Weaving our way through the nether of the Interwebs, we've compiled a list of about two dozen games for the PlayStation Portable that came, saw, and conquered the hearts of PSP gamers worldwide. The best part is, their price tags are near-irresistible. A Greek historian once said, "Nothing is cheap which is superfluous, for what one does not need, is dear at a penny." Too bad ol' Plutarch isn't here to check these bargains for Sony's portable console, because he'd probably make an exception. Find out why after the jump.

Game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi comes into view again for the day, along with some interesting thoughts he's got for Lumines, Rez, and Space Channel 5. During a recent interview with GameInformer's Billy Berghammer, he (Tetsuya) was quizzed about the possibility of making Lumines III.

Tetsuya explained that for the game, they (Q Entertainment) would have to come up with a fresh game design, and that the its sounds and visuals would have to be "gorgeous."

Tetsuya didn't give any specifics regarding what platform Lumines III would most probably land on, although he hinted that if it were to hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, they would have to upgrade the game's effects and sound. He did point out that handhelds like the PSP and DS provided for portability.

Moving on, Tetsuya was also quizzed about the possibility of remakes for Rez, and Space Channel 5. While Tetsuya states that he's only started thinking about a Rez sequel, he did say he was interested in making a new Space Channel 5 game, for the motion-sensitive Wii console to boot. Here reads his answer when asked about Ulala making a comeback by 2008:

Maybe I should send her [Ulala] an e-mail—"Please answer sometime!" It would be really good timing to make a Space Channel 5 sequel, in general. I think the Wii would be a really good fit, with the special controls. The audience is wider, too. I think casual players would like it, too.

Space Channel 5's dance rhythm action with the Wiimote? Heck, why not? And while this interview doesn't appear to confirm if any of these possibilities are in the works, it appears that Tetsuya is very open to recreating his older classics. We'll get back to you guys if we can get some confirmations.

It was just yesterday when we heard the latest update on the FW 3.50 downgrader, directly from Fanjita and the Noobz team. It was mentioned that they already have a Korean Lumines UMD and are currently working to make the program compatible to it.

They said that the release was soon but little did we know that it's going to be today. Yup, they've done it again and those who have the Korean version of the puzzler can now join the rest of the homebrew community.

We don't know how many among you have this version but this is quite important. You see, this makes the downgrader compatible with all unpatched version of Lumines on all regions of PSP and all current PSP hardware on FW 3.50.

Take note that aside from the compatibility update, no other changes or developments were implemented into this version. Noobz mentioned that there is no way to downgrade to 3.50 as of now for those who've upgraded to FW 3.51.

Thanks to QJ.NET reader wakaru for the tip!

Download:  Universal 3.50 HEN/Downgrader

The entire PSP community was really excited about the Lumines exploit that was found recently. It was because of this exploit that the 3.50 downgrader was developed. Word has been circulating on the net that the newer Japanese copies of the game are requiring firmware 3.51, thus effectively eliminating the exploit. Tr. on the Noobz forums gave a link to a screenshot which allegedly comes from the Japan release of Lumines.

 

What is surprising is how quickly this exploit was fixed. If most would care to remember the exploit in GTA: Liberty City Stories, it was only fixed after something like six months. Hmmmm, it looks like Sony and Q Entertainment / Bandai / Ubisoft moved quickly on this one.

There have been no reports of any UK or US copies that have already been patched so far.

Regardless, Fanjita has given word that people who are looking to buy a copy of Lumines for the exploit should be careful. So the question we should be asking right now is how long before we start seeing these patched versions on our shores? If you're interested in taking advantage of this exploit, you're probably going to want to pick up a copy now before the newer version arrives.

It's offical: everyone has gone crazy over Lumines after the monster Illuminati exploit. If you somehow managed to miss the hottest news, this magical key that unlocks the door to homebrew land skyrocketed to 14,000% in sales on Amazon. Such an overwhelming number can make heads spin.

Rumor has it that a gamer was able grab Lumines from Wal-Mart for US$ 0.10. Copy was supposedly tagged for US$ 11.83, but the receipt came out different. How likely can that happen?

Another poster claims that he got his copy in Canada for the same low price, but everyone else are mostly skeptic. Even with such high demand right now, it is quite difficult to imagine that any PSP game would fly off the shelves for that puny price. Well, the receipt is there, but it could be bogus.

In the wake of the recent Illuminati exploit from Noobz, the team has posted a quick update on their site yesterday. No, they haven't come up with a downgrader. (Yet.) But they gave a suggestion for PSP users exploiting with a European Lumines:

It seems that the Illuminati exploit doesn't work properly if your PSP is set to non-English settings. At a guess, it's something to do with unicode when displaying the profile name. // Anyway, if you are having problems, especially with the European Lumines, then try switching your PSP to 'English' settings.

Well, a lot of our commenters have asked, really, which version Illuminati would work on. Good thing Noobz was finally able to clear it up.

Now speaking of Lumines, Noobz pointed out that, over at Amazon, sales for Q Entertainment's rhythm-puzzle game went skyrocket. As of June 24, Lumines sales went up 14,000%. Surprised?

We checked for ourselves how the game is currently doing. Under the Video Games category of the online store, it pushed way past the currently released games for the Wii, DS, and PS3, and is now comfortably sitting on spot #2 (right under the Wii console itself). Sales ranking though currently notch it up with an increase of 350%.

Moving on, for those who have been waiting for the grand daddy itself (i.e. HEN and a downgrader), we're still promising to give you guys an update. If you remember the last time, January 25 saw the previous Hello World exploit. Then, just two days later, a homebrew enabler and downgrader finally hit FW 3.03.

It's been two days since the Illuminati "Hello World" exploit. It's going to be any day now... (or maybe that's just some of us hoping) As of now though, let's make Tetsuya Mizuguchi proud of how his creation is currently helping the homebrew community.

There's an international gaming expo currently being held in Perth, Australia: the GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's basically a gathering of video gaming enthusiasts to share their views on the industry and to partake on the latest buzz about the gaming community. Conference topics include problems facing the gaming industry, the future direction of the industry, latest technologies, licensing, publishing, game development and mobile gaming.

So far we've been able to hear word from the talk of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, creator of funky puzzle video game Lumines. Entitled "Inspiration led Creativity", Mizuguchi's speech centered on how certain moments of his life inspired creativity in him.

Mizuguchi talks of playing Pong as a kid, and listening to Beatles music on the background. According to him, "Pong was good - but with the music, it was awesome." We agree: certain sorts of music do get our groove on playing and winning games, right?

Apart from playing Pong and listening to certain Liverpool bands, Tetsuya talks of his childhood playing Sega, Hang-on, Stomp, Space Channel 5. All in all, he expresses his feelings of being inspired to creativity by music, and the creativity of others - of course, he worded his sentiments better than we could.

Now of this talk of "sponge" - well, Tetsuya says that "sponge" is his final inspiration; it's where the future lies. If he meant being sensitive to the innate creativity and poetry of ordinary everyday things around us, just like how a sponge is so absorbing, then we cheer him on.

In a recently concluded interview, Q Entertainment boss Tetsuya Mizuguchi shared some interesting insights into his company's growing repertoire of titles (Rez and Lumines), along with the upcoming Every Extend Extra titles that's hoped to make an equally big splash as Lumines.

In the interview, Mizuguchi discussed some of the more important inspirations for his games, such as his first taste of the Beatles and Pong when he was child. Aside from this, the conversation also drifted into a favorite gaming discussion: female gamers.

As Mizuguchi reflected on why he thinks female gamers tend to prefer puzzle titles:

I think the male and the female… everybody has part male-brain and part female-brain… The ratio is always moving, so some male players still love the puzzle games…But many female players love to play puzzle games. The male player loves to fight each other – it's basic DNA!

Moving on with the interview, Mizuguchi also reiterated on his game's "trippy" feel. Did he mind?

No, that's okay. I’m seriously thinking about what is the future of entertainment via visual or audio or stimulation by good vibration. My DNA of creation is coming from like a "sensorama" concept or games like ELIZA [an early therapist sim] and crazy, experimental games based on new science …so I’m always thinking what should we do, not only for amusement, but to expand our consciousness in different ways so … "trippy"… yeh, that is good.

For the full details on what this psychedelic dude think about next-gen consoles, XBLA and the (removed) rumble function, click on the source link.

If you've got a couple of dollar to spare - err - splurge, you might want to head off right away to the nearest Circuit City. Their promo prices are a very welcome deal, and at such a low price, we're sure the shelves are going to be cleared in a matter of days. Well, it is a clearance sale after all.

They're selling some games for US$17 a pop. Here's the list of titles:

• Lumines
• Death Jr.
• FIFA World Cup 2006
• Riiiiiiiidge Raaaaaacer
• SSX On Tour
• Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max
• Burnout Legends
• WWE Smackdown vs. Raw
• Mega Man: Powered Up
• Midway Arcade Treasures
• Namco Museum Battle Collection
• NBA Ballers Rebound
• Pinball Hall of Fame

So, go ahead and smash that piggy bank of yours. You never know until when the stocks will last. Cut back on the Krispy Kremes for now and save up some money. Consider this as an early Christmas gift to yourself.

What's hot and what's sizzling hot! That's what these charts from Amazon.com is all about. The list is updated every hour but this is how the charts looked at post time.

PC Games
The still to be released World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade is already smoking at the top of the PC games charts with pre-orders so we guess its one of those guaranteed hits just waiting to happen. Meanwhile, World of Warcraft is entrenched at No.4.

1. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (pre-order)—Vivendi Games
2. Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe (pre-order)—Microsoft
3. The Sims 2: Pets exp. (pre-order)—EA
4. World of Warcraft—Vivendi Games
5. Battlefield 2142 (pre-order)—EA
6. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Dark Crusade exp.—THQ
7. Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave (pre-order)—Her Interactive
8. Neverwinter Nights 2 Limited Ed. (pre-order)—Atari
9. The Sims 2—EA
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest—Vivendi Games

The top ten PSP and Xbox 360 games on Amazon.com after the jump.