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Eidos Opens the Gateway to Creativity on the PSP System With the Portable Music Studio Traxxpad

New Application for the PSP PlayStation Portable System Enables Professional Grade Music Production On-the-Go

Eidos Interactive Ltd., one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today confirms that it will publish Traxxpad, an application which transforms the PSP PlayStation Portable system into a powerful piece of professional music studio equipment, in North America this spring 2007.

Traxxpad blends the power of sequencers, drum machines, and keyboards while simultaneously making the equipment easy to use and accessible, allowing anyone to create, mix and sample their own tracks at home or on-the-go. Music making can be as fun and easy as simply pressing buttons, or as in-depth and detailed as the user wants to make it.

“The PSP system is so much more than a gaming platform,” said Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Robert Lindsey, Eidos, Inc. “Traxxpad utilizes the PSP system hardware to its fullest. It produces professional music, and makes it easy to do, providing an end result that is more fun and satisfying than completing a pre-defined task in a game.” The key to the intuitive design of Traxxpad i its utilization of different high-end, music-making modules which focus on different aspects of music making such as sequencing, song assembly, and melody creation. Sounds can be assigned to specific buttons, and inputted into a sequence by rhythmical button presses. To make the game accessible to people will all musical skill levels, if a sound is off-beat, Traxxpad automatically associates the sound to the nearest 16th note, allowing immediate, great-sounding results.

“It’s one thing to make a powerful music device, but it is truly impressive to make an application that allows someone unfamiliar with music to make something that sounds professional,” said Marketing Manager, Kevin Gill, Eidos, Inc. “That is where Traxxpad excels. This is a piece of software that appeals equally to both aspiring musicians as well as professional music producers.”

Equipped with over 1000 stock sounds which range from drum samples to exotic instruments, the extensive sound library ensures that there is always variety to choose from. If more is needed, Traxxpad can also be utilized as a Sampler, utilizing its compatibility with the PSP system microphone. Sample anything, anywhere, and then use the wave editor to trim, adjust gain, normalize or reverse the recording. Most importantly, Traxxpad allows users to export their songs to .wav or .mp3 files, enabling production to be as easy as burning to a disc or transferring to a MP3 player.

With Traxxpad, players now have the ability to make a sick beat, the perfect song, or the best ring tone — the choice is up to them, and creativity knows no bounds. Developed by Definitive Studios, Traxxpad is set for release exclusively on the PSP(R) system in North America this spring 2007.

About Eidos Interactive Ltd Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software. Eidos consists of publishing operations across Europe and the US and several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios, Eidos Studios Hungary, Eidos Sweden and Pivotal Games. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, and Just Cause.

About Definitive Studios, LLC Definitive Studios is based out of San Francisco, CA and is dedicated to creating innovative cutting edge titles.

Stuff magazine is running a rumor item on the possibility of an upcoming Aibo, the robotic dog, working with the Playstation Portable and Playstation 3. The rumor goes that the Sony Aibo PS, as they call it, is being resuscitated by Sony’s Playstation division in an attempt to "bolster the PS3’s arsenal."

The Aibo PS will appear with its own avatar within Home and react in the real world as he does in the PS3’s upcoming interactive environment, according to the article. The rumor article goes on to say that you will be able to download new personalities for the dog from the Playstation Network and that the dog will be fully controllable using a PSP via WiFi. The dog’s head camera will send a real world vid feed to the PSP’s screen as well. The Dpad will control walking movement and the four main buttons will deal with head movement, which seems odd.

The Stuff folks rate this rumor as having a 53 percent probability. Seems like a cool concept, but I wonder if there’s the market for it to hit the real world. Who am I kidding? A remote control dog that can send live video from its head, sign me up for a baker’s dozen.

2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, today announced that Ghost Rider, the action-packed combat and motorcycle video game featuring Marvel Comics’ iconic supernatural superhero, is now available in North America for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the PSP (PlayStationPortable) system and Game Boy Advance. The title will be available in Europe as the movie releases in different regions. The Ghost Rider video game reflects the stylized action of the successful Marvel comic series and Sony Pictures’ upcoming Ghost Rider movie.

-PSP offers new gameplay including game sharing, and Wi-Fi multiplayer racing for up to four players.

One of the more popular characters in the gaming world, but one who has been kind of absent in the wave of new consoles like the XBox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii, will make his way to the Sony PSP this summer, as Sony has announced the return of PaRappa the Rapper. PaRappa will rap his way on to the PlayStation Portable in July and feature eight new songs that players can rap along to after downloading along with everything fans know and love from the PSOne original.

The PSP version of PaRappa the Rapper will basically just be a remix of the original game except for the eight new tracks and a few new features. All of the songs and characters from the original game will make the journey with PaRappa the Rapper to the PSP. IGN reports that the new version of PaRappa the Rapper will be developed by SCE, alongside Masaya Matsuura and New York artist Rodney Greenblat.

They also report that there will be some new PSP-only features for PaRappa the Rapper. The new portable version of the hip-hop star will include a feature where up to four players can go head-to-head in multi-player rapping battles. There will also be a demo that can be shared wirelessly and new downloadable songs on the PSP version of PaRappa the Rapper.

Gaming Bits quoted Sony’s announcement about the release of PaRappa the Rapper, “Featuring all the characters, levels and songs from the original, PaRappa The Rapper increases the franchise’s social appeal by offering a host of new PSP exclusive features, including the ability for up to four PSP systems to go head-to-head in ad-hoc battles; wirelessly share a demo level through Game Share; and use the PSP Infrastructure Mode to download eight additional playable remixes for players to rap along to.”

PaRappa the Rapper started on the original PlayStation ten years ago. PaRappa the Rapper is an action game with a rapping hero trying to get through a number of hip-hop tracks to win the love of his life, Sunny Funny. John Koller, SCEA senior marketing manager, told IGN, “Bringing PaRappa The Rapper to PSP allows true PlayStation fans to re-connect with this timeless classic. This also introduces the beloved PaRappa and his cast of colorful friends to a new generation of fans and potential hip-hop stars on the move.”

With the current trend of music-based games like Guitar Hero making waves, it was only a matter of time before PaRappa The Rapper returned to the world of gaming. If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to PaRappa the Rapper or jonesing to play an old-fashioned game in a world of new-fashioned toys, just wait until July when he’ll be back on your PSP.

When Acclaim 1.0 premiered its Burnout series, it launched on the PlayStation 2 way back in 2001. Now, over five years later, the series shows up once more on Sony’s system. Burnout Dominator, a PS2 and PSP exclusive, is now available.  Of course, the franchise is now owned by EA (but, then again, what isn’t?), and it’s a last hurrah for the PS2 before the much-anticipated Burnout 5 hits (hopefully) later this year.

More information can be found in the full press release below:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The king of speed and destruction is back! Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that Burnout™ Dominator has shipped to North American retail outlets for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Burnout Dominator has been rated E10+ by the ESRB, with descriptors of Violence.

Burnout Dominator is an all-new installment of the blockbuster Burnout™ series that challenges players to face off against a series of hot-blooded rivals in tests of reckless driving. The game features an all-new “Maniac Mode,” daring players to take down other drivers and string together massive combos of the wildest driving stunts without crashing. Burnout Dominator also marks the return of Burnouts and Boost Chaining, where gamers store up supercharged boost and use it all in one go – before combo-ing into another Burnout – for truly irresponsible speed.

“Burnout Dominator celebrates the terrifying feeling of speeding down the wrong side of the road, slamming into the car next to you and teetering on the edge of control at 200 miles per hour,” said senior producer, Nick Channon. “It’s a return to the game’s essence – the fastest, most aggressive racing series out there, bar none.”

Burnout Dominator for PSP also features ad hoc multiplayer for up to six players, as well as “ScoreSync” functionality, which allows gamers to compare their best race times against their friends.

Burnout Dominator was developed by EA’s Criterion Games and UK Studio team in Guildford, UK.

Driver 76 is the first all-new edition of the famed Driver series to be released since Ubisoft acquired the franchise in 2006. Developed by Sumo Digital Ltd. and Ubisoft’s Reflections studio, Driver 76 will be released in March 2007.

Faithful to the brand spirit, Driver 76 is an action driving game that features Hollywood-style car chases while also letting the player experience the open environment on foot. The game thrusts the player into the heart of the 1970s, through 27 missions divided into six main plots. Players can take side jobs, earning cash that can be used to modify their rides. Driver 76 also offers an extensive multiplayer mode and a host of mini-games ranging from street races to all out carnage in Destruction Derby mode.

Features Include:

• All-New Content Developed Exclusively for the PSP system – Twenty-seven all-new missions created for the PSP system.
• Prequel Storyline to Driver Parallel Lines – The year is 1976, two years before Driver® Parallel Lines.
• Multiplayer Games and Downloadable Content – Games include Street Racing, Destruction Derby, Pink Slip Racing and Swap Meet. Also download new paintjobs to use on your collected vehicles in the garage.
• Experience Open Environments in Authentic 1970’s New York – All the architecture, music, cars and clothes of the ’70s. Spans New York from Jersey to Coney Island.
• Vehicle Modification System – Collect your favorite vehicles and complete side job missions to get the cash to modify your ride.
• High-Speed Hollywood Racing Action – High-speed car races and crashes. Go even faster by customizing your car with special parts.
• Authentic ’70s Soundtrack – Immerse yourself in the ’70s with classic songs from the decade

Yesterday Sony released a version 3.10 firmware upgrade to the Playstation Portable system with some increased security among other new features. By the end of the same day, hackers had already decrypted the 3.10 firmware to allow third party applications to run on the PSP.The party claiming responsibility for the PSP hack, “C + D”, was boastful about the day 0 hack of the new firmware stating, “$ony has lost another batle and will loose the war…”. Obviously they are better at hacking than they are spelling.

The new firmware updates for Sony’s PSP include support for an expansion of Playstation titles, support of MPEG-4 AVC format video files, a Conserve Memory feature and a dynamic sound normalizer. In addition, and more interesting in this upgrade is the ability to download demos directly to the PSP or transfer downloaded demo games from a PC. The first of these new demos that PSP owners can download is Killzone: Liberation, followed by Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 in a couple weeks.

The M33 team has done it again. The PSP Slim can now run M33’s 3.60 custom firmware. The new firmware has “all the features of 3.52 M33, except the 1.50 kernel support”. This means that some homebrew that was developed specifically for 1.50 (e.g. homebrew games that would go into the GAME150 folder) will not work with the custom firmware.

The installation is complex, requiring a Pandora Battery and Pandora memory stick, a non-Slim PSP with firmware 1.50 or custom firmware that supports 1.50 kernel, and of course, a PSP-2000. As always, this is not for the faint of heart nor anyone who hates carefully reading and following instructions, as there is always a possibility of bricking your brand new PSP-2000. As such, use at your own risk. Full instructions for the installation can be found here.

Download M33’s custom 3.60 firmware here (scroll down to the bottom of the first post).