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Sony thinking of removing features from PSP firmware? |
Listed in: Firmware, News Tags: psp firmware, Sony
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Well, with all the new features that Sony had been adding with their firmware updates (not all of them very useful though), it was only a matter of time before the miniscule 32MB of onboard flash started to be a limitation. And yes, there is a genuine concern of space on the NAND flash. For example, firmware 2.82 uses around 25-28 MB of the flash, leaving hardly any space. And custom firmwares like SE-B use up almost the whole of the flash.
With all of the new bells and whistles promised with firmware 3.0, it seems that there might be a shortage of space on the flash to actually deploy all the features. I wouldn't take any guesses, but I'm sure the so-hyped PS1 emulator uses a lot of space. Similarly, the PS3-PSP interconnectivity won't be easy either.
And well, it seems that while 3.0 might bring in a lot of good stuff, a few people might see some of the older features missing. And no, this isn't any rumor either; Sony's latest survey going out with the Rachet and Clank betas suggests that they want to know the features which are used the least. In the accompanying picture, thanks to PSP Fanboy, we have a small list:
- Watching video content
- Listen to music
- View photos
- RSS feeds subscription
- Internet browsing
- Use as a storage device
An alternate route would be to allow people to install some part of the firmware files onto the Memory Stick. That way, we would have a choice of the features that we want. Or they could even package things like the Web browser or the Location Free player as separate eboots so that they can be put in the GAME folder on the memory stick and loaded from there. The way I see it, this would probably be the best use of the GAME folder by Sony. What do you guys think? Ready to give up any features?
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Not that it matters much if you don't upgrade. Sony's stupid... although, how about adding Slingbox support next to your Location Free Player?
Wait wait, I got it, how about you remove the Network Update feature? LOL!
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movies is probably the only good thing to keep and i've used it about 3 times in a year.
Free up some space for the ps1 emulator!!!
or just allow us to keep these features on our memory sticks.
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I think the Emulator should be in he form of an eboot if Sony have any sense.
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This would be great, but we all know that it would be too easy to be able to run custom firmwares like that and Sony aren't going to give up the fight just yet.
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i think they should do that
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So it's rss feeds then, obviously. But I'm kinda concerned about that too.. that feature uses hardly any flash space compared to the browser / music and video decoding. (I mean, it really should only be a few hundred lines of code).
I mean, is it so hard to link to a JPG on the MS instead of copying it to flash when using it as a background? Saves a whole lot of space and requires a minimal amount of code.. just requires maybe a slightly longer boot.
What about getting rid of the stupid 2 second PSP video whenever you load a game, and do something in real time like just fading the screen to white or a bitmap?
I don't know... don't these ideas occur to the firmware engineers? I mean, if they change the look / style, you're likely to get far more upgrades than if it's just "oh we patched this security hole which isn't a treat to anyone who doesn't know about homebrew".
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Kinda reckless on their behalf not to think this far ahead - no doubt there is already enough space for the 3.0 update already - they just thinking about security updates for when it's cracked if you ask me - I don't think they thought to much about the security of the PSP when they originally made it.
Kinda silly when you think about it.
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Listen to music- Same as above
View photos- Same as above
RSS feeds subscription- It's possible, but doubtful... They still have more plans for RSS (look at that firmware timetable from a while back)
Internet browsing- Games such as Killzone, etc require this for the updates... I doubt Sony would kill off this
Use as a storage device- Only way this is possible is if they disable Memory Stick support... but then you couldn't save anything to it.... 100% sure this won't be removed
Nothing will be removed... Sony most likely wants to know what sucks, so they can work on it...
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Listen to music- Same as above
View photos- Same as above
RSS feeds subscription- It's possible, but doubtful... They still have more plans for RSS (look at that firmware timetable from a while back)
Internet browsing- Games such as Killzone, etc require this for the updates... I doubt Sony would kill off this
Use as a storage device- Only way this is possible is if they disable Memory Stick support... but then you couldn't save anything to it.... 100% sure this won't be removed
Nothing will be removed... Sony most likely wants to know what sucks, so they can work on it...
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note: I don't have a reply for the above comment I just wanted to be at the top of the page ;)hehe
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the location free player is what's garbage.
That and the photo viewer.
I only every go there to change my bg, which I can just use X-Flash for.
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But if i had to choose 1 from the list it would be RSS feeds but i still dont want to give none up.
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And sony would never encourage the modchip.
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More importantly, I can listen to clips from my favorite FM radio stations, and I can also keep up to date with the latest news.
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period
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well i dont use the rss feed but im sure some do. the internet exlorer i only use to check my yahoo mail and play some flash. the video i absolutely need unless they decide to downsize it to make it just play umds and release blank umd,s to the public. aint gonna happen cause of piiirracy, well that aint stopping people from doing so now with the mem sticks .And ud bee getting a ton of sales as the blanks would almost completely wipe out mem stick sales. the photo viewer aint nothing to spacial but could be agruable as one of the most used features in the psp. and without music great disinterest in the psp will quickly arise unless like previously stated u allow blank umd,s but put a restrictor like the custom tracks for gta lcs that only copiyrighted material could be allowed, but ud halfa sell em cheap to almost nuthing cause fumbling with umd's will be a great hassle. like the old saying goes u half to give to recieve. if they established a second stick reader on the psp and republished 32mb mem sticks with customizable firmware on each. and made the second drive a firmware reader then it would greatly eliminate this problem for now and always. sigh well i told sony i cant wait to see the potential of there hardware, but i didnt mean like this.
a good working psx emulator could take about 200mbts of space. hint no way in hell its gonna fit on the psp. maybe if they took all the patches and restrictions off it might help clear up the ram. i sent sony a couple of good bad and straight out wacky idaes i thought of but evin if they take my letter seriously it would still take alot of time and patients witch no one has these days
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well i dont use the rss feed but im sure some do. the internet exlorer i only use to check my yahoo mail and play some flash. the video i absolutely need unless they decide to downsize it to make it just play umds and release blank umd,s to the public. aint gonna happen cause of piiirracy, well that aint stopping people from doing so now with the mem sticks .And ud bee getting a ton of sales as the blanks would almost completely wipe out mem stick sales. the photo viewer aint nothing to spacial but could be agruable as one of the most used features in the psp. and without music great disinterest in the psp will quickly arise unless like previously stated u allow blank umd,s but put a restrictor like the custom tracks for gta lcs that only copiyrighted material could be allowed, but ud halfa sell em cheap to almost nuthing cause fumbling with umd's will be a great hassle. like the old saying goes u half to give to recieve. if they established a second stick reader on the psp and republished 32mb mem sticks with customizable firmware on each. and made the second drive a firmware reader then it would greatly eliminate this problem for now and always. sigh well i told sony i cant wait to see the potential of there hardware, but i didnt mean like this.
a good working psx emulator could take about 200mbts of space. hint no way in hell its gonna fit on the psp. maybe if they took all the patches and restrictions off it might help clear up the ram. i sent sony a couple of good bad and straight out wacky idaes i thought of but evin if they take my letter seriously it would still take alot of time and patients witch no one has these days
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It saves alot of space on my memory stick, I wish i could stream video files from the rss.
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well i dont use the rss feed but im sure some do. the internet exlorer i only use to check my yahoo mail and play some flash. the video i absolutely need unless they decide to downsize it to make it just play umds and release blank umd,s to the public. aint gonna happen cause of piiirracy, well that aint stopping people from doing so now with the mem sticks .And ud bee getting a ton of sales as the blanks would almost completely wipe out mem stick sales. the photo viewer aint nothing to spacial but could be agruable as one of the most used features in the psp. and without music great disinterest in the psp will quickly arise unless like previously stated u allow blank umd,s but put a restrictor like the custom tracks for gta lcs that only copiyrighted material could be allowed, but ud halfa sell em cheap to almost nuthing cause fumbling with umd's will be a great hassle. like the old saying goes u half to give to recieve. if they established a second stick reader on the psp and republished 32mb mem sticks with customizable firmware on each. and made the second drive a firmware reader then it would greatly eliminate this problem for now and always. sigh well i told sony i cant wait to see the potential of there hardware, but i didnt mean like this.
a good working psx emulator could take about 200mbts of space. hint no way in hell its gonna fit on the psp. maybe if they took all the patches and restrictions off it might help clear up the ram. i sent sony a couple of good bad and straight out wacky idaes i thought of but evin if they take my letter seriously it would still take alot of time and patients witch no one has these days
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simply an amazing idea.
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***** up the location free crap, instead. I mainly watch video on the psp, surf the web, stream music with the rss and a local server (it's called Podcast, used that way, Sony idiots!), watch images, listen to music on the stick.
Oh, right, it has those pretty games, too.
Take out wma support, useless to say the least.
Anyway, as already pointed out, taking away is stupid. Keep in mind that Bleem! could be used on a floppy disc. An optimized thing might use even less space. The idea to put stuff on the stck is simply wonderful, a nice way to avoid the issue of the lack of space, and sell more sitcks.
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and the RSS Feed... that feature I don't ever use...
With the Camera, PS1 EMU, and god knows how many more features they're gonna try to cram in there, I bet they're gonna have to remove a lot more features... or they can actually allow pple to have fun and get rid of the "Security" crap since quite a few firmwares been unlockd...
My guess.. rest of features they'll just stuff in the Next-gen PSP.. and leave us hangin with bogus stuff...
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and the RSS Feed... that feature I don't ever use...
With the Camera, PS1 EMU, and god knows how many more features they're gonna try to cram in there, I bet they're gonna have to remove a lot more features... or they can actually allow pple to have fun and get rid of the "Security" crap since quite a few firmwares been unlockd...
My guess.. rest of features they'll just stuff in the Next-gen PSP.. and leave us hangin with bogus stuff...
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and the RSS Feed... that feature I don't ever use...
With the Camera, PS1 EMU, and god knows how many more features they're gonna try to cram in there, I bet they're gonna have to remove a lot more features... or they can actually allow pple to have fun and get rid of the "Security" crap since quite a few firmwares been unlockd...
My guess.. rest of features they'll just stuff in the Next-gen PSP.. and leave us hangin with bogus stuff...
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in other words: ***** RSS!
location free player? i prefer the pink hat.
Sony: listen to us.
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Whatever they do, I just hope they stop adding firmware updates to their games, because I'd like to support the gaming AND homebrew scenes at the same time
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DS 360k
PS2 235k
360 218k
GBA 169k
PSP 130k
Not a single PSP game sold over 50k. Jesus.
But here's some PSP stuff in the > 25k (the best the software for PSP did this month).
> 25k
360 CALL OF DUTY 2
NDS OVER THE HEDGE
NDS SHREK SUPERSLAM
360 DEAD RISING
PS2 OKAMI
360 JUST CAUSE
GCN LEGO STAR WARS
PS2 LEGO STAR WARS
360 NBA LIVE 07
360 THE GODFATHER: THE GAME
GCN MADDEN NFL 07
PS2 BLACK
PS2 NCAA FOOTBALL 07
PS2 NEED SPEED: MOST WANTED
PS2 NHL 07
PSP MADDEN NFL 07
XBX FIFA SOCCER 07
XBX NBA LIVE 07
XBX TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
360 LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
NDS LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
PS2 STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II
XBX LEGO STAR WARS II: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY
XBX HALO 2
PS2 TALES OF THE ABYSS
GBA POKEMON EMERALD
GBA POKEMON LEAFGRN W/ADP
GBA SUPER MARIO ADVANCE
GBA SUPER MARIO WORLD: SUPER MARIO ADVANCE 2
NDS ANIMAL CROSSING: WILD WORLD
NDS BIG BRAIN ACADEMY
NDS BRAIN AGE: TRAIN YOUR BRAIN IN MINUTES A
NDS CLUBHOUSE GAMES
NDS MARIO KART
NDS NINTENDOGS: DACHSHUND & FRIENDS
NDS STAR FOX COMMAND
360 PHANTASY STAR UNIVERSE
PS2 GOD OF WAR
PS2 SHADOW OF COLOSSUS
PS2 VALKYRIE PROFILE 2: SILMERIA
PS2 FAMILY GUY
PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES
PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS
GCN AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
PS2 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
XBX DESTROY ALL HUMANS! 2
PS2 OPEN SEASON
PSP SCARFACE: MONEY. POWER. RESPECT.
Yes, two.
We may have a problem people.
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I was curious to see how many copies of VCS were being downloaded, so I did a search of my favorite torrent site, and checked the seeding/leeching stats.
Vice City Stories has over 30,000 people downloading it. No, I did not mistype that:
thirty-thousand!!!
And thats just AT THIS MOMENT! Who knows how many people have downloaded it since release!
thats the sales that rockstar is losing out on. Can you honestly say piracy does not hurt the games industry, specifically PSP?! I'm trying to figure out why any dev in his right mind would waste his time making a game for PSP, when NO ONE will buy it.
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I was curious to see how many copies of VCS were being downloaded, so I did a search of my favorite torrent site, and checked the seeding/leeching stats.
Vice City Stories has over 30,000 people downloading it. No, I did not mistype that:
thirty-thousand!!!
And thats just AT THIS MOMENT! Who knows how many people have downloaded it since release!
thats the sales that rockstar is losing out on. Can you honestly say piracy does not hurt the games industry, specifically PSP?! I'm trying to figure out why any dev in his right mind would waste his time making a game for PSP, when NO ONE will buy it.
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(I'm on the 2.60 GTA Eloader so I'm a little lost on the recent features, but...)
If I worked for Sony... Here's my plan for an update...
The system checks for about 20MB free space on Memory Stick before the update is launched from the XMB.
EXAMPLE: Firmware 3.00 (START)
A New Menu [FEATURE] Added.
[VIDEO] Upgrade: Up to 3mbps video playback at 480x272 resolution.
Whatever other features Sony installes such as the PS1 Emulator...
SOME BACKGROUND PROCESSES: [NETWORK] will be changed to [FEATURE]. The Internet Browser EBOOT will be stored in a folder named /FEATURE in the root of /PSP.
The Location Free Player and RSS Player EBOOTS will be stored under ]FEATURE]. Multiple subfolders will be recognized under [VIDEO]. Sony could provide Features available for download on their site, such as a Calculator; small EBOOTs that will be stored in the FEATURE folder.
Let the 32MB be for the main process, while a FEATURE folder be for 'programs'. Music and Video should be built in always though. Sony needs to get the power out of their system. Come on, with 4GB Memory Sticks out now, 3mbps videos won't take up much space. I know the PSP can handle a high video stream (The PMP codec), so there's no excuse for Sony being so cheap.
DON'T TAKE AWAY FEATURES SONY, JUST STORE THEM ON THE MEMORY STICK IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER.
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the PS1 emulator should be external, somthing to run from the game folder!
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ePSXe for the computer is only 14 mb
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its probably gonna be the rss feeds anyway...it juz the most unuseful thing they posted....
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Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
Remove all security
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the web browser is fine. all we need is to have mozilla on the psp with javascript on it and have the ability to watch videos off of websites right on the web browser instead of having to save them and find out they aren't compatible in the psp video folder.
the photo thing is pretty gay but if u want to save the photo as a background then we need this ability.
the RSS ability is the worse. who the hell would use this on the psp? gay and pointless.
don't got much to say about the mass storage device because the memory cards are for this function. i use homebrew and play my backed up games on my 2 gig memory card and with my 1 gig memory card i put all my programs that i download on my computer on my psp for backups. and when i take my psp to my friend's house i can put the program i have on my 1 gig memory card on my friend's computer and he doesn't have to download it.that's what i do with my limewire pro because the normal limewire u download has a virus in it.
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An alternative could be that Sony releases a UMD full of applications, but that's a problem by itself since you have to carry an extra UMD. The best option for Sony is to release their own application that can be loaded from the memorystick but I'm guessing they're too afraid people will hack those applications and find a way to load homebrew onto 3.0.
I think it's time Sony realizes the fight against homebrew/piracy is futile and should simply accept it instead of playing this silly cat and mouse game. I would like to see Sony be the first major company to take a risk and accept homebrew.
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As for removing video, photo, and music, what they should do is make an all in one media player that's a signed EBOOT, along with making the PS1 emulator a signed EBOOT.
And as for removal of 'mass storage' that doesn't mean you wouldn't be able to still put stuff on your memory stick, they could restrict access by making their 'Media Manager' app the only non-PS3 program that can access the PSP and make that the only non-PS3 app that the PSP recognizes for file transfer, therefore limiting your options to 'Sony approved' content and media formats.
Think about it, Sony may not always have ideas that make sense to us but, they're not stupid and they are pushing the forefront of technology... they are thinking of the future and using the present to test the waters... Do you really think that the PSP as we know it is the be all end all for Sony's handheld division? Hell no, it's a first release platform, like the PS1 was, or the original Gameboy (for a handheld comparison). Do you really think that after all the money they spent in R&D that the only product they'll put the cell processor in is the PS3? (think PSP2 and pray) The PSP is a market test platform, why do you think they keep putting out all these 'If you could change the PSP' surveys? It's called product market research.
Look for the bigger picture and just think about it...
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A year and a HALF after PSP being released, you think it's okay that GBA is still selling better?
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They better not mess with my system. I'm ready for a class-action if they do.
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i wont be updating anyway unless they start to make a half decent 3.0
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And the 32Mb limit is in no way a concern. If they run out of space they just need to make their code more efficient. You'd be amazed at how much you can cram into a small amount of memory.
For example here's a clone of Theme Park - on the Spectrum - that will load on the 16k model. There's also a downloadable 4k version written for a mini-game competition, although that one has less features.
http://members.fortunecity.com/jonathan6/egghead/id7.html
Naturally software for the PSP will take up more space than software for the Spectrum, but 32mb ought to be plenty of space.
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***** IPOD
SCREEEEEEEEEN SIZEEEEEE
get my point?
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Simple timeline:
1. n00bs WILL upgrade
2. When they've upgraded they'll think "well, this sucks"
3. They will buy PSP G2 (Generation 2)
4. Then they'll have what Sony robbed them of...
5. [basic code] goto 1 [basic code]
5n00b. Go back to step 1
And there you go, an EVIL concept with a big E, all in a nice download with the tag "S0ny Rootkit Entertainment" on it!
Well, now you see just how pissed I can be when Sony actually removes stuff, like the ability to run homebrew.
Note:
If anyone from Sony happens to read this, take it with a grain of salt...
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What's the freakin' point of having RSS anywayz?
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With this program, after checking some boxes, an EBOOT (or similar) is created which you can dump onto the MS. Let's say I want Music, Photo and Webbrowser often, but seldom RSS, LocationFree (never) or Video. I check the first three boxes and the program will export it to an update EBOOT. Then I flash it onto the PSP, which then will have immediate access to these specific features. The ones I seldom use, however, will be required to be run from an external EBOOT which I have created in the program. The external EBOOT is located on my MS, which makes it more convenient.
Easy, huh? This way there won't be a NAND-memory problem. And it's official! No homebrew programmer would have to get Sony knocking their door with a lawsuit or battleaxe. It would be perfect! =D
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sorry but don't throw the "this is how much there losing!" crap out there, some people might believe it, but i for one don't
i download iso's an i can tell you know, its not because i cant afford it. because i can....
i just like to play before i buy, if its good then it gets added to my collection using hard earned cash, other wise its deleted off my hard-drive
if i couldn't download and "try before i buy" i doubt i would of payed for any of the games
I'm a PC gamer, an what i like about a PC is. they produce DEMO's that wet your appetite
psp suffers with hardly any demos
and before you say "just because its a demo, doesn't reflect the whole or finished game"
I'm yet to see a game demo that's been different graphically or game play wise, that's completely different from the final product
also, you want to see how much a company can benefit from releasing a demo of there game, just check out ID software
they release 1/4 of the game doom, now look just how far they have come
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an idea come to mind that they dont have enough room on the flash for a PS1 emulator, maybe this is the reason for getting rid of features eh?
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All the 'choices' mentioned should not be removed, but why isn't the location free mentioned? my guess is that it is a sony add-on, so they obviously dont want to get rid of it. Also for the people who did pay £200 for one, it would be a real kick in the balls.
Im hoping Sony do realise the potential for the MS storage, since i would happily sacrifice 100MB if i could have a perfect PSP firmware. Mix it in with an optional install for certain programs and everyone's happy.
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They should also allow homebrew (yeah right). Well im at 2.82 so I might as well update to 3.00 when it comes out.
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browser
music player
photo viewer
video player
that way it saves a lot of space.
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I think that this has all been a bit pre-emptive and QJ could well be wrong, maybe Sony are just looking to improve one of the least used features. Or maybe it's just for statistical purposes so the devs can brag about "their feature" being the most useful...
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The PSP needs so much more, they don't need to
start takin' ***** off, that's bull.
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Devain Flash
I push all buttons
nothing appears nothing Happend
please tell me can i Emu the 3.00 Update Now
I HAve 2.80
Tell Me Plsssssssssssss sssssssssssssss ssss
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but i agree, make use of the game folder of
all features, and use the flash for the interpreter
Like the guy said above,
people will get the files from the firmware and try to hack them, so USE THE GAME FOLDER
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