What REALLY Destroyed The PSP Scene!?

[YourStillWithMe]

Ok we all know that Sony has released the following firmwares- - -
1.00, (JAP) 1.50, 1.51, 1.52, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50, and finally 2.60

Upon the release of the psp system very hastily a new firmware was made because the 1.00 firmware was released in japan (where it was shipped first) and had no code on it to block out material and basically anything could be written on it. Sony fixed this for us U.S citizens so hacking could be stopped but we found an exploit via the memory stick swap method and than later on the replica folder trick. Sony was obviously threatened by this and thus made the firmware 1.51 firmware with the "security patch" but than realized that not many people were going to risk losing there homebrew so they made a 1.52 to TRY to catch us off guard and think it was cool to upgrade. )I did because i was unaware of the psp scene at the time. .) Than we had such programs made such as the WAB version changer and the Sonyxteam version changer. Now this is where things get messy. . . . We were able to bypass the .51 and .52 updates using the version changer for a very long time/ Examples-NBA Live 06, Madden 06, Death JR, Rockman Dash, etc. But as soon as the DOWNGRADE was released sony put 2 and 2 together and said "wow, there relentless and are that willing that they will make a DOWNGRADE!" Hence I believe that because of the action of the downgrader it made things sooo much harder for us. Now we need to result to a firmware launcher, arguments still arise as to who should get credit for the downgrade, (Yoshiro or nankeo or whatever) and people are starting to get insane on the forums and create viruses to brick your psp. People are starting to get crazy about the fear about "flashing" there psp as well. I APPRECIATE the downgrade but i think it destroy the psp scene to some extent and create publicity. Before the Downgrade I ddint fear anything preventing me from stopping to update my psp now I fear I might have to sooner or later.
The hack on GTA is cool and its a step but come on people nothing is as sweet as 1.50 go to the game folder and open up an app nothing will ever be as sweet and we all know it. Those of you who have a 1.5 and have seen the 2.00+ hacks know what im talking about. . .its not as good AT ALL.

[Virus]

what i dont understand is what was the game folder for? in the first place? does anyome know? if its just for updates then why didnt they call it update folder? god sony is dumb for making that... you know

[Kaiser]

what i dont understand is what was the game folder for? in the first place? does anyome know? if its just for updates then why didnt they call it update folder? god sony is dumb for making that... you know

Simple and interesting point you got there. You'd think it be for downloadable content but it seems that stuff ends up in the SAVES folder.

[Virus]

i bet sony is gonna make somthing big, like download games of there website free for demos and pay ones? games that are simple?who knows they might make a format for ps1 games to be super compressed. then we can play em who knows mybe its real use has not bin made yet. !!!

[*o*]

they originally planned to have game demos released

[funkatron1011]

Sony is winning the war, and I think they will continue to do so. by the time the community gets 2.5 cracked the way it should be, Sony will have put out 4.0, and all new games will require 3.5. Then by the time we crack 3.5, new games will require 5.5.

Unfortunately I think most of us will have to make a decision.

1. Either refuse to upgrade, thus being unable to play new games (which kind of goes against the main reason why most of us bought the system).

2. Update the firmware and say goodbye to your homebrew and emus.

3. Buy two PSPs, one for new games, one for emulation. This doesn't seem like a great option as there are other systems that will likely do emulation and homebrew the same or better, at a cheaper price. A GP2x or a Nintendo DS would make a good complement to your PSP.

With a GP2X you will likely have: NES, SNES, GBC, SMS, Genesis, NGCD, and possibly a good PSX (it's being worked on). GBA May not be good enough.

With a DS you will have: NES, probable full speed SNES, and GBA, on top of new DS games.

With no worries about the company trying to squash the community. Seems peaceful.

[wraggster]

i dont play any games on my PSP now although id love to upgrade to play battlefront 2 & also Champ Manager PSP

[vaza]

dont the game share games go in the game folder??

[Flipao]

I really don't get it, I am able to play GTA: LCS and run emulators on my 2.0, the homebrew scene looks a hell of a lot better than it did after Sony released the 2.0 update, when people thought it'd be impossible to crack and the idea of a downgrader seemed ludicrous.

Sony isn't winning any war, there is no friggin' war.

[Cross]

To say there is now war def's all the changes Sony keeps making.

Sony continues to shoot themselves in the foot but I have said from the start, Sony ONLY cares about them. The user is not important, just that they buy there products.

[Jdemon]

I think Sony has effectively sealed off the PSP from continued hacking with their stratagy. People will continue to rip illegal iso's and try to get them working for a while because not all new games require 2.0 yet. But once 2.0 becomes the standard ripping will dwindle and die. At the same time due to Fanjita's loaders there will be a re-newed interest in homebrew. In a way it's seems like Sony has effectively contained the PSP homebrew/hacking community. Unless someone hacks 2.5, but at this point it doesn't seem likely that that will come to pass.

[soatari]

It is obvious that their biggest fear is piracy. The UMD loaders and dumpers are what scared Sony into this frenzy. Sony breaks even on the PSP hardware. They make no money on the device itself. All their money comes from software and accessories (which is why it is hard to find a PSP value pack anymore).

This might be why they dissaprove of homebrew as well. They don't want any of their market swaying away from them to go play free games. I know this seems like they are being mean, but it's just business. The console was truly NEVER designed to run homebrew. The GAMES folder was for demos of upcoming products, but I think that the homebrew scare (from Sony's perspective) killed that idea until they get homebrew and hacking under control.

Now don't me wrong, I love playing SNES and Gameboy on my PSP, but if it comes down to homebrew or high quality content from Sony (demos and the such), I choose Sony, because that is what I bought this system for. I didn't even know about homebrew until after I upgraded to 2.0.

Please note, that recently I upgraded back up to 2.0 because I got tired of being unable to play the newest releases.

[djub]

The 1.5 loves homebrew. FW above 1.5? Not so much. It will likely stay that way until Sony gets the insane idea of allowing you kernel. Latecomers naturally want to downgrade.

2.0 has homebrew lite, sorta like a demo of what you could do if you had 1.5. It's got a few emulators which are kinda cute, but not much of real substance.

Sony got pretty smart with forced 2.0 games. They make sure you have paid for GTA with the bonus castration of your PSP. Many abandoned their ill-gotten library of iso's in order to play what many say was the first serious title for PSP. Many will continue buying and not stealing games if they are better games, and eventually no one will remember PSPRadio and how cool it really was, beacause you cant run PSPRadio on fw2.75

Sony knows with enough quality homebrew you would become content with your $250 purchase. In order for you to get your $$$ worth you need to buy the newest game, play it through, find it boring and buy a new., with forced FW updates along the way.

The only way to make your PSP better is to buy more Movies/Games !!!

[IndianCheese]

The PSP ain't that old. We all know in the back of our minds that Sony will not win. We've all seen pictures of Sony's PBP compiler, right? As soon as it leaks to the public via a greasy floppy disk that an employee stuffed it onto, we will be able to "sig" our PBP files without any trouble.

[Samstag]

As soon as it leaks to the public via a greasy floppy disk that an employee stuffed it onto, we will be able to "sig" our PBP files without any trouble.

Not going to happen. Security on the signature is extremely tight. It's not something that your average Sony programmer has access to. No code is ever signed until it goes gold, and then it is signed under controlled conditions and the signature goes back in the vault.

[IndianCheese]

Have you seen the screenshot of the compiler?

[MaxSMoke]

You can get alot of free software for the Home Computer. Does that mean nobody buys computer games? Nope. Have people stopped buying Photo editors or Word processors because there are free alternatives? Nope.

The fact is that people are happy to pay for good quality software. And a BIG BUDGET video game is easily going to outshine any homebrew, unless it's a complete mess. So Sony isn't loosing any software sales to Home Brew, and they never will.

What they *ARE* loosing is a small portion of their otherwise feverish supporters by kicking them in the nutz with these firmware Home brew lockouts. They need to open up Home Brew, not restrict it. Home Brew was becoming a HUGE driving force to encourage people to make the leap to the PSP. The PSP is not a cheap system, it needs ALL of the help it can get! And once the PSP has more new fans, those fans will want UMD movies and Professionally made games to play. It's just a matter of fact!

So, too all of these ninnies busy whizzing all over Home Brew as a bad thing, you need to wise up. Home Brew is the biggest draw for the PSP, and without it, I myself, would have sold off my PSP months ago from lack of use. And I have purchased ALOT of games since the March 21st US PSP release, I have about 30 right now. I have so many, I should buy Stock in Sony!

If you think I'm wrong, go look at the games you've purchased. How many of them have held your interest for more then a few days? One, maybe two? Is that even remotely long enough to justify the PSP's cost?? And how many of Home Brew apps and Emulators have you played well waiting for the latest PSP title to get release? I've personally played DOZENS! My 1GB memory stick has nearly 250MB's of just tiny Home Brew programs. I play them whenever I get tried of my Big Budget games, like Xmen2.

Homebrew has been the tasty snack before the meal that keeps me going. It hasn't spoiled my appetite for new games! It's only made it stronger!

So get a CLUE! Home Brew helps sells PSP, PSP Games, and PSP Movies!

[MaxSMoke]

You know what, I'll even do one better. Below is the address to Sony. I'm going to write up a letter in support of Home Brew and send it to them. In that letter I'm going to list all of the Sony hardware and PSP games I've purchased, just so they can see the kind of big customer they are insulting with their attacks on Home Brew games and apps. I've spent at least $1200 on their handheld in the last 6 months. And I bet there are Home Brew users on this VERY website, reading this forum, that have even spent more!

Here's the address, please print out and send them a letter of your own. Maybe together, we can encourage them to find a way to support their software protection without wrecking Home Brew development:

Sony Computer Entertainment America
PO Box 5888
San Mateo, CA 94402-0888

Are you too lazy to type and print out a letter? Then just pick up the phone and call Sony's PSP Division at:

800-345-7669 (800-345-SONY)
M-SAT 6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. PST
Sunday 7:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m

[MaxSMoke]

I finished my letter, here's a copy of what I'm going to mail to Sony. I know letters count x10 as much as an E-mail or Phone call these days, so it's easly worth the postage for the increased chance that it will be read by the right people at Sony:


Dear Sony PSP developers,

Let me start off this letter by saying that I love the Sony PSP. It's been one of the best things I've ever purchased, although maybe not in the way your team originally intended. Well I have purchased many games for the PSP, not all of them have kept me entertained. A few of them, like Mercury, I found to be completely unplayable. Others, like Grip Shift, well fun on the onset, proved less then compelling to hold my interest. But yet, I've never lost interest in the PSP over all of these months, even though many of the games I've purchased didn't get played for long. The reason I continue to be such a big PSP Fan is the Home Brew games.

Home Brew, for those of you that aren't already aware, are the unsigned games and apps that people have made for the PSP using holes in the Firmware 1.0 and 1.5. These tiny games, emulators, and applications, well very simple, have managed to keep me glued to my PSP night and day, well I've waited for new Commercial PSP games to be released. They are the snacks that got me through alot of long periods of software starvation, before I dug into the main course of the next big Commercial PSP game release. Without these Home Brew games, I would have lost interest in my PSP and sold it, long before I ever purchased all of the games I currently own for it.

I know that you sell the PSP for a loss, but even so, the PSP is a very expensive toy. With all of the home console systems selling well under $200 (minus the Xbox 360), it's hard for people to justify the PSP's extraordinary $250 price for a handheld. But thanks in large part to word spreading about Home Brew emulators for outdated consoles, I've personally heard of many people that bought their own PSP. Sure, they start out buying the PSP to play old Nintendo and Sega games, but after they have a PSP in hand, they always start buying movies and games for it soon after. Once you've spent the $250 on the PSP, spending $10 on a Movie or $40 on a game doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Also Home Brew applications are showing the true power and breath that is possible with the PSP. For instance, PSP-Radio is a program that allows people to use the PSP's Wireless internet connection to access streaming internet radio. I've looked for a long time for an inexpensive way to tune into Internet Radio without using a computer, and thanks to Home Brew, I now listen to internet radio whenever I like!

And Home Brew encourages people with a very limited niche interest in video games to take an interest in the PSP. A good example is my mother. She thought the PSP was a HUGE waste of money. But thanks to Home Brew games like Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, and Bejeweled, she's now interested in the PSP herself. I plan on buying her one for her birthday, and she's already looking over UMD movies she can watch when she's not playing free Home Brew games. Right now the PSP has limited it's focus to men between the ages 16 to 35. But thanks to Home Brew, people outside of that demographic are seeing can also serve their needs as well, such as UMD movies, Commercial Puzzle games, Music, and Photo playback. Home Brew is already helping to expand the PSP market!

I know that Sony makes the PSP Hardware in order to sell software. And the idea of allowing free software to exist seems to fly in the face of your business model, but I would beg you to take a closer look, because I think the truth is quite the opposite. You can't sell a game or movie to somebody that doesn't own a PSP. It's that simple. Whatever you can do to encourage people to buy PSP's and use them will, in the end, only encourage more PSP Games and Movies to be purchased in the future.

You *NEED* to get the PSP into more people's. Once they seem how amazing your little handheld is, they can't help but to want more software to use with it. Home Brew helps encourage people to buy the PSP with the promise of free software. And once they have the PSP, the lure of bigger and better Commercial games will easily encourage those same people to buy the high-quality software and movies that will make the PSP the dominate force in handheld gaming that it should rightfully be. Please consider my logic, I think it's very sound. It's the reason I've bought over $1200 worth of games for my PSP!

Just to give you an idea of what a Fan I am of my PSP, and how much Home Brew games have encouraged my interest in the PSP, here's a list of every PSP Game I currently own, as of December 22nd, 2005:

Rengoku
Grand Theft Auto: LC
NBA
Tokobots
Kingdom of Paradise
World of Soccer
MLB
Grip Shift
SSX on Tour
Medievil Resurrection
Spider-Man 2 Game
Ridge Racer
Wipeout Pure
Hot Shots Golf
Dynasty Warriors
Archer Maclean's Mercury
ATV Offroad Fury
Untold Legends
Twisted Metal
Ape Escape: On the Loose
Burnout Legends
Tony Hawks Underground 2
Lumines

Your Fan,
Walter Sharrow
(hand writen signature)

[funkatron1011]

That's a very good letter MaxSmoke

[Samstag]

Good letter, but change all occurances of "well" to "while" in the first two paragraphs (4 total) and it will make more sense.

[IndianCheese]

Believe it or not, I also wrote a letter a while back (that I never mailed because I got a 1.50 PSP that night lol).

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to inform Sony® of the disappointment that I, and many others have towards Sony®’s decision to provide security updates to the PSP (PlayStation® Portable) to prevent the running of homemade software and games, or as it is known on the internet, “homebrew”.

When the PSP was first released in Japan with version 1.00 installed as the default firmware, ordinary people began to create tools and games specifically to run on the PSP. These applications could make the PSP a system that is more versatile than it already was, such as a local weather provider, a calculator, a text writer-reader, a wireless controller for the PS2, a remote for the Sony® WegaTM Television, and even a guitar tuner. Some also recreated classic arcade games, such as Tetris and Pac-Man, while others created virtual emulations of card and board games like Chess and Solitaire. These programs can be found at <http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/>

When the PSP was imported to the US, it was preinstalled with the 1.5 firmware, which contained a security update that prevented the running of homebrew applications or games. However, a glitch in the security code was recently found, which involved two Memory Sticks, editing the EBOOT.PBP files, and swapping the Memory Sticks while the system displayed the PSP game booting screen. This led to the discovery that a folder exploit could be done, in which a program would automatically modify the PBP files, and place them onto one Memory Stick in two separate folders with the similar names, resulting in the PSP to bypass the security code. Almost every person in the forums on various websites, such as <http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=79> who purchased their PSP systems in the US with the 1.5 firmware preinstalled claim that they would not update their PSP systems for a web browser and some extra touch-ups on the media controls.
When I purchased my PSP, I was not aware of the possibility of running these programs and games on my PSP, and by the time I updated my software to 1.51, it was too late. Since there were no advantages of keeping my PSP at version 1.51, I again updated to 1.52, and then the Japanese 2.00 update, which is what my PSP system’s current version is. If I would have known of the ability to run homebrew applications and games on my PSP, it would have never crossed my mind to update my PSP. Of course, I enjoy the built-in web browser, but if my PSP version was still 1.5, I would simply purchase Wipeout Pure because of the current glitch in the game which enables the user to run a web browser through the game.

I understand the growing problem of UMD piracy and that it could cost a fortune in lost sales, but this could be solved by a simpler solution, whether it be software activation so the UMD could only be run on one PSP, UMD copy/rip protection, or something similar. Or, each game could come with a unique ID that you must A) type in and submit via WiFi Internet, or B) call a toll-free number to register your ID.

I must honestly say that I am completely against UMD piracy, but I do not think that it should suffocate the creativity of amateur software creators, nor do I think that it should keep people from using their PSP to its full potential. If homebrew was permitted in the next update, you could not only satisfy the public’s want for unique, and not to mention, free applications, but you could open an online service that would sell fun cell-phone-like games, like PopCap’s Bejeweled, and provide free UMD demos, like a one-level preview of THUG 2 Remix, which I now own. This could convince people to purchase the game and a larger capacity Memory Stick. There are so many possibilities that Sony® is not taking advantage of. Sony® could raise the PSP’s versatility and popularity so high that competitors would be no match.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Sony® for taking the time to understand my concerns. Please reply to this letter if it does not take up too much time, and I hope Sony® continues to stay the leader in today’s technology.

Sincerely,

Scott

[Tromedlov]

The reason why Sony is doing this is because you people that use ISO's and the UMD loader! But a great way to persuade sony might be by bringing up the GBA's status. the homebrew scene for the GBA is huge!! Not to mention the piracy scene for GBA; it's gotta be bigger than any other console (besides xbox maybe). But the GBA and it's games is Nintendo's best selling product. And they haven't released anything to stop hackers, piraters and homebrewers. Even the brand new Nintendo DS can be easily hacked.

In Sony's eyes, homebrewing is going to lose them more money (from UMD piraters) than give them more money. That's why they've chosen to get rid of the homebrewing scene by making firmware updates.

but I think the BEST solution to this problem would be a modchip. A modchip that by passes the firmware. I don't know too much about this, but it should be a definite possibility.

[one winged angel]

Sony if you read this could you tell us why you are doing such things to us

[Xan]

"I would simply purchase Wipeout Pure because of the current glitch in the game which enables the user to run a web browser through the game."
Can you give me some link to this exploit.I do have wipeout pure and beeing able to run webbrowser on my 1.5 psp would be great.

The one thing about sony blocking homebrew.PSP is serious thread to all PDA`s , i`v seen project for PSP keyboard <strap on , size of PSP LCD , working also as screen protector when psp is tunred off> .PSP+Keyboard+homebrew=awesome PDA , it has as good cpu as most pda`s on market and its way cheaper.
Here is link to PSP Keyboard http://www.gameseek.co.uk/productdetail/PSPfhyaqce6he5x223r/
PS.One Winged ? U play L2 , your forum name seems familiar :?

[zee]

Never thought i'd be playing games on a computer, let alone PSP; but at 55, i'm doing it all! Hot Shots Golf is fun and challenging; aggravating, or relaxing, depending on your mood. Overall a satisfying and challenging game. Gets me in the mood for some racing and shooting!

[yaustar]

The reason why Sony is doing this is because you people that use ISO's and the UMD loader! But a great way to persuade sony might be by bringing up the GBA's status. the homebrew scene for the GBA is huge!! Not to mention the piracy scene for GBA; it's gotta be bigger than any other console (besides xbox maybe). But the GBA and it's games is Nintendo's best selling product. And they haven't released anything to stop hackers, piraters and homebrewers. Even the brand new Nintendo DS can be easily hacked.

In Sony's eyes, homebrewing is going to lose them more money (from UMD piraters) than give them more money. That's why they've chosen to get rid of the homebrewing scene by making firmware updates.

but I think the BEST solution to this problem would be a modchip. A modchip that by passes the firmware. I don't know too much about this, but it should be a definite possibility.
It isn't just piracy, Sony do not want you to buy the console JUST for homebrew, all of their profit comes from software sales and they actually lose money for each console sold. Nintendo actually sell hardware at a 'break even' level or profit, they always have. Also they have changed the firmware on the DS to prevent early hacking and taken action against companies like lik-sang for selling flashcarts.

[CatfishD]

HomeBrew will ALWAYS be playable (unless sony makes a firmware that for some reason doesnt work with GTA)