Piracy threat looms for Sony

[Shrygue]

via Computer and Video Games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=182106)


The imminent threat of piracy is growing increasingly close for PS3, as hackers find a way to run retail game code from hard drives.

Piracy has been rife on PSP since hackers found a way of running game UMD data from a memory stick without the need to physically modify the PSP itself.

Now the same threat looms over PS3, hackers have found a way to run game code from internal and external USB hard drives.

Their discovery is only on for Test PS3 consoles (a developer version of the console), so they've not cracked retail machines just yet, but this will apparently allow them to study how game data is handled, which could lead to further developments.

Sony will, meanwhile, no doubt be working on locking down PS3 with firmware updates. Plus, 25GB game downloads will no doubt act as a deterrent to pirates.

[splodger15]

Plus, 25GB game downloads will no doubt act as a deterrent to pirates.

Nope not really if you can dump the disks on your own PC and burn them people are just going to borrow PS3 games and dump them. Simple no waiting days for a download

[acn010]

everything can be hacked now days

[F9zDark]

So we go from Team ICE trying to run unsigned code (and possibly succeeding) to hackers with Dev Units cracking the PS3? Hah, sounds like scare tactics to me. Where did these hackers get a PS3 dev unit from?

Please; if hackers had a dev unit, we'd already have custom firmware, homebrew games, the HDD would have been deciphered, etc....

[splodger15]

Please; if hackers had a dev unit, we'd already have custom firmware, homebrew games, the HDD would have been deciphered, etc....

Not nessarily the Dev PS3 just has a few more features doesn't mean a CFW could be coded straight from it even if it was just for a Dev unit.

[DPyro]

So we go from Team ICE trying to run unsigned code (and possibly succeeding) to hackers with Dev Units cracking the PS3? Hah, sounds like scare tactics to me. Where did these hackers get a PS3 dev unit from?

Please; if hackers had a dev unit, we'd already have custom firmware, homebrew games, the HDD would have been deciphered, etc....

You can buy a TEST unit for the right price.

[cory1492]

You can buy a TEST unit for the right price.
:rofl:
I'm sure that "right price" will help make piracy rampant...

Seriously though, this news comes straight from a site that likes to make up news when they are desperate for hits - the same site that had hyped paradox's supposed ps3 hack that was along the same lines (running retail games from a hdd) more than 6 months ago.

If it took them this long to do what they say with access to developer tools, I'd not count on any worthwhile release.

[jdnation]

Unless you can actually buy pirated blu-ray discs, I don't see this working out well for piracy sales... Do I really want 25 GB games taking up valuable space on my HDD? Would I wait for 25 GBs to download? Even if I did I'd play ti once and then delete it to make room for another. It's just a bit too inconvenient to even bother with, I'd rather go to a legit rental store and rent the game for a week for $5.

[mcdougall57]

hard drive in the ps3 is too small for now itll need to be upgraded

[splodger15]

^ ^
External HDD maybe lets say 2TB

[jeegee]

hard drive in the ps3 is too small for now itll need to be upgraded

any 2.5" sata2 drive will do. toshiba do a 200gb for bout 60gbp. there are bigger of course. and by time this gets hacked they'll be cheaper too :)

But i do also feel that this may be a non starter, dont trust site its from, no unsigned code, no hello world, nothing. If i see anauthorised code running or a hw then i'll get excited

[F9zDark]

any 2.5" sata2 drive will do. toshiba do a 200gb for bout 60gbp. there are bigger of course. and by time this gets hacked they'll be cheaper too :)

But i do also feel that this may be a non starter, dont trust site its from, no unsigned code, no hello world, nothing. If i see anauthorised code running or a hw then i'll get excited

The thing is, I find it hard to believe these people got a test unit. Paying for one isn't as easy as one likes to believe; the dev units cost probably close to 50,000 dollars and Sony just doesn't hand them out to people; you need to have had a game released for a Sony platform in the past or have proof of a game that works on the Cell.

So unless these guys stole it (or some Chinese "game" company got a dev unit but had no intentions of using it for legimate games) I don't see how they could have gotten one. And even then, where is their proof that they have anything? With a dev unit they could easily install a game to the HDD and see how the data is assembled in the Filesystem and figure that out; alot quicker and more easily than the person who has been doing it through linux all this time, taking raw data dumps of the PS3's partition and analyzing it.

[splodger15]

They may well have stole it but then thats none of our business if they nicked it from right under Sony's noses

[darkness angel 777]

well I'm on 3.90 m33-2 on my psp But I hate people who pirate games.

[Triv1um]

Stupid thread.

As soon as people hear of a exploit, they this PIRACY.

We haven't even got a Hello World yet.

The PS3 will be hard to code simple code, so ISO loaders are MILES away even if this exploit works.

Its totally not "looming"

[F9zDark]

Stupid thread.

As soon as people hear of a exploit, they this PIRACY.

We haven't even got a Hello World yet.

The PS3 will be hard to code simple code, so ISO loaders are MILES away even if this exploit works.

Its totally not "looming"

You're right, it isn't looming. The thing that bothers me is that a test unit, even if one acquired it, would make hacker's lives alot easier. Since, being a dev unit, it undoubtedly has a debug mode, in which the developers can see everything that is being sent to the Cell for processing.

As well, a lot of PC games have a "developer console" built in, no doubt PS3 games have a similar console to check variables and see if they were updated after a certain event (pick up weapon ammo, ammo increases). No doubt this console would be available on a debug unit as well.

So I find it hard to believe anyone has a dev unit, since the debug mode would give the hackers the necessary code to discern how to do the tasks necessary to write a simple Hello world program.

Even the game's main menu has enough code to tell these hackers how to do even the simplest of tasks (loading images, printing images to the screen, how the file structure works (for instance load image C:\image.jpg), how to change options, if music is accompanied by the menu, how to load and play a music file, etc.) It might not tell them what exactly is needed to make this all work (what libraries need to be loaded) but it would give them the CODE to make it work.

Just seems fishy as hell to me, because if anyone had a dev unit for more than a month, I am sure someone could have made a hello world program without too much trouble.

[gusgus]

It's going to be another back and forth like it was on the PSP. The only difference is, that people that choose to hack are never going to be able to play online. Every game company is going to patch the games to check for the latest firmware and Sony's always going to pump out firmware to combat hacking. It's going to be a big see-saw that no one will ever 'win'.

[Accordion]

It's going to be another back and forth like it was on the PSP. The only difference is, that people that choose to hack are never going to be able to play online. Every game company is going to patch the games to check for the latest firmware and Sony's always going to pump out firmware to combat hacking. It's going to be a big see-saw that no one will ever 'win'.

you can bypass the update requirement.

[DPyro]

Stupid thread.

As soon as people hear of a exploit, they this PIRACY.

We haven't even got a Hello World yet.

The PS3 will be hard to code simple code, so ISO loaders are MILES away even if this exploit works.

Its totally not "looming"

Hello World wouldn't be hard the code. The sole reason it's used as the first homebrew is because it is the simplest thing to do. For example, displaying hello world on a PC would look like this:

cout << "Hello World!" << endl;

[F9zDark]

you can bypass the update requirement.

Yeah, and that worked great on the PSP as well, until Rockstar made a game that depended on an addition to the firmware.

Sony and game companies can easily do the same thing with games on the PS3; or more simply, make the games require the most up to date firmware, which they have been doing on the PSP since damn near day one.

Sure you can play games online, but newer games that come out....