PSP

Sony's PSP has long been a favorite topic among rumor mongers, the latest nugget coming from the BBC about a British Telecom version that would function as a phone among other new features. Nothing has been confirmed, but reports are circulating about some patent filings by Sony for just such a device.

According to the schematic diagrams in its proposal, at least one version of a PSP phone would have a rotating screen not unlike other handsets now on the market. Depending on how the display is positioned, MobileWhack says the device can be used as a PSP, phone … Read more

BBC News is reporting that British Telecom (BT) is teaming up with Sony to develop a voice and video communication service (via VoIP) for the Playstation Portable. Riding on BT's 21 Century Network, users of the software will be able to communicate with other PSPs, as well as some BT phones, using their own Internet service or one of the 2,000 BT hot-spot locations scattered across the U.K.

BT says that more information about the software and service will be announced at the Leipzig Games Convention in August. The camera and microphone kit, dubbed the "Go … Read more

Electronic Arts on Wednesday announced that it will release this fall a new Simpsons video game.

The announcement, by the world's-largest video game publisher, came just minutes before an invite-only press event in San Francisco where it was expected to make a "special announcement." It's not yet clear if the two announcements are one and the same.

The game, which is expected to be released this fall in conjunction with Gracie Films and Twentieth Century Fox, will feature the familiar Simpsons characters, and presumably, the storyline. It will also feature the voice actors from the TV … Read more

Need that next on-the-go gaming session to go all night? The new Extended PSP Battery from Blue Raven Technology may be your dream product. The snap-on, lithium-polymer, 4,500mAh battery pack aims to deliver as much as 15 hours of PSP playtime--a big step up from the 3 to 5 hours offered by the PSP's default battery. But the increased playtime comes at a cost: The Extended PSP Battery is about the same size and weight as the PSP itself (5 ounces for the battery vs. 6.2 for the PSP), and it costs a whopping $90. On the … Read more

After failing to keep up with Nintendo's DS juggernaut, Sony promised it would do a better job marketing the PSP, and now it appears that push is fully underway with a $30 price cut to the PSP Core Pack, the base system. That brings the PSP's MSRP to $169.99, or $80 less than the system's launch price of two years ago.

According to a press release that went out today, Sony's also modified the pricing structure for the system's software, with "first-party PSP software priced using a new tiered model--$39.99 (premium … Read more

Puzzle Quest is one of the scariest games I've seen in years. I'm no stranger to game addictions. I've been on and off World of Warcraft three times now (permanently off now; I'm not getting the expansion and don't like raiding), and have been hooked on everything from Oblivion to Zelda. Puzzle Quest offers the kind of nightmarish addictive powers I haven't seen since Tetris DS and Lumines. I have no idea why, but there's just something compelling about shuffling around blocks to get points.

Bejeweled is one of the archetypical puzzle games. … Read more

Have you ever wanted to see how your game system works? Do you scoff at warranties? Do you not mind risking your $80-to-$600 gadget just so you can screw with it? Then this toolkit is for you.

Modding peripheral companies like Divineo and Mod-chip.com are selling the Zoozen Access Pro Tool Kit v2, a toolkit with virtually everything you need to crack into virtually every game system you have. It includes a socketed handle with standard driver bits for slotted, Phillips, and Torx screws, and specialized driver bits for the "tamperproof" screws many systems use (Ever … Read more

The rumors were true: Nokia's N-Gage is returning, but it will be a gaming platform available on several new phones rather than on a single gaming handset. Gaming blog Kotaku was among the first to report on the news, which Nokia will expand upon at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Top mobile publishers such as EA, Glu Mobile and THQ Wireless are said to be on board, and Nokia is showcasing at least six N-Gage games, including versions of such well-known franchises as Brothers in Arms and FIFA 2008.

Nokia's press release specifically mentions that … Read more

We speak not of Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog's romantic obsession with gold rings (creepy as that may be), but of Crush, an upcoming platform and puzzle game for the Sony PSP that we saw at Sega's spring press event here in NYC.

This puzzle game caught our eye with its unusual 2D/3D design. Players traverse the find-the-exit levels by temporarily "crushing" the game's geometry down to a 2D view, allowing the main character to get to otherwise impossible-to-reach places. It's similar in some ways to Super Paper Mario for the Wii, and … Read more