PSP Exploit

Months after the release of the PSP Slim & Lite, a hard traveler case is finally available. With as delicate as an investment as the PSP is, I would go as far to say that this is a must-have accessory when taking the PSP on the go.

The case is very similar to Logitech’s hard case for the original PSP. It provides superior protection for the PSP as well some extra space for UMD’s and memory sticks.

Not much else to say, other than it’ll cost about $15. Amazon has it here for $15.99. So, if you’re a PSP Slim & Lite owner, pick one of these up and you won’t be disappointed.

It’s still a month away from its release, but that’s a small amount of time for anxious gamers who have been waiting a while to get this bundle. And now Amazon.com is finally offering Pre-Orders on the entertainment pack. So, if you are anything like me (a huge GoW fan), then hop over there and place your order.

In case you haven’t been following this bundle, it comes with the limited edition blood red PSP (with Kratos silk screened on the back), a copy of God of War: Chains of Olympus (the best release for the PSP so far!), a UMD copy of Superbad, and a voucher to download Syphon filter: Combat Ops from the Playstation Network. Just like the previous PSP bundles, this one will retail for $199.

You can place your pre-order here.

Enjoying Square Enix’s latest installment in the Final Fantasy VII lore, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation Portable? Then you’d probably have known that the game deals with an integral part of the overall storyline - notably, Zack’s life (and inevitable death) in Nibelheim. Now, we catch wind that the game itself also has another purpose, and that’s to fix that same part of FFVII canon to appease fans.

This comes directly from Hideki Imaizumi, Crisis Core producer. He talked about how the animated short feature that came with Advent Children, Last Order, pretty much presented the Nibelheim incident in a new way - and that got the fans of the original game riled up. So to resolve the situation, they presented the incident itself in Crisis Core with all of its original elements intact. Here’s his statement:

“When we made that feature, we changed the presentation of that event from the original Final Fantasy VII. And the fan response was - well, there was considerable negative feedback in regard to changing a part of the story that they considered integral to the whole lore.”

“So we listened to that and learned from that. And in fact the Nibelheim incident is presented again in Crisis Core, and we were careful not to make the same decisions that we did in Last Order.”

Well, at least we know that Square Enix does listen to its fans when one of its more legendary franchises are involved. Here’s hoping that they also listen to another demand - and that’s a next-gen remake of the original game.

Terminal Reality has revealed the new Ghostbusters game could make it onto PSP after all.

So far the game has been confirmed for PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 and DS - while Sony’s handheld appeared to be missing out.

But according to executive producer Brendan Goss, that could change in the future. “There are discussions right now about a PSP version,” he told Eurogamer.

“We’re waiting to see how the PS2 stuff goes from a technical side with memory, then it may get ported to the PSP.”

The PS2 version of Ghostbusters, like the Wii game, features more cartoony visuals and a simpler narrative than the Xbox 360, PC and PS3 titles. There’s also an exclusive offline co-op mode where you can take on another player as either a ghost or a ghostbuster.

That Co-Op mode sounds really cool. I would love to see this make it onto the PSP, but there will still be plenty of other systems to play it on. I just hope they are able to overcome those travesty NES releases of Ghostbuster games in the 80’s. Please bring the good name back to Ghostbusters.

Sony has released a Bronze PSP Slim Value pack in Japan (PSPJ-20002).

Here is a list of what is included in the bundle, according to superufo.com.

• PlayStation Portable System-Matte Bronze Japan version (x1)
• 1200mA Battery Pack (x1)
• 100-240V AC Adapter (x1)
• Strap (x1)
• Cleaning Cloth (x1)
• Pouch (x1)
• 32 MB Memory Stick Duo (X1)
• D Terminal AV Cable(x1)

It seems the kit will sell for about 29,114 yen (or US$ 278.97), and superufo.com has it available for US$ 276.00 if you would like to pick one up for yourself.

With the Nintendo DS having a larger base than the PSP, why would Square choose the PSP as the target console for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII?

Well, it seems that the install base on each platform was not the consideration when making the decision as to where to release the game. They chose to look more closely at the target market for the game.

“The demographic was higher teens to young adults as opposed to small children,” said Yoshinori Kitase, executive producer of the title. “The PSP seemed closer to that demographic than DS in general. So we feel we really made the right choice.”

It appears that the age group target for the story’s theme is fans of the original  Final Fantasy VII, who would have grown up by now and be likely to own a PSP rather than a DS.

Thanks to release of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G in Japan, the Sony Playstation achieves its fifth week in a row on top of console sales.

Here are the results of all gaming console sales numbers in Japan for the week ending April 20:

• PSP: 85,421
• Nintendo DS Lite: 44,551
• Nintendo Wii: 44,241
• Sony Playstation 3: 7,438
• Sony Playstation 2: 6,545
• Microsoft Xbox 360: 1,076

Impossible I would say. That title seems more like an oxymoron to me, but the rumor mills are saying otherwise.

Apparently, Midway’s first Next-Gen Mortal Kombat title Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe (which some are calling Mortal Kombat will feature “no fatalities and little-to-no blood” says a former Midway Games employee.

The game is scheduled for a Fall 2008 release for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 systems. Whether this rumor is true or not is unconfirmed, but it still sounds like a pretty cool title. I mean, Sub Zero fighting Batman? How awesome would that be? This title is definitely going to be one to keep an eye on.

See the original story here.

After more than a year off the shelf, Capcom is Re-Introducing Monster Hunter Freedom to their official store due to popular demand.

Also, being re-introduced are Mega Man Maverick Hunter X and Mega Man Powered Up.

Monster Hunter Freedom will set you back $29.99, while the two Mega Man titles only $19.99 each. So, if you got the cash, pick these up before they disappear again. And remember, your support of titles such as this assure future returns of out-of-print games. Show Capcom that it is worth it to bring popular games out of retirement.

Here is the story from Capcom’s official blog.

It started with less than 60 hours and is now at 16 Hours and 20 Minutes (at the time this was written). What could it possibly be counting down towards?

The backdrop of the timer shows what seems to be a pool of blood. Either that or cranberry juice. If you have your speakers on you’ll also hear some creepy audio, like rain, thunder, muffled whispers, and distant screams. If you listen closely you can also hear that the voices are talking in English, which could mean that this “something” that’s happening in 16 hours will happen internationally.

Whatever the timer is counting down to, we’ll know in about 16 hours. Check it out here, and see how creepy it is for yourself.

UPDATE:

The countdown  was for a new PS3 Siren game dubbed Siren New Translation.  It is currently 90 percent complete and is a reworking of the first game.  A demo of the survival horror title is scheduled to be released on April 24, 2008, with the finished game hitting the shelves July 24.