New Sony PSPs to Have Downgrade Protection Built in

[wraggster]

via consolespot (http://www.psp-spot.com/forums/Last-of-Downgrades-t39909.html)


This is information I recieved from my EB Games Regional Manager source in:

Sony was sending out Emails to its Commercial Retailers that all new PSPs to be sent out will have 'Downgradable Prevention' built right into them. All new PSPs to be shipped out as of next week Friday, May 18th, will be a higher firmware, 4.xx (specifics were not released), but they were promised to include new security features to prevent hacks and downgrades. Apparently this is one of their first steps to start focusing on the PSP again, instead of diverting all attention to the PS3.
The new firmware will be available for download off Official, and most likely Unofficial, sites 2 days after the shipment is sent out.
This also happens to be the shipment of PSPs to be sold for the price of $169.99CAD with a Game. As of now, you can still purchase the downgradable PSPs for anywhere between $190.00-$220.00 depending on the Commercial retailer.

This news is obviously coming from a Canadian EB Games, based in Calgary, so this might not be effective for those in Europe, but possibly for the USA. These shipments are expected to be North American wide.

So, check your PSP firmware and downgrade compatability before purchasing.

Nadclovek

DIGG THIS NEWS (http://digg.com/gaming_news/New_PSPs_to_Have_Downgrade_Protection) and let everyone know what Sony are doing.

http://digg.com/gaming_news/New_PSPs_to_Have_Downgrade_Protection

As soon as us at PSP-News get any more info we will post it on the main page good thing Success HK are still selling v1.50 PSPs (http://www.superufo.com/product_html/SONY_PSP_SONY_PSP_Standard_Pack_Blue_Version_1_5__ Jap_.html?aff_id=24)

[splodger15]

yay.

Something new to hack and prove Sony wrong

[bpatel4069]

wow, am sure som1 wil find a way around it downgrading that. but i cant belive it, if i didnt downgrade my psp from 2.00 to 1.50 to 3.03EA then i think i would hav got rid of my psp n got a wii or DS or sumit, am missing nintendo cos theyre arent any decent psp originial games apart from burnout lumies, and prbly virtua tennis !! :S!

[mnuhaily22]

Better go get a PSP now for people who don't own one

[Sonicboy 101]

yay.

Something new to hack and prove Sony wrong

Yeah
I don't think this 'Downgrader protection' will last long

[Basil Zero]

lol

I hope the downgrade protection doesnt last long, cause some of my friends are planning to get a psp later this year just for homebrew lol

[tvrstl]

Sorry for this bad language, but How in hell can I be so unlucky to get my PSP stolen, while this bad news comes up??:O:'(

[Mr. Shizzy]

When will SONY ever learn ??
They only make them selfs look bad, with boasts like this...

Remember the hype leading up to the "uncrackable 3.00 firmware?" Now we have 3.40 OE :p

[Cokemusic]

Any retailer with half a brain wouldn't believe Sony , all the previous firmwares were mean to have "downgrade protection" HAHA,

And plus the inability to downgrade devalues the PSP in my opinion.

[tvrstl]

Any retailer with half a brain wouldn't believe Sony , all the previous firmwares were mean to have "downgrade protection" HAHA,

And plus the inability to downgrade devalues the PSP in my opinion.

About the Devalue thing, I agree!!

just afraid that they have learnt from their mistakes:confused: :(

[tallica]

Lol this is hilarious! Remember how the TA-082 psps where supposed to be impossible to downgrade?

[Emeriastone]

I really don't think there is something as a "non-downgradeable" PSP at this time. From what I've seen I don't know if it's possible for ANY company to make hardware and software that can't be exploited. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Paradok]

When it says "built right into them," I assume that they mean hardware-wise. We're still having trouble with the TA-82+ motherboards, so I don't see why new hardware modifications wouldn't also give the homebrew community trouble. I don't see this as something to laugh at, personally.

But yeah, hopefully Sony is just hyping up another firmware that's going to be cracked. Their PR department is obviously run by a bunch of chimps; I suppose their other departments might not be much more intelligent.

[jurkevicz]

Yay! New firmware by Friday! Great, I hope we get a 4.xxOE-A soon.

[titch.ryan]

Yeah
I don't think this 'Downgrader protection' will last long

of course it wont last long. we have just as experienced coders hacking the psp as sony do developing it.

[zoson]

They could easily prevent us from downgrading.
Decrease the size of the flash below 16 megs and 1.50 would no longer fit.

[Cokemusic]

They could easily prevent us from downgrading.
Decrease the size of the flash below 16 megs and 1.50 would no longer fit.

That would mean that future firmware versions would be limited too, not happening.

[Zion]

They could easily prevent us from downgrading.
Decrease the size of the flash below 16 megs and 1.50 would no longer fit.

:rofl:

Neither would the default firmware either :rolleyes:

:rofl: :rofl:

[shaney2k]

well my psp is kinda un downgradable anyway since there hasnt been any new downgraders as of late i stuck on 3.11 :(

[eatnooM]

Better go get a PSP now for people who don't own one

That's what Sony WANT you to think! >_<

[Basil Zero]

Yay! New firmware by Friday! Great, I hope we get a 4.xxOE-A soon.

Well if the features built in the psps protect against hacking, wonder what features will the new firmare contain.

[Buddy4point0]

lol watch there be a glitch in the downgrade protection that makes it 100x easyer to hack

[gunntims0103]

I really don't care about what Sony does anymore since my psp is homebrew enabled and ill never have to worry about downgrading. I just care about the OE's. Hopefully DAX will have a new OE for the 4.xx when the official firmware is released by sony.

[carpy]

completely unsubstantiated rumor. god you guys will just repost any fake garbage you find on other forums as news, huh?

[buildit92]

thank you sony, thank you. ur finnaly giving us the attion we deserve. as i said before when 2.80 came out. SUCK IT SONY! SUCK IT! u guys will never learn, try as u much as u want, i incurge u to try as much as u want, but no matter how much u try to prevent "downgrades and homebrew"{exploit} we well always be there to stop your annoying updates, the gain the abilites u ofter threw dev hook and coustom firmwares. so sony just give up. make a fw which has the abillty for homebrew and say if u brick it its your fault. or just stop making fw but keep making games. just please i dont want anything like last winter when u released like 4000 fw versions.

[DarthPaul]

New firmware! I wonder what are the new features besides the "protection".

[Nicko01]

I like it that sony makes new firmware with new features. it will always be turned into custom firmware, meaning... its just like being an updater noob with homebrew!!! WOOT!

[carlitx]

Once again I F*CKING HATE U SONY!! FIRST U DECLINE THE REPAIR OF MY 1st PSP b/c of my lill bro scrunched up the warenty sticker a lil it and now this u know what if any sony person reads this u can go F8ck ur self i hate utr god damn company cause now all my friends wont be able to play kool games with me:@(like snes and stuff), so go have a flying f*ck and go screw ur self a lill more cause u know what ur ps3 sux hard friggin ass compaered to the 360 and wii so in the great words of the best faction in the WWE, SUCK IT! DX STYLE!

ps, u know its gonna get hacked yah dumb ass sony! :p so ill just wait for my friends lol (insert manical laugh now)

[Veskgar]

And plus the inability to downgrade devalues the PSP in my opinion.
I definitely agree. This just strengthens my resolve to spread the word about homebrew and turn more people on to it.


Just afraid that they have learnt from their mistakes:confused: :(
Same here. We all love to rag on SONY about their firmware restrictions but I have also been concerned that they will keep learning more and more as the homebrew scene grows. And how long before they finally get it right?


Yay! New firmware by Friday! Great, I hope we get a 4.xxOE-A soon.
That's if it can be decrypted. Its obvious that the scene contributers and coders can do anything they put their mind to but if this new firmware is supposed to be "ultra secure" I wonder if it will be decrypted.


I really don't care about what Sony does anymore since my psp is homebrew enabled and ill never have to worry about downgrading.
We all probably feel that way but I would like to see the scene continue to grow and expand. I would like for 2 years from now to still see exciting stuff happening in the scene. SONY wants this scene to fizzle out and fade away.

Anyway, I think the real question is why is there an emphasis on new PSP shipments? Is there a change in the hardware or is it just strictly a firmware (software) restriction?

[-=me=-]

I'm just wondering..
Version 3.xx hasn't been around too long, how accurate is this news? Has is it been validated?

[The King]

baw i give this 2 weeks until it is cracked

[parkermauney]

Just a week ago i returned a brick to bestbuy to get a 2.71 back. 3.03's havent even arrived yet, the firmware will be cracked by the time the psp's even showup.

100th post :P

[mfz64]

I know someone like DA or another coder will eventually hack them IF they are "Downgrade Protectioned"

[Gene]

I remember they used to say windows was unhackable. lol

[irishwhip]

the only way they can guarantee it unhackable is to make this the final firmware revision, and make the new machines with read-only chips.

[pt9087]

hmm come DA poove them wrong!

[Ennohex]

Gawd! If only they'd put as much effort into making games for the PSP!!
I'm all for a-grade titles instead of tedious firmware updates and anti-crack hardware.

Sheesh.

[Sinnamon]

you should all quit hating on sony. If it wasnt for them you wouldnt have pokemon or mario 64 or crash bandicoot on your psp. you wouldnt even have a psp. The reason they release updates is to stop people from running illegal isos and roms. now, if noone used the psp to run illegal games they wouldnt be constantly revising their firmware. the few people who do run illegal games and whatnot on their psp are the people pushing sony to make new firmware. So instead of hating on sony, convince all the people you know not to use their psp to do anything illegal.

[chrisnoob]

sinnamon my thoughts exactly...Sony is just trying to make some money. allot of iso's floating around cause hacked firmware

[Squidman]

the only way they can guarantee it unhackable is to make this the final firmware revision, and make the new machines with read-only chips.

aren't they already? i meen to the PSP, the custom firmware/homebrew apps just bypass that...right?

and wow, downgrade protection, lol, give it time, and it will be cracked, EVERYTHING has a "backdoor"

[ricko]

again god damn rumurs

[Buddy4point0]

aren't they already? i meen to the PSP, the custom firmware/homebrew apps just bypass that...right?

and wow, downgrade protection, lol, give it time, and it will be cracked, EVERYTHING has a "backdoor"

if they were read only you wouldnt be able to firmware update.

[Gold Line]

sony you lose you cant stop us homebrew will always win!

[PrettyStupidPerson]

woah that suks. but good 4 me cus i already have one... unless something happens to it.

[tvrstl]

well. something might happen..

though, I hope that there will be a storm of hackers to try to crack this new Firmware.


hmm, to bad fanjita has stopped to work so much with this at the moment...:confused:

(sorry if my english is bad, the reason: se location)

[Sharpy]

I wonder if this new firmware will be just as easy to hack and get a custom firmware out of maybe by the awesome Dark Alex.

[Ichijoe]

Kind of surprising that no one here has mentioned the use of e-Fuses yet.
I know that Microsoft use this Tech. to prevent Xbox360 Owners from downgrading there Equipment.
I'd assume that the PS3 whould also use this "Protection" as well.

So it might follow that by "Hardware Protection", this is what they are referring to...

[White_Hawk_UK]

I was always under the impression that console manufacturers gave up on hardware-based protection long ago, as it simply increased manufacturing costs for little guarantee of effectiveness.

Perhaps this rumour is based upon efforts to make the firmware more resistant to customisation? What if Sony have been tinkering with ways of scuppering further OE versions of their firmware, or rendering Devhook-like tools ineffective? Maybe it's possible that the new firmware will be incompatible with previous firmware code, therefore making it harder to run alternate kernels in a single firmware instance?

As for hackability... as mentioned already, I thought the latest firmware was essentially 'hack-proof' anyway? Get a PSP with a firmware version higher than 3.03, and you're currently no better-off than somone with the rumoured new version... or have I missed something?

[MattZani]

how long before all the old stock is gone? i need a PSP to downgrade! hopefully not true, unless the Devolution chip still works, then sony is just boosting sales!

[zonnikku]

*Sigh...* I really wish Sony would put more effort in improving actual PSP capabilities with their FW updates instead of pointlessly updating the security everytime and that being the only thing they update. :|

Same goes for games, although I guess developers are reluctant to do that because of how easy it is to play ISOs on a custom FW PSP.