I was looking around on a few websites on how to upgrade my psp from 2.71 SE-B" to 2.71 SE-C. I had got everything I needed except the SE-C update so i went to DAXs website when I seen this article:
As you can see this fake Dark_AleX has totally made the real Dark_AleX's life hard. Bring him many many legal problems. Does this mean no more awesome custom firmwares, decrypters, and so on from the amazing Dark_AleX, I hope not because Dark_AleX has brought alot to the community and opened a new era in psp development. I personally hope that he stays and continues work on his great projects but I also support his decision to stay or leave. So I thought I would pass this on to all of you out there who love Dark_AleX's work. Hope to see you stay man

http://www.dax.st/

The good news is it seems that the Fake site www.dark-alex.com has been taken down ...

A Brazilian guy, an Xbox 360 suffering from the red lights of death, had a great idea. Watch this video. ...

Microsoft and FASA Studios are set to run a public beta test for Shadowrun, starting in mid December and concluding in March.

Reports suggest it's focused on the Xbox 360 version, and that the beta will require you to own a premium console with a hard disk and an Xbox Live Gold account (that said, the sign-up page itself claims that it's also for high end PCs running Windows Vista).

Unlike next spring's Halo 3 beta though, this one requires you to jump through a few hoops - you need to fill out an application, enter some codes and sign up for a forum, and FASA says it's looking primarily for people with enough time to play regularly and a "willingness to communicate" on the forum. So make sure you fill out all those boxes, eh?

Helpfully Major Nelson's on hand to walk you through the sign-up procedure on connect.microsoft.com, although beware that I was only able to get it to work in Internet Explorer. Might just be me though - I can barly==ely use a computer properly.

The full version of Shadowrun, of course, is due out next year, and will be one of the first games to feature "Live Anywhere" programming that enables first-person shooting PC players to battle against third-person thwacking 360 owners. It'll be interesting to see how that works, and hopefully the beta will give us a better sense of what's going on. Let us know if you manage to get in.


Eurogamer.net ...

news via cinemablend

It has been no surprise that the next generation of Brothers In Arms is nothing short of impressive. While it’s still a ways off from release, every gamer is probably questioning whether Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway is going to make its way to the Wii? Well, with the success of Call of Duty 3, another World War II shooter probably wouldn’t be a bad addition to Nintendo’s lineup.

Utilizing advanced physics (much like Midway’s Stranglehold), BIA: Hell’s Highway offers a whole new level of military combat and immersive warfare. So I contacted a representative at Gearbox to see if the developers had a little something cooking in the oven for the Nintendo Wii. Even though I hate to be a buzz-kill, the PR commented that... “Currently, Gearbox hasn't announced anything regarding Hell's Highway and the Wii,

Although, given that Ubisoft is a heavy third-party supporter for Wii that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Brothers In Arms for Nintendo’s new system. The representative from Gearbox continued on to say... “as you likely know, we will certainly be developing on the Wii platform (we just haven't really said what and when yet” ...

news via gizmodo

Fans of driving games traditionally either had to put up with filmsy wheels that made racing less convenient than using the standard analog stick controllers. With the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel from Microsoft, lousy first party racing accessories are a thing of the past.

In all honesty, this was the best racing experience we've ever had.

Build quality was excellent, since the wheel was incredibly solid and grippy and the paddles were placed just right for easy shifting. Although you can't spin the wheel 720 degrees like in a real car, it did give you tight control of whatever car you were driving.

The pedals were also extremely lifelike, since your ankles hold them in place, and both the gas and brake had enough push-back to keep you on your toes, so to speak.

But the big question is how these behaved with games? The answer: fantastic.

The wheel ships with a modified version of Project Gotham Racing 3, which also comes with the drivers necessary to make the wheel work on other games. The best example of how well this wheel works would be the F50 GT that everyone loves to use—because it's the fastest—but is incredibly hard to control. Using the wireless racing wheel, driving the beast felt like cruising down the I-5 in a Honda Civic. No problems at all!

The other game we tried was Need for Speed: Carbon. The older NFS game doesn't have wheel support, but Carbon does in spades. Our experience with Carbon can be summed up like this. After a day of playing with the standard 360 controller, we were set to return the game since it wasn't that much better than the other Need for Speed. After we got the wheel, however, everything just felt right. Our mouths were agape, and our tongues were wagging in a Jordanesque fashion trying to nail those tight corners.

Long story short, this is the best thing to happen to Xbox 360 racing games. Ever. If you're a racing fan—or just want to become a racing fan—get this controller. Seriously.

screens via comment ...

news via palgn

Claims MS bigwig, before laying into Sony. For a change.

Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, has claimed that Microsoft is already thinking about the machine that will succeed the Xbox 360. "You know how these things work. The engineering team is always thinking about the future," replied Bach when asked by the San Jose Mercury News about Microsoft's next console. However, he was also keen to recognize the fact that, y'know, Microsoft has a console out now to worry about, adding that, "Currently, we're thinking about how to cost reduce the Xbox 360. That seems to be the first order of business."

That may be the first order of business, but goading Sony also seems to be high up on Microsoft's action plan at the moment. And, true to form, Bach had his own piece to say about Microsoft's fierce rival, which he described as being "spread really thin across all these areas. Trying to do PSP, competing with Nintendo, PSP to DS; competing with us, 360 to PS3, I think it does strain - it would naturally strain any organization."

Of course, Bach was rather more optimistic about Microsoft's chances over the Holiday season, proclaiming that, "The second holiday for Xbox 360 is set up right - we've got the quantities we need, we've got the games we need, and anything I do to distract those guys is probably a bad thing. You have to ask the question, over the life cycle, who has the cost advantage? Who can price most effectively? Who can reach the price points quicker? That has a huge impact on what gets driven."

More corporate cat fighting as it reaches our twitching ears. ...

news via 1up

Are parts for the system finally cheaper than it sells for? Analyst says 'yes.'

Tech analyst firm iSuppli issued a report where they speculate that Microsoft's Xbox 360 might, just a year after release, cost less to produce than the unit retails for, according to GameIndustry.

The HDD-equipped Xbox 360 has a manufacturing and materials total of US $323.30, based on updated estimate using costs in the fourth quarter of 2006," said the report. "This total is US $75.70 less than the US $399 suggested retail price of the Xbox 360.

The Core pack isn't turning a profit, yet. If just a year after launch when sales for the system have remained relatively sluggish, Microsoft's production costs are lower than their retail price -- that puts them in an enviable position (considering iSuppli guessed that Sony was losing $300 per PS3) going into next year -- which could be one of the best in recent memory in terms of software (both industry-wide and for Microsoft). ...

news via ve3d

November 27, 2006 - It looks like Sony is is going all-out for KillZone on the PS3:

Today, the long silence on the game was broken by the Dutch newspaper de Volksrant. In an article titled, "A video game more expensive than the most expensive film," the daily highlights the next-gen Killzone and its developer, Amsterdam-based and Sony-owned Guerilla Games. The piece's name comes from the fact that the game is costing more to develop than the priciest film in Dutch history, director Paul Verhoeven's World War II thriller Black Book (Zwartboek).

While Black Book cost more than 16 million euros (approximately $21 million), Guerilla won't mention specific numbers for Killzone's budget. "Our budget tops [the film]," said Killzone director Arjan Brussee. "We're working on the biggest multimedia project in Dutch history." ...

news via engadget

We'll be the first to admit that the whole "smash this object" craze is getting a tad out of hand, but the latest rendition of demolishing a perfectly functional PlayStation 3 is just revolting. While we've witnessed Nintendo's Wii being cautiously dissected and publicly mangled, a couple of mountain men (and their canine companions) decided to take their newly purchased 60GB PS3 to the woodshed. After rambling about and capturing their mountaineer lifestyle in perfect fashion, they decide to crush the box with a large chunk of timber, only to make matters worse by busting out the ole hacksaw. Further abuse was bestowed care of a gas-powered chainsaw, and for the finale, it was set ablaze to cheers of evil laughter. While the motive here is certainly clear, and the tools used to inflict punishment are indeed respectable, you'd think someone willing to trash $600 (not to mention to probable near-death experience trying to acquire one) would actually show the PS3 within the box. But alas, no "real" proof is ever shown, so be sure to peep the YouTube vid after the break and chuckle at this glaring oversight.

youtube video via engadget ...