Dark AleX releases PSP 'custom firmware' 3.10 OE-A

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 4th 2007 at 7:55PM }

Just days after the release and immediate decryption of Sony's PSP firmware v3.10, homebrew developer Dark AleX has released a new edition of his custom brand of firmware: 3.10 OE-A (Open Edition). As the name implies, Dark AleX's custom firmware includes all of the functionality provided by Sony's latest firmware update, plus the ability to run homebrewed (and pirated) applications and files, and further exploit the PSP hardware (e.g., speed up the processor, unlock maximum video resolution, bypass region coding, etc.). The new custom firmware also grants access to the PSP's fourth level of brightness without the use of a power adapter.

Any reason not to downgrade and then upgrade to 3.10 OE-A? Sure, custom firmware perpetuates piracy, but a user can choose not to download and run pirated games. But is the temptation just too strong?

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Tags: CustomFirmware, DarkAlex, Dark_AleX, Firmware, Homebrew, PSP

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

ss @ Feb 4th 2007 8:10PM

Come on, not to sound like a tight ass, but doesn't this post encourages piracy?

DWells55 @ Feb 4th 2007 8:18PM

No, this firmware allows for homebrew, and it's really a great piece of code. Sure, it does allow ISO loading, but there's legitimate reasons for that, like people who have broken UMD drives, or people who like the increased battery life and decreased load times of reading games off the memory stick's flash memory as opposed to spinning a disc. Dark_Alex is the man, and 3.10 OE-A is working flawlessly for me.

Dark-Pen @ Feb 4th 2007 8:20PM

Not necessarily, there's more to cracks like these than just pirating, as there are homebrew communities that make homebrew programs, like that universal remote thing.

Gimbal @ Feb 4th 2007 8:51PM

I still have over 40 original playstation games in my collection. No pirating needed when I actually own them.

But I'm in the middle of Killzone and haven't played much of MGS:Portable Ops yet. I might wait but...a portable version of Einhander would be pretty sweet.

I wonder if Carnage Heart will work. I'd love to have that on my PSP.

schlomo @ Feb 4th 2007 9:03PM

I'm thinking about re-buying a PSP now that memory sticks are so cheap and just not buying games for it (since the only good one was Lumines), and just running my emulators on it for classic fun :D

shirizaki @ Feb 4th 2007 9:01PM

I don't see a problem, because I think having firmwares opened up is what's keeping the PSP on life support.

They've had only a trickle of decent games come out. Sure there's going to be the people who pirate, but then again asking me to rebuy games like FF7 or Einhander when I have them right here.

Gimbal @ Feb 4th 2007 9:12PM

Holy Crap! I decided to Google Carnage Heart while I had it on the mind and discovered there is a Carnage Heart Portable for the PSP. Released in Japan only though.

See? They make me do this.

pandafresh @ Feb 4th 2007 9:26PM

but the psp is region-free..you can import games and play them with no problem. I really hate it when people say theres no good games for the psp, yes there is, and no they arent all ports or remakes. Actually look at the psp library, there are plenty of great games in there. Im going to upgrade to this custom firmware, but just so i can use emulators and play Quake and the stuff. I still buy all my psp games believe it or not.

Zac @ Feb 4th 2007 10:21PM

The Psp has a number of good games for it.
If you look through Metacritic, there are 40 games that scored 80-89 out of 100. (No game scored in the 90's though)

Although not fantastic, this is a pretty nice lineup with a mixture of fighters, racers, puzzle, shooters, etc.

Shibathedog @ Feb 4th 2007 9:44PM

omg i fricken KNEW someone was going to say that (#1)

Martez @ Feb 4th 2007 10:07PM

When I had a PSP, it was all about homebrew stuff for me. Lumines and AC!D were the only games I played. I tried putting emulated stuff on there, and that was certainly neat, but it didn't have the lasting appeal I thought it would.

I didn't even really care when my PSP was stolen. There's plenty of stuff out for it now, I want. Too bad. I probably won't invest in it again until it's around $99.

adam @ Feb 4th 2007 10:25PM

It would be encouraging piracy, if joystiq was telling you to download this so you can pirate games. There is a difference between mentioning something, and encouraging it.

Phour ZwanZig @ Feb 4th 2007 10:35PM

Man, I just got 3.03 OE-C installed yest.. I have to say thou, this custom firmware rocks.. Its got me playin my PSP again, and gives me a use for all my old PS games.. Ive been Ripin them all day.. Nothin like GT2 on the road...

Anonymous @ Feb 4th 2007 10:45PM

I run all my games, even the ones I import from Japan (Bleach, Bleach 2, Gundam etc) from the mem stick because of the greatly decreased load times over UMD. I own them so it's fair use to do so. And fair use is basically what is keeping the PSP aloft (That and it's sexiness factor in comparison to the non-sexy DS lite) If the PS3 would ever enable fair use in the same manner (imagine games run off the HDD, instead of the INSANE load times that Blu-Ray forces on you. That would be sweet) it would probably sell alot more in the US aswell. But, alas, the PS3 sits on store shelves, DRM and Blu-Ray has slain the beast (or atleast slown it to a crawl)

ss @ Feb 4th 2007 10:48PM

@9, better saying it out first and open the debate than ignoring it.
So far my comment has generated at least 10 great replies which will help many more reading in the morality of using this.
I'm not saying it's my "merit", but talking about it is better than pretending it doesn't exist.

raycosm @ Feb 4th 2007 11:10PM

Pirates > Ninjas
:P

LuckyChowmeinDude @ Feb 4th 2007 11:15PM

The reason i bought the PSP is because you can pirate games , the PSP can already play pirated movies so pirated games is a bonus , $250 for a portable that you dont need to pay anymore.

NeverSage @ Feb 5th 2007 12:40AM

Can you play the new PSP games with this update?

#14
non-sexy DS lite? hmm, dunno bout that

alphacrumb @ Feb 5th 2007 12:56AM

The DS Lite is sexy ... if you're into makeup compacts.

SuMtOnE @ Feb 5th 2007 12:57AM

i got version 2.60, now i need help downgradin to 1.5 etc etc...

thecactusman17 @ Feb 5th 2007 1:29PM

Just an important note--there is no "region coding" of PSP games, and never has been. I own two Japanese import games (Gitaroo Man and Super Robot Wars) for the system and they work 100%.

Having said all this, I'll be DLing DA's firmware because I think the current batch of homebrew titles beats much of what Sony has released so far hands down, not even counting illegally emulated games.

JammY @ Feb 5th 2007 4:44AM

I wonder how long Sony can drum up 'features' in order to have an incentive for people to upgrade...

DrXym @ Feb 5th 2007 4:58AM

While homebrew is a legitimate reason to hack a PSP, let's be in no doubt that this mod and similar ones like it are primarily for pirating games. Everytime Joystiq or similar blogs promotes these hacks, they are promoting piracy.

Personally I wish Sony would just release a Linux for the PSP and negate any reason that genuine homebrewers would have for hacking firmware. I'm sure it must be possible to produce a 512/1Gb bootdisk (similar to Puppy Linux) or whatnot that runs from the memory stick and allow people to hack away in that to their heart's content.

Opium @ Feb 5th 2007 6:39AM

For crying out loud the MAIN function of Dark Alex's firmware 3.10 OE is NOT piracy. Here's what you can do with it:

1. Have all the benefits of having firmware 3.10
2. Have all 4 brightness setting unlocked
3. increase your PSP's clockspeed to 333mhz (games run smoother, especially GTA)
4. Play videos at the PSP's full resolution (UMD video quality)
5. Run homebrew games and apps
6. Play virtually any PS1 game you own on your PSP
7. Run backups of your PSP games from the memorystick.

The last one has very legitimate reasons for inclusion in the firmware. Running your backups from the memory stick will use less battery, and load times will be MUCH shorter.

Dark_Alex unlocks the potential of the PSP. I wouldn't be without it.

bjoern @ Feb 5th 2007 6:30AM

does anyone knwo if this works with a brand new psp? i am thinking about to buy one.

Hugh Mann @ Feb 5th 2007 6:57AM

@ 22 So does everybody who makes psp homebrew, and they have been asking for a HB enabled official firmware from sony for years, but guess what? thats right sony said "no!"

If some people choose to use this for piracy, sony have only themselves to blame, as it stems from them not supporting a large community of people who have bought their products.

Also, this firmware allows me to convert and play PSone games on the PSP that I already own copies of,
If I only had the official sony firmware I would need to buy a PS3 (not cheap) to download each game, at which point I would then be asked to pay again for a game I already own!

DrXym @ Feb 5th 2007 7:49AM

@25 & @24, I'm not saying Sony is necessarily helping the situation, but pretending the mods are for homebrew is bullshit and you know it.

"Play[ing] any PS1 game" or "running the backups from memory stick" shows the thing is primarily for aiding piracy. First off, you CAN'T play PS1 games unless someone has ripped off the PS1 emulator from downloadable games, and you CAN'T play PSP games from MS unless you rip or more likely grab the ISO from somewhere. The fact that P2P sites offer hundreds of PSP & PS1 games shows quite clearly what the main reason for this mod is.

Personally I think Sony should do more to help homebrewers and I do think video playback should be unlocked since UMD is dead, but there is no doubt at all who this mod is primarily meant for - pirates.

Erwos @ Feb 5th 2007 8:22AM

"First off, you CAN'T play PS1 games unless someone has ripped off the PS1 emulator from downloadable games"

False. The emulator is in the firmware, not with the download.

"and you CAN'T play PSP games from MS unless you rip or more likely grab the ISO from somewhere."

It's entirely possible to rip your own UMDs. Hell, it's actually pretty easy to do once you've got access to homebrew. Breaking the encryption is technically illegal, but do you rail against people who rip their own DVDs, too?

Look, some people use this for piracy. No doubt about it. But there are SUBSTANTIAL non-infringing uses for homebrew firmware. Tossing Dark_Alex under the bus because some people abuse the features is mean.

Mike @ Feb 5th 2007 9:08AM

If you want to pirate psp games or play emulated psx/gba games, then this is the way to go.

Otherwise, I'd say get a GP2X. It's a simpler, better solution for most of your homebrew/emulation needs. But gba/psx are still unplayable on it.

And I don't condone piracy*, but I love it when people crack this stuff.

STICK IT TO THE MAN!

ss @ Feb 5th 2007 10:03AM

Well, the GP2X is nice, no doubt about it...
But with a lower built quality and with a worse screen and worse design and slower processor and no Wi-Fi for the same price.
But at least the GP2X uses sweet common SD cards, and that alone rocks.

Lekko @ Feb 5th 2007 10:11AM

why can't the PS3 rip PS1 games? I mean, it has the drive that is untampered with (so far), so if you put any of your legal PS1 games in it, it could easily run all of the conversion and ripping software, and also handle loading it onto your PSP. Also with locationfree, I bet it COULD allow you to have all your PS1 games on HDD at home on your PS3 and allow you access to them anywhere from any hotspot.

Now if only Sony would allow for these things, we wouldn't need pirates and custom firmwares.

DrXym @ Feb 5th 2007 10:21AM

@27 WRONG, the PS1 emulator is not in the firmware, it is attached to the game you download from the Playstation.com store. Normally you just see an eboot.pbp file which comprises the emulator followed by the iso of the file. This emulator has been extracted by people who then use a tool called Popstation to tack it onto the front of any PS1 game you wish to emulate.

As for "some people use it for piracy"... Let's be realistic, MOST PEOPLE use it for piracy. I bet honest homebrewers and people simply backing up files they own are a very small percentage.

Noshino @ Feb 5th 2007 4:00PM

sigh, I can bet that more than 95% of the people using this custom firmware are using it to play pirate ps1 or psp games, and that at least 50% of them don't even own the games (NOTE: 50%, I respect the other half that do own them, Sony should do something about allowing them to back up their games)

Then we complain why the low sales.....why more studios are turning down the psp, and so on. Meh, if this dudes really liked their psp, they wouldn't do this to hurt the sales of its games.

Homebrew doesn't hurt anyone.....unless you pirate games

sheppy @ Feb 5th 2007 10:59AM

DrXym, seriously.

You can claim everyone who does this to their PSP are pirates all you want. However, of the six friends I have who have done this, all six have yet to use it for illegitimate means. Except, well, DLing the latest game and treating it like a rental (does this game suck? Yeah, better not buy it now) since you can't exactly walk into Family Video and rent PSP games. But I digress.

The biggest reason for this update, is of course, the Memory Stick booting. Why, you may ask? Play Hot Shots Golf sometime. Constant loading, UMD a spinning, reducing batetry lenght from 5 to 2 hours. Loaded from a UMD? Significantly longer playtime, upwards to 6 hours, actually.

Then, of course, you have the Homebrew support. Which is very important since I like to use the PDF viewer to read the 40+ years of Uncanny X-Men comics I bought from Marvel from time to time.

And finally, PSX support. Yes, we all know the majors are coming. But what about Vagrant Story, Einhander, Suikoden II, Raycrisis Termination, and Lunar? Let's go even more obscure. Like Bust A Groove, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and dare I even suggest, Castlevania Chronicles? Not to mention FFVII.

You can claim what you want and while some people are using it for evil, most of the people I know are using it for legitimate purposes. And, incidently, for the record and from my experience. You will never see any bigger software pirates than the people who work in the game industry.

wish @ Feb 5th 2007 11:10AM

I recently did the whole downgrade-to-1.5-upgrade-to-3.03OE-C after using official sony firmware exclusively to this point, solely for the ability to play copies of PS1 games (that I own by the way).

Shame on Sony for not either a) opening up their official PS1 emulator and some game-ripping software (hell even throw in some DRM if you want, just let us put our PS1 games on the handheld) or b) making ALL PS1 games available for purchase through the online store and make that accessable through wireless internet (and no, I do not own a PS3, but this is a whole 'nother argument)

Oh, and since Polyphony is taking their sweet time with GT mobile, I'm currently working on my I-A license on the original GT, it runs beautifully :-)

Ieu-ee @ Feb 7th 2007 8:30AM

@33

Firstly, Sony cannot just sell all PS1 games over PSNetwork since they do not own the right to do so - it is the publishers who decide when and where a game can be sold.

Secondly, if I was sony there is NO WAY I'd open up a emulator/image creation tool for any of the PS family - even with DRM. People like Dark Alex have proved that all their security measures are worth nothing and if they cannot stop people misusing the system then they won't do anything.

If Sony were to redeem itself then I would like

1) access to PSNetwork stores - WITHOUT a PS3
2) MORE games for the PSP - to be honest I don't even mind if it's an original IP - just get me something to play!

And I think GT has been cancelled for the PSP... Damn their eyes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Turismo_4_Mobile

MoonfirePewPEwPEw @ Feb 5th 2007 1:47PM

"While homebrew is a legitimate reason to hack a PSP"

There is never, I repeat, never a legitimate reason to "hack" into anyone's hardware, including a dying handheld gaming system. You are not trying to save the world by hacking the firmware, you are doing so to bypass Sony's security, and run software that they don't want you to (yes, that includes firmware). You people are the reason why software sales are horrible on the system, and why it is in the position it is at now.

sheppy @ Feb 5th 2007 2:27PM

MoonfirePewPewPew... let's just put it this way.

As someone who currently has import preorders on DJ Max Portable 2, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, and domestic preorders on Jewel Summoner and Castlevania: Dracula X, as well as a collection of nearly 50 PSP games, I can officially state the following.

Fuck you. I'm supporting the system and doing homebrew. Many of the homebrew supporters do the same. Wii can run emulators as well. Are they responsible for the lack of third party software sales you fucking mouthbreather?

Skier @ Feb 5th 2007 6:12PM

I've been out of the loop lately and it seems the last couple of weeks, tons of stuff has been released for the homebrew crowd. I've got a 1.5 and a current firware psp. Does the new downgrade make the 1.5 obsolete, or should I still keep it around? I've got some of the original emulators on there but need to update to the PSOne etc. Should I use that use the 1.5 for this stuff? Can anyone lead me to a easier FAQ or guide to get me going?

daCuk @ Feb 5th 2007 4:40PM

Pirating? That firmaware is just letting me play the PS1 games I HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR!

Pirate my a$$....

sheppy @ Feb 5th 2007 4:57PM

You know, I keep hearing about this dropping support in software. This seems to be yet another internet myth.

Why? Well, aside from new PSP games being announced in Japan and Korea almost daily (seriously, DJ Portable Max 2 came out of nowhere), even domestic releases show no sign of slowing.

Evidence, dare you ask?

EBgames currently lists 63 upcoming PSP games. EBgames currently lists 62 upcoming DS games.

Where exactly is the slowing software sales, lack of support, or more importantly, dropped support? Capcom Puzzle World comes out tomorrow... Dracula X in the fall. Konami and Capcom, both showing huge support.

daCuk @ Feb 5th 2007 5:07PM

@MoonfirePewPEwPEw:

I paid for my PSP system, so I can do whatever I want with it.

Fuck the stupid DMCA, and well, you are included too...

hades21 @ Feb 7th 2007 6:29AM

wow.... ok we all know we get excited when you have the option to download a game anytime you want..... but dude who cares no one is going to stop me or you from doing anything you or i want with the psp. Screw sony they shoulda known it was going to happen. pirate or no pirate......

arthur- @ Feb 8th 2007 10:56AM

I have a 3.10 firmware,but I could upgrade it to 3.10 OE-A why?

Michael @ Feb 9th 2007 5:41PM

Hi can any1 help me out with installing the new psp 3.10 oe-a firmware as when i try to install it it always says that it cant load game. im currently on Sony's 3.10 firmware. please help me some one that would be nice cheers

Luis N. @ Feb 12th 2007 3:06PM

Hey, guys, I have a problem!!!! I bought a PSP last week, as a new user I didn´t know all the downgrade stuff, so I push the "red button" on update, i got the 3.11 firmware from sony. Now I know that I completely messed it up I hope Dark Alex can make an open edition of this firmware, does anybody knows if the guy is working on it or if i shall wait a long time to play my security copies...
Hope somebody can answer my post, thx guys