Via PSPfanboy

There's really no telling what 2006 has in store for the PSP (we're not even sure Sony knows what's going on). But here's our predictions for what's headed our way in what is shaping up to be the year of the PSP.

PSP Prediction #1: The UMD market will collapse. 2006 will see too much UMD content delivered too quickly. It will continue to be priced too high and include the bare minimum in terms of value add (we should have predicted this for 2005). The new format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray combined with the mainstream acceptance of "digital content on demand" via the likes of iTunes and Google will leave little room for the oh-so-cute UMD. Inventories will rise, prices will plummet and new content being delivered on the format will level off to something more sustainable by the market.

PSP Prediction #2: The PSP will take on some very specific colors. The black monolith will make some room at the table for brothers and sisters of different colors. Sony will begin to steal adopt some tried-and-true iPod marketing tactics and release the PSP with new color and accessory options before the year is out. Count on at least two new colors, including a hot-rod red and a camo green, possibly marketed with or around the likes of, oh, let's say Gran Turismo 4 and Metal Gear Solid.

PSP Prediction #3: The PSP will allow you to access your PS3 from anywhere. Now, this prediction depends on the release date of the PS3. It's still Spring right? Right. Anyway, you'll be able to access content stored on your PS3's HDD (media, game saves, whatever) by accessing it via the PSP over a wifi Internet connection. Have a layover at the airport? Just whip out your PSP, access a hotspot and phone home to stream your favorite movie. Who needs memory sticks now?

PSP Prediction #4: The PSP will get a price drop and then some. Yeah, this one is a bit of a no-brainer, but we wanted to get at least 1 out of 5 right. The PSP will certainly see a price drop this year (likely sometime in the Fall, but possibly at E3). We expect it to be in the $50 dollar range, but you may also see additional pack-ins or offers that sweeten the pot. Don't be surprised to see another movie included "free" like Spiderman was during the PSP's launch. In fact, depending on how bad the UMD crash of '06 gets, you may see multiple free movie offers as Sony tries to dump and write-off the inventory of its own studio's UMDs. This scenario would be very similar to the early days of DVD where Warner Brothers produced too much product and offered 5 free DVDs with the purchase of certain partner companies' DVD players.

PSP Prediction #5: Sony will completely botch PSP advertising in 06. Ok, so we're going for a guaranteed 2 out of 5 correct predictions now. After a couple of advertising fiascoes in 2005 (the "Italy incident" and the "Graffiti conundrum") Sony will take a much more cautious approach, and, again, look at how Apple select competitors have successfully advertised their products. Expect PSP ads to go upscale and play up the "lifestyle" aspects of the device ("now with new colors that match any personality!"). This will further distance the PSP from its actual core competency: gaming. It will take Nintendo's Gameboy SP successor to wake Sony up and get them back on track with the PSP as a gaming device.

There you have it, 5 predictions for the ages (or at least 2006). Agree, disagree? Have your own predictions? Join the fun and comment below. ...

Great games have been fueling the DS' advance on the marketplace in 2005, culminating in "sold-out" status in Japan this holiday season. That's great momentum for the DS as it heads into 2006. But what does the future really hold for the dual-screen wonder? We place our bets below.

DS Prediction #1: Titles that take advantage of the DS will increasingly come from Japanese developers. Cultural differences aside, lazy North American developers will increasingly produce lackluster content for the DS. Expect more ports and retro projects from America's best when it comes to the DS. But, never fear, the Japanese developers are here. They will continue to push the envelope and develop games that demand the DS' talents. We may just have to wait until 2007 for the next batch of revolutionary games to hit Western shores.

DS Prediction #2: No price drop. It seems like a no-brainer that we would see a price drop for the DS in 2006. But we won't. Even in the face of a PSP price drop, Nintendo knows that it has the momentum and knows that it has a portable game library that is second to none. Nintendo isn't branching out beyond games (and into the world of multimedia, for instance). You can expect Nintendo to hold their current price point in a market where the only real competition for portable gaming comes from the Gameboy Micro.

DS Prediction #3: The DS will show off some unique connectivity capabilities with the Revolution. Think streaming. Think about streaming Goldeneye from your spankin' new Revolution to your DS, whever it is in your house. Retro games are coming your way, wherever you are. Wirelessly. Sweet.

DS Prediction #4: No DS redesign until 2007. Yep, this could be proven wrong on Monday. I just like to make myself vulnerable like that. But, the fact is that the DS won't see a redesign until 2007. Sure, you may see an announcement on a redesign sooner, but you're not going to be buying new product for at least a year. The DS is selling like hotcakes (it's sold out in Japan, for example). Why mess with something that you can't even keep in stock? And the Revolution is headed our way in Spring/Summer. Why release something that will compete directly for the gamer's dollar in the exact same timeframe? Nintendo will bide its time on this one.

DS Prediction #5: There will be a sequel to Nintendogs this holiday, but it won't be Nintencats. Think Nintenpets. You'll get to manage a household of canaries, hamsters, cats and your favorite imported canine. They'll interact with you and they'll interact with each other, leading to new ways to play and new challenges to overcome. New animal AI research has been going on for sometime.

There you have it, 5 predictions for the ages (or at least 2006). Agree, disagree? Have your own predictions? Join the fun and comment below. ...

Everyone is aware that the Revolution is not the market to compete with the sheer graphical prowess of the Xbox 360 and PS3, relying, in stead, on creativity and ingenuity. In fact, it would seem, even ATI is adamant about giving no comparison of the Revolutions graphical scale when compared to the competing next-gen consoles.StartFragment "What I can say is that ATI is focused, as is Nintendo, in making [Revolution] a great, gaming entertainment platform. I know that a lot of journalists are very focused on specs. It's the big thing; as a geek, I look for that too," says ATI PR manager for consumer products John Swinimer. "The key thing to keep in mind is that Nintendo, with ATI's help, is trying to create a game console where you don't have to look at [specs].

ATI wouldn't specifically state if Hollywood, the codename given to the Revolution GPU, is based off GameCube's Flipper GPU, instead saying it wasn't based off any PC architecture.

"Hollywood is a specific design and is in no way reflective of PC technology," says Swinimer. "It is designed the same as the Flipper was -- from the ground up for a specific console. Totally different sort of architecture from what you might find on the PC." Swinimer's comments aren't explicit, but seem to imply Hollywood is a completely unique design from ATI. With everyone, including ATI, dancing around the question, it would appear that we will just have to wait and see for ourselves. Will the Revolutions overall graphical performance be competitive with next-gen consoles? Will they be comparable to current gen? Or, could we see the release of a console that splits the difference? Lets hear your opinions in the comments below. ...

Edison Carter has updated his Trainer for the PSP Game Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories".

Cheats Include: Infinite Health and Armor, Set Wanted Level, Set Time, Set Weather & Spawn Anything.

Whats new:

Select ped outfit, press TRIANGLE to activate
Support for cheats with #off section

Download both versions via comments:

awesome work Edison ...

YopYop has once again updated his impressive Nintendo DS Emulator for windows:

Correction of the management of the CARD_REG but there is still lot of works

Download via the comments ...

Source joystiq

2005 was good to the games industry, due mostly in part to handheld gaming (ahh, those busy lifestyles). The NPD Group reports U.S. game retail sales hit a record $10.5 billion in 2005, breaking the previous record of $10.3 billion set back in 2002. And get this; software sales for the GBA, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP increased by 42 percent over 2004. Nintendo's five-year-old GBA comprised a whopping 52% of total handheld sales.

The article continues: "Console software experienced a 12 percent decline, with hardware and accessories declining 3 percent and 8 percent respectively from 2004. Many analysts and executives blame the decline in console software and hardware sales on consumer anticipation of the Xbox 360, which remains in short supply nearly three months after the console's launch."

So are we seeing a trend here? Is portable gaming, not consoles, where the majority of revenue growth be found? Either way, high-fives all around to the little portables that could. ...

Source joystiq

2005 was good to the games industry, due mostly in part to handheld gaming (ahh, those busy lifestyles). The NPD Group reports U.S. game retail sales hit a record $10.5 billion in 2005, breaking the previous record of $10.3 billion set back in 2002. And get this; software sales for the GBA, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP increased by 42 percent over 2004. Nintendo's five-year-old GBA comprised a whopping 52% of total handheld sales.

The article continues: "Console software experienced a 12 percent decline, with hardware and accessories declining 3 percent and 8 percent respectively from 2004. Many analysts and executives blame the decline in console software and hardware sales on consumer anticipation of the Xbox 360, which remains in short supply nearly three months after the console's launch."

So are we seeing a trend here? Is portable gaming, not consoles, where the majority of revenue growth be found? Either way, high-fives all around to the little portables that could. ...

Source joystiq

2005 was good to the games industry, due mostly in part to handheld gaming (ahh, those busy lifestyles). The NPD Group reports U.S. game retail sales hit a record $10.5 billion in 2005, breaking the previous record of $10.3 billion set back in 2002. And get this; software sales for the GBA, Nintendo DS and Sony PSP increased by 42 percent over 2004. Nintendo's five-year-old GBA comprised a whopping 52% of total handheld sales.

The article continues: "Console software experienced a 12 percent decline, with hardware and accessories declining 3 percent and 8 percent respectively from 2004. Many analysts and executives blame the decline in console software and hardware sales on consumer anticipation of the Xbox 360, which remains in short supply nearly three months after the console's launch."

So are we seeing a trend here? Is portable gaming, not consoles, where the majority of revenue growth be found? Either way, high-fives all around to the little portables that could. ...

Slightly off topic but over at our Retro and Gadget News Site, Console Hardware News ive just posted 25 of the worlds newest Phones, PDAs, Digital Cameras and Multimedia Devices, so that ive never heard of before today.

Check them all out at Console Hardware News ...