36w ago - Following up on the
previous update, today the PS3
3K3y Team have made available a video, the official features and release date of 12-12-12 for those interested below.
To quote: PS3 3K3y Features:
- Play your PS3, PS2 and PSX games from any USB media!
- No custom firmware required for operation* - you can update to the latest official firmware for PSN access
- Integrated game ripper
- User friendly intuitive interface
- No soldering required
- Multi-language support
- Compatible with both Fat and Slim models
- Supports most file systems, including NTFS, EXT2/3/4, and Mac OS X Extended
- High speed USB2 interface
- Powerful embedded Linux system running from Micro SD card (included)
- Linux firmware fully updatable from USB media
- FPGA fully updatable from USB media via built-in, in-system JTAG programming
- Recovery mode - it is always possible to recover from a bad flash Update your PS3 as normal, no CFW or game patching required
- Pass-through mode. (Use your PS3 in "normal mode")
* Currently firmware 3.55 is required for exctracting the drive key. Once the key has been extracted the PS3 can be updated to any official or custom firmware. We are working on hardware methods for extracting keys from PS3's already on 4.x firmware.
PS3 3K3y How It Works:
3k3y is an optical disk drive emulator for the PlayStation 3 video game console. It is installed between the genuine Blu-ray drive and the PS3 motherboard.
Once 3k3y is successfully installed and configured it can be used to make backups of your original PS3 game disks to USB media, and play those backups from USB media without the need of the original game disk.
Several games can be backed up to a single USB media, making it ideal as a 'jukebox' for hardcore gamers as well as for families with children too young to handle bluray discs with appropriate care.
3k3y works with most PS3 models, however there are a few exceptions, most notably the new super slim model and all PS3s which comes with firmware 4.xx (after retrieving the drive key the PS3 can be upgraded to any firmware). We are working to add support for these PS3's but you are adviced to consult with your reseller if you are in doubt whether your PS3 is compatible with 3k3y or not.
Finally,
3K3Y has
detailed pricing at a costly USD $129 for those who can't wait for free PlayStation 3 scene solutions, new PS3 key leaks, CEX and DEX fixes, etc.
Shortly following, a bit more information about 3K3y and 3Dump (via consolecrunch.com/more-information-about-3k3y-3dump-coming-soon/) surfaced, to quote:
Following up on the previous update, today the 3K3y Team shows us a picture of their future release application called 3Dump that allows you to dump the key that is needed to use the 3K3y.
Gday John.glad to have you here mate.Thanks for your service.If you need any help what so ever,please ask and we will do our best to help you mat...
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2012-12-28: 3k3y status update
There has been some slight delays due to the holiday season, but the final hardware has now been tested, and samples will be sent to beta testers in the next few days. We anticipate that the product will start shipping in idle of January.
From ozmod: Pretty sure it will be phat only to begin with. Key extraction is still being worked on. When the forums open up, you can make your voice heard – as they are just prioritizing atm.
We have now past 12/12/12 and nobody has able to get the 3K3Y device. We have received some information that the team will first start distributing in China to see the reaction from Sony, therefore 3K3Y team will take every precaution to market its solution.
If they get no reaction from Sony and the feedback from the market in Asia then they will release in Europe and wait for the next release which may arrive in the next few days.
The reason why they did this is because its best for the end users and the resellers so they don't end up with a semi functional product.
Their plan is to release in china and asia first, and then to see what Sony's reaction is, and later on if ok, to release in Europe and then North America, so that means no 12/12/12 as per their first teaser video.
Also from ozmod via e-mail: The 3k3y for PS3 should be out in January 2013. The team is hard at work trying to get key extaction up and running so that the device will be available for all users regardless of what software version they are on. More news on this as it comes!
3k3y status update!
• Final hardware verification will start this week. All parts have been tested on development boards so no surprises are anticipated.
• While built-in disk ripping does work, it is too slow to be practical. There is another way which is much faster and can most likely be delivered in a future update, but we will not have time to verify this before launch. So we decided to remove built-in disk ripping from the feature list and put it on the WIP list.
• We have designed and completed software and a add-on board for connecting a PS3 drive to a PC via USB in order to dump games. This add-on board will be a part of the 3k3y kit.
• A correction to the 3k3y status update: Built-in disk ripping will not be available on the release hardware. We took the hardware of 3k3y (where it was slow) and put it on an external board (where its blazing fast). This doesn't mean built-in disk ripping will never happen, it is still possible to do via the FPGA at high speeds.
I am honestly surprised this device didn't come out a long time ago, but I assume (as with this scene) there was drama in the timing of it.
You know, I am interested to see how soon they find out how to extract the drive firmware on > 3.55. Let's say, for example, you are on 3.55, get your FW, then update to 4.21. Sometime later, Sony pulls a move similar to MS that effectively blocks emulation from working until you can create an updated drive firmware on the 3key. Hopefully it can be done on OFW. I would expect a cat-and-mouse scenario, that will only make this device viable by finding a reliable way to extract the drive key.