As promised, PSPGen together with GENyUS has released the much awaited Custom Firmware 5.50GEN-B. This is great news to all GEN users especially when news broke days ago that Sony has successfully implemented a security update that prevented Custom Firmware 5.00 M33 users from accessing the Playstation Store. Fortunately, Custom Firmware 5.50GEN users were safe.

Download: Custom Firmware 5.50GEN-B

Q-Games has been pretty tight-lipped about their PixelJunk Monsters project for the PSP. We know that it's slated for a release this year, but when exactly will that be? If a product listing on Play-Asia is to be believed, it could be arriving this June already.

Right off the bat, I will say that this does not have anything to do with FF7's Cloud Strife. It could, however, be related to the Lifestream - but that already's a bit of a stretch. See, when you're talking Internet jargon, a cloud basically refers to a network of resources. Cloud computing comes in when you have that cloud sharing resources for a common goal. Yes, think Folding@Home. But what's the next step for Sony?

And here we are once more with our Tuesday goodie, the QuickJump QuickGuide now at Issue 3. As promised, we will be continuing the (already-long) PSP Firmware Database. We left off with 3.40 IE in Part 1. Today, we give you Part 2, starting off with the OFW 3.50 from Sony, all the way to 5.30, and of course including the brilliant CFWs and other exploits by the gods-that-be of Homebrew. This piece needs no more introduction; the stars of the show are already tabled below:

Finally we've got some substantial development in the realm of PS3-to-PSP connectivity, and it isn't just Remote Play either. Via TGS 2008, SCEA's announced that Resistance 2 on the PS3 and Resistance: Retribution can be connected with each other. Doing so opens up a world of possibilities - more in-game content and the option to play Retribution on your PSP using a Dualshock 3 controller (yes, vibration support included).

To a degree, games like Monster Hunter Portable and Valhalla Knights already somewhat overlap into the circle of MMO games. What with Wi-Fi, Remote Play, and other functions for interconnectivity, seeing the PSP (whether via the PS3 or not) as a tool for grinding your characters on-the-go isn't all that hard to imagine. John Smedley of SOE thinks that it is quite possible to move into that direction. He already mentioned Free Realms, SOE's upcoming MMO for the PS3 and PC - could that be the start?

If things go well for Sony, PlayTV could eventually land a big footprint on media hub history. In its first week in retail alone, it looks like it's already making waves. Sony's confirmed that it's already shipped 85,000 units of the freeview box across the UK.

The Demo trailer for Sony's PlayTV has come out in the UK. We've got the video embedded in the full article, and we'd have to tell you it's really quite something to see it in action. So far it's looking very fluid and no-frills. Hit the jump button and you're there.

PlayTV's out to get its verdict from the reviewers. So far, it's looking swell. But none is so swell as finding out that PlayTV's gone back to having DRM-free copying features on your beloved PSP.

The PSP is solid. No need to worry about the ongoing competition between it and the DS, and never mind that Apple's iPhone has joined in the ruckus. They've got big plans up ahead, and really, it's not them who's got to be losing sleep over this. So says Koller, and more. Check it out at the full article.