Sorry for the late notice, but incase any of you have missed it, XTREME PSP Magazine Issue 23 had been out for a number of days now and weighs in at over 100 pages.Issue 23 is packed with great content including previews of Smackdown vs Raw 2008, Ghost Recon, The Fast and the Furious and more, plus reviews of Lego Star Wars 2, MTX Mototrax and more. And all the regular content including tips and cheats, the latest news, the results of our PS3 competition and more music reviews.

Remember, you can download the magazine serveral days before it is released on the website using our RSS feed. You can use your PSP to download it (but you will need a PC to unzip the files), or you can use the Sony PSP Media Manager which will do all the hard work for you!

Firmware 3.30 OE A was released only last week and already Dark_AleX has updated it to 3.30 OE A2 (or A’) and has even released Firmware 3.40 OE A. The 3.30 OE update fixes a few bugs with the firmware while the entirly new version, 3.40 OE A, utilizes the new Sony Firmware and also fixes a few bugs. See below for the full change log for both firmwares.

3.40 OE A Change log:

• Updated from 3.30 firmware to 3.40
• Security patch: Fixed a bug that has been in all 3.XX OE, that caused random data to be written to a location in lcdc.prx or (in worst case) emc_sm.prx ram space.
• Autboot that is missing since 3.03 OE-C has been reimplemented.
• Improvements in the flasher. It will now generate also the flash1 directories, and it will check that the dxar is the correct for this update, so no more bricks by accidentally using other DATA.DXAR.

3.30 OE A2 Change log:

• Security patch: Fixed a bug that has been in all 3.XX OE, that caused random data to be written to a location in lcdc.prx or (in worst case) emc_sm.prx ram space.
• Autboot that is missing since 3.03 OE-C has been reimplemented.

[Download 3.30 OE A2]
[Download 3.40 OE A]

PSP Firmware 3.30 was released less than a month ago and already Firmware 3.40 is here. Only a few minor changes have been made in the latest update including support for more PlayStation 1 titles and the ability to transfer your PSOne gamesava data between the PlayStation 3 and PSP. Check out the full change log below. You can update to the latest version via the regional websites or using the Network Update feature from the Settings Menu.

Game

• Support for PLAYSTATION Network titles has been expanded.
• Saved data from PlayStation (PS one) format software can now be used on both the PSP system and the PS3 system.
• [Certificate Utility] was deleted.
  Information that was displayed in [Certificate Utility] can be checked by the following method: select the icon of the game you want to display information for, press the TRIANGLE button, and then select [Information] from the options menu.

Final Fantasy I is now available on the PSP, but is only available in Japan. Some of you may expect the game to be in Japanese, however to our suprise, the game also features English. So you can import the game from Japan and enjoy the remake before most of the other people in your country (providing you live outside of Japan that is). Check out the screenshots below for the proof. We managed to obtain a copy of the game thanks to pre-orders over the internet.

Dark_AleX has done it again! 3.30 OE (Open Edition) is the newest version of Dark_AleX’s famous custom firmware, utilizing Sony’s latest firmware update.
3.30 OE-A retains all of the original Sony 3.30 Firmware functions, such as extended PSOne game support, Internet navigator, etc. However, it also includes lots of added features and changes, check out the list below.

• Homebrew support under either 1.50 or 3.30 kernel
• Region spoofing
• Patched a protection that prevents the FW to load higher firmware modules
• Fixed a bug that could have caused instability in 3.10 OE after recovering from sleep mode
• Recovery Mode
• Direct launching of PSOne games (converted with PSP format)
• Direct launching of demos and homebrews
• Possibility of regulating hte speed of the PSP’s processor
• Direct launching of ISOs/CSOs

DAX says this doesn’t support popsloader at the moment due to “Sony rearranging again the module list of pspbtcnf_pops”, but rest assured, DAX will be making a new version that will support all current pops in 3.10 OE, 3.30 OE and maybe 3.03 OE-C.

For the full installation guide, please look over the Readme. Please take care when installing this firmware since you could end up bricking your PSP if not installed correctly.. This can only be installed to PSPs with firmwares 1.50, 2.71 SE, 3.02 OE, 3.03 OE, or 3.10 OE. You will need to downgrade if your PSP has a different firmware already installed. 3.30 OE-A cannot be installed on PSPs running (Official) Firmware Versions 3.10, 3.11, or 3.30.

[Download Firmware 3.30 OE-A]

This is the news many Final Fantasy fans have been waiting for. Gamefront reports that the Crisis Core, prequel to FFVII, is scheduled for release in Japan some time in August.
According to information Gamefront gathered from Shonen Jump, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will be seeing the light of day on August 2, 2007. The game, which features the story of Cloud Strife’s best friend Zack, will apparently chronicle the events leading up to the Nibelheim massacre, as well as the appearance of the famed Buster Sword.

Square Enix fans may have to wait a few more months. At least, this time, they finally have a date to wait for. Hopefully, new information on the game will come out in the next few days, following the announcement of the game’s fabled release date.While you wait for Crisis Core, at least Final Fantasy I and II should keep you busy.

Quiet a while back we reported that a new PSP Modchip was in the making. Well, it’s almost here. Although it has take longer than hoped, PSP Devolution should be available from April 16th. The good news is that this modchip works on all PSP motherboards, unlike the Undiluted Platinum Modchip. Delays were cause to the modchip because of improvements to ensure top performance.

Here is the summary of the features:

• Flash your PSP using the internal USB Port
• No additional USB Port required
• Latest ACTEL ProASIC 3 technology
• Low power consumption
• Works on all available PSP versions incl. TA-082 and TA-086
• Custom BIOS with a lot of cool additional features
• Easy to install
• Just a bit of soldering skills required, no hardcore installation

Once again, the XTREME PSP Magazine is available to download. Our latest issue has been available on RSS for three days now, but now is public. Issue 22 contains over 100 pages of content, including previews of Cube, Juiced 2, Heatseeker and more, plus reviews of Chili Con Carnage, Burnout Dominator and more. Also included are our usual monthly features such as news stories from last month, the second half of our PS3 competition, tips and cheats, emails from our readers and more.

Here is a summary of the issue:

Previews

• Free Running
• Valhalla Knights
• Cube
• Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
• Heatseeker

Reviews

• M.A.C.H
• Chili Con Carnage
• Burnout Dominator
• 300: March to Glory

[Download]