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A dedicated team of homebrewers has done what Nintendo and Tecmo never did: translate Fatal Frame IV. A team at Fatal Frame fansite Beyond the Camera's Lens has released a patch that swaps out the Japanese text in the Tecmo/Nintendo/Grasshopper Manufacture-developed Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse with its own translated English text and allows the Japanese disc to be loaded in other regions' Wiis. The best part? It runs from an SD card on any Wii -- no matter which region, and without the need for modding.

We suspect sites like Play-Asia and YesAsia are about to experience a significant increase in the number of orders for this 2008 survival horror game.

[Thanks, Antares Meketa!]

Judge D. Gregorio Alvarez Alvarez of Salamanca, Spain, dismissed a complaint brought by Nintendo against Grupo Movilquick, which sells the DSTT flash cart in Spain. The judge ruled that though the device does circumvent Nintendo's DRM, and can be used for piracy, it can also be used to extend the functionality of the DS in other, legal ways -- such as, according to Google's translation of the judge's statement, "backing up original games or other various functions such as managing photos, music or performance of (free software)."

The judge notes that Nintendo might still have grounds for a civil lawsuit if it can be proven that the DSTT infringes on a Nintendo industrial design patent. But his ruling is a far cry from the usual "flash carts are piracy machines" rhetoric that (understandably) angry companies like Nintendo perpetuate. [Via GamePolitics]

After being banned from the PlayStation Network for hateful comments stated in Resistance's online community, Erik Estavillo launched not one, but two, lawsuits against Sony for infringing on his "first amendment rights" -- an argument that was shot down by Judge Ronald Whyte simply because "Sony is not part of the government."

However, what Estavillo lacks in civil online discourse, he makes up for with sheer determination and persistence. In addition to Sony, he now has both Microsoft and Nintendo in his sights. Estavillo is seeking $75,000 from Microsoft for the "undue stress" and "sadness" caused by his Xbox 360's RROD. "Microsoft should have to bear the burden that is now put on the shoulders of this disabled plaintiff," his claim states -- a burden that is equivalent to the sum of 375 Xbox 360 systems, apparently. Nintendo is being sued for interfering with Estavillo's "pursuit of happiness." And how exactly is Nintendo doing that? "Deleting, blocking or prohibiting the Homebrew Channel and Ocarina applications" via a system update.

We're hoping you can see the sheer brilliance of Estavillo's strategy. He's offering the perfect opportunity for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo fans to agree on something for once.

Already, various non-game applications can be found on both the PS3 and PSP. From Skype to VidZone, the XMB now plays home to a variety of services. Going forward, it appears Sony will open the PlayStation platform further with the introduction of "non-game" development kits in the middle of next year.

Last night's 6.20 firmware update for PSP lays down the framework for additional non-gaming content. The PSP update adds a new category to the XMB called "Extras," which allows users to launch the web browser to download third-party apps on the PSP. The PlayStation Network Digital Comics Reader is the first official "Extra" to appear on the XMB, with more sure to come in 2010.

A wide release of non-game dev kits may attract the active homebrew community to release official programs on the PSP and PS3. We'll be chatting with SCEA soon to get further details. Until then, we'll be dreaming of a native YouTube application for our PSPs.

[Via VG247]

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Some folks measure the length of time it takes for a new console to be hacked wide open by how long it takes to display a "Hello, World!" message. For us, that metric is determined by how long it takes to get a Sega CD emulator running on the system. For the PSP Go, that period of time has been finalized: 43 long, lonely, Night Trap-less days.

A YouTube video by "Neon" from "Team Typhoon" (is that some sort of gang?) appears to prove that on some PSP Go, somewhere in the world, one can play Sonic CD. Don't get your hopes up -- the video's annotations repeatedly promise that the hack will not be released to the general public, so for the time being, you're going to have to keep playing that old copy of Wirehead on your clunky, Voltron-esque home console. Still, our heart swells knowing that our wildest dreams are possible -- if not slightly out of reach.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Has your homebrew SNES masterpiece, Secret of Manilow, been trapped within your computer for a decade or so due to technological restraints? Time to dust off your old ROM file -- the Quickdev16 SNES developer cartridge has all you need to get your brainchild up and running on Nintendo's Super console. The cart includes an Atmel AVR ATmega644 with boot loader, a USB connection with which to upload a ROM, 16 megabits of SRAM, and an RS232 converter.

We're assuming that if you possess the technical know-how to craft custom SNES games, then you probably know what all that stuff means. We're also assuming that you'd be more inclined to pony up for the cart's $120 price tag than we are. That's just a tad too steep for an SNES cart -- or rather, an SNES cart that isn't a sealed, mint condition copy of Chrono Trigger.

[Via Engadget]

A team of hardware modders has created a DS cartridge that allows the system to interface with devices using Bluetooth. Since it's a Slot-1 cartridge (and thus fills the space normally occupied by DS games), the DS Bluetooth cartridge isn't going to be of much use in games, homebrew or otherwise, but it does allow the system to "scan its neighbourhood and establish connections to other Bluetooth devices."

Using the API provided by the team, homebrew users should be able to write custom software to interface with any device that uses Bluetooth, from phones to GPS to ... PS3 controllers? The device sells for €59, but the open-source-friendly team released full schematics so you can build your own.

[Via OhGizmo]

The site for the R4i DSi flash cart posted a video (see it after the break) demonstrating what appears to be the R4i running on a DSi system with the 1.4 firmware. You know, the firmware that was released not even a week ago, and removed flash cart compatibility? Yeah, that one. The video demonstrates a retail game ROM, which is not particularly awesome, but does serve as evidence of flash cart compatibility. The site currently doesn't mention whether this is accomplished through an R4i firmware update or through new hardware. We'll find out more as more flash carts pick up on whatever technique is in use.

If 1.4 has truly been defeated, homebrew users will be able to upload photos to Facebook and play Magnetic Shaving Derby! Magical.

[YouTube video via GBATemp]

The good news: DSi firmware 1.4 is now available in Europe, bringing the Facebook photo uploading capability along with it, according to an announcement by Nintendo. If you want to snap pics from your DSi and upload them to Facebook (after altering them with the DSi's image manipulation stuff, if you like), awesome!

The bad news: DSi firmware 1.4 blocks flash carts. If you've been using an Acekard2i or a DSTTi to run homebrew on your DSi, you should probably not download it. If, on the other hand, you've been using a DSi flash cart to play retail games, we encourage you to update immediately. Gotta have Facebook, right?

Yesterday, Sega solicited ideas for games to bring to the iPhone platform. Well, here's a suggestion, with a visual aid: How about Sonic CD?

Using a custom engine called the "Retro Software Development Kit," Christian Whitehead put together a demo of Sonic CD running on the iPhone. It looks pretty much like Sonic CD, which is impressive considering that he rebuilt the game from scratch rather than porting the original source (except, presumably, for graphics). In fact, just about the only problem we can see from the demo is outside of Whitehead's control -- the fact that the iPhone doesn't have any buttons.

A note was posted yesterday to the Sega Twitter account indicating that the company had been made sufficiently aware of the demo, with the PR rep promising to "bring it up at our brainstorming meeting." Hopefully the ideas brought up at this brainstorming meeting don't include suing this guy.

[Thanks, cuteSAVAGE!]

If you've been feverishly coding away on a PlayStation 1 game for the past, say, eleven years in the hope of becoming the next Devil Dice, you should go ahead and shelve the project. Next month, Sony will finally shut down the European server for the Net Yaroze project.

The Net Yaroze is a special black PlayStation console that allowed homebrew developers to run their own code on the system, interfacing with a computer via a serial connection. The mail-order-only system also included development software. Sony's servers allowed Yaroze users to discuss PlayStation development and even share their creations.

"We plan to make a copy of the site available for our original members," said SCEE's Paul Holman, who also said that some kind of get-together would be held for the Yaroze development community, all of whom are now left with nothing but extremely rare PlayStations.

Anyone who has heard of PSP knows of Patapon. It's one of the most popular titles on that platform and is quite a unique and engaging experience. But, what if you're a DS owner; how will you get in on the action? Well, seeing as Patapon is a first-party Sony title, you won't ever see it on DS ... not without the help of the homebrew community, anyhow.

Apparently, someone called E-eragon is working on a DS version of Patapon, looking to upgrade the original title to include stylus controls. Tiny Cartridge discovered a clip of E-eragon's work (posted after the break), and though it doesn't look as smooth as the original, it is by far a rather good-looking copy. Check out the game before Sony slams the law book on this one.

Nintendo has announced that it has reached an agreement with Amazon and eBay through which the shopping sites will prohibit the sale of the R4 and other DS flashcarts.

"Nintendo is pleased with the co-operation it has received from both eBay and Amazon to prevent the sales of game copying devices," Nintendo's global head of anti-piracy, Jodie Daughtery told MCV. eBay has actually pulled auctions for copying devices for years (presumably as an "item encouraging illegal activity), so if there is a policy update, it involves even more vigilant policing of auctions.

Amazon UK games director Chris Poad told MCV that Amazon has a "notice and take down" process for its third-party Marketplace. "So where a third party believes that their IP has been infringed, they can highlight it and we can take it down. This is what happened in the case of the R4."

Now Nintendo just has the rest of the Internet to deal with in its efforts to curtail DS piracy (and, as an extremely unfortunate side effect, homebrew).

Think The Conduit is the biggest Sega first-person-shooter news this year? ... You're right. But it's not the only Sega-related FPS being published on an unexpected platform. A team of homebrewers is working on a game called Hypertension for Windows, Linux ... and Dreamcast. Great news for all of you who just bought the system!

Hypertension is a reimagining of Blood, made in the Doom-based EDGE engine. The use of fairly antiquated technology, and source material, seem appropriate for a game being released on a console that came out in 1999 After the break, you can see some footage of the current alpha version of Hypertension, which is looking very Doomy. TDGMods has yet to specify a release date for the game, but it's not like there's a rush at this point. The Dreamcast will still be old.

[Via Sega Nerds]