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Swapless PSP Exploit Released
YDKCooKiE writes "According to psphacker.com, an updated exploit for PSP 1.5 has been released, allowing PSP 1.5 users to play homebrew software without requiring the swap trick."
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It's about time to require a new firmware version for all new games
As was shown with the xbox, the secret to entering a new hardware/software market is to create a machine that allows piracy, but discourages it. While there are valid reasons to allowing homebrew software on the PSP, and hacks like this shouldn't be illegal, research like this will lead to hacked games (on to very expensive memory sticks).
Genious on Sony's part. Get an installed base at any price, while paying lip service to piracy. Even at $250, the PSP will be a hit.
Burn Hollywood Burn
This release has convinced me to purchase a PSP. I don't want to hack the commercial games...I could care less of those. I just want a portable movie/nes/snes/mame box! Come tomorrow I will be a PSP owner.
R.I.P.
Now, I know why they don't allow the homebrew software:
;).
Less game sales
Loss of control (possibility of viruses, malware, etc)
But - I think they could really do something with the homebrew if done right. I had put out some of these in a column I wrote up a couple of weeks ago, and still feel its true.
Sony could:
1. Offer a homebrew kit to developers for $100 - $200 dollars to be used for non-commercial use only.
2. Include big ass disclaimers "You break-a yo' PSP, not our fault".
3. If an application starts getting big, add it to an online PSP App Center and charge for it. 75% of the profits go to the devs, 25% to Sony. Everybody wins, as Sony could built up a library of applications and make some money off of it.
Is this as good as, say, just developing Palm Pilot applications and not getting a developers hard work appropriated by Sony? Naturally not - but half a loaf, as they say, is better than none. In this scenario, more apps for the PSP make it a more attractive device, which means more sales, which means more developers develop for it. At the moment, the Nintendo DS is looking like a better system (I've got two PSP games that look interesting to me, and about 15 DS games on my list for the future).
Of course, this is all just my opinion. I could be wrong. If nothing else, I'm enjoying having a Genesis emulator on my PSP - and the irony that I can play Game Boy Color games on my PSP but not on my DS
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
...and you should be able to hack anything you own as long as it doesn't endanger anyone, deprive them of privacy, deprive them of something else, etc. -- it's yours.
This is part of the issue that the technically savvy face in the modern world. For instance, I could probably hack my car to get better fuel economy and more power, but turn it into something that emits a lot more NOx and CO2. I own the vehicle (it's actually paid for, a 2002 model). Should I have the right to do this? I cannot say that I have an answer to that.
The problem arises because it's hard to define what "endanger someone" or "deprive someone of something" means in most contexts. It's not like everything is simple like murder, theft of physical property, or other 'physical' issues. Take, for instance, the issue of DVD regions. The only reason this exists is political, and it's really unclear as to what damage would result from not having region-coded DVDs. Yes, I know about piracy and the "loss" of revenue, and I can understand the industry arguments, but I don't know that I agree with them. (If 10,000 people pay $10 each for a CD and give me $100,000, and 30,000 other people made copies, listen to the music, what did those 30,000 people "steal" from me anyway? It didn't cost me anything to produce those extra 30,000 CDs, so I didn't lose anything. The extra 30,000 copies didn't deprive anyone else of having a copy either. If, perhaps, I didn't think that $100,000 was enough to make more music I'll do something else, so that original bit of music is the only bit that will ever be out there. It does not make economic sense to continue to derive income from a non-scarce commodity for a lifetime; revenue should be proportional to services rendered or wealth created, not "I gave society this thing once, so keep giving me money forever". But I digress.)
Mostly the reasons for all the "do not hack your own stuff" laws comes from, especially in the United States, the desire to push all liability onto the manufacturers; this necessarily takes away some freedom. If, as a public, we want the freedom to hack our stuff, we have to take the responsibility for the possible consequences back upon ourselves.
"There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
Can it run linux? I can then add all homebrewed software I like.
including this one. I wonder if you can run the exploit on the emulator too...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
As I understand it, the GP32 seems to fit the bill. I'm only passingly familiar with it, though.
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
You would be hard pressed to find a manufacturer with a 'go ahead and play' policy on the hardware. I don't understand this at all, history has shown that software which has been open to developers has more staying power and versatility.
Why is this such a huge problem for Sony? They would still sell the fucking things for people to tinker with / modify them, why not bother to release a dev kit or SOMETHING for us geeks to play with?
A good parallel to this is the Xbox, do you know how many people I know bought one for the sole purpose of modifying them? Lots. I understand Microsoft still took a bite on the sale of the console, but not on the fact that these people still :
1) Bought games (secondhand or otherwise)
2) Bought accessories
3) Spent money they otherwise wouldn't have if they didnt own an Xbox.
Does Sony not realize that catering to the geek crowd could actually bolster sales and help with software development for the PSP? I guess not, and I hate to say it, but I have a feeling this portable is going to go the way of the Minidisc - another complete & total failure by Sony to actually let consumers use devices the way they see fit.
As I understand it, the GP32 seems to fit the bill.
Unlike Game Boy Advance SP, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP, How can I develop and share GP32 games if I can't find anybody else in town that has a GP32 to test on? Especially with multiplayer games, how can I test multiplayer gameplay if nobody else in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has a GP32?
OK, I'll modify my question. What portable game hardware:
Or is it a "good, fast, cheap, pick two, tough shit" situation?
Things I've seen recently:
At Best Buy: PS2 classics game consisting of Dig Dug, Pole Position, Galaga and Pac Man.
At EBX games: Cartridge for Game Boy advanced with same games.
Under my Xmas tree six months ago: Similar games in a joystick that plugs into my TV.
At Target: A lot of other plug in joysticks with more classic games.
I agree with the abandonware argument, but a lot of these games are no longer abandonware. I'd agree with lowering copyright time periods, but the 20-25 years since most of these games were made doesn't even touch the surface of current copyright law.
Heck, I'd love a good argument to play these games free, but considering they cost less than 5 bucks apiece and are redily available, I can't help but think the ethical thing to do is to pay to play.
TW
That's exactly right. Under US law (AFAIK, IANAL), agreements are solidified as soon as an exchange of goods takes place - in this case, software for money. So if an EULA is not presented prior to the Point of Sale, it cannot be enforced.
What's more, the last I heard there was a 9th Circuit Court Ruling applying the "First Sale " doctrine to software, regardless of what the EULA says... Which is why those people at computer shows can legally sell you the OEM copies that have "Not for Resale" stamped in big, bold, (useless) letters on the package.
Downloaded software is much more insidious, because many times the EULA is presented before the download... But with Firefox's "Edit Text Box" extension (or whatever it's called), you can change the EULA to whatever you want... or if it's like Sun's EULA, just rewrite the HTML to reflect terms that are favorable to you before you hit 'submit'.
So far I just write in the box that I reserve all rights and privileges and that's all there is to it... I wonder how far one could push it, legally?
Take a handheld console like the GP32. Excellent design and capability, open firmware and open development. Gamepark has made a console for consumers and has basically said, "Here, it's yours. Have fun!"
As a nerd, I find the GP32 much more attractive than any more powerful console on the market (I drool every time I see one). This is what consumer electronics are supposed to be. What Sony and their ilk do is a huge turnoff, and I hope they know I have no intentions of buying their overpriced gadgetry!
In the end, isn't it smarter to do it this way? You win the esteem of your customers if you treat them like you value them, and if you treat them with nothing but suspicion and contempt is no way to do business; every time they push against us, we push right back (and we win every time).
and you should be able to hack anything you own as long as it doesn't endanger anyone, deprive them of privacy, deprive them of something else, etc. -- it's yours.
Protecting the commons (air, water) with regulations on private ownership is one thing. Protecting an industry's business model is quite another, and there's no reason for the law to be involved here. No reason at all.
If you didn't literally sign an EULA, no amount of legislation can create a vicarious contract inked merely by your opening a box. Protectionism might boost the economy, at the price of absurdity.
If the manufacturer didn't intend me to use my purchase a certain way, fuck him. We call that "invention," and we call the purchase "property." It's a pretty groovy invention, property; our entire way of life is erected on it. No shady legal bullshit can make a sale a loan.
I've got a suggestion--let's cut the crap and call "intellectual property" "intangible goods," or how about "immaterial objects." No--"idea things." Make it hip: "yin-yang." "Orrin Hatch lobbies Congress to protect Hollywood's yin-yang."
You can't own a thought--you can have a thought, you can change a thought, you can share a thought, you can lose a whole train of thought. Somebody might have the same thought. You can perish the thought, if it's bothering you, or do thought experiments. Thoughts are delicate creatures, which is why we have food for thought and schools of thought. But owning them is out of the question.
I have the flu--my wife gave it to me. Do I own the flu? She's my wife, do I own her too? Hey pal--that's none of your business. Whose is it, and do they get a tax write-off? This drives me out of my mind, which will go on public auction if nobody claims it in 30 days.
you can have my violent video games when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.
Prime UID Club
I said in the previous PSP Exploit article that it will be just like soft-modding the Xbox (modding without a mod-chip). At first it will only support a few versions of the PSP and it will be very un-userfriendly. But as time goes on, the soft-mod (i.e. "exploit) will improve and eventually support all versions and will be userfriendly. Why is it this way? The Xbox is already at this level, and since it can be found for cheap, it is worth picking up just to hack, run media players on as well as emulators.
The same will be true for the PSP.