The newest firmware for the PS3, firmware 2.01, was released to fix instability issues on the console, but it may have done the complete opposite for Call of Duty 4.

Angry gamers have reported that since updating their PS3's', they have been unable to play the online mode in the game. Of course they blame the new firmware.

Some users, however, say they managed around two hours of play after updating before the errors began to occur. Firmware related or server related? CoD 4 servers have been very temperamental over the past few days…

Both Sony and Activision had been oblivious to the problem.

The Official Sony Rumble-Enabled Sixaxis controller for the PlayStation 3 is now available in Japan. Above you can see the inner workings of the controller.

It is similar to the previous Dual Shock 2 with a twin-motor set-up. A ceramic white edition of the controller is also siad to be available. The only draw back is that black buttons on a white controller don't quite flow.

With the exception of Europe, which the site is not exporting to, the controllers are available from PlayAsia.

That’s right, Sony President Ken Kutaragi recently held a press conference announcing the imminent release of the Sony PlayStation4. He States it to be “a leap ahead of our competition”. He Plans possibly to have PS3 games run thru the new PS4 system, but with greater quality and functionality. He then later plans on Designing games made specifically for the PS4, but announces that this is not possible with the current technology. The PS4 is said to be released around Christmas this year.

It can only make one wonder what Microsoft will come up with to retaliate such a release.

Well I noticed it was almost Christmas around here and a lot of people want a Xbox 360. So I decided to break everything down for the people who want a 360 but do not understand all the packages.

 Notes:

* The Core model has been discontinued. The $199.99 price tag is based on the GameStop refurbished price.
** See explanation below

*** Hard Drive required 

 Zephyr, Falcon, Jasper … Can you explain all these different chipsets? 

Zephyr is the name giving to the first upgrade of the Xbox 360's motherboard, which started showing up in retail consoles July 2007, and sported an HDMI 1.2 port and an improved heatsink.

The Falcon chipset will sport a smaller, 65nm CPU — theoretically, this means cooler temperatures and less energy usage. These chips are expected to find their way into consoles by the end of this year. The rumored Jasper chipset isn't expected until August 2008 and will reportedly feature a smaller, 65nm GPU.

Except for checking for an HDMI port (included in all Zephyr and later chipsets), there is no easy way to tell which chipset you have.

  "Microsoft has no intention of telling you which box has 65-nanometer chips on the inside," Dean Takahashi (Mercury News) said. "All Falcon-equipped Xbox 360s have HDMI ports, but not all HDMI-enabled 360s have Falcons. I really don't know how you're going to be able to tell the difference. If you're buying an Xbox 360 without HDMI, then for sure you aren't getting Falcon," he said. 

Why isn't the Core or Arcade model backwards compatible?

A hard drive is required for backwards compatibility, both for holding the emulation software and to act as a storage space for original Xbox games to use (remember, the original Xbox had a hard drive). It's important to remember that if you buy an Arcade or Core SKU and want to be backwards compatible (or just store more than 256 MB), all you need to do is buy an HDD from Microsoft at your local Video Game seller.

So there you have it. Thanks to Joystick for some of the info. 

Nintendo Officially Comments on Maintenance Mode

You may be already aware of this, but the Wii has a maintenance mode that can be accessed by holding down the + and – buttons and then pushing A at start up. Here is what Nintendo has to say about it. Here is the message unedited:

“Message(#6851-000631-36386313638)

Hello,

At this time, the “Maintenance Mode” you discovered has no functionality for consumers. If at some future point a consumer application for this mode is made available, it will be revealed on our website (www.nintendo.com).

Even though it appears—with the exception of the Wii Message Board—that everything functions normally in this mode, we do not recommend using it at this time.

Sincerely,
Nintendo of America Inc.”

So as of yet it has no function, but it is possible that at a future date this could be a really cool tool, or maybe just taken out in the next firmware. OR (And this could be a long shot) used as a hack, only time will tell.

But I just thought we would give you a heads up so you can see what you think.

The latest firmware for the PS3 has been released and it doesn’t look like they have done much new. It looks like the issues with the game Assassin’s Creed and the feature remote play were dealt with though.

Official Changelog

• Stability during playing some PLAYSTATION 3 format software has been improved.
• Stability of System Software including Internet Browser and Information Board has been improved.
• Stability of the upscaler for PlayStation 2 format software has been improved. (Playability of PlayStation 2 depends on model)
• [Remote Start] feature is changed to avoid unintended power on.

YAOSM v1.9 With Super Mario Galaxy Support Out

While experiemental versions of YAOSM were out allowing play of SMG backups, the official update is now out. Not only boasting SMG support, partial support of action replay as well.

Feaures:

- Supports DMS/D2A/D2B chipsets

- Wii originals

- Wii original imports*

- Wii backups

- Wii backup imports*

- Gamecube originals

- Gamecube original imports**

- Gamecube backups

- Gamecube backup imports**

- Gamecube homebrew

- All medias (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW)

- Dual Layer support

- Fully configurable speed setting

- Automatic region detection

- Stealth (well, at least as much "stealth" as any other Wii modchip currently available)

- "Safe" Configuration disc

- Optional status LED

- Optional disable switch (solder wire to reset switch)

- GameID overriding for some GameID's that was blocked by firmware 3.0

- Support for Super Mario Galaxy backups

*Partial support.

See http://wiki.gbatemp.net/index.php/Wii_Region_Patcher_Compatibility_List for more info.

**Partial support, for 100% support use GCOS.

See: http://psx-scene.com/forums/yaosm/55455-gcos-multigame-version-howto.html and http://psx-scene.com/forums/404629-post1.html

AhMan is at it again to make your Sony PlayStation Portable better then ever. Not long after the release of iR Shell v3.8, AhMan tracked down common bugs and came up with a quick fix. This version 3.81 clears up incompatibility issues and removes several known bugs.

Here's the changelog:

• Fixed a critical bug in the iR Shell firmware patch which results in unable to launch UMD in XMB and also causes various incompatibility issues with other homebrew apps & seplugins. Just apply the new patch and all issues will be resolved.
• Fixed a bug in Contact Menu which wouldn't allow you to choose "Select" or "Start" menu items.

Those who grabbed iR Shell v3.8 only need to download a small file loaded with update files. For everyone else, AhMan provided a full download of v3.81 with all the greatness of iR Shell intact. Minus the bugs, of course. Oh, and don't forget to read the readme.

So here is the download links.

**Fixed. Thanks AdventWolf

3.81 update (for IRshell 3.80 users)

3.81 Full Update 

Thats right guys, the new version of IR Shell has been released.

For those who dont know what this little app is. It is great app for unlocking the full power of the PSP, adding tons of features, from using the PSP to control your TV and DVD player, to MP3 alarms. This is a most have app for all homebrew users.

Any way there is a ton of new features, as well as a lot of bug fixes. And the best part is that it also runs of the PSP slim! Along with these other host of features from the change log:

* Supports the latest M33 firmwares across both Phat & Slim. Slim users can choose among 3.60M33, 3.71M33-1 to 3.71M33-3.
* PSOne 2-Player Adhoc Support.
* Introduces a new Context Menu System. Functions (plugins) under context menu will always be available to all file types, similar to the right mouse menu click under Windows.
* Added a new Multi-tasking PRX Plugin System. This allows user written PRX Plugins for iR Shell to multi-task with another game/app. The included PRX HTML/Text Viewer developed by korDen allows you to view HTML & Text documents while playing games or homebrews..
* With the help from Dark_AleX, support to M33 & NP9660 No UMD Modes have been added. NetHostFS & UsbHostFS are also available for the No UMD modes.
* Added support to the latest Popsloader for 3.71M33-3 by Dark_AleX.
* Allow random start of MP3 for the alarm clock function, so you'll be greeted with different tunes each morning.
* Added the options to put your PSP to auto-sleep while idle to save battery.
* Allows you to press Hot-Key to turn off/on all LEDs. The annonying memory stick or WiFi LEDs will no longer distract you from watching your favorite video/movie.
* Support TV-Out for Slim via component cable.
* Added the display of volume bar for PSP main volume in iR Shell.
* plus numerous bug fixes.

Now something to note is that all the features that work on the fat PSP, should also work on the slim (With the exception of the Infra-Red remote)

With that said give this great app a try.

Thanks to forum member blackmage for the heads up!

Download: IR Shell 3.8

Makers of the D2Ckey Announce FlexPCB

Considering installation of the D2Ckey requires soldering 31 wires, the same group will soon be releasing their FlexPCB to make installation easier. As quoted from their site:

"The FlexPCB for D2CKey streamlines installation of D2CKey reducing the overall time spend fitting the chip. The FlexPCB is available seperately at additional cost. Although installation with the FlexPCB is quicker, installation of D2CKey is still best left to professional, experienced mod chip installers!"

Source: www.d2ckey.com