UKIE Welcomes Sony's Action Against PS3 JailBreak ModChips

It is our fault. Because when the exploits are found, they always enable piracy of some sort. And even if the group has good intentions (PSgroove developers for example), it still becomes a big hole that all the console manufacturers want to do is close only because they don't see the good in 3rd party development for free when they get to charge a licensing fee for the SDK, the whole kit, and they even get to control what gets onto their console (Nintendo used to be extremely strict about what they would allow; anyone remember green blood in MKII?)

I guess we COULD stop searching for exploits on machines that come out, stop buying them, and force manufacturers to give us better reasons to buy them. That would be the ultimate solution. But they have the pocket aces (money, hardware developers, and game developers) and we have 10-10 in comparison (some of us can do more than just use it for what it's intended for, but most are just going to leech off what is publicly given out (firmware, homebrew, etc) and use it for piracy purposes).

Are we a small percentage that use it (whether for piracy or just 100% homebrew)? Seems Sony and MS think so. 1 million people got banned from Xbox LIVE last year for modified firmware, out of about 20 million. I don't think that Microsoft did it so 1 million people would have to go buy new consoles if they wanted LIVE back, but that could've part of the reason for sure.

Case studies (at least ones I know a fair amount about)
Xbox 1 is hacked
- Xbox Linux project wants to just run Linux (or so they claim); they even ask Microsoft for help and Microsoft says absolutely no way
- Replacement dashboards like evoX come out and really only make it easier to get access to your HDD full of copied games
- A homebrew FTP server running on your Xbox1 is responsible for being able to copy your games; is it really for anything else?
- Microsoft continues to make revisions to Xbox motherboards as the years go by
- Today the Xbox1 is fully soft-modable but Microsoft has killed the Xbox1 in favour of 360 of course; the Xbox1 doesn't quite have the following similar to how Sony has a PS2 following in Japan and Asia

PS2 is hacked
- Modchips of course; you COULD use the Sony SDK and create some games; most sites selling modchips are advertising that you can run CDRs and DVDRs and that your PS2 becomes region-free for both games and DVD films (latter part is 100% legitimate)
- Sony wins a lawsuit against modchips in the UK
- A free SDK is now available which is great; many good utilities for PS2 are out
- HDLoader is released and Sony panics with lawsuits, etc
- FMCB is released long after PS2 is almost a dying console
- Sony removes PS2 support from PS3 in an attempt to sell more PS3 games and give less value to the well-hacked PS2
- Today, the PS2 is fully soft-moddable with a memory card (FMCB), but Sony has killed the PS2 market in America and is almost ready to do so in Asia as the adoption for PS3 is very high and is only growing (and not because of this exploit or any other)

Xbox 360 is hacked
- Drive firmware is the focus: this enables nothing except for the fact that you can your 'backups', which for some odd reason everyone thinks MS wants you to only go on-line with only 100% verified (ABGX) copies of your own games (NOT true as we already know really well; 1 million banned from Xbox LIVE last year)
- Still cannot run unsigned binaries until...
JTAG hack happens: while we can now run Linux via TFTP or off a disc, the focus has strongly been on managers for DLC and anything that will get a game into the format you want (ISO extractors, ISO2GoD, FTP daemon, XM360 manager, etc); yes unsigned binaries can run and that's great but there's no production-quality free SDK yet
- Microsoft probably doesn't care a whole lot about JTAGs because they are not in production any-more. While there may be a lot of sealed JTAG'able consoles out there in stores, they are likely to go to owners who know nothing about it and just want to play legitimately. And, so, the hombrew scene for 360 seems likely to die until something happens with that Xbox 360 S that many are getting. The only news so far is that yet again the drive firmware has been hacked, so time repeats itself.
- My opinion is if you decide to firmware flash your 360 (or are stupid enough to use a JTAG on Xbox LIVE) you stay off Xbox LIVE. You are violating TOS and if you don't feel like paying for games, you don't deserve to be on-line with them either. You will get banned eventually and you should already know that.

Wii is hacked
- Focus seems strongly on using the Wii as a general purpose small 'embedded' device since it has some strong limitations in comparison to 360 and PS3
- Emulators? Why? So you can run your copied ROMs of games you also don't own? This is why Nintendo created VC in the first place.
- Homebrew channel; let's see, well you could run Wiibrator I suppose
- This community is the best one IMO as it has been able to hide under the guise of legitimacy the longest so far with a 100% free SDK and many useful applications

PS3
- Just so no one can complain they can't run Linux or run games from another region, Sony makes the PS3 game-region free (not films) and they have OtherOS
- A serious lack of interest in further development is what prompted Sony to remove OtherOS support from PS3; besides it being in a jail that made it nearly useless
- Sony is panicking because all it sees are JB releases of their games, and maybe while they knew that NONE of the early releases prior to JB were ever going to work, they know now that JB releases do
- Sony finally can update without having to redesign hardware so they release a new firmware (3.42+) and have the exploit removed
- Waiting on CFW?

PSP
- Anyone wanna add? I only know a few things.

I'm not for piracy and this is only one of the reasons why. When people find out, and you are the 'techie friend', they always want to know how to do it, and expect you know everything. Being able to run even a simple 'Hello World' that used DX9 API on my 360 was pretty awesome, knowing that I made it myself and I didn't need Microsoft's approval. And now I can do that (although with PSGL or other things) on the PS3. (Also, I do own a Wii and can 100% legally do it with the free SDK. Same for PS2.)

If you read this far, go treat yourself?

look like there's no light @ the end of this tunnel or is it...

Well, in all fairness, it's the consumer themselves who are responsible for the need for DRM/anti-hacking-scheme's.. If they had just bought everything instead of pirating in the past, all these measures wouldn't be necessary.. So instead of blaming the companies (who only try to make their money (back)), look to yourself for the real reason..

That doesn't mean I support these measurements, but I'm not as dumb to believe the problem lies with the companies when the problem definitly lies with the consumer themselves.. Now you pay for the deeds all those consumers did in the past, go blame them for making our lives difficult.. Lets not forget, companies aren't charities, they are in the business of making money (just like you are when you go to your job every day)..

Sony is an idiot. Many modchips are out of America. Sony can't do anything about it. Sony can do anything they want in this America but its not good enough. Sony, grow up and leave us alone!

The same way they've "pulled out" from developing for Xbox, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS or any other console for that matter?

You seems to read to much of "SciFi" (aka "official" reports on damages done by piracy) ...