but I receive a 403 error :-(.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EUKLSSH1

Enjoy.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

Grand Theft Auto IV was the best-selling videogame in the US for the month of May, according to data released by the NPD Group.

The Xbox 360 version of Take-Two's game topped the sales chart with over 871,000 copies sold; The PS3 version sold nearly 443,000 copies to take fourth place.

According to the NPD Group, combined sales of GTA IV have reached 4.2 million units - making it the top-selling title of the year so far.

Guitar Hero III, with 2.5 million units sold, and Rock Band, with 1.3 million units sold year to date, are both in the top ten best-selling games for 2008.

The US games industry has generated USD 6.6 billion in sales for the first five months of 2008, exceeding the total annual revenues for 1997 and putting it on pace to achieve yearly revenues in the range of USD 21 - 23 billion.

The Nintendo Wii and DS captured the top spots for hardware sales for the fourth consecutive month, selling 675,100 and 452,600 units, respectively.

Sony sold 182,300 PSP handhelds and 208,700 PlayStation 3 consoles in May, with Microsoft selling 186,600 Xbox 360 consoles.

"The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for either the PS3 or the 360 but there may yet to be a lift in June due to gift-giving for Father's Day and Graduations," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

The Top Ten best-selling titles in the US during month of May were:

* 1 Grand Theft Auto IV (360) - 871,300
* 2 Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 787,400
* 3 Wii Fit (Wii) - 687,700
* 4 Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) - 442,900
* 5 Wii Play (Wii) - 294,600
* 6 Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii) - 171,100
* 7 Iron Man (PS2) - 130,600
* 8 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 116,800
* 9 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) - 107,000
* 10 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) - 102,000

Hardware Sales for May 2008:

* Wii – 675 100
* Nintendo DS – 452 600
* PS3 – 208 700
* Xbox 360 – 186 600
* PSP – 182 300
* PS2 - 132,000


Via Gamesindustry.biz ...

via Computer and Video Games


SNK has confirmed a pretty damn cool list of titles to be included in its new retro compilation title, SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, headed for Wii as well as PS2 and PSP.

Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters 94' sit at the top of our favourites list, although if you own a Wii you can already grab all three of those on the UK Virtual Console for 900 Wii Points - about £6.50.

But it's decent news for retro-loving PS2 and PSP owners. Here's the full list, and 16 nostalgic screens below.

• ART OF FIGHTING - The first fighting game to introduce the then new Spirit Gauge, Super Special Moves, use of the 'zoom in/zoom out' function and battle damage to the characters faces.
• BASEBALL STARS 2 - The sequel to the very popular Baseball arcade game.
• BURNING FIGHT - Battle organised crime in the streets of New York in the side
• scrolling fighter.
• FATAL FURY - The first of SNK's fighting franchises to use the NEOGEO MVS System.
• KING OF THE FIGHTERS '94 - This is where the KOF phenomenon began.
• KING OF THE MONSTERS - Giant monsters, Destruction and mayhem in Japan.
• LAST RESORT - Take on hordes of enemies in the popular futuristic shooter.
• MAGICIAN LORD - SNK's classic platformer, pits you as the heroic wizard Elta.
• METAL SLUG
• this series has long been regarded as the bench mark of side
• scrolling purity, now see why!
• NEO TURF MASTERS - Can you get a hole in one?
• SAMURAI SHODOWN - The first title in SNK's hugely popular weapons based fighter.
• SENGOKU - Fight the undead, in feudal Japan.
• SHOCK TROOPERS - Fast paced action and lots and lots of bullets in this run and gun adventure.
• SUPER SIDEKICKS 3 - We all love football - so does SNK!
• TOP HUNTER - In this futuristic platformer, you play as Roddy or Cathy, as you protect the Colonists from the threat of the Space Pirates.
• WORLD HEROES - Take on the greatest fighters throughout time in this popular fighter.

Screenshots ...

via Kotaku


I stopped by D3Publisher's hotel suite yesterday to check out some of their stuff. I hadn't heard much about Bangai-O Spirits (remember, Dreamcast fans?) which has been out in Japan since March and is hitting here sometime in the fourth quarter, but that's because I generally don't follow shooters.

Even I sat up and took notice, though. Bangai-O Spirits, developed by Ikaruga creator Treasure, is hardcore oldschool, from what I could tell by looking, with richly-detailed 2D sprites and both horizontal and vertical scrolling. The awesome thing about it is the full realtime level editor - if you're having a hard time, you can build yourself a little wall, or plow yourself a new path.

You can also build your own levels from scratch, but even that's not the best part. The best part is the way you can share levels with your friends. No need for Nintendo Wi-Fi. No need for DS codes. Okay, so I'm easily impressed by science and technology, but I think you guys will think this is very, very cool.

You can save the levels you make as sound files, just like the way old data cassettes used to do. When you save a level, it makes a sort of rush-and-whirr sound the way a modem does. You can record it to your PC, save it as a Windows media file or whatever you want, and then put it on a website or email it to a buddy. Anyone who downloads the sound file simply plays it into their DS microphone, and voilà - your friend now has the level you made.

If your friend is with you, of course, you just play your sound file on your DS directly into your friend's mic. I know that this is actually ancient technology, but I was totally dazzled to see it repurposed like this. The wonders of human advancement! ...

via Engadget


If you're anything like us, just about everyone in your family has called you up this week to ask if you think they should get the iPhone 3G; it really doesn't help matters that there's just an absurd amount of (mis)information floating around about it right now, too. So this one's for you and your fam -- we're dishing out the straight dope on iPhone 3G, a to z, so feel free to pass it on.

So, what's with the new iPhone 3G?

Well, it's pretty much the same iPhone as before -- except now it's down to $200, and has way faster 3G data, A-GPS (which is even better than regular GPS), as well as a flush headphone jack (which is great for anyone who doesn't want to use Apple's bundled headphones). Oh, and it's also a little thinner around the edges, and a little thicker at the center. If you want to know what it was like to try out, check out our iPhone 3G hands-on.

How'd they get the price so low? The iPhone used to be crazy expensive.

Actually, depending on how you do the math it's not actually cheaper. Now, in some countries the iPhone is free when you sign up for service, and in the US you'll pay $200 for the 8GB model -- half what it was a month ago -- so you're definitely paying less up front. But the data plans cost more now, so you might wind up spending more money over the long run.

Um, ok.

Look, gadgets only get cheaper as time goes on, and Apple's sold enough iPhones to continue to lower their cost to manufacture each unit. But more importantly, Apple's re-arranged its business deals to get carrier subsidies. Basically, what that means for Apple is they've decided to stop asking their carrier-partners for a cut of your monthly service fees. In exchange, the carriers have agreed to pay a significant chunk of the cost of your new iPhone 3G in order to get you to sign up.

So everybody supposedly wins: Apple sells more devices and still makes good money, AT&T gets more subscribers, and you get a cheaper iPhone. But there is a financial toll to this: AT&T estimates that helping you pay for your new iPhone will actually cost them $600 million through 2010. But clearly the numbers indicate that the short term cost will be worth it for them the long run.

Does that mean Apple doesn't make as much money per phone?

For all we know Apple might actually be making more money per phone now. With the original iPhone 3G, you paid "full price" for an iPhone -- $600 at its high point. Now you'll be paying no more than $200 (and as little as nothing in some countries) for the 8GB model, so we don't really know exactly how much of Apple's price the carriers are knocking off. We think it's fair to assume it'd still be in the $400-450 retail range, though, if it wasn't subsidied. Which it is.

What's up with the data and SMS pricing?

Well, Apple will be in 70 countries (and counting) this year, so you'll get different plans from region to region. But in the US, users will have to sign up for a minute plan that includes an extra $30 rate for 3G data access (and has no bundled text messages). This is $10 more than the original iPhone's rate plan, which was $20 for data and 200 included SMSs. Matching voice plans start at $40 per month, so you'll basically be able to get started at $70 per month. (We've also got a bit more on AT&T's new plans here.)

I heard you can't activate the iPhone at home anymore, is that true?

This is still a little fuzzy. Here's the deal: with the first iPhone, Apple used to let you buy it in the store and take it home to activate. This process is unlike almost every other phone on the market, but since it's Apple, and because you were paying full price for the device, if you never activated it with AT&T or just unlocked it and sent it to your friend in China or whatever, it wasn't a big deal. Apple made their money on the device, and AT&T didn't lose anything.

But since now AT&T is basically picking up a huge portion of the cost of your iPhone 3G, they want to make damn sure you aren't going to unlock it or send it to a friend. From what we've heard, you'll likely have to start the activation process in-store (so Apple and AT&T knows exactly who's buying the device), and then you might be able to finish it off at home. It's definitely not ideal, but it's the only way they can prevent people from basically walking away with a few hundred dollars of AT&T's money. And at the end of the day, it probably won't be WORSE than buying any other kind of phone though -- anyone who's bought a phone from a US carrier in the last 10 years will be well acquainted with the process.

I heard you have to turn over your iPhone when you upgrade, is that true?

Naw, you bought it, it's yours to hang on to. But if you ...

via Joystiq


In case you were thinking of skipping the approximately 8-minute install (which also translates to 4 or 5 cigarettes for our aged hero) and making a sandwich, consider the little bit of humor you'd be missing. If you're still undeterred and plan to ignore the game while it installs, check out our gallery for the sagacious and spoiler-free advice.

While some of it is a bit mundane, there are some rather humorous tidbits scattered about. For instance, how does one take a break every 15-minutes when cut-scenes run longer than that?


Photo shots of each screen during game install here ...

via Computer and Video Games


A note inside Midway's press release for the European release date of Unreal Tournament III on 360 has revealed what we can expect to see from the exclusive Gears of War 2 video included on the disc.

In addition to the actual UTIII game, the disc will feature an exclusive video preview of Gears of War 2. The video "will include never-before-seen footage of the game's multiplayer modes featuring new maps, new modes, new weapons and new gameplay elements. The video is narrated by design director, Cliff Bleszinski, and producer, Rod Fergusson."

Just in case you missed it, Unreal Tournament III will ship on July 4 across Europe and July 7 in the US. ...

via IGN


Today Ubisoft announced that Emergency Heroes has shipped to retailers nationwide and is available exclusively for the Wii home video game system from Nintendo. Developed by Ubisoft Reflections and Ubisoft Barcelona, Emergency Heroes is an open-world rescue driving game where young rescuers can jump into 48 different variations of next-generation rescue vehicles as a police officer, firefighter or EMT and navigate through the sprawling streets of San Alto, keeping citizens safe along the way. Emergency Heroes is rated "E-10+" and has an MSRP of $39.99.

Key Features:

- Drive the next generation of rescue vehicles. Pilot and command numerous high-tech rescue vehicles designed specifically for ultra-high-risk, high-speed navigation. Choose between police, fire and EMT vehicles.

- Explore and protect the entire city. As an emergency hero, your mission is to protect the peaceful city of San Alto. Drive through stunning free-roaming open environments, rescuing the city from imminent danger at every turn.

- Fun for the whole family. Making full use of the Wii Remote, everyone in the family can enjoy being an emergency hero.

- Fast-action gameplay. Take advantage of Hero Mode and play like you mean it the faster you drive, the faster you rise and gain access to powers of invincibility. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Here are some snaps of the Metal Gear Solid 4 midnight launch event that took place on Oxford Street, London.

A camo colour-wearing crowd (and some bloke with a truly epic afro) braved the hazards and hoodies of late night London to wait in line for the 12-o-clock opening, when the first copies of the game were handed over.

Well, almost the first, anyway.

No official numbers have been issued for the night, but it looked like it went pretty well.

It's expected that the flagship title will shift a fair few PS3s, with Sony smartly putting out a hardware bundle to go with the game.

And we've got our copies sitting right here, saying "play us, play us" in a quiet voice. You guys will be too busy playing to want any news today anyway, right?

Were you at a midnight opening and then went straight home (via the muggers) to play it all night? What are your first impressions? Let us know below.

In case you're still undecided, here's PSM3's review in full. And if you've forgot what the hell the story's all about, head on over to Joystiq, who's got a good little round-up of the whole series.


Photographs at Oxford Street here ...