Remember Excite Truck, and all those zippy new Wii racing games where you have to tilt the Wii remote to steer the vehicle? If that made you feel uncomfortable, you do have the alternative of riding a fiberglass pony instead.
So, you think Guitar Hero makes you a rockstar? Yet, your mighty axe resembles a children's toy. Maybe something can be done about it. Better yet, someone has done it already, right on time with the recent release of Guitar Hero III.
[brandon] decided to rebuild a Guitar Hero controller out of a real Gibson electric guitar. Best part is he managed to do it at a budget price. US$69 for the guitar (found at Target) plus $60 for the controller is less than $150... a budget price indeed. I suppose it's one way to "hack the Gibson" without becoming "zero cool".
The construction method is similar to most other case mods... pull out the electronic guts and give them a superior new home. Special features include using the guitar's volume tuning knob in replacement of the whammy bar, and the strum bar tucked neatly between the pickups.
The finished product can only be described as "very stylish, and competitive". Certainly it would draw a lot of attention at your student dorm's next Guitar Hero tournament (which replaced the former air guitar competitions).
The creator of this is also interested in doing a similar guitar mod for Rock Band in the future, with a few more ideas to apply. We can expect more to come.
Full building instructions can be found at: XYHD.TV
Known as Mr. Modchips, Bristol resident Neil Stanley Higgs has amassed over £1 million since 2002 from his operations with http://www.mrmodchips.co.uk and http://www.mrmodchips.com. Higgs was found guilty last month for owning and selling a number modchips and chipped consoles... totaling 26 offenses altogether. These include discontinued 'Xecuter' Xbox modchips and the 'Viper' GC chip.
Yesterday the Mr. Modchip business headquarters (his parent's residence) was raided by police after the ELSPA determined that several of the items offered on his website were illegal. Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said:
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This case today sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy, protecting the games industry's investment in fantastic games. It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in 'chipping' consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt in the strongest possible way. The modification of consoles is an activity that ELSPA's anti-piracy team is prioritising â€" it is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same.
[img width=250 align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/125525993946e8d52450f76Xbox-mini.jpg[/img]In 2001, Microsoft took their first steps into console video gaming with the Xbox. Often criticized as being a PC in a box, the hardware's most noticeable feature is its large size and weight in comparison to consoles from previous generations.
In 2007, two years after Microsoft's cessation of Xbox production, a fellow named ghostravel took it into his own hands to remedy the size issue. A year of toil, and some specialty craftsmanship (laser-cut custom case, reworked power supply, etc.) have earned him impressiveresults.
This time he's crafted a reasonably small combo portable that plays NES and Atari cartridges. He managed to do this using his preferred NES on a Chip and bits from an Atari Flashback II. Yes it does play both Asteroids and Super Mario Bros. 3, and changes over at the flick of a switch.
The folks at noobz.eu have made a smashing breakthrough for the PSP homebrew scene called they affectionately call Pandora's Battery. For those unfamiliar with past homebrew endeavors, it is only possible on the earlier versions (1.5), and later versions must be downgraded to make it possible. Sony's update service has in the past bricked a number of modded PSPs, but is required for most downloads.
This particular downgrader works on any version of PSP and ever resurrects dead ones. This is accomplished by accessing the unit in service mode through custom software loaded onto the memory stick, and converting a battery to mimic the cues of a service technician's battery. This combo should reset the PSP to firmware version 1.5, where homebrew can be easily developed, or the console can be upgraded regularly through Sony's update service for regular use.
What this means to the homebrew community is that any PSP firmware version currently out there can be downgraded to the homebrew-friendly 1.5 firmware, and any dead ones as a result of failed firmware changes or using Sony's update service on a modded firmware will be revived. This lack of deterrent against downgrading firmwares should also jump-start the PSP homebrew scene once more.
It seems that the Prometheus Project team that was working on this either had a member leak the program early or their security was compromised because a few items have shown up for sale in shady places at high prices. As a result Noobz has decided to release their work free of charge to the public a bit earlier than expected. (Their original original intent was to wait for the PSP redesign to hit store shelves.) Also, a final note since all code was written without the aid of an official SDK, all materials included in the program are free of copyrighted materials. They've mentioned that they'll try and keep up compatibility for future firmware releases.
Kudos to the members of the Prometheus Project, I look forward to future endeavors of the highly skilled and talented members of the team.
Dreamcast "new" releases... 2007
Triggerheart Exelica
Karous (last commercial release)
Last Hope 2008 Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles 2009
DUX Last Hope: Pink Bullets Rush Rush Rally Racing
Irides: Master of Blocks 2010 Fast Striker 2012 Gun-Lord 2013 Sturmwind
DUX 1.5 2014
Redux: Dark Matters
Neo XYX by NG.Dev Team 2015
Alice's Mom's Rescue
James & Watch 'Arm'
Elansar & Philia
The Ghost Blade
Pier Solar HD 2016
James & Watch: Tooth Cracker
Leona's Tricky Adventures
Orion's Puzzle Collection
Xia & The Goddesses of Magic 2017
Escape 2042 - The Truth Defenders
Rush Rush Rally Racing: Reloaded
Alice Dreams Tournament
Breakers
So, you think Guitar Hero makes you a rockstar? Yet, your mighty axe resembles a children's toy. Maybe something can be done about it. Better yet, someone has done it already, right on time with the recent release of 
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