HMV, a UK Retailer, is offering a pre-order service for the PlayStation 3 when it comes out on March 23rd, however there is an expensive catch. In order to receive priority, you must purchase a PS3/PSP bundle costing you GBP 675 (around USD 1,326). HMV and Sony have apparently teamed up together to offer 5,000 customers this special offer. If you don’t already own and PSP and are interested in buying a PS3, then this would be a good offer, but other than that, this deal is useless and very expensive.

Here is what the offer says:

“Want to be one of the lucky few to own a PlayStation 3 when it’s launched? At HMV.co.uk, we’ve been working with Sony to offer up to 5,000 customers an incredible deal when you buy the new Sony 4GB PSP. Anyone who takes advantage of this offer will get priority over other HMV.co.uk customers for the PlayStation 3 AND two great free games for the PSP – Killzone Liberation and Gangs of London.

Your PSP console and games will be dispatched from our warehouse as soon as we receive your order. We will ship your PlayStation 3 to you from our warehouse as soon as we receive consoles from Sony in accordance with our terms.”

So, is this really a good deal? Considering the PS3 (60GB) will cost around GBP 425 (USD 835), it means the PSP will cost you GBP 250 (USD 490). Also, seeing as the PS3 is more expensive that North America and Asia, we fail to see how this qualifies as a offer.

[Via: HMV]

Sony will release an original RPG in Asia called Rezel Cross for PSP. The story circles around the 5 protagonists who obtained super natural power Rezel due to a mysterious comet that returns every thousand year. At the same time numerous wild animals also turned into berserk beasts. The 5 protagonists were in a mission to stop the beasts, and discovered a dark force who attempts to use the Rezel power to take over the empire.

The game will feature 20 chapters, and the 5 protagonists will possess the power like teleportation, time pause, psycho kinesis, transformation and see-through. The game will have 2D backgrounds and 3D characters. The battles will be in full 3D, with an interface similar to PSP’s XMB. During the battles, you can obtain skill points to unlock ability boosts, Rezel Arts (special attacks) and Hyper Rezels (super attacks).

Rezel Cross (Chinese version) will be released in Taiwan on February 15, 2007, and the Japanese version will be available in other areas this spring. In the meantime, check out the screenshots below.

[Via: The Magic Box]

Tiki Games, a new games developer for both console and handheld machines, is looking for a publisher for it’s latest game for the PSP, Galaxy’s End. Galaxy’s End is to be the first Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game for the PSP which is quiet a challenge. The game has already recieved approval from SCEA and development is already in progress. You can check our some of the early screenshots below.

Its that time of the month again – The February Issue of the XTREME PSP is here. Issue 20 is packed with over 100 pages of great content including previews of Ghost Rider, Sid Meire’s Pirates! and more, plus reviews of Trillville, Ford Street Racing and more. And all the regular content including tips and cheats, the latest news, a competition and homebrew reviews. The Magazine has been available via RSS for several days now, but if you missed it, here is the official release. A summary of the content can be found below.

Previews

• Sid Meire’s Pirates
• Legend of Heroes III
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
• Ghost Rider
• World Snooker Challenge 2007

Reviews

• Thrillville
• Online Chess Kingdoms
• Ford Street Racing
• The Godfather: Mob Wars

[Download]

Sony today released Firmware Update 3.10 for the PSP which includes a few new features and well as a few minor updates. Although there is no mention of increased security, Sony could have released this update to block the recent exploit found in all firmware versions from 2.00 to 3.03, and to prevent downgrading firmware version 3.03. The firmware update can be downloaded using the Network Update feature or via the Regional PlayStation websites. Currently, only Japan and Korea has the update live on their website, but expect other sites to be updated soon.

Here is a list of changes to the System Software:

Game

• Support for PLAYSTATION®Network titles has been expanded.

Network

• You can now play MPEG-4 AVC format video files under [LocationFree? Player].
  * A LocationFree Base Station (a Sony product sold separately) with model number LF-B20 or LF-B10 is required.
• [Conserve Memory] has been added as an option in [View Settings] under [Internet Browser].

Settings

• [Dynamic Normalizer] has been added as a feature under [Sound Settings].
• [Wireless Hot Spot] was added to Network Setting (Japanese Model Only)

UPDATE

[Conserve Memory] enables you to view a Web page that contains a larger amount of data because less memory is used to display the page.

[Dynamic Normalizer] provides automatic volume adjustment for playback of music tracks or other audio sources with varying output levels.

[Wireless Hot Spot] allows you to download various content to your PSP from PlayStation Spot Kiosks.

Lots of people are unsatisified by the lack of updates and support for the current PSP Modchip, Undiluted Platinum, furthermore, the UP modchip only works on TA-079/TA-081 motherboards. A new PSP modchip has been announced that will not only work better than the UP chip, but is a lot easier to install and works on all motherboards. The modchip, known as PSP Devolution, uses the PSP’s built-in USB port to flash the chip and will come with its own BIOS with extra features.

Here is a breakdown 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 including PSP with TA-082 and TA-086 motheboards
• Custom BIOS with a lot of cool additional features
• Easy to install – just a bit of soldering skills required, NO hardcore installation

[Via: PSP Devolution]

The “Gooft Exploit” was found only a few days ago which allowed the “Hello World” program to run on PSPs using any firmware between 2.00 to 3.03 using GTA: Liberty City Stories. Now, we have a downgrader and a Homebrew Enabler (HEN). The Homebrew Enabler allows a 3.03 PSP to run homebrew as if it were using Firmware 1.5, and since it does not flash any files, it is somewhat safe to run homebrew (although it depends on what appliations you run). As for the downgrader, it has been tested and is deemed safe, but as always there is always a change of bricking if the instructions are not followed. See below for all the details.

Before going throught the downgrading instructions, there are a few thing you need to know. The downgrading process will only work once and requires you to be running Firmware 3.03. Downgrading, then updating back to 3.03 and downgrading again will brick your PSP, so only downgrade once. Also, XTREME PSP and the Noobz Team are not responsible for any damage that may occur as a result of using the downgrader.

Requirements

• 3.03 Downgrader
• 3.03 HEN (Homebrew Enabler)
• Firmware 1.5 EBOOT

Downgrading Firmware 3.03 to 1.50

1. Update to Firmware 3.03. If you already have Firmware 3.03, then proceed to step 2.
2. Open the 3.03 downgrade file and copy the contents of the folder MS_ROOT to the root of your memory stick.
3. Rename the Firmware 1.5 EBOOT to UPDATE.PBP and copy it to /PSP/GAME/UPDATE/
   Make sure your not to overwrite the existing PSP/GAME/UPDATE/EBOOT.PBP.
4. Load Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (unpatched version required).
5. On the game loading screen , then screen should clear and fill with a light blue color and then reset the PSP.
6. Check that HEN is running by going to Settings > System Settings > System Information. The System Version should read 3.03 HEN.
7. If it is showing up as 3.03 HEN then go to the Game > Memory Stick and run the x.yz update.
8. Before the downgrader does anything to your PSP , an agree will be desplayed. In order to contine you must accept the agreement. You can cancel by pressing the R-TRIGGER button.
9. Once the downgrading process begins, do not turn off the PSP or remove the battery.
10. Once finished the PSP will ask you to press X to restart the PSP.
11. Upon reboot, if a mesage appears redarding corrupted settings, press X to continue and repair the settings.
12. Enjoy your new Firmware 1.5 PSP.

[Download 3.03 Downgrader and HEN]

Dark AleX today update his custom firmware to 3.02 OE-C. This is a major update to the firmware providing many new features as well as an updated version of POP Station. Because of the many changes, the update must be installed in the same way firmware 3.03 OE-A. As a result, you will require official Sony firmwares 1.50 and 3.03. So what’s new in 3.03 OE-C, you ask? Well, CPU Clocking is now allowed in XMB, Wi-Fi now works at 333Mhz, Flash0 and Flash1 can now be accessed via the USB port and more, see below for a full list of changes.

Changes in Firmware 3.03 OE-C

• AVC videos bitrate limit patched.(The Firmware bitrate of AVC videos was limited to 768 Kbps, by Sony. OE now forces the limit to be 16,384 Kbps.
  (Note: this doesn’t mean than the PSP can actually handle such a high bitrate.)
• The boot speed is now approximately 3 seconds faster than previous versions. (without plugins)
• CPU speed of XMB can now be changed
• Wi-Fi can now work at 333 Mhz
• Added access to flash0 and flash1 via USB (can be enabled via in the recovery menu), this option is based on the great idea of USBSSS by Booster. (Note that writing is enabled, so this is intended only for advanced users only. Because of this addition, the rest of the flashing options were removed.
• PSP ISOs can now be deleted as any normal memstick game. (also the size of the ISO now shows when you press TRIANGLE > Information).
• When formatting memory stick, GAME150, GAME303 and ISO directories will be automatically created
• Various changes made to the internal HEN core

Changes to POPStation

• The writing is now a bit different. This will avoid “Memory stick blinking too much” bug when using the plugin to load the 3.02 pops.
• PSPStation now lets the use of non-encrypted DATA.PSP. If DATA.PSP is in the same directory as the application, PSPStation will use that as the DATA.PSP of the EBOOT. Otherwise, it will use the one from BASE.PBP. A DATA.PSP that imitates the original Sony one is included.
• EBOOT.PBP generated with a non encrypted data.psp won’t need the file KEYS.BIN at all. (Note: these EBOOT.PBP cannot work in versions prior to 3.03 OE-C due to a bug that those versions had.)

Screenshot

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Creating the DATA.DXAR file

• Copy the’oeupdmaker’ and ‘oeupdmaker%’ folders to X:/PSP/GAME/ if you are using Firmware 1.50 or to X:/PSP/GAME150 if you are using whatever version of 2.71 SE or 3.02/3.03 OE.
• Download the 1.50 and 3.03 Sony Firmwares and copy them to the ‘oeupdmaker’ folder with the names “150.PBP” and “303.PBP”, respectively.
• Run the ‘oeupdmaker’ program from the XMB. This program won’t write to the flash, it will just create a file called DATA.DXAR in the same directory (oeupdmaker).
• The program will verify that the SHA-1 of the generated file is correct once the extraction is complete.
• Once that you have done this, you can save the DATA.DXAR file to skip this step in the future.
• The process of generating the DATA.DXAR file will only take a few minutes.

Installing 3.03 OE-C to the Flash

• Copy the ‘oeflasher’ and ‘oeflasher%’ folders to X: /PSP/GAME or X:/PSP/GAME150 if you are 2.71 SE or 3.02/3.03 OE)
• Copy the generated DATA.DXAR file into the ‘oeflasher’ directory.
• Run the flasher from the XMB. If your battery is less than 75%, the program will display a error saying and will return to the XMB.
  • If you have battery problems, you can bypass this check, at your own risk, by executing the flasher program with triangle and the L-trigger pressed.
• The program will then show an agreement. Press X to continue the installation process flash the custom firmware, or R to cancel and exit to the XMB.
• If you accept, the program will flash the custom firmware. During the flashing process, DO NOT shutdown the PSP or remove the Memory Stick, doing either will brick your PSP.
• Once the flashing process is complete (usually takes a few minutes), shutdown the PSP and restart to 3.03 OE-C.

[Download Firmware 3.03 OE-C]

Sony has just confirmed the release date of the PS3 via a press release. The PlayStation 3 will be released in Europe and Australasia on 23rd March 2007 with an initial shipment of 1 million units and over 30 titles, including Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION and Ridge Racer 7. Only the 60GB version will be released on this date, retailing for EUR 599/GBP 425, with the 20GB version to follow later on this year. Along with the release of the PS3, a new System Update will also become available to enhance the entertainment potential of the PS3.

The Playstation Network will also debut on this with the availablility of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and Gran Turismo HD Concept, which has already been downloaded by more than 350,000 users since it was released in December 2006 in North America and Japan. Check out the full launch line-up below:

PS3 Launch Title – Publisher – Network or Disc based

• Resistance: Fall of Man – SCEE – Disc
• MotorStorm – SCEE – Disc
• Genji: Days of the Blade – SCEE – Disc
• FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION – SCEE – Disc
• Ridge Racer 7 – SCEE – Disc
• Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection – SCEE – Network
• Lemmings – SCEE – Network
• Go! Sudoku – SCEE – Network
• Go! Puzzle – SCEE – Network
• Blast Factor – SCEE – Network
• flOw? – SCEE – Network
• Super Rub’a’Dub – SCEE – Network
• Call of Duty 3 – Activision UK Ltd – Disc
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance – Activision UK Ltd – Disc
• Tony Hawks Project 8 – Activision UK Ltd – Disc
• Gundam – Target in Sight – Namco Bandai Games – Disc
• Full Auto? 2: Battle Lines – Sega Europe Ltd – Disc
• Sonic the Hedgehog – Sega Europe Ltd – Disc
• Virtua Fighter 5 – Sega Europe Ltd – Disc
• Virtua Tennis 3 – Sega Europe Ltd – Disc
• World Snooker Championship 2007 – Sega Europe Ltd – Disc
• NBA 2K7 – Take 2 International SA – Disc
• NHL 2K7 – Take 2 International SA – Disc
• Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWll – Ubisoft Entertainment SA – Disc
• Enchanted Arms – Ubisoft Entertainment SA – Disc
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent – Ubisoft Entertainment SA – Disc
• The Elder Scrolls lV: Oblivion – Ubisoft Entertainment SA – Disc
• Def Jam: Icon – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• NBA Street Homecourt – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• Need for Speed Carbon – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• The Godfather The Don?s Edition – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• Untold Legends Dark Kingdom – Electronic Arts Ltd – Disc
• F.E.A.R. – Vivendi Universal Games Intl SA – Disc
• Gripshift – Sony Online Entertainment – Network

PLAYSTATION 3 Peripherals Available at Launch Peripheral
RRP in Euros

• SIXAXIS? Wireless Controller – EURO 49.99
• Blu-ray Disc Remote Control – EURO 24.99
• HDMI Cable – EURO 24.99
• AV cable – EURO 16.99
• Component AV cable – EURO 24.99
• S Video cable – EURO 16.99

[Via: SCEE Press Office]