QuickJump QuickPeek Issue # 07: Of NDS emulators, PS3-driven cars, and girly guys getting all the ladies

(Editor’s Note: Rolling out the seventh issue of QuickJump QuickPeek! Hope you’ll enjoy this one as much as the six copies before it. We do have some clarifications to make though. Some of you folks have been wondering why this particular feature carries a mixed fanboyish tone in it. We’ll just remind you guys that the folks taking care of the recap are members of the team they’re writing for. Naturally, these guys believe in the blog they write for and thus passionately support them. Just like the console they support, they try to outdo each other. It’s all in the name of good clean fun though! And make no mistake about it, we’re all fans of the industry in general, so let me share with you a common QJ writer motto: My loyalty for [insert console/company] ends, where my loyalty to videogaming begins. Happy reading!)

Just when we thought the month of August couldn’t get any busier, we were slammed by a barrage of heavy hitting updates the last couple of days. And to think August is barely two week’s old! Just how active have the gods of videogaming been past week? Try going over this – PSP emulates NDS games now; Sony rumored to acquire Rockstar; Halo 3‘s breaking sales records; Wii sales inching closer to Xbox360; and more. See what we mean? Luckily, this issue covers all that and more in one neat package, so you can all view the week that was in one sitting. What are you waiting for? Dig in to QuickJump QuickPeek’s seventh ish!

The full issue awaits after the jump!

PSP
T’was another homebrew-filled week for us here at PSPUPDATES. In this issue we bring you word on the events that rocked the PSP homebrew scene this week.

To get the ball rolling, this week saw the release of the legendary Open Edition (OE) firmware. In a shocking twist, Team Wildcard – who had been working on reverse engineering 3.10 and 3.40 OE firmware, in addition a new custom firmware – has decided to release the source code to their work thus far. Their reason? It’s best summed up here:

We had to release our work because of a leak done by a lame website which we wont name in order not to bring visitors there. This work was a full 3.10 and 3.40OE reverse done by us as well as new features for a future custom firmware which was meant to be closed source.

Now this particular update can be considered as a double-edged sword for the PSP community. On the lighter side of things, this code can be used by other PSP homebrew coders in their own projects in the future. On the other hand, it could allow certain commercial companies to look at it and possibly tie the lose ends exposed by the said code. Let’s see how this turns out.

Link: [Open Edition Firmware Reversed: Source Code Released]

A heavy dose of absolute good news did follow that report though. That day, a few hours after releasing the OE source code, Team Wildcard unveiled the 3.40 LE PSP Custom Firmware. This release, which is an expansion originally based upon the reverse engineering of the 3.40 OE PSP custom firmware, brings all new features to the stalemate which Open Edition firmware was facing after Dark Alex decided to drop his PSP projects and development.

It’s also interesting to note that according to Team Wildcard, “We were also working on a 3.52 custom firmware with even more features which luckily was not leaked. But after recent events, we can no longer be sure if it will ever see the light of day.” Take that statement as you will. For the cfw’s full installation details, release info, features, follow our full report below.

Link: [Team Wildcard releases 3.40 LE PSP Custom Firmware]

Speaking of Wildcards, here’s something that’s definitely going to make lots of heads roll. In a rather long MTV interview with John Koller, Sony’s marketing head for the PlayStation Portable, certain few details have cropped up that pose some interesting questions for the homebrew scene. What’s the kicker here though is this – they talked about Dark Alex.

Here’s the part where Dark Alex was mentioned:

MTV: Did Sony shut him down? Or had Sony hired him?

Koller: Neither. I think he’s taking a hiatus.

MTV: Does Sony hire any of the PSP hackers?

Koller: It’s not even a hiring thing. They come in and actively talk to us.

Again, speculate as much as you want with that teeny tidbit. Don’t be too brash in brushing this aside though, we’re no rumormongers but if you’ve been around the gaming industry long enough, you’ll know there’s rich info in every single word the gaming bigwigs utter. Our very own Gino D. has his own take on the said issue, follow the link to the story below to see if it matches yours.

Link: [Dark AleX wasn’t hired, but “actively talking” to Sony?]

Enough of controversies, let’s move on to other “feel good” updates. A couple of days ago, Japanese PSP homebrew developer SofiyaCat came up with an application that allows users to play Youtube videos without having to convert or host the files using a computer! PSPtube!, the name of this divine device, is a proven useful tool of watching Youtube content on the go.

As written above, SofiyaCat came from Japan so her release notes are a bit confusing for us. Fortunately, QJ.NET loyal reader and forum member a0dki11s had a correspondence with the owner of the application and was able to provide us with full details and step-by-step installation process. You can go over it by reading the full article (link below).

Link: [Play YouTube videos on your PSP with PSPtube!]

Last of all but not the least shocking, a Nintendo DS Emulator was made available for the PSP. Before you go fanning the flames of the PSP > DS debate, it’s important to note that this release is more like a proof of concept, it’s still in infantile stage. The emulator is far from working perfect and running games usually end up in lockups and glitches. What’s more essential though, is that it is a WORKING NDS emulator for the PSP.

One might argue that it’s not that hard to port this program to the PSP, and that the veracity of its existence rely on the “impossible” task of making it fully playable. That’s a very strong point, and one that even the most PSP diehards can’t overlook. But we’ve all heard this before, we encountered these type of talks every single time a seemingly herculean project for the PSP is initialized. And yet look where we are now. We’re keeping our fingers crossed…

Link: [Nintendo DS emulated on the PSP]

Action speaks louder than words, but even teh Chuck Norris will have a hard time coming up with moves to counter the words printed above. Well, us folks here at the PSP homebrew scene is used to that, right? More from us next week!

– QJ.Net’s PSP team

PlayStation 3
Sony’s beginning to work its magic and the news surrounding PlayStation 3 is a clear testament to that. True, part of the reason why this was such a good week for Sony is because of blunders from the opposition. That, however, makes the scenario much, much sweeter. On to this week’s hottest PS3 news/rumors.

Whispers have been going around the backstreets and alleyways of the Internet for the past few weeks about the company famous for their GTA series. Yeap, they’re all mere rumors for now. The latest word on the street though is that Rockstar might actually be heading off into a Sony exclusivity regiment after the release Grand Theft Auto IV. Here’s an excerpt of our report on this:

As pointed out by N4G, in a recent podcast from CheatCC, an interesting point of discussion follows up on previous reports of exclusivity deals surrounding Rockstar. Transitioning from talking about their woes of buying Microsoft Points, the hosts in the podcast talk of (somewhere along the 51:10 mark) upcoming games in Rockstar’s lineup.

“Apparently, Rockstar is going to be PS3-exclusive from now on,” says the female host. “So, I remember you guys were looking for those exclusive games, so you might just get them… They mentioned Grand Theft Auto… which we all know is going to both [360 and PS3]. But I guess future titles are just going to be PS3…”

Yeah, we know this one’s definitely under the “speculations” bar, but one has to consider the factors that lead to its creation. It’s not that unreasonable right? Especially considering that Rockstar has already announced a new PS3 exclusive franchise. Your thoughts?

Link: [Word on the street: Rockstar goes exclusive for Sony after GTA IV?]

This next rumor still concerns Rockstar and PS3, this time dealing with reported talks of Rockstar being completely held “under the Sony’s wings”. Let us peer into this wild supposition by going over some details we got from a PlayStation Universe correspondent:

Various sources in the press and development team state that Sony is looking to take Rockstar “under their wings”. While we learned that any agreement Sony and Take-Two entered into would not affect the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV… Such an agreement would presumably affect any future releases from Rockstar, including the new franchise Sony has been discussing and L.A. Noire, which looks likely to be a PS3 exclusive at this point as well.

Again, we maintain that there’s still no confirmation on this from any of the companies involved. But we’re keeping our eyes peeled on any related updates.

Link: [Sony to acquire Rockstar?]

Now we move on to controller-related news. It appears improvements on the SIXAXIS are on-going, but there are no rumbles as of now. “We have not added rumble [to PS3], and have no announcements regarding this feature,” said Dave Karraker, Sony’s director of corporate communications. While it’s true that developers received prototype controllers of sorts, they weren’t rumble-enabled. According to Karakker:

We recently sent out to the development community some new prototypes that have a slightly enhanced sensitivity for the analog sticks and the motion sensing within the Sixaxis controller. This is not a new controller, but is part of the normal development and evolution of controllers.

Sigh, so there are no rumble-related tweaks yet… Well at least the folks over at Sony are doing some SIXAXIS improvements. Here’s to hoping that even if upgraded SIXAXIS doesn’t rumble, it will rock.

Link: [Sony Says PS3 controllers are getting pimped, but not with rumble]

Here’s an update flavored with a bit of welcomed oddity. We all know that hardware-wise, PS3 is still unmatched by any console currently existing in the market. Just how powerful is the Sony PlayStation 3 game console? We know for a fact that it can produce cutting-edge sound and graphics at a whim. We already know that it can help doctors fight tumors. Now we’re about to find out that it’s good enough to drive a car atop Colorado’s Pike Peak.

At the center of this AI-powered driving, of course, is the Cell processor which we’ve heard all too well about. Based on the same technology that fires up IBM’s Power PCs, the Cell uses its mathematical muscle to do all the complex calculations at lightning-fast speeds to effectively pull off the automotive feat. Racing’s renowned team Axion will showcase this incredible development in the upcoming DARPA Challenge sponsored by the US Government. “We felt having cars drive themselves was getting a little too easy, so we threw the Sony PlayStation into our bag of tricks,” says Axion team leader Bill Kehaly.

If the PS3 is this good on its own, imagine it being on the hands of 733+ gamers. More about this amazing feat on our report below:

Link: [The PS3 is so powerful, it can drive a car]

Of course we can’t leave you fellow PS3 supporters without our weekly dose of updates on PS3 games. Here’s the first one: There’s some exciting news for all of you awaiting the release of Unreal Tournament 3 on the PS3. Just when it looked that keyboards and mice won’t be in the mix when the action begins, new hope has risen from the best source of them all. Epic Vice President Mark Rein has confirmed the support of the input devices.

Now we turn our heads toward heavenly Nariko and Heavenly Sword. Ninja Theory has made it know that their PS3 project will
pack in some 12 to 15 hours of gameplay. Of course, they also promised plenty of replay value that would keep you running through the game several times. If we’ve known games like we do, special unlockable costumes and weapons might just be in store.

Link: [Unreal Tournament 3 to support keyboard and mouse]
Link: [Heavenly Sword to play for 12-15 hours]

That’s basically all from our team this week. Catch y’all later!

– QJ.Net’s PS3 team

Xbox 360
A very strong week it was for Xbox 360. The console war is heating up and it’s nice to see our little and green machine picking up steam. This is probably the most strategic period to come out strong, so it’s a good thing Microsoft’s console is peaking at the right moment. Want some proof? Read on.

If Amazon.com’s recent figures indicate anything, it’s that people dig Microsoft’s recent price drop for their Xbox 360. The online store is reporting that the Xbox 360 Pro (the 20GB model) has risen to the number four rank under the site’s Video Games category, putting them just below PS3, which received its own price cut last month. Expect this figures to surge upwards some more as news of the cheaper-priced Xbox360s reach various media.

Another 360-related item on the list is Microsoft Game’s Forza Motorsport 2. Amazon reports that this racer has burned enough rubber to be their number one seller for the moment, with the Nintendo Wii tailing behind at number two.

Link: [Amazon: Microsoft price drop boosts Xbox 360 sales]

And here’s another good news for high-def fans out there! According to a report we ran a couple of days ago, it appears Microsoft has officially confirmed the arrival of HDMI ports on the newest premium models of the Xbox 360 console. Here’s an e-mailed statement from a Microsoft rep:

Yes, we are offering an HDMI port for Xbox 360 simply as another choice in Xbox 360 owners’ games and entertainment experience. Retailers are gradually introducing HDMI-enabled Xbox 360s into the channel to meet demand.

Definitely a smile-inducer delivered by the peeps over at Microsoft. It should be noted though that the Core System counterparts will remain HDMI-less, at least for now.

Link: [HDMI port confirmed on new 360 premium models]

We also witnessed a little controversy concerning Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots going multiplatform. We got another update on this this week. High street retailer HMV UK has just admitted that the pre-order listing for the said title that appeared recently on its website is nothing more than a mistake from its online admin team. Here’s what a representative explained:

In his enthusiasm, one of our online games team indicated that hmv.co.uk would start taking pre-orders for MGS4 on Xbox 360, when, in fact, he simply meant to ask customers if they wished to receive an alert in the event of this title one day coming out on this platform.

We don’t expect talk about MGS 4 going to Xbox 360 to rest any time soon. Even Konami Digital President Fumiaki Tanaka was quoted as saying that the franchise might go multiplatform in the future because of its popularity, remember?

Link: [HMV: Xbox 360 pre-order listing for MGS 4 a mistake]

Of course, we’re saving this week’s best news for last. While Bungie Studio’s Halo 3 isn’t expected to be out until September 25, the game is already beginning to break sales records online. Microsoft has just sent out a press wire announcing that the game has already surpassed the one million mark in pre-orders. Here’s the statement from Best Buy movies and games vice president Jill Hamburger:

The excitement for Halo 3 is incredible. From our pre-orders online and the buzz we’re hearing in our stores, we know this release is going to be one of the biggest entertainment events of the year. We’re thrilled to be able to bring it to our customers.

As a testament to the strength of Halo 3‘s market pull, several consumer brands (e.g. Mountain Dew, 7-Eleven, Pontiac, etc.) have also announced their own promotional campaign for it. Full story on link below:

Link: [Halo 3 breaks 1-million in pre-orders, media blitz to follow]

Great week for the green army ‘ey? See you guys next week!

– QJ.Net’s Xbox 360 team

Wii
The Wii band marches on! This week saw our favorite console again breaking new grounds, reaching new heights. Of course we have our usual dose of videogames-related updates. With great pride, we bring you the week’s news in gaming politics, popular titles, and newsbreakers.

The Wii has breached another milestone, its sales soaring over 10 million consoles. By the time our article about this was put up (about three days ago), the Wii holds 41.2% share of the video game consoles market. A month ago the Wii was a million behind the Xbox 360; today, it is now only about 220,000 behind. Granting that the recently announced Xbox 360 price cut will ’cause some upward spike in its sales, it’s still safe to assume that Wii will surpass this roughly in a month (or less).

What’s quite surprising though, is that despite heavy support from Japan where sales are up to 3.32 million, it’s still sold the most in America with 4.07 million consoles. Is this a sign that the western market is once again warming up to Nintendo? Hell yeah!

Link: [Wii passes 10 million in sales, 220,000 behind Xbox 360]

To maintain its dominance, Nintendo must always see to it that upgrades to their system are consistently carried out. So far so good, especially with the introduction of Wii firmware 3.0, which includes changes to the Wii Shop Channel and additional features for different Wii Channels.

In this firmware update also allows us to navigate the Wii Preferences pages with the + and – buttons. Furthermore, when typing messages, we can now use the B button to act as a “shift” key, while – can be used to backspace, much like in the Opera browser. Those with modded Nintendo Wiis might want to be careful though, it’s been reported to ’cause some problems with modified units. Full changelog on the link below:

Link: [Wii firmware hits 3.0]

Here’s another worthy addition to the Nintendo frontline – Keyboard functionality has finally been added to the Wii video game console. This confirmation comes after reports of the Wii team considering the addition of a keyboard peripheral surfaced. Support for USB keyboards was included in the latest firmware for the Wii. According to our article about it, Wii owners can use USB keyboards within the Wii Shop Channel to enter game titles in the search box. It can also be used to write memos and mail on the Wii Message Board.

Hmm… Tasty! Full details on the link to the story below.

Link: [Wii gets keyboard functionality]

As for Wii games, aside from the daily Super Smash Bros. Brawl update, we were also given the announcement of a new WiiWare channel’s arrival, and the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption goodies along with it. A WiiWare channel has officially shown up on the Wii Shopping Channel. Checking it will show that a Metroid Prime 3: Corruption preview is available for free download.

The download turns into its own Wii channel, but doesn’t actually give you a demo of the game. Instead, you’ll be getting trailers and game videos to whet your appetite for Metroid Prime 3, which is coming out on August 27. Follow our story about it on the link below to read the full details and to watch a reader-submitted video showing off the new feature.

Link: [Arrival of WiiWare channel ushers in the Month of Metroid]

From games, we move on a sure-fire eyebrow-raisers. Looking at the images provided on our report (link below) may not reveal a whole lot to the uninitiated, but buried within the techie script and the blueprints is a very interesting concept. What we’re looking at could be the groundwork for a portable version of the Nintendo Wii game console.

Sounds far-fetched? For now, perhaps. The fact of the matter is that this patent features a game system in a handheld casing with motion-sensing capabilities. It has X, Y and Z buttons and seems to indicate W-Fi connectivity. If that doesn’t sound like a Wii, we don’t know what does. In verbatim, an excerpt from the patent reads:

A game system includes a housing to be held by a player. The housing incorporates an XY-axis acceleration sensor to detect an acceleration in an X-axis and Y-axis direction and a Z-axis contact switch to detect an acceleration in a Z-axis direction. These sensor and switch detect at least one of an amount (e.g. tilt amount, movement amount, impact amount or the like) and a direction (e.g. tilt direction, movement direction, impact direction or the like) of a change applied to the housing. A simulation program provides simulation such that a state of a game space is changed related to at least one of the amount and direction of the change applied to the housing.

WoW, just, wow…

Link: [Patent application hints a portable Wii]

See you next week!

– QJ.Net’s Wii team

Honorable Mention:
Here we are again! We all know games are great in providing us with alternate realities relieving us of the world’s aches and pains, but even the most realistic video game still has no match to, well, “reality”. So it’s been part of QJ.Net’s deans of geekology (laugh at our name all you want, we’re kinda used getting that treatment with the other QJ teams, anyway) mission to provide everyone with that much needed daily dose of reality. We’ve got two very interesting stories for you guys this issue, here they are:

For those obsessed with pumping iron with the hopes of impressing girls, check this out. A recent research shows that women expect more in a relationship from feminine-looking guys than the really manly ones. Over 400 British men and women were surveyed, which led to the conclusion that looks do influence perception on how a person will fare in relationships. A part of of our report reads:

Durham and St. Andrews Universities sent out an online test asking people to predict personality traits based on digitally altered male faces they were given. It turns out that most women find masculine guys unsuitable for long-term relationships. General consensus says girly guys look more committed and faithful. Durham and St. Andrews Universities sent out an online test asking people to predict personality traits based on digitally altered male faces they were given. It turns out that most women find masculine guys unsuitable for long-term relationships. General consensus says girly guys look more committed and faithful.

Masculine guys were described to have square jaws, larger noses, and smaller eyes. Feminine ones have fuller lips, wide and thinner eyes, and curved eyebrows.

Eeek! What do you think? Ready to swap those Arnie-type biceps with Angelina Jolie-ish lips?

Link: [Girly guys get all the ladies, says research]

Here’s something that’ll appeal to the gaming geeks and gadget-phile in all of us. Marriage of arguably the most popular console ever (NES) and the hottest gadget in the market today (iPhone) – iphonenes v0.20.1: NES emulator for the iPhone is now out. This application is a fully functional emulator that mirrors the original NES controller on the touch screen of the said mobile phone.

While it is still in its early stages, the development of this program is going quite well. This particular NES emulator uses the NES core for emulation making it look very stable. The complete changelog and list of modifications, as well as the download for this emulator are compiled in our report below.

Link: [iphonenes v0.20.1: a NES emulator for the iPhone]

Comment of the Week

Another release of this week’s top comment. We’ll bend our rule a bit this week though be featuring two comments. Before you go crying “eez not fair!”, do read them out first and you’ll know why we can’t resist putting them both in here:

Those who frequent our boards often enough should know that AoxomamoxoA and CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS aren’t exactly close friends. We actually didn’t expect we’d ever see the day these guys agree on one thing. Here’s the kind of conversation we used to picture them having.

AoxomamoxoA: I give up, let’s just AGREE that we can never agree on anything.

CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS: I DISAGREE I think we can AGREE.

See you guys next week!

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