QuickJump QuickPeek Issue 10: Of heart-rending resignations, manhunts for maturity, and alien arachnids
(Editor’s Note: The tenth issue’s rolled out, and you can bet on it this won’t be the last! Far from it. So far, you guys have done a great job sticking by us with our little weekly attempts at recapping the highlights in the industry, and for that, we really are grateful. Yeah, yeah. We’ve said thanks a hundred thousand gazillion times. But for as long as you guys are around, then there isn’t any reason for us to stop, right? We hope you continue to take in your fill of our weekly dose of the QuickJump QuickPeek. So, with that said, on to the meaty stuff of this tenth serving! Enjoy!)
To take from our comments section, we open this edition with a: READ THIS AND YOU WILL BE EXCITED. Ha! Talk about spammage. Antics aside, we’ve reached the big one-oh for QuickJump QuickPeek and with it, you better get ready for all the beef in today’s Issue 10. The world of gaming is not one to sit idle after all. At every turn, there is action to be had, lessons to be learned, insights to be gained. There is something that makes certain things standout in history, be it a contribution in the PSP coding scene, or in the outlook of the raging next-gen console wars. So what’s been hot this week? On with the Peeking, boy-o!
The rest of the issue is waiting right behind the Full Article link!
(Editor’s Note: The tenth issue’s rolled out, and you can bet on it this won’t be the last! Far from it. So far, you guys have done a great job sticking by us with our little weekly attempts at recapping the highlights in the industry, and for that, we really are grateful. Yeah, yeah. We’ve said thanks a hundred thousand gazillion times. But for as long as you guys are around, then there isn’t any reason for us to stop, right? We hope you continue to take in your fill of our weekly dose of the QuickJump QuickPeek. So, with that said, on to the meaty stuff of this tenth serving! Enjoy!)
To take from our comments section, we open this edition with a: READ THIS AND YOU WILL BE EXCITED. Ha! Talk about spammage. Antics aside, we’ve reached the big one-oh for QuickJump QuickPeek and with it, you better get ready for all the beef in today’s Issue 10. The world of gaming is not one to sit idle after all. At every turn, there is action to be had, lessons to be learned, insights to be gained. There is something that makes certain things standout in history, be it a contribution in the PSP coding scene, or in the outlook of the raging next-gen console wars. So what’s been hot this week? On with the Peeking, boy-o!
PSP
We’re not going to be beating around the bush for this one. It’s sad news indeed and requires immediate attention to: this week opened opened up for the PSP with yet another resignation of one of the pillars of the PSP homebrew community.
Citing “trust issues,” Fanjita has called it quits and has marked the Pandora’s Battery as his last major PSP project. To quote the homebrew developer himself:
The betrayal of trust that preceded the Pandora release was extremely hurtful. I am tired of the continual pressure and idiocy of the PSP scene – long gone are the fun days of pioneering amongst like minds, in a mutually supportive and gentlemanly environment.
He does say, however, that he still expects the Team C+D and Noobz to continue releasing good stuff for us even without him. As for him, he will now be focusing on a more important task: fatherhood. All the luck and all the thanks for everything, Fanjita! We will miss you.
Link: Fanjita retiring from PSP homebrew scene
On a related note, the aftermath of the Pandora’s Battery unbricker has spawned many an issue (Fanjita’s resignation being one of them). On the upshot of the unbricker, people are more confident now in homebrew – whether developing them or simply trying ’em out without fear of bricking their system. Yep, it’s as if the homebrew community’s just downed a bottle of whoopass and is going full throttle.
Sadly, the Pandora’s Battery has also given some rather enterprising individuals a full throttle as well. In response, Noobz had released their ultimatum regarding those who are taking advantage of their Pandora’s Battery and offer them for sale online. The Noobz Team is stopping at nothing to keep you guys informed and updated their site in the hopes of disseminating information to eBay shoppers.
- The Pandora Battery is actually a combination of specially-modified PSP battery, and specially-modified PSP pro duo memory stick.
- It allows you to unbrick, or downgrade, ANY PSP, regardless of current firmware, as many times as you like.
- Although you can convert the Pandora Battery back to an ordinary battery, you’re recommended to use a spare battery, as it is more convenient and flexible.
- To make a Pandora Battery, you need a homebrew-capable PSP. If you don’t have a homebrew-capable PSP, you should find a friend who does, or use the information below to find someone who can make a battery for you, for free.
How much do we have to stress that it’s free? We don’t know, but until our technophobic moms and aunts probably know that the heavenly batteries are convertible into an unbricker for free, then we won’t stop. All moms and aunts concerned about being scammed online are redirected to the smart shopper’s guide as linked below.
Link: Noobz blog update: info for eBay buyers for “PSP Unbricking Batteries”
On to other news depicting the strength (in size and number) of the homebrew community is the petition to get Resident Evil on the PSP. Yes, the petition itself started in its own humble beginnings and could have barely made a fingernail scratch on the gaming industry’s diamond-like surface. But given some time, it picked up from a measly 13 signatures to an astounding 10,000.
A day later, things became more concrete as it was pretty clear that support for the petition was, for lack of a better metaphor, dead rising. At the time of our report, the numbers had already reached 17,000. Do the math: that’s over 6,000 petitioners in a span of 24 hours. Even articles on Digg rarely get that much hits!
Right now, the petition is clocking over 25,000 e-signatures. Has Capcom responded yet? Well, we haven’t heard of anything, but we’re bound to get some updates soon enough. Meanwhile, other people have started their own petition to call for other games to head on to the PSP as well. Check out the drama below!
Link: Resident Evil PSP petition now 17,000 signatures strong (and rising fast!)
Now that we’ve established that the PSP community – a big chunk of which is undoubtedly the homebrew scene – is pretty much strong as ever this week, a very interesting passage about the PSP Slim, speculating (and possibly hinting) at something big that would hit the homebrew scene, and soon.
An article from the September issue of UK PSP Slim Magazine posed a rather ominous clue:
Sony is obviously tight-lipped when it comes to security, and even tighter-lipped when it comes to security measures. Given its aggressive track record and serious work to combat hackers and pirates, it seems likely the PSP Slim and Lite will have something big up it’s sleeve. And given the hackers track record, it won’t be long before we find out what.
Security measures getting the juice up? And coincidentally cropping up right after Fanjita’s resignation. If there’s one thing we know about the homebrew community it’s that it won’t back down. We have our Pandora’s Box (i.e. Pandora’s Battery). And if you know your mythology, you’d remember that Pandora’s Box has one sole thing in it: hope… which smart shoppers should know by now to be available for free, of course.
Link: PSP Slim Mag: what’s in store for the Homebrew scene?
It’s fairplay for everyone now! More QuickPeek updates next week!
– QJ.Net PSP team
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation brand’s handheld brother is not the only one getting its dose of weekly ups and downs. The shiny black console is proving to pick up as well. And though the list runs long of possible articles to notch up here on the QuickPeek, the comments on the following issues run long as well.
First up is the list of supposed exclusives lined up for the PlayStation 3. All 87 of them. Yep, someone’s been kind enough to go through all the trouble of compiling what games are expected to hit the PS3 along with some unconfirmed yet highly feasible entries.
The line up encompasses all the juicy tidbits we’ve all heard of before – whether they’re rumored or otherwise, timed exclusive or a title just slightly hinted at that’s already in development… Pretty much every confirmed or even dated games are present as well – not missing giants such as Final Fantasy XIII, FF Versus XIII, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Metal Gear Solid Online, among many others.
Take a peek, the full list of 87 titles are just behind the link below!
Link: 87 exclusive titles coming to the PS3
While the software (i.e. games) side of things leaves us hopeful, here’s something that’s more or less concrete – a feature that we’ve all either a) saw coming, b) hoped was coming, or c) were completely, err, clueless about.
We’re finally getting a console-slash-TiVo in our living rooms! Well, for our cousins in Europe, at least. In line with Sony’s Go!Services, details for the PS3’s PlayTV have been revealed by none other than SCEE. It’s going to convert your shiny black baby into a TV Tuner combined with a Personal Video Recorder.
For those living in the US, here’s what you’ll be missing (for now?):
Aside from being able to play and record High Definition format for the Sony PS3, PlayTV also has tutorial videos and can connect with the PSP to watch Live and recorded TV programs via Wi-Fi. The Programme Guide will also provide numerous information about the programs users watch and record. All these with the ease of use of the controller or the BD remote controller.
Link: PS3’s PlayTV: details and release information
Opening up a service is all well and good. But over at the PlayStation Network side of the coin, it seems like things have taken a rather narrower path. The PSN version of Warhawk has stolen the show – no doubt there. But as it turns out, the download isn’t all that shareable (yeah, that’s a real word now, apparently).
SCEE confirmed that the DLC is getting an alternative DRM policy with reason being “to protect [Sony’s] investment.” From our report:
It’s going to be tied to the PSN account that bought the download. Now while the download would be available for the five other PS3 units, it would still have to be played under the purchaser’s account. The amount of time that the five other units can play the game under the original account is further limited to 24 hours only.
We don’t know how to typographically describe what a collective shrug from the online community would be like, but yeah, you can insert that here. Lots of you guys, although a bit disappointed, aired out in the comments that you still would have dished out the money to get the download anyways. No blood, no foul, right?
This alternative DRM policy won’t necessarily be implemented for all future PSN titles though – and neither is it applicable to the Blu-ray version of Warhawk.
Link: Warhawk: sorry, no sharing allowed, gets “alternative DRM” policy
Speaking of Blu-ray, yet another analyst is making a bold statement of how the said disc format is affecting the PS3 – and vice versa. To quote Rob Enderle of TechNewsWorld:
Sony would never be stupid enough to price itself out of the game console market, effectively giving it to Nintendo. Instead of the PS3 ensuring Blu-ray’s success, right now it appears that Blu-ray may have effectively killed the PS3, at least in terms of market leadership.
Even the exclusivity deal that Dreamworks and Paramount have signed was brought into the argument. Enderle was quick to point that “Blu-ray will lose whether HD-DVD wins or not.” Pretty harsh, true. But he concludes with slightly more optimistic note: “there is still an excellent chance the market will simply bypass both if one doesn’t ramp to high volume this year. In that instance, everyone loses.” (operative word: slightly)
Link: Analyst: Blu-ray may have killed PS3
Boo for the four-article limitation per QuickPeek edition. But hey, guess what! Someone’s playing the God card and sneaking in some good news to save the day. Ingeniously bypassed hyperlink coming in 3… 2… 1. Did someone say price cuts?
– QJ.Net’s PS3 team
Xbox 360
It’s a golden week for the green army of Microsoft. Following the outbreak of plasmids down at Rapture, events leading up to Halo 3‘s release are already trickling in with such a force enough to make Cortana as tangible as a pranking Korean in a Master Chief costume… Ok. Don’t ask. It’ll explain itself in a bit. Let’s get Peeking…
To start things off, September 25 can’t get any nearer. With Halo 3 finally going gold just the other day, the wait is almost over. It’s time to finish the fight. The game is finally ready to go under manufacturing, and Harlod Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios is optimistic of the launch:
This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios. This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25.
So what’s that bit about a Korean pulling Master Chief pranks? Well, if the QJ.Net’s PS3 team can shamelessly plug a sneaky link over the 4-article quota, what’s to stop a little video for your reading/watching pleasure? In Korea, Halo 3 may not have crazy marketing stunts, but they still get the kicks from promotions. Instead of some fanatic group talking about aliens on the street, the chief makes himself known by pulling pranks. As our previous report puts it:
In this video, Master Chief (or at least someone in spartan armor) pretends to be a life-sized figure for free photo ops. Just like common jokes from your favorite gag show, what seems to be a lifeless statue suddenly moves to catch any passerby off guard.
Props to the lucky chick who got a little bit touchy with the Chief.
Link: Bungie: Halo 3 has gone gold
Link: Halo 3: Master Chief pulls a prank on Koreans
There’s also been a recent report on the repair of Xbox 360s starting to slow down. It’s not really proven, because it is on a case to case basis. And luck. The theory goes, however, that since the number of 360s being turned in for repair have increased, the time it takes to actually repair them has (again, theoretically) increased as well.
What does this mean? We summarize the implications:
If rumors prove true, this presents a dilemma for 360 owners whose consoles are acting up. Having their consoles repaired might delay them from playing Halo 3 when it comes out, but not having their 360s repaired would inevitably lead to the same thing. The only solution that presents itself is to have it repaired and hope for the best.
Better start crossing your fingers. Some people have reported their console returning after 4-6 weeks, while some have confirmed that their console was brought back in after only two weeks.
Link: 360 repairs slowing down?
On a related note, recent developments suggest that the new line of manufactured 360s are still having the same problems. A certain Andru Edwards from PlayFeed apparently got the Red Ring of Death after 20 minutes of play. The sad part about it is that it was a newly replaced unit, which was – as seen in the sticker – manufactured within the month of August.
Link: Recently manufactured Xbox 360 bricked after 20 minutes
So now you’ve got your Halo fix and some RRoD woes to poop the party. Meh. But let’s end this at a positive note. Finally, here’s something to look forward to! Upcoming from the BioWare labs is Mass Effect and it’s street date (i.e. release date) has finally been revealed. Notch your calendars, folks! The game is set to hit retail shelves on November 20, clocked at US$ 59.99 with a ESRB tag of “M for Mature”.
Commander Shepard is going to try to steal Master Chief’s thunder, and coming nearly a month right after Halo 3‘s release, this game could still squeeze out its fair share of the market. Mass Effect promises some “epic fun” with two sequels already queued up in the future.
Link: Something to look forward to: Mass Effect release date revealed
Wii
This week, the white-and-blue fun machine keeps its backbone with some hot news. The Wii isn’t exempt of the getting some bad news like everyone else, true. But generally speaking,
The whole Manhunt 2 controversy has probably over-saturated too much of the market already (but at the same time boosting its hype nonetheless), but now, a whole new string of arguments have exploded into the industry.
Ever heard of Leland Yee? He’s the California senator who made the 2005 Video Game Law. So why’s he back in the news again? Well, he’s demanding an explanation for ESRB’s decision to give Take-Two Interactive’s Manhunt 2 an M rating. Part of his statement in a press release talks of his disappointment with how ESRB is doing their job:
Parents can’t trust a rating system that doesn’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating. The ESRB and Rockstar should end this game of secrecy by immediately unveiling what content has been changed to grant the new rating […] It is time to bring transparency to this rating system and for the industry to be held accountable.
Link: Yee demands a Manhunt on ESRB M Rating
Good news for the Metroid fans though! This week marks the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Finally, after months of waiting and drooling, Samus Aran is finally rolling on to the scene.
Do note also that the game requires a system update for you to play it. For those whose Wii units don’t have access to the Internet, don’t fret. The update is contained in the disc itself and you can launch the installation from there once you boot the game.
Link: On Shelves This Week: August 27-September 2, 2007
And as usual, we’ve got the weekly updates for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. While you can take a look at those in your own leisure, what’s landing on the QuickPeek however is news of Wario’s stage. It’s built right off of the WarioWare: Smooth Moves atmosphere, recreated with a Smash Bros. twist.
How hectic is it going to get? Well, the stage pits the players with a series of mini-games while battling against your opponents. So while you avoid taking too much hits from your fellow brawlers, you have to contend with the stage itself depending on the mini-game you’re playing. If this won’t drive you up the wall, we don’t know what will. (actually we do know: Sonic in Brawl would definitely send all of us in fits of rapture)
Link: Super Smash Bros. Brawl update: mini-games galore
Biggest news of all though would have to be a follow up to last week’s big revelation: the Wii surpassing the Xbox 360 in sales and finally earning the crown as King of Console Numbers. That was last week. Because this time around, the Wii has finally reached the one million mark, thus notching it with the title of UK’s fastest-selling console.
Not to say that it wasn’t unexpected, but to put this achievement in a better perspective, the said sales-tracking company compared Nintendo’s success with its Wii to Sony’s PS2 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. As stated, one million Wiis were sold in just 38 weeks – a mark the PS2 took 50 weeks to meet. Xbox 360 on the other hand topped the said number after 60 weeks, 22 weeks later than the Wii.
Link: Wii reaches one million mark, becomes UK’s fastest selling console
That’s it for this week! You can rest assured that there’ll be more thrills and spills for the Wii in the next seven days. Oh and more SSBB updates too.
General Gaming
You might say that everyone is rooting for their own console or handheld of choice. But in essence, we’re not all too different from each other. We’re all gamers. And gamers, no matter what faction(s) you support, are still subject to the never-ending argument of how video games could affect us.
Icons like Jack Thompson are a household name now. But finally, months after the Virginia Tech shooting, the findings on the investigation has been revealed to the public. And while the world is still reeling from the shock of the horrible tragedy, some people still can’t get over the fact that video games could be a factor in the crime. Well, was it?
Upon the release of the investigation conducted by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine on Seung Hui Cho’s background, the answer is apparently a resounding “no.”
The findings shed light one Cho’s favorite back in high school. Among which were pizza, U2, the Portland Trailblaizers, Nicolas Cage, and the movie X-men. Cho’s roommate never even saw him play video games, and if there was one thing you could point out as a probably source of influence for Cho’s outburst, one could say it’d be the movies he watches. Care to share your thoughts on this?
Link: Official VA Tech review panel: violent video games not a factor in V-Tech shootings
Honorable Mention:
The geeky guide to life, the universe, and – err – arachnids is about to be served (hold the Martian cobwebs please). With our Science blog spinning itself with more interesting news clippings, we’re giving you the lowdown on what’s been going on out there (and in here as well).
Apparently, life has already been detected in Mars… thirty years ago. This is because some evidence which was taken back from a space exploration mission in the 70s suggest that life indeed exists in Mars.
A new interpretation method applied on the findings that the Viking landers of 1976 collected reveal that the Martian surface could actually be bustling with microbes. In fact, a thousandth of it may be organic in origin. The claim is founded on the evidence that hydrogen peroxide is present in the red planet’s terrain. Scientist Joop Houtkooper states:
We will have to find confirmatory evidence and see what kind of microbes these are and whether they are related to terrestrial microbes. It is a possibility that life has been transported from Earth to Mars or vice versa a long time ago.
Link: Life detected on Mars… 30 years ago
Meanwhile, back on Earth, things are getting other-worldly. Well, at least for the latest goings on in the Lake Tawakoni State Park in Texas, that is. It actually sounds like a scene straight out of the movie Eight-Legged Freaks. Why so? A massive web is covering a big area of their park, and by massive, we’re talking Aragog-massive.
Harry Potter allusions aside, entomologists, scientists, and arachno-philes are currently debating about the cobweb that’s covering a 200-yard (that’s around 182 meters) patch of land and forestry in the park. Currently, their theories are either the web’s done by social cobweb spiders or just a whole bunch of spiders – a LOT of spiders, mind you – have created their own webs individuall, but have managed to make it look like one big blanketing web.
Park superintendent Donna Garde recounts: “At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland. Now it’s filled with so many mosquitoes that it’s turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs.” Man, how’s that for some pre-Halloween loving?
Link: Arachnophobia in Texas: massive spiderweb covers 200 yards of forestry
What’s in store next week? Who knows? Maybe they finally find out the reason for why there are microbes in Mars – that maybe they’re there because of some arachnid holocaust in Texas…
QJ.Net’s geekgasming team
Comment of the Week:
A lot has indeed happened in the past seven days. And QuickPeek as this might be, all of you are included in it too. Hence, here’s the section dedicated to everyone – all of you readers who always have something new to say, whether you’re a registered user or not. Hey, we’re all one big happy family* here.
Our comment of the week hails from our “Fanjita resigns” piece. And while a lot of you gave your own heart-warming farewells and thank yous, we were pretty surprised with how this guy’s shown never-ending support for Fanjita since day one:
* – “One big happy family” even includes A) the first posters, B) Captain Planet and the Planeteers (who’ve all been quite MIA recently btw), and, someone who’s equally getting famous already (for all the wrong reasons), C) the “read this and you will be excited” guy.
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