Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Video: GoldenEye 007 running on Wii 'Homebrew Channel'http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/video-goldeneye-007-running-on-wii-homebrew-channel/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/video-goldeneye-007-running-on-wii-homebrew-channel/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/03/video-goldeneye-007-running-on-wii-homebrew-channel/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The inventiveness of the homebrew scene never ceases to amaze us. Take for instance the above video. What you see in it is, in fact, GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64 running on a Wii with the "Homebrew Channel" installed.

The poster of the video states that he was able to get the game ROM working with the emulator used by the Virtual Console version of Sin & Punishment. He gives no details on how he managed the feat, mentioning only that the game works "for the most part" with occasional slowdown and a broken borked save system.

Hopefully Nintendo will see this video and, rather than simply order it pulled offline, realize just how much people really want a proper Virtual Console release of the game.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

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]]>emulationgoldeneyegoldeneye-007homebrewnintendorareRandy Nelson2008-07-03T22:29:00+00:00TurboGrafx-16 comes to iPhone (unofficially)http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/turbografx-16-comes-to-iphone-unofficially/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/turbografx-16-comes-to-iphone-unofficially/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/turbografx-16-comes-to-iphone-unofficially/#commentsFiled under: ,

Attention "jailbroken" iPhone owners: Touch Arcade reports that it's now perfectly okay to Bonk your wunderphone without having to worry about its purty glass screen cracking. Emulator author ZodTTD (shall we kneel before him?) has ported the nifty TurboGrafx-16 emu, Temper, to iPhone as - wait for it - temper4iphone.

Temper was originally developed for the South Korean GamePark 2X handheld and ran ROM- and CD-Based titles designed for NEC's 16-bit system, which was a smash in Japan (as the PC-Engine) but enjoyed modest success in the West under its Turbo-fied moniker. As you can see from the embedded video, the emu is already plenty impressive. Unlike its GP2X counterpart, there's no support (yet) for CD-based game images, but compatibility with TG-16 ROMs (if you don't own the game, don't download em, 'kay?) is said to be high. Like previous emulators ported to iPhone, the retro console's controls are recreated on the touch screen.

Apple is expected to launch its "2.0" refresh of the iPhone along with the iPhone App Store in just a couple of weeks, and we'd be jazzed to see a proper Virtual Console-esque suite of "sanctioned" emulators offered for download via the service.

[Via TUAW]

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]]>bonkemulationgp2xiphoneiphone-2.0nectg-16turbografx-16turbografx16Randy Nelson2008-05-29T04:00:00+00:00DS Fanboy's week of homebrewhttp://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/ds-fanboys-week-of-homebrew/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/ds-fanboys-week-of-homebrew/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/ds-fanboys-week-of-homebrew/#commentsFiled under:


This week, the staff at DS Fanboy dedicated themselves to all things homebrew. If you own a DS and aren't checking out some of these hobbyist applications, you're missing half the fun of the system. Let DS Fanboy help you get started, find the best games and other software, and troubleshoot your problems, and you'll be reproducing Rembrandts* in Colors! in no time.

*provided you actually have some shred of artistic talent

Getting started

DS Fanboy's (semi) ultimate homebrew guide
Covering some of the most common Slot-1 cards that can turn your DS into a lean, mean, homebrew machine.

Homebrew glossary
DLD-what? Slot where? We've got the answers.

Filling up that SD card


 Widen the horizons of the DS
The best apps for making your DS do all the things a handheld was never meant to do.

Japanese homebrew games that will blow your mind
From the wacky to the completely awesome.

Emulating the gaming world on DS
Your favorite old consoles, back in handheld form.

Don't buy these: homebrew recommendations
There are dozens of amazing homebrew apps available, and we've got a small sampling of our favorites.

Homebrew: Using the DS as a PDA
Why carry two things when one will do just fine?

More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS
All the pornographic puzzles you can fit on a single microSD card.

Checking out the community

Confessions of a Homebrew Virgin
New to this whole deal? You're not the only one.

Homebrew dev dishes on the DS scene
The man behind Laser Hockey DS on the scene, his recommendations, and the lessons Nintendo could stand to learn from homebrew.

Homebrew support group
Got problems? We bet someone has an answer.

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]]>best-homebrew-gamesemulationglossaryguidehomebrewhow-topdaAlisha Karabinus2008-05-24T14:30:00+00:00iPhone PS1 emulator nears beta phasehttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/13/iphone-ps1-emulator-nears-beta-phase/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/13/iphone-ps1-emulator-nears-beta-phase/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/13/iphone-ps1-emulator-nears-beta-phase/#commentsFiled under: , ,

emulation
Sometimes emulation is less about functionality and more about 'look at me -- look what I did!' PlayStation emulation on iPhone falls into the latter category. While the excitement of booting up Snake's first solid adventure on your iPhone can't be denied, actually setting your thumbs upon the screen to control 18 distinct commands (8 directions, 4 face buttons, 4 shoulder buttons, start, and select) is gonna be a chore -- good luck even getting a glimpse of the action. Nevertheless, ZodTTD, the developer behind the 'gpSPhone' GameBoy Advance emulator for iPhone/iPod touch, is hard at work on the 'psx4iphone' emulator. While there's still much work to be done, as current pre-beta screens attest (see above), Zod claims a beta could be rolled out in a matter of days depending on demand ... and donations, no doubt.

The target is to have psx4iphone compatible with 75% of the PS1 catalog, which "may not include your favorite game." So would it be asking too much to request DualShock support?

[Via Engadget]

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]]>betaemulationiphoneps1psx4iphoneJames Ransom-Wiley2007-12-13T02:00:00+00:00DS emulator on a PSP, just becausehttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/13/ds-emulator-on-a-psp-just-because/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/13/ds-emulator-on-a-psp-just-because/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/13/ds-emulator-on-a-psp-just-because/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Sometimes it feels like hackers do things just to prove that they can rather than for any actual useful purpose. Case in point, Japanese homebrew developer SofiyaCat has set up a minimally-functional DS emulator on a hacked PSP. The compatibility is reportedly spotty and the emulation runs extremely slowly, but you can count on the community to improve these problems in due time.

It might seem pointless to emulate the DS on a system that only has a single, non-touch screen but ... well actually it is pretty pointless. But it is possible, and that's all that matters sometimes.

[Via DSFanboy]

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]]>dsemulationhackpspKyle Orland2007-08-13T15:55:00+00:00PSP firmware hack drives Lumines saleshttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/25/psp-firmware-hack-drives-lumines-sales/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/25/psp-firmware-hack-drives-lumines-sales/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/25/psp-firmware-hack-drives-lumines-sales/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Well that was fast. It was just Saturday that hackers at Noobz found a buffer overflow exploit in the puzzle classic Lumines that allowed hackers to run a simple Hello World program on any PSP firmware, including the recently released version 3.5. By Sunday, our blogging brethren at PSPFanboy caught the above screengrab of Amazon's Movers and Shakers page showing the game's sales jumping a ludicrous 5900 percent in just one day. As of this posting Monday morning, the same page shows a more moderate 750 percent rise pushing the two-year-old title to the second-highest spot on Amazon's video game sales charts.

We understand that there are a lot of people out there that want to exploit this new, uh, exploit to run homebrew code on their PSPs. What we don't understand is how there can be so many PSP owners out there that don't already own Lumines. How do you buy a PSP and not immediately pick up this hauntingly beautiful musical puzzler? We suppose there could be some PSP owners out there who eschew UMDs altogether for legally questionable emulators, but really, if you need a firmware hack to justify shelling out a few bucks for such sublime puzzle goodness then we don't want to be your friend anymore.

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]]>buffer overflowBufferOverflowemulationemulatorexploitfirmwarefirmware 3.5Firmware3.5hackhackerluminesPSPKyle Orland2007-06-25T11:28:00+00:00Play NES ROMs through official hardware with PowerPakhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/14/play-nes-roms-through-official-hardware-with-powerpak/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/14/play-nes-roms-through-official-hardware-with-powerpak/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/14/play-nes-roms-through-official-hardware-with-powerpak/#commentsFiled under: ,


You young whippersnappers today have it so easy. Hard drives... downloadable content... power buttons right on your the wireless controller! Back in my day you actually had to get up and put a cartridge in the system when you wanted a new game. Of course, that's not so easy for me anymore, what with the rheumatism and all. And don't get me started on blowing in the dang things ...

What's that? You say there's a new flash cart that lets you store multiple NES games on a single cartridge? You say you can put hundreds of ROMs on a standard CompactFlash card and play them through the standard NES hardware? You say my days of getting up to put in Clu Clu Land are over?

We'll see about that. I'll just adjust the old InterWeb browser and ... $135! Do ya think, I'm made of money? Back in my day $135 would buy you a brand new Cadillac sedan with enough left over for a fancy dinner at Roxy's. Why even today I could use that money to buy 57 27 [update: us old folks make typos too] legally downloaded NES games for my Wii. Stop wasting my time.

[Via insertcredit]

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]]>cartCompactFlashdownloademulationflashNESnintendoPowerPakromUSBKyle Orland2007-06-14T19:27:00+00:00Capcom CPS-3 arcade board finally crackedhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/11/capcom-cps-3-arcade-board-finally-cracked/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/11/capcom-cps-3-arcade-board-finally-cracked/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/11/capcom-cps-3-arcade-board-finally-cracked/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Capcom CPS-3 arcade board only ran a handful of games, including JoJo's Venture, Street Fighter III, and Red Earth, but that hasn't stopped the emulation community from cracking the board's code, which puts them one step closer to emulating the board itself. And considering CPS-3 debuted in 1996, it's about time!

Posts on Haze's Mame WIP as well as the more technical-oriented Notas de Andy (translation) show that the decryption has opened up the developers to make further progress, as David Haywood has already gotten the two JoJo games to "execute some of the game code, rather than just bios." We look forward to watching their progress.

[Via Engadget]

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]]>capcomcpscps-3emulationjo joJoJomodred earthRedEarthromromsstreet fighterStreetFighterRoss Miller2007-06-11T14:57:00+00:00Gameport: retro-focused portable with help from Ben Heckhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/30/gameport-retro-focused-portable-with-help-from-ben-heck/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/30/gameport-retro-focused-portable-with-help-from-ben-heck/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/30/gameport-retro-focused-portable-with-help-from-ben-heck/#commentsFiled under: ,


The inimitable Ben Heck is taking his considerable console building talents and going pro. Well, maybe "pro" isn't the exact right word, but he's lent his design skills, as well as his portable handheld naming skills, to the Gameport handheld system. The device is just a prototype, so we have no information on availability or price, but we do know it should pack a 5-hour battery life, a 480 by 234 pixel screen, a video-out for playing on your television, SD card support (for storing your games, et al), and a USB 1.1 port for loading the thing up. Their goal is to create a system that reproduces the original experience of the 8-bit classics as closely as possible and, with open source software, encourage a development community to grow around the platform. Check out Ben on GameTrailer's GameOne and jump ahead to the last segment for some video of the Gameport.

[Via Engadget]

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]]>BenHeckEmulationGameportChristopher Grant2007-05-30T13:14:00+00:00Game Boy emulator for PSP adds a dash of colorhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/25/game-boy-emulator-for-psp-adds-a-dash-of-color/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/25/game-boy-emulator-for-psp-adds-a-dash-of-color/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/25/game-boy-emulator-for-psp-adds-a-dash-of-color/#commentsFiled under: ,


Fresh off the PSP homebrew press: an emulator that plays classic Game Boy games -- in full color! Created by a programmer called Brunni, the emulator is still in beta and isn't likely to be released for some time (Brunni likes things to be perfect). From the looks of it, this is more than a Super Game Boy-esque palette swap. A shaky-cam video (after the jump) shows Super Mario Land in crisp, colorful detail.

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]]>emulationemulatorsgameboyhomebrewpspromsonyJohn Bardinelli2007-05-25T13:58:00+00:00Charming hand-drawn Dungeon map predates Zorkhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/13/charming-hand-drawn-dungeon-map-predates-zork/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/13/charming-hand-drawn-dungeon-map-predates-zork/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/13/charming-hand-drawn-dungeon-map-predates-zork/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Everyone should know that we're big fans of Zork here at Joystiq HQ (it's one of the 10 most important games, remember?). So it's doubly exciting to see this map pop up all over the place today. At first blush, it may appear to be a charming, hand-drawn map of Infocom's seminal text-adventure game, but upon closer inspection it doesn't match up. Why? Because it's a map of the mainframe version of Dungeon, the antecedent to Zork, "equivalent to Zork I + about half of Zork II + the endgame of Zork III." Better still, there's DOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux versions to go along with the map, so there's no excuse not to play it!

[Via Cathode Tan]

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]]>DungeonemulationinfocommapZorkChristopher Grant2007-04-13T15:18:00+00:00Make that Apple TV a gaming emulation stationhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/11/make-that-apple-tv-a-gaming-emulation-station/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/11/make-that-apple-tv-a-gaming-emulation-station/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/11/make-that-apple-tv-a-gaming-emulation-station/#commentsFiled under: , ,

We're not sure exactly how to transform your video-playing Apple TV into an emulation station just yet, but we do know that there's an awful lot of Apple TV hacking going on and the above video purports to show a very functional copy of Super Mario Bros. running off the tiny little box.

AwkwardTV has a page set up listing some emulators that work with the Apple TV writing, "These emulators are being tested with standard ROM's on the AppleTV running the original OS except for being slightly modified to add SSH." Is anyone tired enough of waiting for Apple's inevitable game offerings to upgrade their Apple TV themself?

[Via TUAW]

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]]>AppleAppleTVemulationChristopher Grant2007-04-11T13:19:00+00:00XNA opens up NES emulation on Xbox 360http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/29/xna-opens-up-nes-emulation-on-xbox-360/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/29/xna-opens-up-nes-emulation-on-xbox-360/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/29/xna-opens-up-nes-emulation-on-xbox-360/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There's simply no escaping NES games these days. If you're not downloading them from the Wii shop, you're likely playing them on an emulator (because you own the original ROMS, right?) or quite possibly, the Xbox 360. An XNA enthusiast has just released the second iteration of XNA SharpNES, an Xbox 360 port of Jonathan Turner's original emulator.

Provided you belong to the XNA Creator's Club (that's $99 per year) and have all the necessary software to compile the code, you can load the emulator onto the 360 and happily play the likes of Super Mario Bros., Mega Man and Gyromite. Of course, there's no telling how long it'll take before the emulator is pounded into the dirt by a gavel -- paying Microsoft to play Nintendo games on the Xbox 360 just seems fundamentally wrong.

You know, like owning a copy of Gyromite. Care to explain that?

[Via Engadget, Xbox-Scene]

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]]>EmulationNESSharpNESXNALudwig Kietzmann2007-01-29T07:35:00+00:00Relive Crazy Taxi with PSP rehashhttp://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/12/relive-crazy-taxi-will-psp-rehash/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/12/relive-crazy-taxi-will-psp-rehash/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/12/relive-crazy-taxi-will-psp-rehash/#commentsFiled under: , ,

crazy, dude!Forget PSone, Sony should have worked out a deal with Sega to emulate Dreamcast on PSP. Instead, we're starting to see some attempts by publishers to revisit some of their Dreamcast titles using the UMD format. First, Capcom did Power Stone Collection, and now, Sega has announced Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, built from Crazy Taxi 1 & 2.

While Fare Wares offers a new *Ad Hoc* multiplayer mode, we'd gladly trade the additional content for straight-up ports; if it meant we'd be downloading the games and playing them via emulation. Is this just wishful thinking?

[Via press release]

Press release:

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars coming exclusively to the PSP system. All-new twists have been included in the classic Crazy Taxi experience including for the first time, multiplayer modes that allow two people to play cooperatively or competitively. Now gamers can relive the addictive, action packed gameplay of the original Dreamcast games, Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2, on the go. Hang up those fuzzy dice and register for a cabbie license this Summer 2007 with Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars developed by Sniper Studios.

Only skilled cabbies need apply in Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars, where drivers are more aggressive than ever to earn the big dollars by speeding fares to their destination, no matter what the obstacles. Brand new multiplayer gameplay features provide endless entertainment where players can steal passengers from other cabbies by bumping their opponent's car and create chaotic competition on the road. Navigating through traffic, hills, and obstacles isn't easy, so it takes a skilled cabbie with no fear to earn the big bucks. Players can drive through the two original maps of Crazy Taxi, including the arcade map and the original Dreamcast map, both inspired by the steep hills, trademark cable cars, and breezy waterfront of San Francisco. Then they'll head for the Small Apple maps in Crazy Taxi 2, which is inspired by New York's large building fronts, hectic downtown streets, and the city's famous Central Park and subway system.

"With over 2.7 million games sold to date in the Crazy Taxi franchise, SEGA is excited to bring back such a popular series from our vault of classics," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars is fun, frantic, and highly addictive, and perfect for gamers on the go." The simple concept of competing for fares, is successfully built upon gameplay containing a variety of timed missions and mini-games, making it fun and challenging for short stints or hours on end.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars offers cabbies several single player modes including the mission-based Arcade mode, where skilled drivers earn time bonuses, and Time Trial mode where drivers collect the highest fares possible in the time allowed. In addition, for cabbies to practice their crazy driving skills, two mini-game training modes are available. They include Crazy Box, a collection of 16 original Crazy Taxi mini-games and Crazy Pyramid, mini-games arranged in a pyramid that drivers must complete to unlock more mini-games from Crazy Taxi 2.

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars introduces new multiplayer modes for two cabbies to collaborate or compete wirelessly via Ad Hoc. Drivers can also record and save gameplay replays of their driving performance in Crazy Taxi 2 on the PSP system's memory stick to replay and show off.

Get ready for the return of a classic favorite next Summer 2007 with Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars for the PSP system.

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]]>CapcomCrazy TaxiCrazyTaxiDreamcastEmulationFare WarsFareWarsPortPower StonePowerStoneRemakeSegaUMDJames Ransom-Wiley2007-01-12T04:24:00+00:00Hacked PS1 emulation on PSP now more efficient [update 1]http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/04/hacked-psone-emulation-on-psp-now-more-efficient/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/04/hacked-psone-emulation-on-psp-now-more-efficient/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/04/hacked-psone-emulation-on-psp-now-more-efficient/#commentsFiled under: , ,

pspDark_AleX has released another edition of his custom PSP firmware. Just as it appears '3.03 Open Edition Revision A' (OE-A) is essentially a modified version of Sony's official v3.03 fimware. 3.03OE-A also comes with a modified version of Sony's PS1 emulator, popstation; and with this latest custom firmware release, custom-made ISOs (game files) can now be compressed to conserve memory stick space.

Ethical concerns aside, it's amazing how the PSP homebrew scene has exploded ahead of Sony, unlocking the company's emulator for use with all PS1 titles. With just a few hours of research, a stack of old PlayStation games on hand, and perhaps a little trial and error, you now have the power to forge your own emulation experience -- imagine that. You don't even need a PlayStation 3.

Update: clarified that popstation is a modified version of Sony's PS1 emulator.

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]]>CompressionDark_AleXEmulateEmulationFirmwareHomebrewISOMemory StickMemoryStickPlayStationPopStationPSonePSPPSXJames Ransom-Wiley2007-01-04T20:25:00+00:00Huzzah! Psychonauts on 360, Soul Calibur, Conker toohttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/14/huzzah-psychonauts-on-360-soul-calibur-conker-too/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/14/huzzah-psychonauts-on-360-soul-calibur-conker-too/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/14/huzzah-psychonauts-on-360-soul-calibur-conker-too/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

for realzWe won't be satisfied until every Xbox title is compatible on 360, but today's backwards compatibility update is a major step in that direction. Sure, we knew the patch was coming, but it's a relief that it's here, Pyschonauts now playable -- as are Shenmue II, Indigo Prophecy, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Dead or Alive Ultimate, Buffy, Destroy All Humans, and others.

The update's final list of games also features some additional surprises (unrevealed during the premature posting on Xbox.com), most notably Soul Calibur 2 (North America only) and Conker: Live and Reloaded. Still, each of these bc updates is bitter sweet, inevitably lacking games we've been longing for. It's been a year, and still no Panzer Dragoon Orta?

New additions/updates:

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Burnout 3: Takedown [updated]
  • Conker: Live and Reloaded
  • Dead Or Alive Ultimate
  • Destroy All Humans!
  • Dynasty Warriors 4 / Shin Sangokumuso3
  • Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
  • Ex Chaser (Japan only)
  • Family Guy
  • Far Cry: Instincts
  • Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy
  • I-Ninja
  • Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
  • Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
  • MotoGP
  • Incredibles / Mr. Incredible (J)
  • Muzzle Flash (Japan only)
  • MX Unleashed
  • Open Season
  • Pariah
  • Plus Plumb 2 (Japan only)
  • Psychonauts
  • Psyvariar2 Extend Edition (Japan only)
  • Rainbow Six: Lockdown
  • Rapala Pro Fishing
  • Rent-A-Hero No. 1(Japan only)
  • Scarface
  • Shark Tale
  • Shenmue II
  • Soul Calibur 2 (North America only)
  • Splinter Cell: Double Agent
  • Tenerezza (Japan only)
  • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
  • Ultimate Spider-Man
  • Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
  • Whacked!
  • Winback 2: Project Poseidon
  • Xiaolin Showdown
Complete backwards compatibility games list

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]]>Backwards CompatibilityBackwardsCompatibilityBCConkerDownloadEmulationPsychonautsSoul CaliburSoulCaliburUpdateXbox LiveXboxLiveJames Ransom-Wiley2006-12-14T21:45:00+00:00Pre-huzzah: Psychonauts spotted on back-compat listhttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/12/pre-huzzah-psychonauts-spotted-on-back-compat-list/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/12/pre-huzzah-psychonauts-spotted-on-back-compat-list/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/12/pre-huzzah-psychonauts-spotted-on-back-compat-list/#commentsFiled under: ,


For a brief moment in time, an updated version of the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility list was exposed for all the internet to see. Though it was yanked in a matter of minutes, one new entry stood out like an atomic mushroom cloud in a serene, children's playground. Not to imply that Psychonauts is capable of melting children or flooding large masses of land with deadly radiation, but its presence was rather devastating to the psyche.

In case you weren't aware (and clearly you aren't much of the time), Tim Schafer and his team at Double Fine did extraordinary things with Psychonauts, managing to take the seemingly incompatible platformer and adventure genres and mash them together like two pieces of clay. That's before they twisted the whole mess into a variety of amusing shapes.

Oh, there's a whole bunch of other new games too. However, when asked about the exact release date of this December update, Microsoft warned us that the list is not final. "We'll have more news soon -- as I'm sure you're aware with any software development, things can change at any time so we want to make an announcement when we're sure we've got the final, solid list."

View the non-final, slightly wobbly list of additions after the break.

[Thanks Nick! Thanks to Richard from Xbox 360 Fanboy for remembering to take a screenshot.]

The following games are listed as "new" in the preliminary December update list:
  • All-Star Baseball 2005
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Dead or Alive Ultimate
  • Destroy All Humans!
  • Dynasty Warriors 4
  • Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick
  • Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy
  • Family Guy
  • Far Cry: Instincts
  • Incredibles
  • I-Ninja
  • Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude
  • Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
  • Moto-GP
  • MX Unleashed
  • Open Season
  • Pariah
  • Psychonauts
  • Rainbow Six: Lockdown
  • Rapala Pro Fishing
  • Scarface
  • Shark Tale
  • Shenmue II *
  • Splinter Cell: Double Agent
  • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
  • Ultimate Spider-Man
  • Wakeboarding Unleashed: Featuring Sean Murray
  • Whacked!
  • Winback 2: Project Poseidon
  • Xiaolin Showdown
* Also goes by the name of "How about a game of Lucky Hit?"

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]]>backwards compatibilityBackwardsCompatibilityEmulationEmulatorMortal KombatMortalKombatPsychonautsShenmueXBLXBLAXbox back compatXbox LiveXboxBackCompatXboxLiveLudwig Kietzmann2006-12-12T18:55:00+00:00DevHook now emulating PSP 3.01 firmwarehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/04/devhook-now-emulating-psp-3-01-firmware/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/04/devhook-now-emulating-psp-3-01-firmware/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/04/devhook-now-emulating-psp-3-01-firmware/#commentsFiled under: , ,

o.k.As Sony no doubt scrambles to roll out PSP firmware v3.02, homebrew enthusiasts (and pirates too) are currently enjoying the benefits of 3.01 -- PlayStation (1) downloads! Just days after the release of DevHook v1.50, comes 1.51, expanding firmware support from 2.82 to 3.01.

Opinions remain split over the value of DevHook. While responsible users enjoy freely traversing the homebrew and commercial scenes, there's no denying that DevHook is also used to play pirated dumps of retail games, in turn, driving Sony to release its ceaseless barrage of security updates.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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]]>3.01DevHookEmulationFirmwareHomebrewPSPJames Ransom-Wiley2006-12-04T21:55:00+00:00DevHook returns, now emulating 2.82 on 1.50 PSPshttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/30/devhook-returns-now-emulating-2-82-on-1-50-psps/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/30/devhook-returns-now-emulating-2-82-on-1-50-psps/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/30/devhook-returns-now-emulating-2-82-on-1-50-psps/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Sony PSPHaving seemingly evaded legal action against his project, programmer Booster returns to the PSP homebrew scene with a new version of DevHook. The application now let firmware v1.50 users emulate v2.82; and if the existence of a "3.0" folder is any indication, perhaps v3.00 in the near future. Once again, we can enjoy the benefits of (most) retail titles together with choice homebrew programs, all on one shiny device.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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]]>DevHookemulationfirmwarehomebrewJames Ransom-Wiley2006-11-30T23:25:00+00:00Sonic 2 prototype now playablehttp://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/08/sonic-2-prototype-now-playable/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/08/sonic-2-prototype-now-playable/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/08/sonic-2-prototype-now-playable/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

not the real thingKnown only as "drx," some mysterious mage has resurrected a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prototype cart and promptly dumped it (for emulation). It's an early build of Sega's sequel that's more akin to the first game than to the final version of Sonic 2. Can you spot the differences?

It's been suggested that this prototype is the same alpha build that was featured in several episodes of Nick Arcade. Another early build, often referred to as Sonic 2 Beta, was stolen from a toy show in New York back in '92. The cart was pirated and sold as a final version in parts of Asia and Brazil, despite only featuring four semi-playable levels.

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]]>alphabetacartcartridgeEmulationGenesisMegadriveNick ArcadeNickArcadepirateprototypeROMSegaSonic 2Sonic 2 BetaSonic the HedgehogSonic2Sonic2BetaSonicTheHedgehogJames Ransom-Wiley2006-11-08T14:25:00+00:00