There’s plenty of homebrew music software for the Game Boy and GBA (check out LSDJ and Nanoloop), but what about next-gen portables? MusicThing gets the scoop on PSP Kick, a sampled drum machine for PSP. PSP Kick is very simple — it’s just a 12-slot drum sampler with AIFF output — but it sounds like fun, and you can save your creations to a Memory Stick. Hopefully this is a sign of more to come.
PSP Kick official site (just a static image now, but “launching soon”)
Release info and download at PSPupdates (warning: annoying popup ads, but worth it!)
What about Nintendo DS? Nintendo is the only developer actively making its own music creation software; hence we have live performances with the upcoming “underwater interactive music art” game ElectroPlankton. But I’ve heard from both the developers of Nanoloop and LSDJ, not to mention the Nintendo music community at large, that there’s little interest among homebrew developers in the DS. The whole point of Game Boy development is really its vintage chipset, anyway. But never say never — homebrew development tools for the DS are making the rounds, and we’ll stay tuned.