SOLDIERX.COM Nobody Can Stop Information Insemination

Well, since I've done a series blasting different technical aspects I may as well call it "Amp Blasts." Today in particular it's time to tackle a topic that has become a staple of this generation of consoles and also a rather disingenuous one at that. The concept of firmware updates on consoles is not a bad idea at all as it does allow for new features and fixes to be implemented. At the same time, these updates sometimes do backfire, HORRIBLY! Of note being that some updates have bricked consoles. In addition, some games try to mandate firmware updates, but my question is WHY? Seriously, forcing firmware updates drives me insane. I shouldn't have to update to a firmware that may brick my console or in the case of my PSP and Wii wipe out my homebrew capabilties.

Games that force this without justification really are straight up retarded. Take for example Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. Honestly speaking, this is a VERY good game and people who are fans of Treasure will definitely enjoy it. However, the US version requires firmware version 4.3 or newer which wipes out homebrew and also runs the risk of bricking the console. What makes this even more retarded is that this game came out last year in Japan which makes this attempt to force the update even more BS. Thankfully I was able to use priiloader's system menu hacks to block disc and online updates so I could play the game just fine. The reality is though that these forced updates are completely unnecessary and another issue is that trying to force the update for continued online capabilities is straight bullshit.

Now there will be some people who give people crap for putting homebrew capabilities onto their consoles. Well, there are good reasons for doing this. In the case of the Wii, Nintendo went back on it's word of that console being Region-Free. I want to legitimately play imports, but I don't want to buy another Wii so this is legitimately a better solution. Also, running games off of a USB drive or memory card when it comes to both the Wii and PSP allows for the games to load faster and as a bonus allows for the optical drive to have a much longer lifespan as it isn't taxed as much. I legitimately own the games that I like, but I don't feel like having to do expensive repairs or buying a new console so this helps in the long run. I figured that people would learn their lesson from the Playstation 2 era where they implemented cheap DVD lasers that usually died out in 3-4 years if used regularly, but apparently they haven't.