Firmware 3.10 Was Just a Knee Jerk Reaction to Latest PSP Hacks

[wraggster]

IGN have posted something that we all know, that Sony only update when the PSP Scene over rides all their firmware updates to stop homebrew:


Is Sony Computer Entertainment in a rush to try to combat the homebrew underground? Or is the company simply intent on adding as many features as it can cram into its handheld gaming system while also trying to quell piracy concerns? That debate is raging on net forums at the moment, but whichever belief you follow, any PSP update is something to tune your ears for.

We also must mention that this 3.10 release comes hot on the heels of a breakthrough in the hacking/homebrew scene. A BIOS downgrader for version 3.03 was made available just days before SCE released this update, allowing gamers to take their systems back down to a level before Sony's hardware encryption was properly working and thus opening up the system for unofficial homemade applications (as well as, unfortunately, illegal game copies.) And prior to this downgrader, another unofficial breakthrough came with the release of "custom firmware" -- hacker Dark_AleX was able to decompile the PSP update file and recompose it with all the new stuff Sony has added as well as all the old stuff that allowed unsigned apps to run on the system. The release of 3.10 has done little to cork the leaks in PSP, as coders have already decrypted the 3.10 file. Of course, any unofficial tampering with your PSP BIOS could brick your system and make it unable to run any kind of application, but the temptation is there to have everything Sony wants you to have as well as everything else that's out there. The good part of this is the wealth of homebrew PSP applications, some of which is truly stellar and beyond what even Sony so far has offered with the system (including homemade games, media applications, file utilities and more). The bad part of this is that, without a secure system, there's nothing stopping users from running pirate copies of PSP games on their system, and that's something that Sony and its Third Party partners are desperate to stem (especially with PSP still not meeting expectations in game sales.) And the disasterous part of this is that it's possible to foul up your system completely and turn it into a useless paperweight...

Nice to see IGN posting about homebrew :)

[Veskgar]

WOW, I wrote up a nice post about this on MaXconsole and now it is front page news on DCEMU. Awesome. Thanks for posting this Wraggster!

I don't feel like typing everything again so if you want to see my original post, its here:

http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=47227

Original IGN article:

http://psp.ign.com/articles/760/760013p1.html

As I stated, this article is probably the biggest mention of homebrew I have seen in such a major media company. I would love to hear everyones thoughts on this.

[Shrygue]

That was one great article to see.

[scottyboynow]

I don't know what to beleive anymore because SCE are weird

[Ennohex]

There'd be less piracy in South Africa if they would charge 30USD instead of the 55USD they ask for the current games. New games sometimes go for 70USD upwards.
They should fix that first.

[Airdevil]

I wish sony would just give up..... this scene always decrypts their firmwares right away.

What they should focus on is to actually produce better features to make the psp more attractive to the new user rather then kicking the existing ones who want to reach the full potential of their PSP when a new game with the new firmware gets released.

I know sony have to produce more security because of the 3rd party devs making UMD games demand it to stop piracy.... but surely they can see that sony have lost this. They just have to accept the fact that piracy occurs on ALL systems and get over it.

[Milleniumas]

Yea and they should reduce price in lithuania too, where a game costs 1/5 of a normal person month salary.

[aries2k4]

Great article. I think they pretty much covered it. I think they were fair in the way they wrote it. they did not emphasise that homebrew is just pirating but that it could be used for that(unfortunately). Homebrew apps beyond what SCE has to offer, lol
very nice

[juliusceasar]

I do get bored of the whole piracy destroy's platforms cr@p. If a product is class A then people are happy to part with their cash. DVDs are a great example of something easy to pirate but still sales are buoyant.

[irishwhip]

i think that instead of concentrating on firmware security, they should think about some form of protection on the umd itself to prevent the contents being dumped.
that way, we get our homebrew, and they prevent some piracy.

[acn010]

If They Want There Stuff Sold, The Prices Must Go Down, More Profit Goes On Cheap Merchindices

[pibs]

i think that instead of concentrating on firmware security, they should think about some form of protection on the umd itself to prevent the contents being dumped.
that way, we get our homebrew, and they prevent some piracy.

yep AMEN to that! the games are so easily decripted

[Gene]

yep AMEN to that! the games are so easily decripted

i agree.

althought, sony better not do that "Hidden Software" thing again or there will be another bloody mess.

[joshisposer]

What was the hidden software? I mean, i'll admit, i pirate but before i buy. I don't play games that much. I test before buying. Sony could try adding different encryption, but that means different firmware. With different firmware comes cracking and people will figure out how to make iso's out of those. It's a big circle.

[R4mbo]

The "disasterous part" doesnt mather, its the users problem if he bricks his psp. And I agree to some posts above, psp games are too expensive in some countries (and dont say its because of piracy everything gets expensive, rofl).