emulation
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Up to 7,000 PSOne-to-PSP titles by 2007, reports UK PSP Magazine
"Riiiiiidge Raaaaacer!" Kaz Hirai's famous declaration at Sony's E3 media breifing might not have garnered much applause, but, according to UK PSP Magazine, there are plenty of other emulated PlayStation titles (for the PSP) that will. These five AAA titles should be available when the emulation service launches: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy VIII Silent Hill Tomb Raider In addition, UK PSP Magazine reports that up to 7,000 PlayStation titles will be available for download by the end of 2007. Say what?! 7,000! Yes folks, it's possible -- Wikipedia: "As of March 2005, there were 7,743 software titles available (this figure counts games released in multiple regions as separate titles)."Forget PSOne, the PSP has officially become the first, truly portable PlayStation. We knew the thing would find its calling sooner or later...
SheepShaver
Damien found SheepShaver last February, and at the time this PowerPC emulation environment (great for running Classic on Intel Macs) had 'experimental' attached to its explanation. While I don't know if it can be referred to as a solid powerhouse environment even still, it seems to have come quite a ways since February; up to version 2.3, to be exact. The latest version has support for up to 1 GB of memory, many bug and crash fixes, clipboard updates, performance enhancements and more.While it still might not be pretty, SheepShaver is one of the few, if only, methods I've heard of for running Classic on an Intel Mac.
Updated GP2X handheld, MKII, shipping now
Back in February, we referenced the release of a rather mysterious "second edition" of the eminently hackable GP2X handheld while professing a lack of knowledge of just what had been improved. Play Asia are now stocking the GP2X MKII and, so as not to confuse it with the second edition, Wikipedia reveals the MKII is in fact the "seventh edition" of the console. Really, we're totally confused. Where's versions three through six?Regardless, the MKII upgrades include: Preattached screen cover Larger (more grippy) joystick cap Firmware v2.0 (features) Comes with 2 game demos (Vektar & Payback) Already have a GP2X? You can get some of that MKII flava by adding the game demos and upgrading to the new firmware; otherwise, $170 nets you the updated version. [Thanks craig; via DCEmu]
Parallels provides XP-on-Mac in virtual machine
While it probably won't get nearly as much hype as Apple's Boot Camp, the new beta of Parallels Workstation could actually prove to be more useful for Mac owners than the Apple boot manager. Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta for Mac OS X creates a virtual machine on an Intel-based Mac, allowing the owner to install any guest OS compiled for X86, including Windows XP, Linux or MS-DOS (hey, why not?). This could allow Mac users who need to run an occasional Windows app to do so without having to reboot first -- though they'll need enough RAM and processing power to run both OS X and the virtual machine simultaneously. While other apps, including Microsoft's Virtual PC, have offered similar functionality for Power PC Macs, they required processor emulation, seriously undermining performance. By contrast, Parallels Workstation (available as a free beta) is said to provide "near native" performance, which might be enough for users who need to run Visio, Project, or one of the many other Windows-only productivity apps -- though gamers will probably still want to use Boot Camp and keep just one OS running at a time.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Explainer: running Ninty games on XB360
This video's absent any meaningful sound (except the hum of the Xbox 360 next to the television screen), so it'll take a little 'splainin. Here's what it is: an NES emulator running at "almost full speed" on the Xbox 360. Here's how it works: this is accomplished by firing up a web browser-based Java emulator on a Windows Media Center PC and then streaming the content displayed in that web browser window via Microsoft's Media Center Extender software to the Xbox 360. It's not the 360 emulating the old games, it's the Media Center PC. The Xbox 360 simply displays whatever's going on in the browser back on the PC that's doing the emulating. Basically, any program that can be run in a browser on a Windows PC can be run on an Xbox 360 through this method.
$20 Nintendo DS mod chip, PassMe
We've already considered how to make your DS more like your PSP as far as media support goes, but what about emulation? Another device that takes advantage of both the GBA and DS game slots, the $20 "PassMe" mod chip for Nintendo DS "redirects the DS to a GBA Flash cart, so you can run your own programs... on the Nintendo DS. For PassMe to work it requires the use of a commercial NDS cart (for authentication) and a GBA Flash cart to hold your DS programs."While this mod chip will allow you to run pirated games--which we categorically disapprove of--the ability to run old abandonware or homebrew on the DS is enticing. Some Sam & Max Hit the Road via ScummVM coupled with some homebrew Mario Adventure, and you're cooking with gas.[Via Boing Boing]
An Experimental Classic Environment for Intel Macs
One of disadvantages with Apple's migration to Intel processors will be the loss of the Classic (Mac OS 9) environment. Apple has said many times that the Classic environment will be incompatible with their Intel Macs. While this probably won't be a problem for many users, organizations like schools (who may have limited money to upgrade their sofware) will likely encounter a few situations where their new Intel Macs need a Classic environment to run a few applications.Enter Sheepshaver, an open source PowerPC runtime environment capable of running PowerPC Mac OS 9 applications. The developer has relased an experimental version of Sheepshaver compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.4 for Intel Macs.Apple may have dropped support for Mac OS 7.x --> Mac OS 9.x applications with their move to Intel, but the open source community has provided us with a decent solution. When my Intel iMac finally arrives, I'll give this a whirl. Maybe C.K. can check it out in the meantime.
Dubious WoW practices #3: private servers
Although the monthly fee is easy to forget about, many of us would be much happier if it were removed from the equation--and how about doing something about that server overcrowding, too? It may sound like a pipe dream, but a number of private (emulated) servers have sprung up offering just that: free access to an unofficial third-party realm. Private servers are run using reverse-engineered, hacked-together, server code, and allow you to use your existing WoW client but cut Blizzard out of the equation. Various server variables are controlled by those running the realms--for example, changing the xp gain rate means you can level from 0 to 60 faster than usual.
Another Revolution patent unearthed
Revolution Report has done it again, uncovering another patent filed by Nintendo regarding their upcoming Virtual Console service. Nintendo's newest patent application, filed yesterday, is for a "Game information storage medium and game system using the same." Revolution Report has a synopsis of the major details of the application including: Nintendo planning on bundling classic titles with newer titles on one medium Potential Game Boy and DS emulation Possible Revolution / PC connectivity Old games can be updated with new looks Possibility for other content providers to deliver games through Nintendo's service. Pretty exciting indeed! Check out the rest of the details to see what Nintendo's got in store for us. [Thanks, Mephy]
