The Wii’s Twilight Hack has been a big hit for the homebrew crowd. Using the software flaw, they’ve been able to play Tetris on their Wiis and even create some custom Wii channels. Nintendo tried to shut that program down, but 8 hours later, it was back. Nobody can keep the homebrew devs down, and over the past week there have been two more major breakthroughs in “hacking the Wii.”

A group called Waninkoko has created a custom firmware for the Wii which allows writable DVDs to be read by the system. This means that downloading Wii titles to your PC, and then playing them on a burned disc could be right around the corner. The second crack for the Wii came from teamshift. They were able to create a PSP emulator that can play whatever games you wish.

Of course, neither of these hacks have actually been confirmed, so take heed before you try to install the Waninkoko hack. Do so at your own risk. The PSP emulator rumor from teamshift comes from a single image posted on NintendoMax showing Puzzle Bobble Pocket playing on a Wii. The image doesn’t hold much credence, and could be completely fake, but if it’s real then PSP games may become the new black for a while in Wii owner’s homes.

As more information is revealed on this, we’ll let you know.

Read more at engadget and DCEMUuk

No, as much as we’d like to see it happen, this isn’t some kind of monster emulation effort. Instead, an intrepid young — and we mean young: his YouTube display name is “obiwan222222″ – PSP Fanboy has managed to get his PlayStation Portable to act as a screen for his Wii using Sony’s LocationFree Player solution for the PSP. By patching through the PSP to LocationFree and by sticking what looks like a custom made Wii sensor above the console, the PSP can display the Wii’s output using its WiFi to connect to the internet video stream, and a spare Wiimote to control the cursor. Unfortunately, this solution is far from practical, as there’s an built-in lag of around 6 seconds: not something you want when playing twitch games. Besides the actual concept, the best part about the walkthrough video (which is after the break), is Obiwan22’s narration. One typical quote for you: “I am not some kind of genius. I just want to make a statement [to show] what you can do with your LocationFree Player!” Aww, bless.

Hackers have figured out a way to make the PSP and PS3 version of Manhunt 2 from Rockstar be uncensored meaning that the game has been brought back to its original Adults Only rating state.

Hackers seem to do some amazing things and this is a perfect example of that. Manhunt 2 was originally given an Adults Only rating by the ESRB in North America, which kept it from releasing in July on the PSP, PS2, and Nintendo Wii platforms.

Rockstar had to go back to the drawing board and re-work the game to the point where they had to dumd down the violence a bit so that they were allowed to release it. They did so an yesterday on Halloween the game launched finally on the PSP, PS2, and Wii.

Now hackers have apparently found a way to remove all of the censoring by Rockstar. This reverts Manhunt 2 back to its state as an Adults Only game which will please many gamers who were not happy that the game was dumbed down a bit.

It has been announced that Sony Corp. will launch a slimmer model of its PlayStation Portable handheld game player in September, in its latest attempt to ignite demand for its game hardware and compete better with Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Both Sony and Nintendo released their handheld gear, the PSP and DS, respectively, late in 2004, but sales of the PSP, which can play movies, music and games, have recently been outshined by the DS.

“From a distance, this PSP might not look very different from the current model … but when you have it in your hand, the difference becomes quite clear,” Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said. “It’s actually 33 percent lighter than the current PSP. It’s also 19 percent slimmer.”

Hirai, who replaced Ken Kutaragi, known as the “Father of PlayStation,” as head of Sony’s game division earlier this year, made the PSP announcement during a presentation at the E3 video game exposition, the industry’s biggest event.

Nintendo sold 23.6 million DS units in the year ended March 2007, outpacing PSP shipments of 8.4 million.

Underlining its lead both in the console and handheld markets, Nintendo last month zipped past Sony in market value and bumped the Tokyo-based electronics conglomerate off the list of Japan’s 10 most valuable companies.

A Sony spokeswoman said the slimmer PSP would retail for about $170, the same as the current PSP. Nintendo’s newest DS model, the DS Lite, sells for $130.

Like Sony, Nintendo last year launched the lighter version of the DS, accelerating already white-hot demand for the handset. The DS Lite has two screens, opens like a book and allows gamers to control play with a stylus, instead of manipulating a keypad.

Nintendo executives said on Wednesday that portable sales made up 50 percent of its hardware sales in 2006, compared with just 30 percent in 2002.

PRICE CUT

On the console side of its game business, Sony this week cut the U.S. price of its PlayStation 3 by $100 after seeing the PS3 far outsold by Nintendo’s Wii.

“This new price went into effect on Monday. Since then sales of 60-gigabyte PS3 have doubled at top five retailers,” Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said during the E3 presentation.

Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and the Wii have outsold the PS3 by several times in the crucial U.S. market, leaving Sony, which has dominated the game industry over the past decade, in the unfamiliar position of playing catch up.

Its high price and scarcity of attractive titles have been cited as main reasons for the PS3′ slow start.

Even after the price cut, the PS3 costs $20 more than the most expensive version of the Xbox 360, and twice that of the Wii, whose $250 price and motion-sensing controller have made it a best-seller despite its lack of life-like graphics.

In a bid to send a message that strong PS3 titles are in the pipeline, Sony showcased some 50 upcoming games at the presentation, including the latest installments of blockbuster fighting game “Metal Gear Solid” from Konami Corp.  and popular in-house racing title “Gran Turismo.”

During the presentation, it was indicated that “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” will not be available until early 2008, giving hard-core gamers one fewer reasons to rush to store shelves.

Following the announcement, shares in Sony were up 0.3 percent at 6,350 yen by midday on Thursday, roughly in line with the benchmark Nikkei average.

The PSP puzzle game Lumines released last June jumped 5900% in sales on Amazon.com after gamers learned they could utilize it to hack their PSP. After following directions posted on noobz.com, players can download and play homebrew games on their Playstation Portable, for all firmware versions from 1.0 to 3.5.

However, the only homebrew currentlyavailable is the boringly titled “Hello World,” which is really just the equivalent of the crackers saying, “We did it!” There are plans to release a Homebrew Enabler and a downgrader. The out-of-print video game is currently outselling everything in Amazon’s Video Games category except Mario Party 8 and the Nintendo Wii. It looks like gamers are excited about the opportunity to play what they want with whatever they want. Maybe the video game industry will someday take heed.

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.

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will lower the price of its PlayStation Portable gaming device by $30 to $170 amid intense competition among game console rivals, particularly Nintendo Co.

It’s the first time Sony has officially lowered suggested retail prices on the PSP since its debut in March 2005. Video game publishers and financial analysts have been urging Sony to slash hardware prices in recent quarters.

The cuts come two months after Sony’s gaming unit posted a third-quarter operating loss of $443 million, largely due to hefty costs for the launch of its PlayStation 3 video game console.

Although Sony promised business at the gaming unit would improve by the latter half of the fiscal year, the company said declining sales during the October-December period of Sony’s predecessor console, PlayStation 2, as well as the handheld PlayStation Portable and PSP game software, hurt quarterly profits at the gaming unit.

Sony’s PSP competes mainly against Nintendo’s Game Boy and DS. Despite being launched in 2004, the DS — which some retailers sell for as little as $130 — outsold every other console in the United States in February, registering 485,000 units sold, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Nintendo has also been a formidable player in next-generation consoles, traditionally a Sony stronghold.

The Nintendo Wii, released in November, sold 335,000 units during the month, followed by Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 with 228,000 units and Sony’s PlayStation 3 with 127,000 units.

With its diminutive “Wiimote” — a motion-sensitive, wrist-mounted remote control — Nintendo’s Wii has been a surprise hit among kids, women and older players, catching on far beyond the “hardcore” gamer niche of young men. The Wii sells for $250, far less than the PS3, which starts at $500.

Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Foster City-based Sony Computer Entertainment America, said Sony’s price cuts were an effort to make the game more affordable to young gamers.

“We have recently seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price will accelerate that trend,” Tretton said in a statement.

Sony, which also lowered the price of its higher-end PSP Entertainment Pack 20 percent to $200, will launch a print and online advertising campaign targeted at teenagers.

In late November, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. slashed prices on the PSP to $170. Although world’s largest retailer didn’t release sales numbers, analysts said the promotion was a success, and they were encouraged about Sony’s official new prices.

“We expect a modest step-up in PSP unit sales during an otherwise seasonally slower period for the video game industry,” Colin Sebastian, senior research analyst at Lazard Capital Markets in San Francisco, wrote in an investor note.