Analyst Pachter says ‘blame Japan’ for Sony’s PSP mis-management

August 27, 2008 – 9:00 pm

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Analyst Michael Pachter doesn't see a bright future for the PSP. In fact, he believes that we're nearing the end of the syste's run, due to the paltry release lineup for the remainder of the year. The introduction of the PSP Brite is seen as a sign of weakness, suggesting the redesign will confuse and anger more than excite. "Constant tech tweaks and upgrades might work for telephones, but they're not what gamers want ... it creates confusion, and leaves many users with older models feeling inadequate," Pachter told Das Gamer.

Because everyone needs someone to blame, Pachter offers this advice: "Blame Japan," he says. He believes that Sony is being much too ambitious, handling the PS2, PSP and PS3 simultaneously. "[Japan]'s instructing the US to play catch-up with Microsoft on Xbox Live, step up its online game with Home, offer movie downloads and push the Blu-ray home theater initiative just to begin with. Something had to give. The company has been spreading itself too thin."

Ironically, PSP's strongest territory is Japan, where new releases continue to be announced on a regular basis. While we'd disagree that PSP is on a deathbed, it's obvious that drastic work needs to be done to change the current state of the PSP.

[Thanks, Ronnie D.!]
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Austin GDC 08 to help charity

August 27, 2008 – 6:15 pm

Austin Game Developers Conference 08 - Image 1


This year's Austin Game Developers Conference is adding a nice twist to their event. It's not just gonna be about games, it's also gonna be about charity.

Yep, gamers who'd like to participate in the Austin GDC will not only be having fun by testing their skills as gamers, but will also contribute to a good cause by making a charitable donation. How? Simple. There's a US 20 entry fee for the Level Up Charity Games Competition, and everything will be donated to the ESA Foundation.

Marc Mencher, CEO of competition sponsor GameRecruiter, says this about their charitable deed:

We have a long-standing commitment to supporting the educational needs of minority and female students who are interested in being part of the video game industry. By providing this support to the ESA Foundation's Scholarship Program, we hope to allow deserving individuals to further their education and expand workplace diversity within our industry.


Scheduled for the September 17 competition feature titles such as:
  • Rock Band 2
  • Madden 08
  • Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • I-Play Bowling
The Austin Game Developers Conference will be running from September 15 to 17 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas.



Exclusive Pipemania PSP trailer

August 27, 2008 – 6:00 pm

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Download to PSP

Perhaps you've heard so much about Pipemania within the last few days that you're just ready to go under the kitchen sink and take the plumbing apart in anticipation. Well, okay, maybe not that far. But, hey, if you've been wanting more, then we've got it. Here's an exclusive trailer just for our dear readers' eyes.

The three minute trailer shows you how the game is played and also drops a bit of the title's back story. Yes, back story, because puzzle games can have them, too. You'll probably want to hear all about those cowboy plumbers ... wait, what? Cowboy plumbers?

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PSP Support Slim at PAX 2008

August 27, 2008 – 5:56 pm Sony has announced the games that it will be formally showing this year at the Penny Arcade Expo, and there is only one PSP game on the list. Instead, they are focusing almost entirely on PS3 titles, and specifically those... [Click through for full story]

Blockbuster, Riteaid, 7-Eleven to carry PSN cards by September

August 27, 2008 – 5:50 pm PlayStation Network card - Image 1GameStop may not be getting its share of PlayStation Network cards until next year, but PS3 owners in North America will be able to get the cards from three more retail outlets next month.

According to the official US PlayStation website, three new retail outlets will start carrying PSN cards in September: Blockbuster, 7-Eleven, and Riteaid.

Some reports are also saying that Blockbuster and 7-Eleven stores all over the world will start carrying the cards in September. More good news for PS3 owners who don't have a credit card handy.

The cards are already available at Speedway, Pamida, Meijer, and other locations.

Thanks to PolishPride212 for the tip!



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Pandora Installer for 3.xx kernels 4b: updated support for homebrew utilities

August 27, 2008 – 5:43 pm Screenshot of Pandora Installer for 3.xx kernels PSP homebrew app - Image 1 A couple of minor updates found their way into the latest build of developer Hellcat's Pandora Installer for 3.xx kernels, bumping itself up to Revision 4b. The new version essentially includes support for the updated releases of several other homebrew utilities.

To be more specific, Pandora Installer now makes use of the version 7 of Despertar del Cementerio and version 0.4 of the ELF-Menu. Both these useful homebrew utilities were originally added in Revision 4 of the app.

Just a friendly reminder from the dev: please note that Pandora Installer only works on PlayStation Portables running on custom firmware and not the original PSP firmware. With that said, don't forget to browse through the Readme file before installing anything onto your handheld.

Download: Pandora Installer for 3.xx kernels Revision 4b
Visit: QJ.NET's PSP Development forum



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N+ Review

August 27, 2008 – 4:22 pm N+ (PSP)
I'm just a ninja in a gray, gray world.

PSN cards expanding to Blockbuster, 7-Eleven and Rite-Aid in September

August 27, 2008 – 4:00 pm

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The only time we ever saw a PLAYSTATION Network card was when Sony gave us one for Christmas. Never -- not even once -- have we seen these cards available at a retail store. This is easily one of the most demanded items from our readers, many who don't have a credit card to use for the PSN. Thankfully, support for these cards will expand in September to stores we've actually heard of.

According to the PlayStation website, these pre-paid cards can be found at Blockbuster, 7-Eleven and Rite-Aid this September. So whether you're renting a movie, drinking a Slurpee, or buying some condoms in a rush -- keep an eye out for these PSN cards.

[Via CAG]
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N+ Videos

August 27, 2008 – 3:17 pm N+ (PSP)
See ninja run. Run, ninja, run.

Nomura: Agito XIII to be released after FFXIII

August 27, 2008 – 2:29 pm Nomura and Toriyama were interviewed by Dengeki and mentioned that Final Fantasy XIII will definitely not be released on the Xbox 360 in Japan. In addition, they said Final Fantasy Agito XIII will be released after Final Fantasy XIII.