For today! We just got word from badrix that the Playstation Portable 3.00 Firmware Manual has been posted up on Sony's site. The manual details some of the mundane details for your typical firmware update, however there are a few hot topics in there which demand attention. I'll tell you right off that there was no information in their updated manual regarding the PSP supporting homebrew with firmware 3.00, and this was a rather large disappointment. On the other hand, the few additions that were made were helpful, one might even say overdue, but these added pleasures were still bitter sweet.

Remote Play - Remote play is a new feature in Firmware 3.00 that allows you to remotely control your PlayStation 3 from your PSP. This also includes the display of PS3 content on the PSP. "You can display a PLAYSTATION®3 system screen on a PSP™ system and play content that is on the PS3™ system. To use this feature, you must adjust the necessary settings on the PSP™ system and the PS3™ system." Using this new mode of playback, one can control the Photo, Music, Video, and Internet Browser features of the PlayStation 3 from a remote location via their Playstation Portable.

Video Compatibility - In this updated version of the Playstation Portable firmware, you are also able to play a few new video formats. The Motion JPEG format (M-JPEG), is an "informal name for multimedia formats where each video frame or interlaced field of a digital video sequence is separately compressed as a JPEG image" (Wikipedia). The PlayStation Portable plays both the Linear PCM and the μ-Law versions of the Motion JPEG video format. In addition, you will now be able to access the Camera (functionality) from the photo option menus, for quicker easier access when taking photos or video. Another nifty function is the ability to finally turn off Auto Play for inserted UMD Discs via UMD Auto Boot. (Thanks zerojay)

PlayStation Games - Here's the big tip you've been waiting for. Finally, Sony is going to drop their highly anticipated PlayStation One emulator onto the PSP. From the manual however, there seems to be a unavoidable catch. If you don't have a PS3, your not going to be enjoying PlayStation One games emulating on Sony's PlayStation One emulator for PSP anytime soon. From the manual it states that you must connect to the Playstation Online store with your PSP connected to the PlayStation 3 in order to download and play the games. In addition, they mention that you can in fact share the games, but you must activate the other system in the Friends menu as a PS3 Network Account.

Now to top it all off right before posting this, I came across a tip submitted by Jordan. Which led me to a post made by 0okm and from the looks of things, it would appear the PlayStation Portable 3.00 Firmware will be out soon - as soon as Today! just a few days, on November 22 to be exact, according to Sony Asia's Managing Director Tetsuhiko Yasuda. Remember, Sony didn't mention anything about homebrew this time around either, so make sure you are aware that the current methods for playing unofficial games will probably not work. No matter the consequences it would appear that if your looking to get into some PlayStation One gaming on the PSP, for now, you know what you gotta do...

Update: Just got wind that PSP 3.00 Firmware is out now! We have obtained the file and are uploading it as you read. If you were thinking about updating, check your network settings, reports have come in it is up and ready via network update as well. With the Japanese 3.00 firmware update finally out on the net, we can only assume it will appear in stores on the shelf very soon as well.

Download: [ PSP 3.00 Firmware Update (jpn) ]

Video Game music for some allows for a brief regression back into their childhood. Be it Metroid or Legend of Zelda, we all hold a number of special video games close to out hearts. These songs were created with the same sweat and blood that songs today are made however one must wonder in what direction are we headed. In the 80's we had synthesized gaming music that many today refer to as sounding like "midi".

While this is no doubt an incorrect assumption, the audio quality and even some sounds are somewhat similar. However, today much of the music that we once expected to hear in our games in the 80's and 90's has been replaced with audio by "professional musicians", such as bands you hear on the radio for example. I put professional musicians in quotes because who are we kidding, it would be ludicrous to not classify master Nobuo Uematsu, who created the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack, a professional musician. But I regress.

Bringing us back to the contemporary is a interview with Jesper Kyd. He mixes such styles as hybrid electronic and live choral in recent project Freedom Fighters.  His scores have gained him international acclaim in the music arts and entertainment industry. Recently he was nominated for "Best Use of Sound in a Game" at the Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards. He spent some time sharing some of his personal thoughts about video game music and the path that it will carve in the future.

Click Full Article to read the interview.

First off, I'm not one to play the fanboy role when it comes to choosing video game consoles. They all have their own unique features and games, some better and some worse but in the end they are all just fun to play. Video games from classic systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis are obviously still alive and kicking.

However theres a group of people who are not so happy with a classic console producer. So unhappy in fact that they choose to ban this savior of so many boring days from their popular MMORPG, Guild Wars. The victim in this case, so to speak, is "Sega".

 When gamers choose to use language that would get the typical teenagers mouth washed out with soap, the game filters out the word so other gamers aren't offended. There are, no doubt a number of hypocrisies, such as the word "damn" for example.

A check was run to see if any of the other console makers were masked in this conspiracy and "Nintendo", "Sony", and "Microsoft" came up with a clean slate and were not blocked. So sad it seems, that NCsoft would shun a company invovled in such epic titles as Sonic the Hedgehog, Guardian Heroes, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Chu Chu Rocket.

Tetris, a game upon which the entire "falling objects" genre was created has touched us all. Maybe I'm giving Tetris too much credit? The game only runs on about every platform ever created. From cellphones and calculators to PDA's and video gaming consoles, almost every electronic device capable of playing a game has seen a tetrad fall down the screen. So when Tetris creator Alexy Pazhitnov (sometimes transliterated to Pajitnov) launches a new puzzle game with the help of casual game service Wild Snake, it was bound to cause a stir.

"It is a great honor to work alongside someone as well respected as Alexey, " said Andy Nick, owner of Wildsnake Software, "We look forward to producing more titles along the same lines and quality levels as Alexey's Dwice in the near future."

In the new game Dwice, players match together falling blocks of ice that are the same shape. Stop the avalanches from reaching the little houses at the foot of the mountains by destroying the ice blocks. Just click two blocks of the same shape! Sounds easy? With the Quest Mode and the Arcade Mode the game offers endless amount of different challenges. Journey through 60 levels in Quest Mode to unfreeze our blue planet and save the world. For each avalanche stopped the world becomes a warmer place to live in, and the inhabitants of the little houses at the foot of the mountain become ever so grateful! Or take on an endless challenge in the Arcade Mode, where avalanches keep coming and you have to stop them all, the longer you stay alive, the more difficult it gets, and the more points you get! So if you have a few moments be sure to grab the demo and give it a spin.

Games have reached new heights in the recent years when it comes to graphics. From our lovable pixelated brothers Mario and Luigi back in the 80's to the games that are currently coming out now the graphics never stop getting better. So whats the next step you may ask? It seems that IO₂Technology is working on that one as we speak.

Thus far they have managed to display 30" diagonal holographic images in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. The latest version (2nd generation) of the Heliodisplay M2 is also interactive, allowing the users to control the image with their hands. In the video, Ritual Entertainment shows a video of SiN Episode characters displayed on the Heliodisplay M2. Holodeck displays coming from a R2D2 projector lookalike. Apparently the unit is available for rent or to buy.

Download: Heliodisplay M2 Video

Sony spent alot of time at the Game Developers Conference showing off technology demos for the Playstation 3 console. Some have been shown prior at last years E3, but this is the first time the tech demos were live with awestruck fans able to interact with them.

Starting us off is the Duck Demo, which just happens to be Phil Harrions's favorite. This tech demo was available for viewing at E3 but now gamers were actually able to test out the controls. The Unreal Engine 3 Demo which was also just a tech demo and not the majority of the game. In the confined environment gamers were able to shoot objects and test out the rag doll physics. Perhaps just a glimpse at what Unreal Tournament 2007 may have to offer.

On another, not as exciting note, the Performance Analysis Tools shows off some analysis tools for the Playstation 3. From the looks of things games still be looking at "statistics". Gamers were said to have seen "a floating face against a sky background. Next!" A Fish Demo was the next tech demo in line, this underwater demo allows gamers to control the camera as thousands of fish swim around. Quite an impressive and immersive world was created by Sony and made even more believable with razor sharp sun and water reflections.

Phil Harrison, Executive Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment, will be giving his keynote speach at the Game Developers Conference today. Entitled "Beyond the Box", Phils speech will most likely be shedding some light on some of the much anticipated features of the PS3. Scheduled to start at 10:30am PST today, we hope to catch some more in-depth information on the PS3's online infrastructure which is unofficially being called the "PlayStation HUB". We will continue to bring you up to the minute news and details of Phil's keynote throughout its duration, so stay tuned to this post!

Update 10:36am - The speech begins

Update 10:41am - God of War director David Jaffe takes the stage and shows a trailer for God of War II: Devine Retribution for the PS2.

Update 10:49am - A vibrant, cartoony Loco Roco clip is shown to the audience

Update 10:51am - A new duck demo on the PS3 is shown similar to last years E3 demo

Update 10:57am - A demo showing many knights, possibly thousands, getting blasted and bodies scattering

Update 10:59am - Another clip is shown, this one of a grey sports car in a desert

Update 11:02am - A demo for Getaway is shown, this demo shows the camera being moved around in real time

Update 11:03am - Warhawk is shown, showing off the water effects and scattering of gunfire and clouds

Update 11:13am - Another demo is shown, this time of the racing game Motor Storm.

Update 11:16am - Ted Price from Insomniac Games steps onto the stage.

Update 11:23am - A clip showing a futuristic city is ran, displaying a blimp with the words Ratchet and Clank on the side. The camera pans down through the site with enemy robots and flying vehicles overhead. It has been revealed that I-8, their first PS3 project, is now called Resistance: Fall of Man and looks "incredible". Price speaks a bit more about the hardware at hand.

Update 11:32am - Some style of karaoke game is shown, with close to 35 variations of this game in Europe.It features a number of fully licensed tunes, including Rolling Stones and Celine Dion. Showed off a bit of game community with this title.

11:34 AM PDT- Keynote concludes. Still no word on the price point. .

According to recent research by Michael Pachter and Edward Woo of Wedbush Morgan Securities, GameStop expects to receive stock of approximately 750 thousand Nintendo Revolution consoles and one million to one million two hundred thousand Sony Playstation 3 consoles when they go on sale later this year. If those numbers are accurate and both consoles were to sell out completely and those percentages are proportionate (not likely) by the end of the year the Playstation 3 would have outsold the Revolution by 33 to 60 percent by the end of 2006.

While there are a number of variables that will make this a very hard statistic to go by, recent news reports that things have been going fine or both Nintendo and Sony, so only time will tell if anyone else stumbles to the gate as with Microsoft's somewhat plagued release scenario.

New research reports that Microsoft's Xbox 360 will lose a large portion of the console market share and that Nintendo will be picking up the loose slack.


On the other hand Nintendo is expected to increase its market share due to Microsoft losing ground.

In-Stat research, the ones responsible for this recent analysis announced these statistics yesterday ( the data on the other systmes comes from Gartner data released last November). If these predictions turn out to be accurate then it would be very bad news for Microsoft, considering they have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in design and promotion of the Xbox console for them to lose more ground would be a major step back. Sony of all the developers remains unmoved, with a solid ~50 percent ownership of the console market and Nintendo hanging in when others might have written off past products, like the Gamecube, for dead.

Since Sony's official launch announcement yesterday lots of people are wondering what Microsoft's response will be. With the Xbox360 already in gamers hands, being loved, hated and sometimes having issues in a number of cases what kind of pressure is this going to be putting on Microsoft and the Xbox 360 in general.

Microsoft's official announcement came today in this reply...

"This announcement certainly doesn’t change any of our plans. We’ve blasted out of the gate with the greatest launch in the history of video games and we’re keeping our eyes squarely fixed on today and on the Xbox 360 road ahead, including continuous new content and programming through our premier Xbox Live online gaming service, the delivery of 80 high definition games and shipping between 4.5 and 5.5 million consoles by June."
[Lol, sorry about responce everyone!]