Our friends over at the Next Hacks network, specifically at Next PSP Hacks, have announced that they are hosting a custom gameboot contest for all of you custom gameboot enthusiasts out there! What's great is that there are even some pretty substantial prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. For the official rules, it will be in your own self-interest that you check out this link for more information.

How it is going to work is basically like this. You submit your custom-made gameboot.pmf file to the contest page on nextpsphacks.com along with other entries and then you are instantly entered into the contest. The gameboot doesn't HAVE to be in .pmf format, but it is preferred.

Have a PSP with a firmware version that is incapable of homebrew? If you've answered "yes" to that question, then you will be amazed at what's in store for you! Following the recent announcement of the Illuminati Exploit, the Noobz team have "paved" that new path they opened up and have now created the first-ever, universal downgrader. This downgrader will downgrade all firmwares up to version 3.50! You should be warned though, if you downgrade to version 1.50 and try to upgrade to version 3.30 afterwards, you will not be able to so don't try. It is unconfirmed if other versions will give this error or not (like 3.30+ versions) but for the time being, just wait until the Noobz team fixes that all up; they are already planning to anyways. Below is the download link. Be sure to read any and all of the provided documentation first. PSPBrew.com will not be held accountable for any damages due to the misuse of this downgrader.

Ok, you guys aren't stupid. Daedalus, the Nintendo 64 Emulator that

StrmnNrmn has been working on for so long is starting to blossom into

a more developed piece of homebrew. Not only that, it seems that the

doubters out there might soon be holding their breath. Daedalus R12

boasts some nifty improvements. Improvements have been made specifically

for Super Smash Brothers and 007 Goldeneye and I must admit, it's

definitely quite exciting to see it at work, albeit a little slowly… but it's

definitely an improvement! Here's the changelog and below are the

download links. Enjoy!

• Fixed issue preventing GoldenEye from being loaded
• Fixed dynarec for Goldeneye
• Fixed dynarec for Super Smash Bros
• Fix various texturing issues with 4bpp and small or non power-of-2 textures
• Fix TexRect instructions with negative s/t components
• Fixed the HUD in Mario 64 (broken in R11)
• Fixed lights in F3DEX2 microcodes
• Correctly implement instruction fetch exceptions, improving compatibility
• Improved floating point compatibility
• Correctly handle mask_s/mask_t tile values
• Implemented a few custom blend modes
• Screenshots just cover visible viewport

Daedalus R12 for v. 1.00 || Daedalus R12 for v.1.50 || Daedalus R12 Source Code

This is a bit of a crazy little mod. Although this device is not yet released "fully" around the globe, it has already been modified. See, the Go! Camera (or Chotto Shotto), recently the talk on many psp websites, apparently makes a rather loud and obnoxious sound when it takes a picture. The developer known as SparkyPSP has released a mod that has the ability to mute that sound. Actually, the root of this problem is related to Japan. In Japan, they have a law that specifically states that any digital camera must make an audible sound when taking a picture. Technically, in Japan, this may be breaking the law. On a side note, many places are beginning to talk of easily being able to take "upskirt" pornographic pictures. The purpose of this mod is to silence the camera noise. That said, the actual real-world use for this mod depends on the end-user. If you own one of these devices and this sounds appealing to you, make sure to pick up a download of this mod by clicking the link below.

Download: camera_plugin_v1.zip

Could non-downgradable PSPs be coming to retail stores?

According to Nadclovek from PSP-Spot, new shipments of Playstation Portables will be coming to stores with a higher firmware (4.xx) They will be sold at the retail price of 169.99 CAD or around US$ 153.67. Although its a good price to par for the unit this could mean no homebrew, that brings me to the question; is it worth it?

Nadclovek says:

"Sony was sending out Emails to its Commercial Retailers that all new PSPs to be sent out will have 'Downgradable Prevention' built right into them. All new PSPs to be shipped out as of next week Friday, May 18th, will be a higher firmware, 4.xx (specifics were not released), but they were promised to include new security features to prevent hacks and downgrades. Apparently this is one of their first steps to start focusing on the PSP again, instead of diverting all attention to the PS3."

Keep in mind that this is only a rumor for now, but this would not be good if it was true because it could end any homebrew chances on new psps.

Now now, before everyone gets all teary-eyed and loses all hope for the future of psp homebrew, it's important to understand that he has a very good reason for slowing down for the time being. Fanjita has a child on the way! Fanjita is famed for the creation of the eloader and his assistance in the creation of downgraders has been exceptional. Fanjita has brought thousands of people the joy of homebrew compatibility, but for now, we will have to sit back and expect less out of him.

Do you think this is the last we will hear of Fanjita? Do you think his limited attendence is going to hurt the homebrew community? Let us know what you think!