via cvg

PSP sales are declining faster than Sony had anticipated which is being put down to the overwhelming success of the DS and the lack of a defining title on the console.

Sony expected to sell 12 million units financial year starting April 2006. These estimates have now been dropped to nine million.

Software is considered a big part of the problem with the handheld. "Clearly on the software side, any real killer title will galvanize the sales," re-assures Robert Wiesenthal, chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America.

But he goes on to admit: "there have been a number of titles that have been terrific, but not the one title that defines the product."

Hiroshi Kamide, director of the research department at KBC Securities Japan, also cites software as the key problem for Sony. "If you look at the availability of software, there are a lot of games for the PSP but are not particularly successful ... You don't see any million-seller games for the PSP but you do hear about them for the Nintendo DS.

"The big problem is that while it's a wonderful-looking machine with a great display, the games are not so different from those you play at home on the PlayStation 2. Most of the software is knock-offs of PlayStation 2 titles and that won't do Sony any favours," he concludes. ...

Hi, I am going to stop development of GALPSP (I hope somebody remembers that one) so I decided to make every file avaliable in case somebody wants to learn from it, or maybe even use it.

You can do whatever you want with the code (check the documentation for more info).

What's new:
-Some speed improvements
-Some hacks
-New documentation (partially)

You can get it here
http://otacon.tecnologias-avanzadas....LPSP%20Last.7Z ...

- change: CDRecord 2.01 MinGW (works with cygwin open!)
- remove: CUE support since CDRecord doesn't support 2352 sector tracks
- new: the installer creates a shortcut in the SendTo menu -- sending folders to BootDreams through here works

http://dchelp.dcemulation.com/?BootDreams ...

Hi everyone,

Version 3.2.1 of fMSX-PSP, the MSX emulator for PSP has been released. New in this version:

* Added menu navigation options - select from US PSP navigation (X confirms,
O cancels) or Japanese PSP navigation (O confirms, X cancels—also used by
most homebrew emulators)
* Added RAM/VRAM adjustment options
* Added HBlank/VBlank period selection (PAL/NTSC)
* Added MSX model selection (MSX1, MSX2, MSX2+)
* Improved accuracy of frames-per-second counter
* User interface improvements
* fMSX updated to version 3.2
* Rendering speed increase, switched to 15bit color
* Various bug fixes

New version is available at http://psp.akop.org/fmsx/ (please note the updated address).

Thanks! ...

via PS3 Center

It seems that Grand Theft Auto IV may actually miss its October 16, 2007 release date on the PS3 and Xbox 360 due to a delay.

The game is set to launch on October 16, 2007. That has been the release date ever since the next-generation Grand Theft Auto was announced a few months ago for a simultaneous release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. That release date is also just a few weeks before the end of the fiscal year.

Analyst Michael Pachter believes though that Take-Two will delay the game. He stated that "We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ’throw in the towel’ on financial year 07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for financial year 08."

This would not mean too much of a delay for Grand Theft Auto IV but would probably cause it to miss its traditional October release timeframe it has been keeping with GTA 3, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas on the PS2, which all launched in October. ...

via PS3 Center

It seems that Grand Theft Auto IV may actually miss its October 16, 2007 release date on the PS3 and Xbox 360 due to a delay.

The game is set to launch on October 16, 2007. That has been the release date ever since the next-generation Grand Theft Auto was announced a few months ago for a simultaneous release on the PS3 and Xbox 360. That release date is also just a few weeks before the end of the fiscal year.

Analyst Michael Pachter believes though that Take-Two will delay the game. He stated that "We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ’throw in the towel’ on financial year 07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for financial year 08."

This would not mean too much of a delay for Grand Theft Auto IV but would probably cause it to miss its traditional October release timeframe it has been keeping with GTA 3, GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas on the PS2, which all launched in October. ...

via Pro-G

Sega has today announced the launch of the official The Golden Compass website, where you'll find all the info you could ever want about the game based on a film, which in turn is based on a fantasy novel.

The website will be your port of call if you want the latest news, screens, character profiles, location details and more concerning The Golden Compass.

The game is scheduled for release this winter and will bring to life the story of Lyra Belacqua on her quest to rescue her imprisoned uncle and kidnapped best friend. Lyra is joined on her quest by her spirit daemon, Pan, as well as a giant and powerful armoured bear, Iorek, and the mysterious Golden Compass. ...

news via ign

Sony and PSM say, "What interview?"

One of the most popular rumors floating around the Internet last week was that Sly Cooper 4 is coming to the PlayStation 3. The gossip, reportedly attributed to the next issue of PSM, was popularized at PlayStation fan site PSX Extreme (via this article) and it spread to message boards from there. In the article, PSXE claimed that PSM held an interview with the Sucker Punch development team where the following was said...

"The graphics have been majorly overhauled and the gameplay will be more varied and focused this time around. We're aiming for a fully interactive 3D world, with no loads and seamless interaction between settings and characters."

Article author, Ben Dutka, speculated that the new Sly project would likely be for PlayStation 3 because "two Sly games are slated to come out simultaneously and have connectivity with one another." It was further reported that the two games, of which the other is supposedly for PSP, are likely be shown at E3 in July.

But here's the rub. Sony and PSM (USA branch) both deny that the interview happened.

"Yeah, it's not us," commented PSM Editor-in-Chief, Rob Smith. "It must be a PSM in Europe somewhere."

Sony Computer Entertainment PR Manager Jennifer Clark added, "There have been no announcements made in regards to future Sly Cooper products and there are no plans for the franchise to appear at this year's E3. Any information that has recently been reported is pure rumor and speculation."

Curious, we had our UK staff check the latest issue of PSM UK as well.

"There's nothing in there about Sucker Punch or a new Sly game," reported IGN UK guy, Alex Simmons. "And the next issue isn't to subscribers yet."

When contacted, PSXE editor Ben Dutka said that his original source for the article was a report found on News for Gamers (linked), where it's revealed that the whole thing started as an anonymous posting at GameFaqs.

"Obviously, it's only a forum post so that's hardly something concrete," commented Dutka. "But I believe it's true. Usually I get a notice from Sony or whomever if we post an erroneous article, and I would've expected to see something if this wasn't actually fact."

Does this long trail of rumors mean that Sly Cooper 4 and Sly Cooper PSP isn't happening? Not necessarily. Sucker Punch is working on at least one "next-gen" project as we reported in this story published last year, but then again, the existence of such a project does not automatically equal "Sly Cooper."

Thus far, everyone that would have been involved in the original interview (if it even exists) has yet to substantiate it.

Give feedback via comment ...

news via ign

Sony and PSM say, "What interview?"

One of the most popular rumors floating around the Internet last week was that Sly Cooper 4 is coming to the PlayStation 3. The gossip, reportedly attributed to the next issue of PSM, was popularized at PlayStation fan site PSX Extreme (via this article) and it spread to message boards from there. In the article, PSXE claimed that PSM held an interview with the Sucker Punch development team where the following was said...

"The graphics have been majorly overhauled and the gameplay will be more varied and focused this time around. We're aiming for a fully interactive 3D world, with no loads and seamless interaction between settings and characters."

Article author, Ben Dutka, speculated that the new Sly project would likely be for PlayStation 3 because "two Sly games are slated to come out simultaneously and have connectivity with one another." It was further reported that the two games, of which the other is supposedly for PSP, are likely be shown at E3 in July.

But here's the rub. Sony and PSM (USA branch) both deny that the interview happened.

"Yeah, it's not us," commented PSM Editor-in-Chief, Rob Smith. "It must be a PSM in Europe somewhere."

Sony Computer Entertainment PR Manager Jennifer Clark added, "There have been no announcements made in regards to future Sly Cooper products and there are no plans for the franchise to appear at this year's E3. Any information that has recently been reported is pure rumor and speculation."

Curious, we had our UK staff check the latest issue of PSM UK as well.

"There's nothing in there about Sucker Punch or a new Sly game," reported IGN UK guy, Alex Simmons. "And the next issue isn't to subscribers yet."

When contacted, PSXE editor Ben Dutka said that his original source for the article was a report found on News for Gamers (linked), where it's revealed that the whole thing started as an anonymous posting at GameFaqs.

"Obviously, it's only a forum post so that's hardly something concrete," commented Dutka. "But I believe it's true. Usually I get a notice from Sony or whomever if we post an erroneous article, and I would've expected to see something if this wasn't actually fact."

Does this long trail of rumors mean that Sly Cooper 4 and Sly Cooper PSP isn't happening? Not necessarily. Sucker Punch is working on at least one "next-gen" project as we reported in this story published last year, but then again, the existence of such a project does not automatically equal "Sly Cooper."

Thus far, everyone that would have been involved in the original interview (if it even exists) has yet to substantiate it.

Give feedback via comment ...