QuickJump QuickPeek 32: Of DAX’s time warping PSP project, Super Leaked Bros. Brawl week, and Blu-ray’s bite off the market pie

(Editor’s Note: What better way to start the month, you ask? Another healthy dose of news spammage from QuickJump QuickPeek!)

Are you guys busy chasing around girls and boys for a special date come February 14? If not, we suggest some of you better stay away from razors. No wrist slashing for the sake of unrequited love, please! So, here’s something else to busy yourselves with! It’s this week’s QuickPeek (and there’s nothing emo about it!).

*Article originally posted on Feb 02, 2008 at 04:28 PM.

(Editor’s Note: The season of luuurve is truly here! It’s February already – and what better way to start the month than with another edition of QJ.NET’s staple compendium of articles to recap the week! QuickJump QuickPeek 32 is one kickass greeting card full of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo news, a couple of gadgetry and scientific exploration here and there, and of course, our ode to all of readers, the comment of the week!)

A happy February to the lot of you, folks! V-day is around the corner so some of you guys might be either busy looking for a date or… on the other side of the spectrum… trying to hold off slashing your wrists for another less cheerful day (bad emo kid, bad!).

Well, Valentine’s day does tend to exude some crazy funk into the air that makes people all hot and flustered. Ha. As if last week’s hoo-hah didn’t get us all frazzled to begin with, this week’s events are trying to flood over all previous events in one big psychedelic ocean of sorts (yellow submarine included).

When we say one big ocean, we kid you not! This edition of QuickPeek might look all blue to you, what with all those hyperlinks and stories we’ve hooked up here!

New PSP firmwares were released with new PSP custom firmwares tailing after it. A big, big, big homebrew project from DAX looming in the corner. More studios confirming their support (or lack thereof) for this or that format. A couple of healthy rumors and network updates to sprinkle in between the surf. And also, a big Brawling week for the Nintendo crowd.

Roll up your sleeves; it’s time to get ourselves wet with all the updates.

Y’know what they all say… What goes around… comes around. In the PSP homebrew community though, sometimes what goes around… comes back with a great achievement for the brewsters.

Yep yep! The firmware ping pong tourney between Sony and the homebrew devs has set up another rally, as the official PSP firmware 3.90 was released this week. Which means… We finally get Skype on PSP!

How. awesome. is. that?!

The features for PSP Skype are incorporated with the 3.90 update, but before you go all Skype-crazy, be sure to check out the list of requirements first. Aside from this, support has also been expanded for even more PlayStation Network titles.

Thanks go out to HeLRaZR, jj_ob, and Mickey_424 for the news tip!

Link: Sony PSP Firmware 3.90 out now

Volleying the firmware back to the community with a “custom” tagged before it, Dark AleX and Team M33 have released PSP CFW 3.90 M33 just a few days after. It’s been tweaked with some bug fixes as well as some additional changes. But wait! There’s more! The release also comes (seperately downloaded, of course) with a 1.50 Kernel for the PSP Phat.

Thanks to EXETER, Ari Bornstein, TheDragon, and all the other tipsters for the heads up!

Link: Dark AleX releases CFW 3.90 M33 and 1.50 Kernel addon for PSP

But wait! There’s abso-friccin-lutely more stuff to swing by your way! If the updated 1.50 kernel for the Phat was good enough, here’s something better: the Time Machine – perhaps one of the greatest feats in homebrew history we’re seen in recent times.

The Time Machine allows you to install 1.50 kernel right there on your PSP Slim! Which means… Yeah, we know. We heard the lot of you already. Some of you are probably already itching to buy a PSP-2000 right now in preparation for when this baby gets released.

Thank you, again, to Exeter for that tip about the release!

Link: Dark AleX’s Time Machine: install 1.50 kernel on your PSP Slim

Oh wait, that’s not all the Time Machine can do… Just in case you guys missed it, Math has posted some pics to prove that, using Dark AleX’s Time Machine (which is still a work in progress, BTW), he was able to install FW 2.70 on his Slim. Now, that’s just so made out of pure win!

Link: Dark AleX’s Time Machine: firmware 2.70 working on PSP Slim

Time for some good-news-bad-news now. First, the good news… AhMan’s finally released latest version for iR Shell. Version 3.9 now supports the latest 3.80 M33 CFWs from Dark AleX, namely M33-2, M33-4, and M33-5. It also supports 3.80 Popsloader v2 and includes a couple of bug fixes and improvements.

But as for the bad news, we hear that AhMan has given his final bow with this release. He may be off to greener pastures and whatnot, but for what it’s worth, we’re giving him a standing ovation for continuous work on one of the PSP’s greatest homebrew projects! A whopping round of applause, guys!

We give thanks to Hatter and F34R for the news tip!

Link: iR Shell v3.9 – final public release, AhMan bids farewell

Buzzing the commercial press line is Ready At Dawn studios, who just made waves with their first ever title: Daxter. The PSP-exclusive game is now clocking over 2 million copies sold worldwide. That’s like… one, two… four… seventeen… three hundr – oh let’s just say it’s a lot!

Congrats to Ready At Dawn, and here’s hoping the success pushes over to Chains of Olympus! Now that’s something you can bet hundreds – thousands, millions, even – of hungry GoW fans are waiting to purchase!

Link: Daxter for PSP sells over 2 million copies worldwide

See you guys next week!

– QJ.NET’s PSPUpdates Team

There’s been a lot of updates about this whole “new SKU this, new SKU that” from last week. This time around, there’s been a couple of whispers to follow up on the whole scenario – plus a bit of flame wars here and there too.

We’ll take things in stride first though. So first up is the news spinning off from last week about Best Buy supposedly phasing out the 80GB PS3 models. At the tail end of last week, Sony gave the usual response to rumors and speculation: “no comment.”

But then, toking the flames is an analyst who theorized why Sony could be dropping the SKU. He cited a failure “to meet internal sales projections” as a possible factor.

Link: Sony: ‘No comment’ on 80 GB PS3 phase out rumors
Link: Analyst theorizes why SCEA is dropping the 80GB PS3

Adding possible evidence is Kaizer_911, an EBGames store manager who emailed us about their terminals listing the 80GB PS3 units gone. It’s been ticked the same way as the 20GB and 60GB models, so could this be a telltale sign?

For the record, it was also Kaizer_911 who hinted us about 20GB units getting the axe in GameStop… a few days prior to actual confirmation from Sony that they would discontinue the 20GB SKU.

Thanks for the email, Kaizer_911!

Link: EBGames, Gamestop to stop selling 80GB PS3s too?

All this talk about SKUs disappearing has left a lot of people thinking of possible SKUs appearing. Hence the whole “120GB PS3” theory. Plus, some people have already forecasted some form of PS3 bundle in the future, supposedly including a DualShock 3.

Interesting to note this week is the idea of if and when the PlayStation 3 will get a slimmer model in the future. If all other PlayStation platforms in the past have gotten their own “Lite” version somewhere down its timeline, then could the PS3 also get the same treatment?

All the speculation seems possible. However, the “when will it become reality” part is what is undoubtedly arguable. Safe to say, these are only rumors (put the flaming comments on a tab for now).

The most solid bit of news that we do have this week though is that Sony Europe has already put their foot down on th 120GB model.

Link: 120-160GB PS3 with Dual Shock 3 to come in 2008?
Link: Rumor: PS3 getting the slim treatment?
Link: Sony insider talks on new PlayStation 3 SKU
Link: SCEE: No 120GB PlayStation 3 units for the UK

On to the lighter side of things, we finally get a solid date to chew on for the release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. We’ve also got the deets on pricing and its release on both Blu-ray and as a PlayStation Store download. And to cap things off, it’s a new rootin’ tootin’ and very much vroomin’ trailer too!

Link: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: official release date, details, new trailer

Remember that Johnny Chung Lee guy who’s being gushed over by the motion-sensing crowd for the past few days? Yeah, he was that innovative guy who was able to set up a virtual reality head tracking system with the Wii.

While all that’s pretty revolutionary stuff, we finally get to see some form of port of it on the PlayStation 3! Yep, one Thomas Miller got inspiration from Lee’s technology and used the PlayStation Eye to recreate the set up on the PS3. The best part about this is that he’s actually planning to release the source code over the PlayStation dev’s network!

Link: Developer creates Head Tracking Desktop VR using PlayStation Eye

Don’t hate the player, hate the game… Keep it clean, kids! See ya guys next week!

– QJ.NET’s PlayStation 3 Team

Some interesting bits of news this week for Microsoft’s online spiderweb. For this week, the industry spun us a pretty neat network of threads to get stuck in.

And to kick things off, we take a look at what some of you have called the newest Captain Obvious. Supposedly, Grand Theft Auto 4 will outsell Halo 3, according to an analyst.

[silence]

Yeah, yeah. Aside from the obvious fact that it is very much possible because GTA 4 is being released in two platforms, the analyst does point out something else. The controversy spun by Niko Bellic’s game can actually give a good jump start to sales. As people point out, Rockstar does have a penchant for these controversial things, and it’s only a matter of time before we see how far it’ll take GTA 4 once it gets released.

Link: Analyst: GTA IV to outsell Halo 3

Now while you guys might be busy with the Devil May Cry 4 demo from last week, do know that there a couple of other cool stuff available on Live already. There’s that Turok demo available now – yeah Asia and Europe might have gotten it early, but at least we get some dino action now.

Also, there’s some new DLC for GRAW 2: you get to have an all-new co-op campaign, and nine kickass maps. As for XBLA, we’ve got Testuya Mizuguchi’s Rez HD and Chessmaster.

Link: North America, Canada, Mexico gets Xbox 360 Turok demo
Link: GRAW 2: new DLC for Xbox 360, new co-op mode, new maps
Link: XBL update: Rez HD and Chessmaster Live available this Wednesday

Now speaking of Rez HD… Testuya Mizuguchi recently was able to share his thought on trying to recreate the Trance Vibrator on the Xbox 360. All it takes is four controllers, and a certain specific set-up, and your on your way to some pretty trippy gameplay.

Yeah, we also heard from Mizuguchi that Q Entertainment might even sneak in Rez HD into the PlayStation Network too.

Link: Rez HD: 360 controllers as Trance Vibrator, PSN version possible

If you guys are all trying to keep tabs on the upcoming Super Street Fighter II Turbo set to be released over XBL (and yes, PSN too), Capcom’s David Sirilin let us in on a couple of development notes. Turns out that the “redefining” of the characters and stages wasn’t as simple as you might think it was. And no, what they did to the gameplay isn’t really “dumbing down” the franchise.

Link: David Sirlin on Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix’s development

Catch you guys next week for another edition of QuickPeek!

– QJ.NET’s Xbox 360 Team

It’s all about leaky screens, vids, and details this week. But first things first, some official business. A week ago, we heard about a rumor circulating that a big exists in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We finally got word from Nintendo, and they actually confirm that it’s there.

The bug in question supposedly freezes the Wii unit if you try to start up Brawl and accept the firmware update that comes with it. According to reports, the bug only happens with a small number of units, and for now, the temporary solution seems to be just to restart your console and reinsert the disc. As of now, there’s no official statement if discs for North America will contain a fix for it or not.

Link: Nintendo confirms Super Smash Bros. Brawl bug

Now, on to the fun stuff. The Dojo has been busy like crazy with more updates this week for SSBB. We got to see the list of songs you can listen to in the My Music feature. And, without even having to unlock anything, you’ve already got 101 tunes to blast at your ears right off the bat!

We also got a more in-depth look at what Brawl Mode is like – especially setting up the configurations for the battle – as well as the first official look into one of the secret unlockable characters. Now if you want a bit of a crash course through all the modes in Brawl, there’s even a cool video snuck in there somewhere too!

Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl update: My Music initial song list
Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl update: fight it out in Brawl mode
Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Dojo: Future updates, mode rundown video
Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl update: Ness officially unveiled

Now… The moment some of might have been waiting for: the big leak of details that totally caught everyone off guard this week!

Japan seems to have jumped the gun and some stores may have even broken the Japan street date for SSBB. The result: leaked videos, screens, details, characters, and the whole slew of it all!

Now we understand that these may contain spoilers for some of you, so, to appease those people, we’ve masked the titles with variables in place for certain names. For all intents and purposes though, some people also don’t seem to mind these bits of info as spoilers because it would be the same thing if we or any other gaming site were to confirm so-and-such character as an unlockable in, say, Tekken 6 or something.

Link: SSBB videos: intro vid confirms X and Y are back
Link: Leaked SSBB screens show A, B, C, more
Link: Z spotted in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

On the homebrew front right now, we see more developments from Brushing and his team. Just like the PSP a few months ago got its “Hello World” exploit with Lumines, now the Wii is able to greet everyone too! No, not with a Hello World, but more of a Hello Brushing! Well, that’s certainly different.

Here’s hoping we get to see an exponential boom in Wii homebrew development soon!

Link: Wii gets a Hello World, too: homebrew team hacks the Wii via Zelda

We’ve also got some good news to all rockstar wannabes out there too. Just scroll over to the next section!

– QJ.NET’s Nintendo Wii Team

A sad state of affairs in LucasArts studios this week. Their president, Jim Ward, announced his stepping down from his position. Don’t worry. No bad blood here. No politicking or controversy and whatnot. According to the PR director, Ward’s decision was entirely personal. But meanwhile, we’re just glad that Jim Ward is pretty positive about his leaving.

Link: LucasArts President Jim Ward steps down

EA, meanwhile, is getting a boost up with confirmation from CEO John Riccitiello himself. He just announced that Rock Band will indeed get a Wii version some time in the future. Not least of all though is some hint of when Spore will eventually be released. According to Riccitiello, Will Wright’s brain child could see a release sometime before the holidays.

Which is weird. Because last we heard, Spore was supposed to come out some time April, thereabouts. Hmmm…

Link: EA: Rock Band to have Wii version, Spore to be released before holidays

Two gaming giants, Sony and Activision Blizzard, are starting to air out their concern over in-game advertising. To some of the companies’ big wigs, they’re pretty doubtful of the effectiveness of this kind of marketing approach to the consumers.

Link: Sony, Activision Blizzard doubtful of in-game advertising effectiveness

More sales data for console sales this week too. Out in Japan, the console race is still pretty much like it’s been last year, with a couple of blips and sliding numbers. Reuters reports that for the month of January, the Nintendo Wii sold a little less than 500,000 units, while the Sony PlayStation 3 trailed by with about a little over 165,000.

According to analysts, the release of Wii Fit may have give the Wii its regained momentum, and on top of that, anticipation for Brawl (which was released on the 31st in Japan) may have also affected the numbers.

Link: Japan: Nintendo Wii outsells PS3 3-to-1 for January

We’ve got some format war updates by the bulk this week. First up is a followthrough update on what went on the week after Warner Bros. announced that they would go Blu-ray exclusive.

According to NPD Group, who just released the results for that week, Blu-ray had taken 90% of the market. Which is a pretty big jump from a 50-50 stalemate just the week before it. Of course, the caveat here is that this 90% only spans a week, so it’s not enough basis to form a lasting trend, as pointed out by the vice president of NPD.

Blu-ray Disc Association chariman Andy Parson is pretty confident though that he doesn’t “see market share going back to 50-50.”

Link: One week after Warner Bros announcement: Blu-ray takes market

Following suit behind Warner Bros. is National Geographic. This week, a spokesperson confirmed that they will also be going Blu-ray exclusive and no longer release titles in HD-DVD format. Right now, there are no official press releases, nor is there even word if they will make one at all.

This, however, doesn’t automatically mean that anything and everything NatGeo goes Blu-ray exclusive. Some films which they could only be co-producing, but handled by other studios, are not encompassed in the exclusivity deal.

Link: National Geographic goes Blu-ray exclusive

Meanwhile, over at the UK, major retailer Woolworths finally announced (after about half a year’s worth of rumor and speculation) that they will be dropping HD-DVD sales in their entire chain. This decision was made after Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD by a 10-to-1 ratio over the holidays.

Link: Woolworths drops HD-DVD sales from its shops

The Mass Effect controversy from last week is still making ripple effects this week. The whole debacle between Fox News and Electronic Arts has affected so many other people and industries, even including online retail store Amazon and daily newspaper The New York Times. Unfotunately caught in the middle, of course, is none other than Cooper Lawrence.

Yeah her upcoming book might have been bashed over at Amazon, but she’s trying to make amends. Recently, she admitted that she indeed misspoke about Mass Effect, saying that she’s now seen the game and have seen even more sexually explicit scenes in Lost.

Link: Fox News guest Cooper Lawrence admits she “misspoke” about Mass Effect
Link: Cooper Lawrence defends her statements on Fox News

Some of you may or may not have heard, but some people have already seen pigs, apparently, flying this week. In light of the whole Mass Effect drama, we hear of Jack Thompson’s take on it. As it turns out, he’s perfectly fine with whatever content Mass Effect has to offer.

For JT, Cooper Lawrence was just uninformed and that all this hoopla is nothing but a ridiculous “contrived controversy.”

Link: Jack Thompson: OK with Mass Effect, Cooper just uninformed

Now Jack Thompson may be approving of Mass Effect, but he’s already set his eyes on another game to get his hands on (and we don’t mean he’s eager to play it). JT’s already prepping up his next move and targeting Grand Theft Auto 4.

Link: Jack Thompson preparing next move against Grand Theft Auto IV

Prologue. Prologue. Prologue. Prologue. Why is it as if that’s the only thing we’ve been hearing about recently? Well, that’s what Manny151 starts the thread with. But on to the actual point, he asks for some form of clear definition of what Gran Turismo 5: Prologue really is. Some do tend to believe it’s nothing but a glorified demo, but how much of a demo is it really?

Both platon and Contantinecy were able to give a suitable answer though. Now these guys… We haven’t seen you guys get Comment of the Week for quite some time now! At least for platon, the last we saw of you was during the cooky “DivX-XviD conspiracy” thread. And for you, Contantinecy, it’s right about time you landed up here!

Glad to see some of the QJ.NET veterans making a comeback! Congrats guys! Now what about Chucking? Quixand? MGSROCKS1? Oooh, and MCS and ISOHaven… [silence] Hmm… Maybe next week? We’ll see… Anyways…

Take it away, guys!

*Article originally posted on Feb 02, 2008 at 04:28 PM.