Fanjita says goodbye!
This has came as a shock to many people, including me. He said on his blog:
It's with much regret that I have to announce that I'm going to retire from the sharp end of the PSP homebrew scene. The betrayal of trust that preceded the Pandora release was extremely hurtful, and has left me unable to fully trust the people I'd previously enjoyed working so hard with. And so, I have had to decide to stop working on projects that require that level of trust.
Besides that, life continues to be very busy in the run up to fatherhood, and there are various non-PSP projects that I'd like to play with. Not to mention the fact that I'm tired of the continual pressure and idiocy of the PSP scene - long gone are the fun days of pioneering amongst like minds, in a mutually supportive and gentlemanly environment.
The Pandora Battery therefore marks my last major PSP project. I expect that Team C+D and Noobz will continue to release stuff without me, and I still hope to finish up some of the non-exploit projects that I'd been working on (Installotron, piKey etc.).
It was a fun ride while it lasted.
As you see, he talks about "a betrayal of trust". I think that it must of been something pretty bad to make a big guy like Fanjita quit the homebrew scene. I hope whoever did that feels really bad about them self[s] now.
Though, at least he is continuing with small PSP projects, which I guess is okay.
I hope he has fun carrying on with his parenthood.
Leland Yee Demands "M" rating on Manhunt 2
Just when you thought it was all over, this curve ball comes and hits you in the face. Leland Yee, the California senator who made the 2005 Video Game Law is demanding an explanation for ESRB's decision to give Take-Two Interactive's Manhunt 2 (for the Wii and PSP) an M rating, joining the protests raised by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
Yee is suspicious of the relationship between ESRB and Rockstar, claiming that their rating system can't be trustworthy for as long as the decision to make it so was held behind closed doors. Basically, he thinks there is a bit of leg pulling/bribing happening.
He doesn't just want Rockstar/ESRB to state why the rating was changed, but also all the conversations held between the two companys.
He said:
Parents can’t trust a rating system that doesn’t even disclose how they come to a particular rating. The ESRB and Rockstar should end this game of secrecy by immediately unveiling what content has been changed to grant the new rating and what correspondence occurred between the ESRB and Rockstar to come to this conclusion. Unfortunately, history shows that we must be quite skeptical of these two entities. [...] Clearly the ESRB has a conflict of interest in rating these games. It is time to bring transparency to this rating system and for the industry to be held accountable.
A poster on QJ said to always remember that politicians are there becasue we have voted for them. If we don't like what they are doing, we have the power to get rid of them. They aren't elected to play God, they are elected to serve us.
Good Point Sir.
The Go! Services Info
Go!Messenger will be available with a future firmware update and will install a new icon on the PSP's XMB. Go!Messenger will give PSP users free wireless communications over Wi-Fi, offering an Instant Messaging service and voice chat.
The IM service will feature an intuitive on-screen keyboard. It'd be interesting to see just how intuitive it will be. Video chats will also be available by making use of the Go!Cam. The service will also require a headset.
Go!Video basically transforms the PSP into a portable media library. Users will be able to choose from a diverse number of programs from Sky, Ireland the UK's multi-platform television service. Available programs will include sports, entertainment, movies, music, and animation.
Sky is also in talks with other third-party channel brands to bring in more content. The programs will be available via Wi-Fi or the PC where users can just transfer the videos. Programs will be delivered on a pay per view basis so users will only watch and pay for the programs they want.
Go!Explore Is a GPS unit. The device offers 3D mapping that pinpoints various places of interest ranging from gas stations to restaurants. It even lets you plan out a route for you in advance, letting you "fly" over the city. In the demonstration featured here in the Leipzig Games Convention, the Go!Explore function is used to navigate from London's Houses of Parliament to Trafalgar Square. Check it out, it's pretty cool.
I think these services are gonna blow up. Think - I know these services are gonna blow up. When a custom firmware is made out of the PSP firmwares, It will be very good.
PS3's Play TV Feature
Along with the Go! services, Sony announced the Play TV feature for the PS3. Basically, it turns the PS3 into a VCR/TiVo device, recording TV Shows directly onto the Hard Drive in MP4 format. I think there is some sort of box that goes with it, I'm guessing that it's the TV tuner.
The service will be available in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain in early 2008. The service will be available to other PAL territories that support Digital Video Broadcasting in the future. PlayTV picks up Terrestrial video format (DVB-T) which is organized with the Electric Programme Guide EPG2.
That's all from me today, stay tuned for more tomorrows.
