PSP Homebrew - UltraPandora Installer v.4.C
Marce82 has got a nice treat for us all here at the PSP homebrew community. It’s the UltraPandora Installer v.4.C.
You’ll be really glad to know that this nifty homebrew app is finally in English! Hooray! Now you can tuck away those Spanish-English translators now and fully enjoy the app without fear of misunderstanding.
See but some of the screenshots proving it:
Download: UltraPandora Installer v.4.C
Discuss: QJ.NET’s PSP Development Forums
Scan reveals 3 new characters and a new character class for Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology 2
More Tales are coming to your world as Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology 2 gets 3 new characters and a new character class.
A scan from Shonen Jump reveals that the 3 characters would be Jade from Tales of The Abyss, Kyle from Tales of Destiny 2, and the eager knight, Chloe from Tales of Legendia.
The scan also reveals the addition of a new character class - the Pirate. It’s supposed to be a skilled fighter that’s actually good at both short and long range combat, pretty handy.
No word on a US release yet, but Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology 2 will hit stores in Japan on the 29th of January 2009.
Check the thumbnail for a bigger scan, or simply go to the source below.
More Tales for your world:
- Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology 2: scans and release date
- Tales of The World: Radiant Mythology 2: gets battle system upgrade, more
PSP Homebrew - Laser Invaders V3: moving starfield added UPDATE v.4 now out
Updates are rolling out fast for Art’s PSP homebrew game, Laser Invaders. It’s now at version 3 and this time, it’s got a moving starfield. See the screenshot below:
No, that’s not dandruff flakes. That’s the moving starfield. Anyhow, in case this is the first time you’ve come across this cool brew, all you have to do is to shoot all invaders to win. The faster, the better.
Make sure you check out the readme for more info. Also, if you’d like to catch a video of the game in action, we’ve posted it in our previous coverage of the brew below.
Download: Laser Invaders V3
Discuss: QJ.NET’s PSP Development Forums
Originally posted 06Nov 08, 5:13PM
UPDATE Art’s working really fast on this brew, guys. Only a few hours after he’s released v3 of Laser Invaders, now comes yet another update, v4.
For this release, the last type of invader has been added. This completes the original invaders feature in the game.
Enjoy!
Download: Laser Invaders v4
Discuss: Discuss: QJ.NET’s PSP Development Forums
More layoffs - Brash Entertainment sacks 20
Lay-offs and cutbacks seem to be the trend in the gaming industry as of late as Brash Entertainment sacks 20 people across the org chart due to “the current tough economic landscape.”
They will, however, hand severance and extended benefits to those who lost their jobs. Brash has put out the following the statement:
Citing the current tough economic landscape, Brash Entertainment has confirmed the company has instituted a strategic cost reduction plan that will see the elimination of over 20 positions across multiple departments
Others who’ve made similar responses to the economy include Electronic Arts, Sony, and THQ is planning to do the same. The times are tough, especially for those who lost their jobs, let’s just hope that at the very least, games still come out good and some measure of good will come from these lay-offs.
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Feast your eyes on the IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey demo trailer
Take to the skies and see the world from a bird of prey’s eyeview. IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey takes us for spin around the battles of World War II and shows crisp graphics and impressive detail of the ground below, as well as the skies above.
Take a closer look at the contrails, the smoke, the clouds, and even the birds flying around. The game looks exquisite. Gaijin Entertainment notes that this is not the final quality of the game, so it can even get better, not worse, hopefully.
No word yet on IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey release and gameplay. For now, here’s the demo trailer.
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PSP Homebrew - LibGE v0.3: display image functions added
A new build is out for dridri85’s homebrewed C-programmed Graphics Engine library. LibGE is now at v0.3 and carries several changes that improves performance from the last release. Functions have also been added to display images with effets, and and above 512×512px.
Here’s the full changelog:
- The display of images is faster
- It can work the other on the screen
- Functions to display images with effects (brightness, radiosity …)
- Function to display images above 512×512px (bugs)
- The writing texts with fonts supports accents
- Function to use the Sony OSK
- Functions to read an MP3 (in hardware)
As always, do make sure to check out the the accompanying readme, and keep a French translator at hand.
Download: LibGE v0.3
Previous LibGE Release:
Gamers would welcome in-game ad exposure for cheaper games
A study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates found that gamers are willing to welcome in-game ad exposure in exchange for price cuts in games. We’ve already seen a lot of these in games, especially sportswear in titles such as NBA Live.
Gamers were found to be receptive to the idea. After all, 60 bucks take a lot of wind from your gaming sails. In fact, only 20 said that they would be less likely to purchase a game at half the price but with more ads. 31 said it won’t make a difference. 15 said they’d be much more likely to do so, while 28 said they’d be somewhat likely.
Even more gamers showed favor for the idea if the games were free, but bombarded with ads. 29 were “much more likely” and 24 were “somewhat likely.” Again, quite a large group (25 ) said it won’t matter, and only 15 said it would make purchases less likely.
I really won’t mind seeing a Starbucks shop on every block in GTA if the price would be halved. I would even think it adds realism to the game. Heck, it’d even be funny if Coca Cola asks Niko Bellic to smoke a Pepsi guy, then you get a Coke Trophy. I won’t mind Snake wearing a McDonald’s camo (if it can be called a camo at all), either.
But for pete’s sake, publishers shouldn’t go as far as Tekken moves being called “Quaker Oats cholesterol-free stomp” or RPGs getting Coca-Cola Swords, Jolly Rancher fruit bombs, and especially Verizon Wireless Fireballs. Hell no. A LittleBigMac is out of the question.
Amount of ads vs. game pricing should be balanced. Publishers would do well to regulate ad volume and appropriateness when it comes to advertising. There are also times when we’d rather pay to get those ads off. Tastefulness and moderation is key.
Related articles:
- The politics of in-game advertisements
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BusinessWeek: Apple may soon be "a Mobile Gaming Force"
Be afraid, be very afraid. That’s BusinessWeek talking to Sony and Nintendo. The business publication just boldly predicted that Apple, through its iPhone and Touch, will soon be “a mobile gaming force.”
The report looks at how Apple’s gadgets can directly compete with the same market of the PSP and DS considering the availability of games and pricing.
According to BusinessWeek, although the iPhone is primarily a… erm… phone, it being a gaming platform is not so hard to imagine. The iTunes’ participation in the whole thing makes it more easier, seeing as there are more games on it than those lined up for both the DS and PSP combined.
Currently, it’s looking like the iTunes App Store already hosts about 1,500 games, and no, they’re not just all Solitaires in many variations. Meanwhile, the PSP has got about 300 titles, while the DS has 600.
Apart from that, Apple is projected to easily sell more or less 40 million devices every year that accommodates games. If we are to look at Nintendo’s numbers, selling 42 million in the last 18 months, then we can see how Apple can easily outrun Ninty if they be inclined to do so.
True that the gaming function of Apple’s gadgets is a secondary one. But that’s just it, imagine what more it can do were it to focus on gaming as its primary function.
All in all, the BusinessWeek report is saying that both Nintendo and Sony shouldn’t be resting on their laurels in the handheld market. There’s a new guy in town and he’s bound to ruffle some feathers.
So to Sony and Nintendo, stop saying you’re not worried about iPhone. Because if BW is right, then it seems like you have every reason to be. Now that the holidays are coming, that would be a good time to see how close the numbers really are.
For the full report, click on the source link below.
Related Articles:
- Steve Jobs: iPod Touch is the best portable gaming device
- E3 2008: Koller says DS, not PSP, should be worrying about iPhone
- Eternity’s Child creator: DS, iPhone can coexist; PSP’s days may be numbered
- Iwata: DSi not after iPhone and PSP marketshare
THQ fiscal report - cost cuts, streamlining, and realignment to come
THQ today announced its financial results for the fiscal second quarter which ended in the 30th of September. Net sales dropped to US 164.8 million, compared to last year’s US 229.3 million. Now they’ve reduced their outlook for March 2009, and announced a big business realignment.
It’s not all bad news for THQ, they did manage to hit a few home runs. They’ve made others, but here’s to name a few:
- Shipped more than 2 million units of Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PS3) globally in its first two weeks and achieving a Metacritic rating above 80
- Established a new Wii franchise, de Blob, also rated above 80 at Metacritic
- Strengthened company portfolio and enhanced online business
In response to its current situation, THQ is now taking a new direction. It will now be focusing on fewer, higher quality titles. As such, they’ll be pulling the plug on some on-going projects as well as cost-cuts and streamlining. THQ President and CEO, Brian Farrell, leaves us with this statement.
We are aligning our business to be more competitive in key consumer segments and address the current business environment. We expect the combination of a much more focused and competitive product line with a more efficient cost structure to put THQ back on the path to growth and profitability in the fiscal year 2010.
More lay-offs and less games? We’ve been seeing this trend a lot lately. Developers are cutting down on less-popular games and are focusing only on bigger titles. The gaming industry has it bad right now. Hopefully, the sorry state of affairs will not be said about the games. If you want to read up on THQ’s report, follow the source link below.
Related articles:
- Video game software shares drop because of sales fears
- Nintendo cuts annual profit forecast, but they still expect to rake it in
- Michael Pachter - EA’s indifference is making investors leave
Ubisoft pulls the plug on Heroes video game
Bad news for those who’ve been waiting for a Heroes game. Ubisoft announced that they dropped plans to make the video game based on the popular NBC TV series. Ubisoft PR Director Jaime Cottini has this statement:
The rights to the Heroes video game have reverted back to NBC Universal. Ubisoft will no longer produce a video game based on the TV series.
The game was officially announced back in July of 2007, and targeted a 2008 release. Having published other TV show-based games such as Lost and CSI, we know Ubisoft has experience in that field - they know what they’re doing when they sack plans like this. Both games didn’t fare very well, which is probably why they’re not doing this one.
Heroes is in its third season and has lost a lot of ratings since the first. Ubisoft was quick to act in pulling the plug on this one.
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