It has been over three years since developer Strmnnrmn began programming his Nintendo64 emulator for the PSP, with strong improvements implemented ever since. When progress became inactive, a team of coders took on where he had left off with DaedalusX64. However, Strmnnrmn approved the project and joined their team shortly after the first release.

The DaedalusX64 team remains hard at work into the new year with their latest revision of their Nintendo 64 emulator for homebrew enabled Playstation Portables. Recent changes provide small speed ups and increased quality of sound. I played a few levels of Super Mario 64 and its quite comfortable to play with sound.

While you're at it, drop by their forums to give a "thank you". They have a great forum, filled with compatibility topics, save states, and the team even recruits developers for their project! Enjoy playing a fine collection of classic games.

Download: DaedalusX64 Forums

Homebrew developer Roe-ur-boat has released an update to AutoStart PRX, a custom firmware plugin that allows users to conveniently launch any application or game by binding it to a button combination of their choosing. The included configuration file supports to up 10 entries. Additionally, an optional configuration parameter enables users to specify a auto launch entry when no buttons are pressed.

Featuring an easier to use options menu and improved compatibility with applications that take advantage of exit callbacks such as iRShell, various usability focused bug fixes are included in this release. The complete changelog  can be found after the break.

The French-based team of coders collectively known under the guise of Team GEN have released an update to their 5.50 series custom firmware, dubbed 5.50 GEN-D3.

According to the supplied changelog, this build features compatibility with all PSN demos and UMD titles to date. Additionally, tweaks have been worked in to improve compatibility with non-MagicGate supported aka "fake" Memory Sticks when loading UMD backups, though the changelog notes that this feature has not been tested.

Catch the download below.

PSP Custom Firmware 5.50 GEN-D3

PSP Custom Firmware 5.50 GEN-D3 [eXophase.com]

Over this past weekend developer FreePlay released the save game exploit for the PSPgo he showcased last month. Based largely on code from team Prometheus, it is compatible with firmware 6.10 and takes advantage of a user mode vulnerability in Archer Maclean’s Mercury. We’ve tested it on our unit and it works exactly as you’d expect. However, Sony removed the offending game title mere minutes after this hack hit the web, in addition to patching this exploit at the firmware level in 6.20. As of writing, it is back, now swapped with a copy that requires firmware 6.20 instead of 6.10.

As Sony has full control over PSN, this was a move more or less expected by those in the homebrew community, leading to questions of why this was even released in the first place. At the very least, it’s proof that these types of exploits are not viable on the go. Chalk it up as a victory for Sony this time around, but if history is any indication, the tables could turn once again in the future.

For archival purposes, we’ve included a copy of the exploit below. However, remember that it is not usable unless you downloaded Mercury prior to it being patched.

Download Leaked PSPgo Save Game Exploit

PSPgo Save Game Exploit Released, Sony Swiftly Responds - [eXophase.com]

Homebrew developer Roe-ur-boat has released an update to AutoStart PRX, a custom firmware plugin that allows users to launch any application or game by binding it to a button combination of their choosing. The included configuration file supports to up 10 entries. Additionally, an optional configuration parameter enables users to specify a auto launch entry when no buttons are pressed.

This build features a redesigned graphical interface courtesy of aspheric and several bug fixes. A full recap is provided in the changelog past the break.

* Fixed a bug I added when I added support for Bubbletunes Game Categories.
* Fixed a bug where the configurator would crash if an ISO had no name…
* New GUI courtesy of aspheric.

Download AutoStart v5.3

AutoStart v5.3 - [eXophase.com]

Neon of Team Typoon, the same team responsible for bringing homebrew to the masses on PSP-3000 has released a brief video that demonstrates the possibilities of HEN (short for Homebrew Enabler) on a PSPgo unit in a custom firmware esque environment.

Genesis emulator PicoDrive is shown running Sonic through the go’s savestate-like Resume Game feature, which can continue play sessions even after a full shutdown. While there are no immediate plans to release this Kernel-level exploit to the public, we’re told that more footage in better quality is coming soon.

Clip: PSPgo Fully Hacked, Running HEN - [eXophase.com]

After a lengthy hiatus, homebrew developer The Underminer has returned with a minor update to PReSS, a standards compliant image and text based RSS reader for the PSP, sporting a variety of secondary features such as MP3 playback and the ability to download MP4 and AVC files directly from supported feeds.

Version 0.41 incorporates various bug fixes, notably fixing a crash that would occur when updating a feed.

Download PReSS v0.41

PReSS v0.41 – Portable RSS Reader For PSP - [eXophase.com]

Homebrew developer Bubbletune has rolled out an update to custom firmware plugin Game Categories. Featuring three separate modes to display content, which can be toggled on-the-fly, it allows users to tidy up their PSP’s GAME folder through means of organization by easily categorizing applications and games.

Version 9.0 adds an additional display mode, dubbed “Content Browser.” When selected, this mode displays only the ICON0.PNG when scrolling through files.

Download Game Categories v9.0

Game Categories v9.0: Organize Homebrew On PSP - [eXophase.com]

Hot off the heels of his initial release, homebrew developer Zack is back with an update to his performance-tuned SNES emulator SNES9X Euphoria. In addition to resolving compatibility issues with GEN firmware, build R2.1 is focused largely on bug fixes and code cleanup, which Zack notes may have resulted in a slight speedup. Catch the full changelog past the break.

SNES emulation on PSP is back in the limelight as homebrew developer Zack has announced the release of his latest project, SNES9X Euphoria R1. Building off the already robust codebase of SNES9xTYL, it is focused on pure optimization, aiming to increase overall emulation performance.

Zack reports of significant frame rate gains in Kirby Super Star, one of the more demanding SNES titles, recording 50 FPS average. The previous Ruka build usually managed 30 FPS or less on the same title. That’s quite a substantial increase and should push most games into the playable category, even at lower frameskip values.

Additionally, Zack notes that future revisions of the emulator will incorporate changes from the latest SNES9X revision, that being 1.51, to further enhance performance and stability. We’re looking forward to it!

Download SNES9X Euphoria R1 / Release Thread

SNES9X Euphoria R1 for PSP - [eXophase.com]