Tag Archives: Hardware

E3 2011 PS4 reveal
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Could we also be getting some news of a PS4 at E3 2011? It’s been confirmed as already under development but with today’s leak of the wii 2‘s astronomically high specifications could Sony be up for a reveal on some details of the PS4?

Sony’s VP and CFO Masaru Kato revealed at and investor meeting that

“For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life, but this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we’ll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.”

What do you think of a possible reveal? There are also rumors of a Xbox 720 kicking about somewhere at MS in a PC shell. Let’s see what each company reveals about their next generation of consoles. It’s an almost guarantee that Project Cafe will get a reveal but what else will?

New Xbox 360 Slim Motherboard Revision: “Corona” – HANA chip gone?!?
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Habemus Xbox Slim

Image by ீ ๑ Adam via Flickr

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This new motherboard revision was found in a Forza 4 250GB Go Pack with a matte black finish.

Specs:

  • New “Corona” type motherboard
  • 1071 Disk Drive
  • MFR Date of: 17/08/2011
  • The PSU goes from 10.83A (for the Trinity style motherboards of original 360S consoles) to 9.86A.

The most noticable visual difference between the boards is that the HANA chip appears to be missing. There is a suggestion that the HANA and SouthBridge have been put together into 1 chip on this new motherboard. The fact that the HANA has been integrated with the SouthBridge may have serious implications for the new Reset Glitch Hack. It has been suggested that the new mobo revision has been designed to combat the RGH but if you look at the MFR date it was manufactured back in August, before the RGH was discovered/made public – so unless Microsoft knew about this exploit before it was public this mobo was not designed specifically to stop it and even then it takes months to design and make a motherboard. That being said there may prove to be a problem for the hack and work in MS benefit even if it wasn’t intended too! There may be alternatives to using the HANA chip for timing of the hack but… moving the HANA chip may not even cause any problems with the hack, it’s all just speculation at the moment. Only time will tell if this is good for Microsoft or good for the Pirates.

Related articles
  • Reset Glitch Hack on Slim By GliGli (gamingnow.info)
TX Coolrunner V3 glitch chip

Xecuter Coolrunner Demo Video Surfaces
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Demos of new Reset Glitch Hack (RGH) chips have surfaced since the implementation of the hack. We have seen numerous different teams take the idea and build replicas on what GliGli had created. Other teams started to modify the design slightly to tweak boot speed. It would only take a few seconds to find a video of the “Matrix Glitcher”, said to be the fastest chip on the market. What a lot of companies have done is created a glitch chip and a NAND reader/writer that works well together but practically any Xbox 360 NAND reader/writer will be compatible with most, if not all of the chips available.

With all the demo videos from these chips providing practically free advertising through the wonderful medium of Social Media I had to wonder “Why is Team Xecuter, the biggest name in the 360 modders scene, not showing off their new TX Coolrunner glitch chip?”.

Well I looked and I found out that a brand new video has indeed surfaced and it is super fast. From what I see it boots just as fast as my 360 anyhow. If there is a difference it’s only slight… and getting on Xbox Live eats up more precious gaming seconds that booting with this does anyway.

I have seen many demonstrations of different chips this last month from everyone who is trying to push their product out quickly. Untill now we hadn’t seen any working models of Coolrunner, and we are yet too! But what we have seen is a new video demoing the Collrunner in action. Here’s the video:

Along with the video TX have also dropped some new info on the product including an expected final production date of this weekend and that no expensive Actel IC is needed to establish a fast stable boot. That is good news for the price and the release date but there’s more good news. Slim boot times are just about the same as the boot time shown in the video, Falcon and Zephyr boards compatibility has been added and is now being optimized and a debug LED has been added in line with GliGli’s new Reset Glitch Hack v1.1

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team xecuter coolrunner 360 glitch chip

Team Xecuter Coolrunner Update 13th September
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A lot of you have been waiting on this one since it’s announce a day or so after the original schematic for the reset glitch hack was made public by GliGli. Team Xecuter were quick off the ball with this one but unfortunetaly a lot of other clones/copies/re-designs are already available to purchase from other (reputable and not) companies while this is still in development. Why would you wait on this when you can get something to perform the reset glitch hack right now? We’ll I’ll tell you why I am waiting: Team Xecuter are the best and most well know in the business. I know that my coolrunner from TX will do what I want. I have often been plagued by the “early adopters” syndrome. That is: getting something as soon as possible only to find out a much more feature rich version is already in manufacture and if I had waited a few days/weeks/months depending on the product I would have gotten more bang for my buck. The TX Coolrunner is one of the products that I hope I don’t get EAD (Early Adopters Syndrome) from. I am aware that eventually a better product will be availble but I want my flagship model to be the best possible. When I get my coolrunner I have no doubt that it will execute the reset glitch flawlessly, I have no doubt that other products would do an equally well job. What I do doubt tho is the customer service and support from other lesser know names that I would recieve if I had purchased their product. There are also a few features that the team are keeping to themselves.

TX support is second to none, and although I will, 99% of the time, not need it – I am glad to know that if I need any support it will be there for me. Support comes from TX themeselves and other customers through their forums. The forum users being both knowledgable on all things Xecuter as well as being lightning quick with their replies (lightning quick with the wit too!).  The only support forum (in the case of 360 modding) even close to being as good is the next biggest name in the biz: Team Maximus.

What you get with a Team Xecuter Coolrunner is quality, support, functionality to perform the glitch as well as a few features that TX are keeping close to their chest. Secret features that nobody else has.

Here’s what TX had to say about the V.3 completion:

team xecuter coolrunner 360 glitch chip

Team Xecuter's reset glitch hack chip. the Coolrunner

We have just completed v3 of the CoolRunner mod design for the Reset Glitch Hack
and have deviated quite a lot from the original schematic released by GliGli /
Tiros.

Booting is now pretty much 100% accurate and is a very clean /
solid install with a couple of extra features that others don’t
have.

Still want to keep details close to our chest as there are a lot of
other cloners/copies/alternative versions of the original public schematic.
Naturally you can trust Xecuter as always

Price is still on target for
RRP $19.99 and should be in stores next week.

Graffiti XGD3 logo

XGD3 Facts
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DVD-ROM for Xbox 360 (Sample: THE IDOLM@STER)

Image via Wikipedia

Xbox Game Disk v. 3

Microsoft has unleashed XGD3 on the pirates! It is a new form of copy protection and has yet to be cracked. Prior to XGD3 the main points of making back-ups of 360 games was to use good quality DVD+R DL disks – most preferring to use Verbatim disks – and the correct layerbreak of 1913760.. It used to also be necessary to booktype the disk to DVD-ROM but that is not needed any more.

Now the pirated scene is on hold as all new Xbox games will come on XGD3 disks. These new disks pose 3 major problems: Ripping the disk, burning the disk and running the disk on the 360.

Ripping the disk will need a new algorithm for reading the disk. XGD2 disks contain a partition roughly 1GB in size. This partition has the video that you see if you put the disk into a DVD player, a dashboard update and various anti-piracy measures. XGD3 disks have tweaked this partition to make it much smaller, or possibly removed it entirely, because Microsoft have told publishers that they will now be able to make use of an extra Gigabyte of space previously reserved for this partition. Another speculated issue is that the layerbreak might have been changed and that will need a little investigating to find out if that is true or not. Removing the 1GB partition would allow developers to use 1GB more space on the disk and does not mean that the disk will be 1GB bigger as a lot of people are thinking. The hardware in Xbox 360s is not capable of reading HD DVD or Blu-Ray or any other type of new disk so the games will still be on dual layer DVDs. This is 100% certain. The last part of this problem is that the files extracted from the disk will need converted into a conventional ISO file with the correct security sectors, DMI and PFI for it to work on your flashed console. There is currently no way of ripping a direct ISO of the disk but you can extract the files if you have a Kreon drive or an 0800 drive attached to your PC and the right software. There is now a way to rip the disk to an ISO file. The Lite-on 0800 firmware is in testing, the Ben-Q 0800 firmware is complete. These firmwares allow you to connect an Xbox 360 disk drive to your PC and rip the disk to your hard drive. We are still awaiting the supporting software for this firmware to be completed (ABGX and Xbox Backup Creator)

Burning the disk will be the next problem. On cheaper disks overburn often ruins the disk. That will be a problem for a lot of people, even higher quality disks have issues with overburn sometimes. All XGD3 games are overburned so people will need to find the correct disks to use with a decent success rate (over 50% sounds like a reasonable success rate). You will also need to know the correct layerbreak, but I believe that existing software is capable of finding the layerbreak easily.

Running the back-up is the last problem (other than playing it without getting a console ban for piracy but that isn’t really relevant until the disks can be created and played). This is possibly not the hardest part to complete although very few people know what is going on with the firmware on the DVD drive – a few people do know very well and are working on a way to get XGD back-ups to work with custom firmware. Original XGD3 disks already work with the latest CFW on consoles (added in LT+ v1.9). The man behind the 360′s CFW is C4Eva. It is his firmware that makes playing back-ups possible and he is already working on a way to play the back-ups.

C4Eva is the man who made it possible to connect a 360 disk drive to your PC and rip games to your PC’s hard drive in ISO format. This is possible with a special firmware know as 0800 ripping firmware. He has completed 1 version that is not released yet that can rip the AP2.5 anti-piracy measures from an AP2.5 game using a 360 drive. He is now working on a new 0800 with XGD3 support.

Currently there is no ETA for the 0800 firmware or the LT+ v2.0 firmware that can play XGD3 back-ups.

Here’s a run down of the current facts surrounding XGD3, all the information below was compiled and written by the user “hancock13″ from xbox360iso:

**NEWS**
9/28/2011- BenQ VAD6038 LT+ 2.0 and Lite-On DG-16D2S in testing!
9/26/2011- Video proof of booting XGD3 games and installing them to HDD has been posted by C4EVA!
9/25/2011- XGD3 has been defeated. LT+ 2.0 with new LT-MAX feature for DVD DL. XGD3 .iso’s playing/installing fine from DVD DL disc!
9/21/2011- BenQ 0800 VAD6038 v3.0 and Lite-On 0800 DG-16D2S v3.0 are completed (testing in progress!)
9/16/2011- XGD3 games have been successfully ripped! Available to public!
9/07/2011- XGD3 games confirmed working on ODE!
8/31/2011- First XGD3 released-Driver SF

**FAQ**

What does XGD3 stands for?
Xbox Game Disc 3.

What is XGD3?
XGD3 is new disc format developed by Microsoft. Basically it adds more AP (Anti Piracy) and CVI (content integerity) checks. Microsoft’s current format structure creates a partition weighing in at around 1GB, filled with anti-piracy sectors. This update tweaks the approach to significantly save on space, or omits the partition altogether. The most notable perk is an extra 1 GB of storage space on the new format for developers to utilize.The XGD3 format will write to an extra “layer” on the disc. Not to be confused for a physical layer, the discs are still nothing more than Dual-Layer DVDs. However, the discs do read in at a larger capacity.

Will disc type change?
No! Even with XGD3 XBOX360 games will stay on DVD, dual-layer at 8.5GB! Physical space available on an XGD3 disc is just resized partitions. No need for overburning!

Will all consoles support XGD3?
According to Microsoft, XGD3 discs will work with all previously released (and future) models of the Xbox 360. If they don’t you can ask for replacement!

Is AP2.5 and XGD3 same thing?
No! This should not be confused with AP2.5 or wave…This is a completely new type/format of game disc and it actually needs new FW to read game discs, even legit XGD3 game won’t boot unless you don’t have latest STOCK or CUSTOM FIRMWARE!

What do I need to play legit XGD3 games?
You need to update console to latest dashboard. Dashboard 2.0.13146 and newer adds support for XGD3 format. You can play legit XGD3 games either on OFW (Official Firmware) or on CFW (Custom Firmware), since C4eva added XGD3 support to his CFW (LT+ v1.9 and newer!)

What do I need to play backup XGD3 games?
You either need JTAG or ODE…Those are only way ATM. But XGD3 games have been successfully ripped to standard .iso. We now only need new FW and burning method, which are almost completed.

How can I burn XGD3?
You can’t at the moment. But C4eva and his team managed to burn XGD3 game and play/install it normally, so it’s only matter of time.

When will LT+ X.XX be released that supports XGD3?
C4eva announced that LT+ 2.0 is planned for eventual XGD3 backup support. LT+ 2.0 is in testing and should be released soon (This can be a time period from few days to few months!)!

When will new FW be released?
Soon. This can be a time period from few days to few months!

When will XGD3 ripping FW be released?
BenQ 0800 (VAD6038) is completed but not yet released. Lite-On 0800 (DG-16D2S) is in testing. There is no ETA on release!

What’s the reason behind releasing XGD3?
Even tho Microsoft never confirmed it, it’s obvious that their goal is to prevent piracy! Microsoft and Xbox scene have been playing a cat-and-mouse game for a long time. MS introduced quicker dashboard updates, AP 2.5 check, AP 2.6 check…All of those have been “defeated”. XGD3 just continues the cat-and-mouse game…Hopefully it won’t end it.

Will all games be released on XGD3 now?
Not necessarily! Game publishers have control over this.

What is ODE?
ODE is Optical Drive Emulator. Xkey, x360key xk3y or what ever it’s called is ODE!

What is LT-MAX?
LT-MAX is a feature of the fw itself. It’s one of the reason why XGD3 games can be burned and played on LT2.0.

Who are guys mentioned in your thread?
Commodore4eva or shorter c4eva is probably the most famous guy on xbox scene. He’s famous for his firmware hacks (eg. LT+) which allows us to play backup games!
COMPLEX and XB3 are a group of people who rips and/or release-upload games on internet!

List of XGD3 games:

-Driver San Francisco -playable on JTAG & ODE-
-Dead Island -playable on any console-
-Warhammer 40000 Space Marine -playable on JTAG & ODE-
-Rise of Nightmares -playable on JTAG-
-Gears of War 3 -playable on JTAG & ODE-
-X-Men Destiny -playable on JTAG-

NOTES:
*For some odd reason it seems not all copies of Dead Island have XGD3 depending on where you buy it
*All games listed above have been confirmed having XGD3 by COMPLEX and XB3!
*Only games that are released to public and cofirmed having XGD3 by a reliable source (i.e. xbox scene) will be listed above. No speculations or rumors!

XGD3 process…

C4E LT 2.0 FW WITH LT-MAX

LT+ 2.0/v3.0 FIRMWARE DEVELOPMENT

LT+2.0
Hitachi 78/79 IN PROGRESS
Samsung TS-H943 IN PROGRESS
BenQ VAD6038 IN TESTING
Lite-On DG-16D2S IN TESTING
Lite-On 9504 DG-16D4S IN PROGRESS
Lite-On 0225 IN PROGRESS
Lite-On 0401 IN PROGRESS
Lite-On 1071 IN PROGRESS
v3.0
BenQ 0800 VAD6038 v3.0 COMPLETED – NOT YET RELEASED
Lite-On 0800 DG-16D2S v3.0 IN TESTING

GAME BURNING
The team successfully burned XGD3 games on normal DVDR DL disc. Game partition was expanded on backup to use all available space, this way games load and install to hdd fine!

First clear pics of the Wii U

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As you may be aware Nintendo never done a reveal of the new console at E3, instead opting to show off the tablet based controller instead. There are now fairly clear pictures of the console which still looks an awful lot like the Wii, but with rounded corners.

Here’ the pics I came across on Inside Games Japan site

Here’s the link to the pics in their native Japanese Environment lol. Notice that in the last picture there it explicitly states that it’s “Wired”, does this mean that there will be 2 variants of the console, wired and wireless? or is the “Wired” term referring to something else, like a sensor bar or some form of wireless imaging data to the TV, sort of like a wireless HDMI port. This could make sense considering the way that you Push the image from controller to TV and back.

The Wii U and The Zelda Demo

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Check out this Zelda demo on the soon to be released Wii U (formerly the Wii 2 or Project Cafe) console. This is just a demo and not an actual game, but it’s being played in 1080p and that has never been possible on any Nintendo console, EVER! You can buy a component cable for the Wii that allows you to play in 720p but never as high as 1080p. In this video what is shown is the Zelda demo, Link fighting a spider (Ghoma) like boss.

It’s also the Wii U controller demo. 2 analogue sticks, 4 shoulder buttons, 4 normal buttons on the left and a D-Pad on the right. It also has almost a full array of Wii buttons like “+” “-” and “Home”. Also featuring a 7″ touch screen making the controller appear massive. Expansion ports for various things like a microphone and a built-in camera.

What is shown is 2 separate lighting effects being toggled from the controller to prove that it’s not a streamed pre-rendered video. Camera angle switching and a button to push the image from the TV right to the controller, the reviewer even commenting that the gaming could continue whilst the TV is switched to another channel. However with the data from the controller screen in normal mode is moved to the TV I feel that this may somehow not work 100% in practice. So in total on the touch screen there are 3 buttons programmed in for the Zelda demo. HD graphics look good, this is to show what is possible for the next (after Skyward Sword) Zelda game and by the time it comes to the game release im sure there will be more than 3 interactive buttons for the touch screen.

The Wii U looks like it’s shaped up well and could indeed compete along-side the 360 and the PS3.

New Xbox 360 Optical Drive Discovered
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Turns out Microsoft are throwing out new DVD drive models left right and center these days in hopes to curb piracy on their console. This new Disk Drive is a Slim Lite-on DG-16D4S with a firmware version of 0401, manufactured March 2011. There are pictures on C4Espeaks, the site where all of C4eva’s IRC logs are posted and has a splash with the progress of custom firmware for each drive type.

Also of note is that the firmware for the Slim Lite-on drives with 0225 is complete but a hardware unlock is required for writing. There is hope though as Microsoft has been able to update it through the beta dash project they have been trialing where some drives are being flashed to a new branch of firmware, the 0272 version.

There is still no word on the Slim Hitachi 0500 drive firmware.

Wii 2 becomes… “Project Cafe”
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Update: The final name of the Wii 2 is now Wii-U

So with the recent news of the Wii 2 coming out late 2012 there have already been a good few rumors floating the internet. It’s time for my 2 cents.

The Wii 2 is being dubbed by Nintendo as “Project Cafe”. It is to be more powerful than Sony’s PS3 (that clocks in at a massive 3 Teraflops lol), will support Full Hi-Def at 1080p and also 3DTV support.

The controller has been confirmed to have a 6 inch touch screen which can be used to stream entire games to!! I presume they would be semi-arcade style games and not full Wii 2 games but I may be mistaken as the 6 inch screen will be capable of outputting in Hi-Def resolutions. Who knows if that is 1080p or what but retail games may also be steam-able.

The main reason why I don’t think full retail games will be stream-able is because presumably game devs will have better ideas of how to use the touch screen on the controller to add a new edge to their games. I am looking forward to seeing what the developers come up with. Simple ideas like an inventory screen or an on controller HUD are defo to be expected but lets just see what else comes from this next gen tech Nintendo will be using.

The controller will be of a similar design to the GameCube controller. It will have 2 analogue sticks and 2 triggers. As well as the touchscreen I strongly suspect an in-built microphone array and a VGA camera. It is also possible that there will be multiple cameras similar to the 3DS so that 3D photos can be taken or streamed.

With a mic and cam on the controller you would be more involved in the game. I love shouting at random guys from around the world on Xbox Live, this might make some form of Nintendo Live or (coining this new phrase) N+.

Here’s the pic of what the good guys over at IGN have come up with as a possible controller design.

Project cafe pad concept

IGN's idea of what a Wii 2 pad could look like