Hello from ZodTTD!

As I had said in the beginning of the psx4iphone project, I would be working on another Sony Playstation 1 emulator alongside it. This upcoming emulator should increase performance quite a lot over the current psx4iphone. This upcoming emulator is being lead by Hlide, a very talented programmer. He even contributed some of the generator of the psx4all project’s dynamic recompiler!

Now it’s time for me to return the favor and help him bring his project to ARM platforms such as the iPhone. Hlide’s project is titled yapse4all (YAPSE- Yet Another PlayStation Emulator) and though in it’s early stages, it shows so much promise that I would like to bring some of his framework and dynarec over to psx4all. Since yapse4all currently lacks important device emulation such as the Graphics Processing Unit, Sound Processing Unit, and etc., I am able to extend yapse4all into psx4iphone. It would help Hlide by getting the ARM implementation completed, and help me by improving the core of psx4iphone. Eventually yapse4all will be in a more complete state, and could then maintain his own, more advanced, ARM arch which could take advantage of things currently not possible in psx4all such as threaded devices.

So basically if Hlide doesn’t mind this being done, soon psx4iphone could get a very large update due to his excellent work and my extension of it.

Lots of work to be done, but piece by piece it’s getting there!

http://zodttd.com/wp/ ...

GiGaHeRz has released a new version of his sound plugin for PS2 Emulators:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

This release is all about fixes to the NES code. I've made some structural changes to the 6502 which corrected a bunch of problems (e.g. Battletoads) and added a few mappers. A bunch of the fixes are due to removing some unsafe speed optimizations. The overall speed is still plenty fast, so it was worth doing. The new code now supports the following mappers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 19, 33, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 87, 93, 160, 180. Mappers 64, 65, 66, 232, and 116 appear to be supported as well. I've also fixed the NES load/save code, but the fix required that I change the SAV files. Please delete all of your old SAV files (the BAK files haven't changed, you can still use the old ones).

http://www.bitbanksoftware.com/SmartGear.html ...

foft has ported his great Atari 800 emulator to the Gizmondo, heres the release info:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

News from Play Asia

Welcome to this week's Games & Toys update, our weekly summary featuring all new product arrivals from the last seven days.

Following the busy Christmas season, the year has as usually started very slow, this time with just one new Japanese video game release. Japanese suppliers are on their New Year holidays, closing down for the first week of the year. Just like every year, we are trying to keep additional buffers on hot selling items but there are unavoidably slight delays for items that are not in stock until suppliers return back to work coming week.

Here is a quick summary of what's been new in stock this week, followed by a quick preview of what is expected next week.


Nintendo DS™:
Rune Factory 2 JPN US$ 48.90

Books & Magazines:
Arcadia Magazine [February 2008] JPN US$ 12.90
Famitsu Wave DVD [February 2008] JPN US$ 16.50
Xbox 360 Achievements: Unlocked US US$ 9.99

Toys & More:
.hack//Sign Lovable Collection Vol. 2 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Black Rose JPN US$ 12.49
.hack//Sign Lovable Collection Vol. 2 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sabaru JPN US$ 12.49
Armored Troops Votoms 1/12 Scale Pre-painted PVC Figure: Brutishdog & Fyana JPN US$ 179.90
Bleach Characters 5 Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 5.90
Burst Angel 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sei JPN US$ 29.90
Burst Angel 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sei (Limited Version) JPN US$ 29.90
Creator's Labo #015 Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Rei Ayanami JPN US$ 59.90
Dragon Ball Z Non Scale Pre-Painted Gashapon: Neo Super-soldier of Legend Version JPN US$ 5.90
Dragon Quest Chapter of Heaven Vol.1 Collection - Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Eushully's Meishoku no Reiki 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Silfietta Luashia JPN US$ 74.90
Feyenoord Rotterdam 14 Pre-Painted Mini Figure: Shinji Ono JPN US$ 9.90
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Play Arts Pre-Painted Action Figure: Sephiroth JPN US$ 38.90
Final Fantasy X Play Arts Pre-Painted Action Figure: Tidus JPN US$ 38.90
Gradius Sky Girls 1/60 Scale Model-Kit: Vic Viper (Sky Girls Version) JPN US$ 39.90
Hamburger SV 32 Pre-Painted Mini Figure: Naohiro Takahara JPN US$ 9.90
Ikkitousen 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted Figure: Ryomou Shimei JPN US$ 59.90
Ikkitousen 1/7 Scale Painted Figure: Ryomou Shimei (Black Nurse Ver.) JPN N/A
Ikkitousen Scale 1/7 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Kanu Gothic Lolita Dress (Black Version) JPN US$ 49.90
Ikkitousen Scale 1/8 Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Sonsaku Hakufu Maid Fighter (Black Version) JPN US$ 49.90
Kasutama P Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Estel Freesia JPN US$ 64.90
Kasutama P Yoake Mae yori Ruri Iro na Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Feena Fam Earthlight JPN US$ 74.90
MM Train No.44 Pre-Painted Gashapon JPN US$ 1.90
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Takamachi Nanoha JPN US$ 159.90
Masterpiece of Shunya Yamashita 1/7 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Shoko-San (Repainted Version) JPN US$ 59.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-00 Prototype JPN US$ 19.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-01 Test Type JPN US$ 19.90
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1/7 Scale Metallic Pre-Painted Action Figure: EVA-02 Production Model JPN US$ 19.90
Raki Suta Collection Non Scale Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN N/A
Robot Mini Figure Collection Vol.1 Pre-Painted Trading Figure JPN US$ 3.49
SIF EX The Onee Chanbara 1/6 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Aya (Special color Ver) JPN US$ 54.90
SR Super Sea Story Figure Collection Gashapon JPN US$ 3.49
Sake Cellar Tour Cup Series Non Scale Pre-Painted Trading Figure JPN US$ 2.90
Samurai Spirits: Iroha 1/6 Scale Prepainted PVC Figure JPN US$ 59.90
Sound Pot Yamanote & Osaka Loop Line Gashapon JPN US$ 2.90
Tokustsu Daihyakka Gamera Pre-Painted Mini Figure Collection Trading Figure JPN US$ 1.90
Unisonshift Collection Pre-Painted PVC Trading Figure JPN US$ 4.90
Zero no Tsukaima - 1/8 Scale Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Louise (Kneeling ver.) JPN N/A
Zoids Command Geno Saurer 1/72 Plastic Model Kit JPN N/A

Video Game Soundtracks:
Guilty Gear 2 Overture Original Soundtrack Vol.2 JPN US$ 27.90
Honeycoming - One More Chime! JPN US$ 29.90

A separate Video/Music update containing Japanese releases from this week, including new Anime, J-Pop and Movie releases will follow prior end of the week.

It's going to remain relatively calm next week, with just eight new releases in Japan, most of them budget reprints. Expected to be among the better selling releases are Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! Wii for Nintendo Wii™ and the Asian release version of Wipeout Pulse for PSP™. ...

With the princess saved and the galaxy once again at peace, it's back to the status quo for the Wii, as Hudson has kicked off the new year by confirming plans to bring Deca Sports – a new "casual sports" title that promises to use the Wii remote in "unique yet accessible ways" – to the States this summer. The minigame comp will include ten different sporting events "for players and sports fans of all ages," which no doubt means casual gamers or those simply looking for a reason – any reason – to play the Wii.

Deca Sports'' laundry list of events reads like the developers dropped a bunch of activities into a hat and pulled them out at random, with beach volleyball and archery sharing space with snowboarding, soccer, and super cross. Other events include badminton, basketball, curling and figure skating. The game even includes kart racing, making this collection, if nothing else, eclectic. Still, while this sort of offering worked great as a console pack-in, now, more than a year after the Wii first seduced us with its sultry waggle, we can't help but feel that it's time for something meatier.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/03/de...thanks-hudson/ ...

San Jose Mercury News reporter Dean Takahashi shared a small story over the holiday that will be music to the ears of RPG fans. BioWare is apparently already hard at work on a Jade Empire 2 .
"I talked with someone who saw code for Jade Empire 2. It's coming for the Xbox 360, and it's real. It's not much as far as scoops go, but I'm on vacation. What do you expect? Jade Empire was BioWare's second big game for the Xbox, following the exclusive Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic title in 2003. It will be interesting to see if Jade Empire 2 will remain an exclusive for the Xbox 360, now that Electronic Arts has agreed to acquire BioWare/Pandemic.

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../01/02/1830241 ...

an article at the Seattle Times offers an interesting theory on what might be an important part of Bill Gates' keynote at CES next week. According to Times writer Brier Dudley, upgrades and licensing for the Xbox 360 could be a big new feather in Microsoft's cap:
"I've speculated on my blog that Microsoft may be preparing to license the Xbox gaming platform to consumer-electronics companies. In particular, Microsoft could work with Toshiba to develop a digital video recorder with a hard-drive, high-definition HD-DVD drive and Xbox gaming capabilities. They're already allied against Sony and other backers of the Blu-ray DVD format, and Toshiba could help Xbox finally penetrate the Japanese market."
Toshiba has repeatedly denied the possibility of a 360 unit with a built-in HD-DVD drive, it should be noted.

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl.../01/02/1842259 ...

So far, OpenMoko's Linux-based open source phones have amounted to little more than a twinkle in the eye of Joe Consumer, instead getting fast-tracked into the hands of developers who hope to make the whole package stable and functional enough for the average buyer to give a flip by the time they're widely available. We'd say that's a solid policy -- especially if these guys hope to fight the oncoming Android steamroller -- and the next volley is about to get fired in the form of the "Neo FreeRunner." The spiritual successor to the original Neo1973 (pictured), the FreeRunner is being billed as a "compelling mass market device" thanks to some key additions: WiFi, motion sensors, a faster 500MHz processor, and 3D graphics acceleration. OpenMoko's previewing the phone at CES next week with shipments following on to developers in the spring in two triband GSM versions, one with North America-friendly 850MHz and the other with 900MHz. Consumer sales are expected to happen after that (shortly after that, hopefully) once the dev community blesses it with solid code.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/03/o...eo-freerunner/ ...