Sony's really getting busy trying to bring more life into the PSP, talking with publishers and devs, trying to convince them to release titles for the handheld. Sony marketing exec John Koller takes the spotlight once again and talks to GamesIndustry about the PSP's present and future.

Just as Sony keeps releasing little tweaks to the PlayStation Portable's firmware to add even more security and, sometimes, new features, those keen on keeping the PSP as open a platform as possible also keep on churning out regular custom firmware updates. One of the best and most trusted of these steadfast developers is Dark AleX, the man behind the M33 custom firmware series. In this issue of QuickJump QuickGuide we're taking a look at the latest M33 release, 5.00 M33.

Goblins are malicious, annoying little buggers that typically have 1d8+1 hit dice at first level. GoblinPSP, on the other hand, is a PC app from Moscas that lets PSP users manage the data on their memory sticks, run firmware updates, and do a bunch of other useful stuff. See the difference?


Download: GoblinPSP v2.2.1.0

Moscas has once again updated GoblinPSP, a PC app that lets PSP users manage the data on their memory sticks, load or delete UMD backups, run firmware updates, launch various programs like RemoteJoy and USIsoloader, and manage plugins.


Download: GoblinPSP v2.2.0.2

During the tail end of November, the latest official PSP firmware version (5.02) was released and subsequently decrypted. It doesn't look like a big enough update to warrant an M33 release, but two separate custom firmware versions of the 5.02 firmware have since popped up on the QJ.NET forums. Hit the full article for details and download links.

Ha! As if TrickBrick couldn't get any trickier to its unsuspecting victims! Playboy21 is back with an update for the "prank your friends with PSP bricking pwnage" homebrew app, and has now released TrickBrick v5 (Official Style). This version takes the installers used in official firmware updates and recent M33 updates. Ooh, twice the fun.

Download: TrickBrick v5

PS3 and PSP connectivity has always been a priority to Sony, and it looks like they have some pretty exciting plans for the two platforms in future firmware updates. One of those plans include having the PSP use some of the PS3's processing power. More details after the link.

This just in! A PSN EU community leader has confirmed that the PlayStation Network will experience a downtime tomorrow due to system maintenance. Ok. Fair enough. It sounds pretty tame as PSN updates go (it's not the first time we've heard of a downtime), so... what makes this announcement exciting, really? How did we get from "downtime tomorrow" to "FW updates going live"? Let's review the facts, shall we...

We just got word from PSN director Eric Lempel via the PlayStation Blogs, and he's listed the features we can all expect in the upcoming system firmware updates for the PSP and PS3. Some of the previously rumored or speculated features are now confirmed: direct access to PSP Store, PS3 bluetooth headset support, in-game screenshots, and my oh my, some homebrew functions made "official".

As we make our way into the core of TGS - as well as all the insanity that goes with it - some sources are reporting that we'll be getting quite a big bunch of system updates from Sony next week: PSP FW 5.0 and PS3 FW 2.5. Which is plausible, to a degree. After all, huge changes are coming (PSP Store, PlayStation Home, PS3 bluetooth headset... etc. etc. etc.), and if all these changes are already around the corner, you're bound to hit new firmware updates eventually.