What a coup for Sony’s marketing men. The Royal Navy will be handing out PSPs to its sailors so that they can brush up on their maths and whatnot. The PSP was selected because it’ll work wonders in the closed, confined spaces of Navy quarters.

The PSPs will be pre-loaded with specialized coursework (slides and the like… it’s shocking how much of college consists of reading PowerPoint slides projected onto a white wall), so that, instead of knocking about while not actually inside a classroom, sailors can stick to their work.

The program is being trialed (is that a verb? It is now.) with engineering students first, being that they’re a bit rubbish, failing classes and whatnot.

And here’s some silly joke about the men spending their time playing, I don’t know, Tekken 6 on the PSP instead of reading up on functions and Nelson.

via Kotaku

The L and R buttons flash, there are a couple of LEDs behind the speakers, and the four epilepsy invoking LEDs on the back flash in response to the sound coming out of the thing. Here’s a breakdown of how he did it, if you’re curious.

[Via Ubergizmo]

Sony would do well to hire the man who put this PSP mod together. It’s basically what the PSP should have been since Day One: a built-in camera, 32GB of flash memory, and a second analog stick. Well, you have to stretch the definition of analog stick here; it’s that nub thing.

Who came up with this? JoblessPunk, who looks like every character in Kingdom Hearts, explains the whole damn thing.

Yeah, the video is a little on the “you’re kidding, right?” side, but the PSP itself is commendable.

And I have a question for anyone in high school right now: is the goth look still popular, or did it die? I don’t care either way, I’m just curious as to what’s going on with America’s youth.

Rockstar’s Beaterator comes out today (and so does Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days… you couldn’t find two more different publishers in Rockstar and Square Enix) for the PSP. We’ve highlighted it in the past because A) Timbaland is one of the better “big name” producers out there and B) I have spent more than a few hours in Ableton Live and the like. It’s familiar territory, in other words.

There’s but so much I can say now not having played it yet—give me a few days to fool around with it—but I will embed this video entirely because Pete Rock is in it for a split-second.

You know, as I type this, I am wondering what type of music y’all listen to. Like, I can drop the name “Pete Rock,” but if three of you even know who I’m talking about, without first going to Wikipedia, then we have a problem. Although the other day one of you guys caught my Eric B. & Rakim reference, which was beyond awesome.

But back to Beaterator. I should have clarified that to say that the PSP version comes out today, but that the iPhone (and iPod touch) version is still in production.

I took the chance at Koei Tecmo’s booth at the Tokyo Game Show and played Undead Knights on the PSP for a while. As the name suggests, the game is about zombies. And there are knights, lots of them, who you can turn into zombies and let them kill off enemies for you. Undead Knights is PSP-exclusive and will go on sale in Japan on October 15 (USA: September 29).

Here’s a video I took (I tried to play with one hand and shoot the video with the other):

I just came back from this year’s Tokyo Game Show and must say I am pretty disappointed with the show this year.  There were hardly any highlights, Sony didn’t show their motion controller anywhere after the announcement during their keynote (picture of the device after the jump/more info later) and staff members often didn’t let me shoot any pictures or videos (which I did anyway if there was the chance).

Here are some pictures from two booths of the show. The picture above shows the final event of the first day (Sunday is the final day). More material from the Tokyo Game Show follows today and tomorrow.

Sony’s booth
The Sony booth was huge but appeared to be smaller than last year:

This is the Sony Motion Controller for PS3 (which will support existing games like Resident Evil 5 or Little Big Planet, too, and goes on sale in spring 2010):

Sony showed an AMG to promote Gran Turismo 5, which looked fantastic and will be available in Japan March 31, 2010:

These PSP models go on sale in Japan on October 1 for $180:

Ubisoft’s booth

Assassin’s Creed for the PSP was cool:

Credit to Sony for actually putting together a reasonably good PSP bundle. Starting on October 1, for $199, you can buy a bundle that includes the PSP-3000 (not the PSP Go, mind you), a copy of Gran Turismo PSP, a voucher to download a Corvette ZR1 in an exclusive-to-this-bundle color, a 2GB memory stick, a PSN movie downloadable voucher (movie hasn’t been announced yet), and a Sony MusicPass that’s worth 10 downloadable songs. Not too shabby.

Of course, the bundle could have been so much better. Want to ensure that the PSP Go sells really well? Throw a copy of Gran Turismo PSP on there (a voucher, more specifically), along with an exclusive car color. Or, go one step better, how about an exclusive car? It doesn’t even have to be a real car, just make the SONY CAR that’s a 10/10 in every parameter (top speed, acceleration, brakes, etc).

Granted, I don’t have Sony’s numbers in front of me, and I’m sure the bean counters wouldn’t want to give too much away.

And if I may, while we’re on the subject of racing games, may I point you in the direction of GRID? It’s made by Codemasters, the same people behind the DIRT series, and it’s fantastic. (I prefer GRID to DIRT just because I’m not too keen on rally racing.) But man alive, the game is great. Probably the best racing game I’ve played since I first played Gran Turismo 1. (I remember reading the gushing IGN review thinking to myself, “Dear Lord I need this game.”) Codemasters now has the F1 license, too, so be sure to look for the first F1 game in years next year. Recreate all the drama from this season, including: Schumacher replacing, and then not replacing, Felipe Massa; Fernando Alonso’s continued flirting with Ferrari; and the death and re-birth (kinda) of Honda.

Those of you still on The Twitter, despite Devin’s recent treatise, may want to add @RockstarGames to your list of followers. It was there that the company announced the release date of the PSP version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Look for it on October 20 of this year.

There’s no screenshots yet, but Rockstar says they’re “coming soon.”

It’ll be released as a plain ol’ UMD, and as a digital download. Remember: that’s just in time for the release of the PSP Go.

Hopefully I’ll get to check out the game in the coming days, maybe even say hi to Lazlow. I’m obviously interested in seeing how Rockstar managed to port the game from the Nintendo DS to the PSP.

Word on the street is that Sony will release a PSP-4000. You act surprised.

The PSP-4000 would replace the current PSP-3000; it will have nothing to do with the PSP Go, Sony’s UMD-less system that’s due on October 1.

This rumor comes by way of someone (“Super_Secret”) who leaked the plans of the PS3 Slim, and look how that turned out.

I would imagine it would include things like an improved screen, better battery life, etc. You know, the things that usually happen with this type of product revision.

Want Fieldrunners but don’t have an iPhone or Touch? You’re in luck — if you’ve got a PSP Go. The long-overdue tiny games market for the PSP is going to be launching, starring low-priced, sub-100MB games called Minis. 100MB is actually extremely generous; every game for a 16-bit system was far below that, and freeware games like Cave Story and La-Mulana (though both getting high-def remakes) are far below the limit as well. You can bet there’ll be some gems on this service.

Even if there isn’t too much developer interest at first, there are a fair number of iPhone games that can be ported over. Pricing is expected to be between $1 and $5, like most iPhone games. Man, if I had a PSP Go I’d be happy as hell right now; this could be a really fruitful marketplace.

[via 1up]

Gamescon is currently under way in Germany and Sony has just revealed the upcoming features for the PS3’s firmware v3.0. Changes to 3.0 are mostly cosmetic, but the PSN Video store will be invading the UK, France, Germany and Spain in November with further expansion in 2010. Those of you in the short list of countries just mentioned will be privy to SD and HD movies for purchase and rent.

Another announcement out of Gamescom reveals that the PSP will be getting a digital comic book reader in November and Marvel is on board to bring “hundreds” of titles to the PlayStation Portable.

The full list of features in 3.0 can be found after the jump.

Hi everyone, PlayStation 3 (PS3) firmware update (v3.00) adds a number of great new features that we’re excited to share with you. The latest update incorporates changes that improve navigation on your PS3. First, you’ll notice some cosmetic changes to the design of the XMB (Xross Media Bar). We’ve enhanced the look and feel of the XMB so that it’s easier and even more intuitive to use. We’ve also added network improvements and personalization options to help enhance your PS3 experience.

Additional highlights from update 3.00 include:

* “What’s New” – The “Information Board” will be replaced with a “What’s New” section, which allows you to enjoy interactive PlayStation news every time you start the PS3 system. Located under the PlayStation Network icon, “What’s New” displays the latest and greatest game, video, PlayStation Network and PlayStation news and releases, as well as your recently played games, in a sleek, new animated format.
* Status Indicator – In the top right corner we’ve added an indicator bar, which displays your user icon, friend icon, the number of friends you have online and a small message icon to let you know if you have any new messages. The indicator also includes a scrolling ticker that features the latest news from PlayStation Network. In addition, when you press the PS button, the battery life indicator will no longer cover up the clock.
* Friends List – Now your PlayStation Network friends will appear in a slightly redesigned format on your Friends List. Also, messages will now be viewable from each of your friends’ respective profiles.
* PlayStation Store Shortcuts – We’ve added a handy shortcut icon to the PlayStation Store under both the Game and Video categories so you can access the latest content quickly and easily.
* Personalization – Personalize your PS3 with new dynamic custom themes and avatars. Dynamic themes as well as free and premium avatars will be available through PlayStation Store. A dynamic theme takes your screen to a whole new level as it incorporates animated objects into the background.
* Trophies – Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories—base trophies and add-on trophies—that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.

To be honest, I’ve paid next to no attention to Gran Turismo for the PSP, primarily because I stopped with Gran Turismo 3. That, and the PSP is sorta meh, to use a fake word. Be that as it may, Sony has arranged a pretty neat pre-order bonus for those of you who… pre-order the game.

Pre-orderers will have access to, from the get-go, one of the following cars in an exclusive color: “2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 in the Black M color,” “2002 Enzo Ferrari in Giallo Modena (yellow),” “2008 GTbyCitroen in yellow,” “the metallic blue version of the 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V,” “the classic 1974 Lamborghini Countach LP400 in Arancio (orange).”

This here is a video of the Bugatti Veyron racing against the McClaren F1. They’re very fast.

Remember: Gran Turismo comes out on October 1.

Is anyone planning on getting GT for the PSP when it comes out in October?

This machine translation is a little rough, but I think a PSP/PSN Store just launched (or re-launched, depending on your point of view) in Japan. Gamers there can buy, with actual yen (and not “Space Bucks” that you need on Xbox Live), all sorts of videos. I spy music videos and anime.

Videos can be rented—you’re given 72 hours to watch the video—while all movies can be viewed and transferred on any authorized device. So if you’re one of the few dozen people who own both a PSP and a PS3, then you’re free to send files to and fro’ as you see fit.

I understand anime has a rabid following here in the U.S.—weren’t anime fans largely responsible for the adoption and proliferation of the MKV file format?—but if Sony were to launch (or re-launch) a store like that here in the U.S., you gotta figure it’d need content with just s bit more mass appeal. I don’t know, all those movies that top the box office week after week even though they’re utter dreck.

Same ole song and dance from Sony today. The AssCreed: Bloodlines PSP bundle will drop in November with a white PSP-3000, the Bloodlines game, an unannounced UMD movie and a 2GB memory card for $200.

Enough with the freaking PSP bundles, Sony!

Update: You’ll want to read the Q&A in the PS Blog post, but I’ve gone ahead and done it for you. Bloodlines connects AC to AC2, so Ubisoft highly suggests you pick this up for the PSP. Free roaming will be a huge part of Bloodlines as it was in the first Assassin’s Creed title.

As players unlock health and Hidden blade upgrades in Assassin’s Creed 2 PS3, the same upgrades will be unlocked in Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (PSP). It also works the other way round: on the PS3 you will be able to access any Templar Coins and special weapons you’ve collected on the PSP.

PS Blog

Yup, there will be a PSN App Store of sorts. Sony admitted as much, saying that it will focus on “snackable” games. Presumably “snackable” means short, fun games that you’d play while on the elevator, waiting in line at the bank, etc. Think Brick Breaker for BlackBerry. That game is great in a pinch.

Sony says you’ll still need a “professional” dev kit—you can’t make games with macaroni and glitter—to make these games. That said, you don’t need to a staff the size of Blizzard’s to develop the game. You and a couple of friends, armed with fiat currency, can develop the next World of Goo.

Flickr

While we’re all thrilled to see Google throw a new coat of paint onto the Linux kernel, there are, in fact, other things going on Out There, like, say, the quickly evolving PSP. Yesterday’s exotic rumor suggested that Sony is working on a full-fledged PSP2, a system with Xbox1-level graphics. Today I spy an interview with a Sony so-and-so that attempts to explain the company’s rationale for the PSP Go, how PSN compares to XBL these days, and so forth.

The highlights (kids today only have attention spans for highlights):

• Again, the PSP Go isn’t meant to replace the PSP-3000; not everyone in the world has access to broadband, and some people just like having physical media.

• The plan is to have every game from here on out available digitally (via the PSN or store-bought download cards… not every 16-year-old can use his father’s credit card to buy stuff online).

• Yes, Sony wants to bring as many PSOne games to the PSN as it can.

• A PS3 download service is a little harder to pull off than the Xbox 360 download service for the simple reason that PS3 games come on Blu-ray discs while Xbox 360 games are DVD-like. It’s harder to download, and store, 50GB than it is to download and store 9GB.

• Sony thinks PSN isn’t as “behind” XBL as it was, say, two years ago.

• There’s no plans yet for HD video/movie streaming on the PS3

A hot little rumor coming out of Spain, where “Ronaldomania” is running wild, suggests that Sony is indeed working on the PSP2. Such a system would have graphical capabilities more or less on par with the original Xbox.

The GPU of the system, so goes the rumor, is being handled by the same people who make the iPhone’s, Imagination Technologies. It’ll be able to support OpenGL 2.0 and Direct X 10. (Consider: you couldn’t buy a GPU that supported DX10 for less than $8 million only a few years ago.)

And while this is all well and good, the fancy graphical capabilities, I don’t think the lack of fancy graphics was/is the PSP’s problem. It’s, perhaps, the real lack of compelling games on the system that didn’t do it any favors. Why buy Silent Hill or GTA when you know it’s going to be ported to the PS2 in just a few months? Or vice-versa? Why play God of War: Chains of Olympus when you already have God of War and God of War II on your PS2, which is hooked up to your 40-inch LCD?

But, again, it’s merely a rumor, so don’t get too bent out of shape.

Gamers of a certain age will remember the Official Nintendo Seal of Quality. It was a little mark placed on official Nintendo products in the NES/SNES era (well, that’s when it mattered) that let buyers know that, yes, this product has been blessed by Nintendo. It will not harm you, your cat or your NES. Fast-forward several years and now Sony has gotten into the business of slapping their logo on officially licensed gear with the “Official Licensed Product” gimmick.

In exchange for a big sack of money, Sony will give peripheral developers “access to technical documentations necessary for designing and creating variety of licensed products for PlayStation platforms.”

I think Sony wins Beanie Cup today: new hope for PS2 backwards compatibility, and this new money-making scheme.

I’m afraid I don’t trust you guys to make a successful crossover device, although you’re welcome to try. Er…continue to try. Just remember what the N-Gage did to Nokia.

Seriously, a device like this (curiously described as a “cellphone/game gear hybrid”) would probably be as big a boondoggle as the N-Gage, though your UMD-less game distribution system would make things a little easier. But honestly, Sony, do us all a favor and just focus on making the next PSP or a killer phone. Money wasted on this project could go into loss-leader pricing for PS3s. I’m just saying!

[via 1up]