We owe a huge debt of gratitude to modder Michael "Bibin" Moffitt -- for years now, our eyes have undergone irreversible damage due to being frequently strained in order to play our Game Boy Pockets in ill-lighted environments. Using only an LED, some perspex and a diffusive layer, Bibin managed to add a backlight to his beloved Pocket, leading to illuminated rounds of Dr. Mario with little effect on the system's battery life. Good going, Bibin!

(Okay, seriously, nobody tell this guy about the Game Boy Light or GBA SP. It sounds like he worked really hard on this, and we don't want to ... ) Oh, hey, Bibin! You're still here! Sure, we'd love to play some Mario's Picross! What's that? Your mom made Rice Krispie Treats? Awesome.

This certainly isn't the first time Nintendo's enumerated home console made the jump to the handheld realm -- but it might just be the sleekest portable N64 we've seen to date. SifuF, a disciple of modding guru Ben Heck, recently displayed his terrifying techno-prowess by crafting the Nintendo Sixtyfree Lite-R (catchy, no?), pictured above.

It sports all the buttons of a standard N64 controller, a 5" display (yoinked from the PSOne LCD screen), and an unobtrusive cartridge slot. Unfortunately, its petite framework didn't leave room for an internal battery -- it requires an external infolithium (or other 7.2v) power supply to run. A small, small price to pay for on-the-go sessions of Pokémon Snap Ocarina of Time.

Less than a week after Home's official unveiling, a hacker by the name of StreetskaterFU claims to have totally hacked into Sony's Home servers and is providing instructions on how to do it yourself – downloading, uploading, and deleting files. Want to see Mr. FU's purported hack in action? (Hacktion?) A poster on the PS3hax forums claims to have used the aforementioned method to change the posters and trailers in the Home theater (at least what he's seeing locally). The fact that we're not seeing widespread mischief in the Land of Home is preventing us from believing this one hook, line, and sinker.

[Via Engadget]

Source – HOME vulnerabilities disclosure
Source – How to mod Home with your own posters and movies

With just 8.47MB to spare, you can create a whole post-apocalyptic world on your PC. Bethesda has followed through on its not-quite promises from Penny Arcade Expo and released the aptly-titled Garden of Eden Creation Kit, a set of mod tools. According to the description, everything in the game can be modified, so feel free to go LittleBigWasteland, and please, let us know how it goes.

Most players like to think of their 360 and PS3 as safe havens from the scurrilous tricksters who like to mold PC games to their own will with all manner of hacks and mods. Apparently, though, their vile influence has seeped into the the 360 version of Left 4 Dead. Yes kids ... the console version. We don't know how they're doing it (witchcraft?) and frankly, we don't want to know.

The Ars Technica piece about the issues includes terrifying details like witches spawning in the safe room and giant player characters. (We're told there's also human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together and mass hysteria.) Witness the horror for yourself right after the jump.

Update: Valve just wrote us to say that the problem has apparently been fixed. "Valve has released a server-side fix to deny the recently reported cheats on all dedicated Left 4 Dead Xbox 360 servers. The fix is designed to halt the cheating behavior on the dedicated servers, which accounts for the majority of the co-op and Versus modes of play. A title update for those playing on user-hosted servers and/or via system link will be released in the coming days."

[Via Giant Bomb]

Multiple sources in and around Ziff Davis Media have told Joystiq that UGO Entertainment is on the verge of finalizing a deal to buy parts of Ziff's 1UP Network, including 1up.com, GameVideos.com and MyCheats.com.

The sources, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the talks, confirmed to Joystiq that the companies were in "very advanced talks" regarding the sale of many of Ziff's popular gaming web sites. 1UP Network editorial staff were reportedly informed of the potential sale in an all-hands meeting Tuesday and UGO executives will reportedly be flying out to meet with the Ziff staff as soon as Wednesday. Few details of the potential buyout plan are known at this time, but UGO reportedly plans to keep the Ziff sites operating independently as separate entities with their own branding, rather than subsuming them fully into the UGO Entertainment Network.

Our sources also report that UGO has little to no interest in purchasing either Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine or FileFront.com, two wavering pillars of Ziff's increasingly shaky Game Group. Ziff has had particular trouble selling ads for upcoming issues of EGM, suggesting that the February issue might be the final one for the long-running magazine, our sources reported. This adds credence to recent reports that Ziff may be looking to transform EGM into an online-only property. Ziff has been looking for a buyer for the beleaguered Game Group for at least two years.

UGO Entertainment started off in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online and currently attracts over 35 million unique monthly visitors to its general lifestyle portal at UGO.com. In July of 2007 the UGO Network was acquired by mega-publishing conglomerate Hearst Corporation. The network's current properties include GamingTarget.com, GameCheats.com and RPG-focused site GameBanshee.com, as well as celebrity-focused sites like At Pictures.

Are you worried that your Wii remote's innards are atrophying during the recent dry spell of Wii titles aimed at the discerning "core gamer"? We recently stumbled upon a great way of giving your one-handed peripheral a nice workout -- using it to make music. Oh, no -- not like that. We're speaking of the latest Wiimote homebrew, from the musical mind of Ken Moore, which effectively turns your controller into a theremin. You know, the only musical instrument that you play without touching. What, your parents didn't make you take theremin lessons in grade school?

We've got a history lesson and tech demo posted after the break, as well as Mr. Moore's attempt at the opening theme for Star Trek. The original theme, that is -- not that wretched "Faith of the Heart" cover.

[Via Destructoid]

When dealing with new and apparently minor Wii updates, we always consider Nintendo's struggle against the homebrew community to be as futile as Arnold Schwarzenegger's barrage of attacks on the T-1000. The aggressive application of shotgun shells, grenades and liquid nitrogen tanks can do naught but delay the 'brew crew, always reassembling itself and slipping through the next exploitable crack*.

Aside from, once again, removing "unauthorized modifications to save files" (think: Twilight Hack), the 3.4 update alters the Wii's Network Services User Agreement, adds an "enhancement" to parental controls and enables compatible USB keyboards to be used with the Mii channel. Exciting!

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

*Of course, the T-1000 is defeated in the end ... but then Arnie tosses himself into a smelting pool. Hmm. Honestly, we didn't really think the comparison through. Does the lava represent core gamers?

Microsoft continues its war against enemy solders, with Xbox Live's Major Nelson confirming the latest round of shock and "Aww, I've been disconnected!" banishment. "In our continued effort to keep gameplay safe and secure for our community of more than 14 million members," he said, "Microsoft has taken action against a small percentage of Xbox 360 consoles that have been illegally modified in order to play pirated games."

This small percentage of players, who in their actions voided their Xbox 360 warranties and breached Xbox Live's terms of service, have been booted off the console's online platform. Clearly, the best way to be a pirate in Microsoft's realm is to slap an eye patch on your NXE avatar.

"Hello? Yes, this is World. Hello? Hello? Why does nobody answer me?!"

Just imagine how annoyed you would be if the planet's numerous hackers, modders and programmers sought to address you every time they wanted to prove the effectiveness of a piece of code. The "Hello World" proof of concept is customary, but oh so rude. People always leave poor World hanging after that.

In any case, it would appear that the latest voice to join the choir of electronic greetings is Nintendo's newest portable wonder, the DSi. According to an unverified Youtube video, provided by one "Yasusoft" (developer of the YSMenu custom DSTT menu) and embedded after the break, the camera-equipped device has already fallen prey to software tinkering. Posters on GBATemp speculate that the hack sore used a modified TIFF image file to cause a buffer overflow.

Well, obviously. We totally knew that. Didn't we, World? Hello?

[Via GBATemp, DS Fanboy]

While filming a segment for NBC's "Chime In" campaign (where various musicians and actors "re-envision" the three-note NBC tune), Flaming Lips vocalist-guitarist Wayne Coyne brought with him what he dubbed the "Guitar Hero guitar," an Epiphone double-neck with the lower, six-string neck replaced by a five-button variant and wired to an oscillator. "[It's] because a lot of kids out there think this is actually the way you play guitar," he told Entertainment Weekly. Head over to EW's site to see a video demonstration of the hybrid (start at the 1:55 mark).

New developments now in the case of a murdered "digital image" that rocked the massively interactive world of computer online electronic video game MapleStory this past May. A 43-year-old Japanese woman has been arrested and jailed on suspicion of "illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data" of the slain digital image, called an "avatar," reports the Associated Press.

The victim, a 33-year-old Japanese man, initiated a virtual divorce between his avatar and the woman's avatar, which allegedly so angered the accused that she used the man's identification and password -- obtained while they were "happily married" -- to log into his MapleStory account and carry out his avatar's execution. "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the woman was quoted as telling investigators. She has yet to be formally charged, but could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

[Thanks, Edwin]

Yesterday's seemingly inane Wii update, which neglected to bump up the system menu version a single decimal value (it remains at 3.3 -- the firmware has upgraded to IOS51, though), now appears to have an actual purpose. Forget the Shop Channel optimization tweaking. The update's more direct mission seems to be to block new installations of fakesigned applications -- most notably, the Homebrew Channel and DVDX. But take note, if you've already got the Homebrew Channel or other unofficial apps up and running then apparently you won't notice the difference. Carry on.

[Via Wii Fanboy]