The PSP 3000 is now (well, in a few weeks) fully hackable. Datel’s Lite Blue Tool battery is able to put the system into service mode, and from then on you’re able to flash it with custom firmware. You know, for “homebrew.”

Till now, the PSP 3000 was unhackable, precluding gamers from hopping on Usenet, downloading the latest PSP ISO and loading it on their memory stick. Wait, no, I mean homebrew. Sorry. Wink. Nudge. Et cetera.

The Lite Blue Tool comes out on November 28 for $30.

I have before me the Limited Edition Ratchet & Clank PSP Entertainment Pack. And with said pack comes a silver PSP-3000, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, a 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo and a voucher for echochrome. Many have wondered if it’s worth the upgrade or if it’s in any way distinguishable from the previous generation. It is and it isn’t, but it kicks much ass. Read More

It is with a heavy heart that I bring this awful, terrible news: those scanlines and other screen defects discovered in the PSP-3000? Sony totally meant for that to happen.

To borrow a Slashdotism, it’s a feature not a bug.

Sony Japan said this:

PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models. By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible… Since this is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update.

Well that’s misleading. If it is, indeed, a hardware issue, it’s not that Sony would have no “plans” to fix it, but that it simply wouldn’t be able to fix it, without tinkering with the hardware and recalling all those “bad” PSPs.

You now have two options: either buck up and deal with it or hunt down an older model.

What’s new in the Sony PSP-3000? A brighter screen, a built-in microphone. Oh, and a horrible interlacing defect. Good upgrade.

Users on Sony’s official PlayStation forums are complaining that the new screen found in the PSP-3000 causes games to suffer from severe graphical defects, including interlacing issues and jaggies. When you plop down $200 on a new toy you don’t exactly expect to run into these issues.

The photo illustration here shows the non-janky PSP on the left and the afflicted PSP-3000 on the right.

Sony relayed to Joystiq that it’s “looking into this” so it shouldn’t be too long before this is addressed in full.

via Joystiq

Video: Courtesy of DigInfo

Sony presented the PSP-3000 to the general public for the first time during the Tokyo Game Show last week. I had the possibility to play “Clank & Ratchet: Maru Hi Mission Ignition!” and “Resistance: Retribution” on the new PSP and the display seemed to be a major improvement.

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The PSP-3000 may not seem like it’s worth upgrading from the PSP-2000 save for a few cosmetic changes, but it’s the firmware that makes all the difference says Eurogamer. In other words, if you just picked up a PSP there’s no need to have buyer’s remorse. However, the new screen is much “richer, warmer and deeper than the PSP-2000.” The third brightness setting is brighter than the current gen’s fourth brightness level, says Eurogamer. Does the PSP-3000 screen fare better in glaring light than the PSP-2000? You’ll have to wait and see since EG wasn’t able to get a day of sunlight in dreary England. At least there’s where I think the reviewer lives. Read More

Everyone and their mother have been bitching about the PSP-3000 and it’s supposedly atrocious battery life compared to the current gen because of the improved screen and rightfully so, IMO. Who wants to lose battery life for the sake of having the latest gen of some new fangled device? I’m talking about you iPhone 3G owners, myself included. Anyway, Sony Hardware Marketing Director has just posted this up on the PlayStation blog.

Hi, everyone, there have been reports about the battery life of the new PSP system (PSP-3000) being shorter than the current model (PSP-2000), following an interview we recently did with Gamespot. I’d like to make a correction and clarify that the new PSP will have equivalent battery life to the current PSP, about 4 to 6 hours for games and about 4 to 5 hours for UMD videos. While the enhanced screen of the new PSP draws a little more power, our engineers in Japan worked to reduce the power consumption of the overall system including its components, so you won’t have to worry about losing any time when enjoying the more vibrant visuals displayed with the new PSP.

We hope this clears everything up, and we’re certainly excited about letting you all get your hands on the new PSP and checking out the enhanced screen when it hits retail next month.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan announced today the PSP-3000 will be available on the Japanese market on October 16th for $180.

The new PSP will initially come in three different colors (piano black, pearl white and mystic silver). Value packs will also be available (for $230) and include an AC adaptor, battery pack, pouch, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo stick and other accessories.

Sony will also offer three Japan-only bundles:

- PSP plus Mobile Suit Gundam – Gundam vs. Gundam (from Namco Bandai, available November 20th for $230)

- PSP plus Patapon 2 Donchaka♪ (from Sony, available November 27th for $220)

- PSP plus Dissida Final Fantasy (from Square Enix, available December 18th for $240)

Press release in English after the break.

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