You’ve heard the rumors, you’ve seen the mock-up pictures, and now you get to know that yes, the next PSP does actually exist. Although we can’t get any pictures, hardware specs, or official announcements from Sony themselves, we can confirm that it’s been shown to some people, one of whom is VERY reliable regarding such matters. Our inside source recently met with Sony representatives, where he was shown the next iteration of the PSP, but not allowed to play with it.

According to our source the ‘Next PlayStation Portable’ includes these features:

Rounded Edges

Dual analog sticks
Small sliding screen
Similar size and thickness to current PSP model
No UMD drive
This means it’s not shaped like the mockup pictured above, rather “it’s ugly and still bulky, and is (an) ugly gray color.” It does however include several of the features we would expect it to have which correlate to previous reports coming from Dave Perry. The same source also tells us that “Patapon 2 is kinda the test drive [for digital distribution], heard it said that if it fails massively, then Sony may reinstate the UMD drive. Said they are working out bugs for release.” Interesting.

Not only that, but our source has also confirmed that a $100 price cut is coming to the PS3 at E3, which we assume covers all existing models. Apparently vendors across the United States are stockpiling PlayStation 3 consoles in preparation for the drop at E3. We have contacted SCEA for confirmation on this story so, hopefully, more developments will be posted as we receive them.

UPDATE: We contacted Julie Han at Corporate Communications who thanked us for informing her that we will be running the story before responding “I don’t know who your source is, but Sony is not in the business of answering rumors.” I guess we shall see at E3 because that surely is NOT a denial on their part. More news if it comes in!

http://www.onelastcontinue.com/5488/...rop-confirmed/ ...

You’ve heard the rumors, you’ve seen the mock-up pictures, and now you get to know that yes, the next PSP does actually exist. Although we can’t get any pictures, hardware specs, or official announcements from Sony themselves, we can confirm that it’s been shown to some people, one of whom is VERY reliable regarding such matters. Our inside source recently met with Sony representatives, where he was shown the next iteration of the PSP, but not allowed to play with it.

According to our source the ‘Next PlayStation Portable’ includes these features:

Rounded Edges

Dual analog sticks
Small sliding screen
Similar size and thickness to current PSP model
No UMD drive
This means it’s not shaped like the mockup pictured above, rather “it’s ugly and still bulky, and is (an) ugly gray color.” It does however include several of the features we would expect it to have which correlate to previous reports coming from Dave Perry. The same source also tells us that “Patapon 2 is kinda the test drive [for digital distribution], heard it said that if it fails massively, then Sony may reinstate the UMD drive. Said they are working out bugs for release.” Interesting.

Not only that, but our source has also confirmed that a $100 price cut is coming to the PS3 at E3, which we assume covers all existing models. Apparently vendors across the United States are stockpiling PlayStation 3 consoles in preparation for the drop at E3. We have contacted SCEA for confirmation on this story so, hopefully, more developments will be posted as we receive them.

UPDATE: We contacted Julie Han at Corporate Communications who thanked us for informing her that we will be running the story before responding “I don’t know who your source is, but Sony is not in the business of answering rumors.” I guess we shall see at E3 because that surely is NOT a denial on their part. More news if it comes in!

http://www.onelastcontinue.com/5488/...rop-confirmed/ ...

Sony has contended there is no PSP2 and they are telling the cold hard truth. There won’t be a PSP2 coming for at least a couple more years. That doesn’t mean that some new PSP hardware isn’t headed our way soon enough. Think more aesthetic changes, more along the lines of DS > DSLite but more substantial of a change. We here at PlayStation LifeStyle are ready to “debunk” or “confirm” some of the rumors that are floating around the net.

We are not at liberty to divulge our sources. Rest assured all will be revealed during E3.


Some of the details I cannot divulge, but we will try our best to let you know what it is, and what it isn’t. We recently noticed PSPWorld’s attempt at “Separating Fact and Fiction” regarding the PSP2, we call it an attempt because it’s pretty much all wrong.

Let’s take a look at what PSPWorld calls “Fact”

UMD is dead. Sorry folks, UMD IS dead, they got this one right…
Touch Screen. PSPWorld states that this is a given as this seems to be the trend the industry is heading towards. Well Sony boasts it’s “Like No Other” and that is the truth, Sony doesn’t follow trends, it sets them. There will be NO touchscreen in the next PSP.
“Monstrous Hardware Specs” If that were the case, it WOULD be the PSP2, and the next PSP is NOT the PSP2, it’s not the PSP-4000 either. In fact it’s something entirely unique.
Now let’s move onto their “Fiction”:

Release before Christmas 2009. We don’t know an exact release date, but it’s much sooner than anyone is expecting. One thing we are sure of is that it’s definitely going to be before Holiday 2009.
Internal HDD. If UMD is dead, how exactly does PSPWorld think we are going to get our games on the new PSP? Sure Sony could pack in some form of memory stick with the new PSP, but that isn’t practical. As Dave Perry has mentioned in the past, look for some type of solid state memory on board. It will also take some form of removable flash memory.
Phone included. They got this one right also, but it wasn’t a hard guess. There will be no built in phone in the next PSP, however you can always use Skype.
Here is a few more things we would like to touch on.

Sliding Screen. They call this fiction, and unfortunately we cannot comment on this. We have to leave it at that.
Dual Analog Sticks. Nope, not happening, at least not until the PSP2 which this isn’t. Adding a second analog stick would alienate the current PSP lineup, which is going to get much more robust later this year. A lineup, that will play just fine on this new PSP, which is based on current PSP tech.
Last thing we would like to leave you off with is…

We all know E3 is GOing to be filled with HEAVY announcements, potentially COLOSSAL even if we’re lucky. Don’t let all the MASSIVE amounts of rumors RAIN on your parade. It’s a great TIME to be living the PlayStation LifeStyle, so TUNE in as we bring all the news, LITTLE and BIG to you as things are set in MOTION every step of the way.

http://playstationlifestyle.net/2009...-the-next-psp/ ...

IGN has published a 11 page article about the history of sega, from the formation of Service Games, to Yu Suzuki's recent retirement. Its a great read, and one of the best histories of Sega, I have ever read.
Taken from the Into:

Full Article ...

More Pandora News from Evil Dragon:

The battery production has started a while ago, the new transparent CNC case with some minor fixes is on the way to Michael. Sounds good, eh?

Well, there's more: Some of the final PCBs have already been ordered. And mostly all parts for the mass production have arrived.

Sounds good? I think it does. Oh, and the first TV Out cable prototypes sould also arrive soon.
Also, if you want to do some paperwork at home and want to check out how big the battery will be... you can build yourself one.



Just download the wrapping here, print it (300dpi), cut it and fold it where the small lines are. Glue the overlapping edges... and you're ready.
Feel free to post pictures of your batteries on the boards.

Now, that's it for today, more news when the time comes

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php

New Videos Via Comments ...

More Pandora News from Evil Dragon:

The battery production has started a while ago, the new transparent CNC case with some minor fixes is on the way to Michael. Sounds good, eh?

Well, there's more: Some of the final PCBs have already been ordered. And mostly all parts for the mass production have arrived.

Sounds good? I think it does. Oh, and the first TV Out cable prototypes sould also arrive soon.
Also, if you want to do some paperwork at home and want to check out how big the battery will be... you can build yourself one.



Just download the wrapping here, print it (300dpi), cut it and fold it where the small lines are. Glue the overlapping edges... and you're ready.
Feel free to post pictures of your batteries on the boards.

Now, that's it for today, more news when the time comes

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php

New Videos Via Comments ...

via Gizmodo




Coming this fall is "The Strike," a fishing game promising "realistic lake bottom topography, life-like fish behaviors" and more, and with it, this bait-and-tackle controller. I can almost smell the Mercruiser fumes. ...

Mplayer CE is a fork of the Team Twiizers MPlayer port, combining elements of MPlayerWii and GeeXboX.

Changelog
v0.5
SMB now much more robust - thanks to DennisLKJ for smb.c fix
libfat cache improved for speed and stability
USB ethernet now fixed with USB 1.1; USB 2.0 fix requires an updated cIOS
Added ability to manipulate picture using the nunchuck
Updated to latest MPlayer revision
Now using subfont.ttf instead of font folder - use mplayer.conf to change font size
Merged widescreen and 4:3 pack - now MPlayer will use the appropriate loop.avi automatically
Improved modchip compatibility for DVD

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

via Eurogamer


Atari has released the first set of changes for Xbox 360-exclusive driving game RACE Pro.

The title update - automatically downloaded from Xbox Live - fixes a slew of single- and multiplayer issues. Most of them are minor and technical bugs that make the list too long and boring to reproduce here. And we normally quite like lists - oh look, a train!

This update is a response to the requests of the community, apparently, which also explains why so much of it focuses on multiplayer.

If you're still pondering a RACE Pro investment, why not revisit our review and mull it over? You can probably add 0.0001 to the score now these fixes are in place. ...