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PSP Firmware Update 2.8 Available
tekisui writes "PSP firmware update 2.8 is out, adding several minor features and one major one, the ability to play music and video out of user-named folders on memory sticks. Finally, I can label my movies and music with useful names, instead of Sony's cryptic naming conventions.."
The DS has also been cracked and it too can be used to play ripped commercial games.
The difference is that running cracked games is a software problem on the PSP were on the DS you need some special hardware that you can't buy just anywhere. Al you need to play a ripped PSP game is a big memory card, like say the ones sold by sony itself or even included with the PSP in the gigapack.
It seems pretty clear that Sony is slowly releasing updates each update giving you a goodie but it will also fix the security hole that allows you to play non-sony approved content on the PSP.
In itself it is nothing new, some games with frequent updates could possible be doing the same trick. You want our bug fix? Better have the original exe handy. How many crackers are willing to crack a game again and again? With the PSP it is even better. Each time you crack it you run a risk of bricking it.
So why doesn't Nintendo upgrade its hardware since they been cracked as well? Well they did. I think with the DS Lite they included a new firmware and if you got one of those the old passkeys (the bit of hardware that allows you to play unofficial games) don't work anymore. No problem you pirate. New ones are available.
Still they cost money, it is a physical product and that means somebody wants money for making it, perhaps this reduces the piracy. Most people do not have a huge library of games. If you only want handfull of games you are not going to spend 150 euro in a dodgy online store to run games that run almost perfectly when you can get the games you want for the same amount guarenteed to work from a regular store.
Second is market differences, perhaps the people who want to play nintendogz or brain age are less likely to pirate then say GTA Liberty City players?
What is odd is that because DS games are typically much smaller that piracy actually is easier. If you want you could easily store hundreds of GBA and DS games on a single memory card. Most PSP games are to big to fit in the 1gb memory sticks.
The DS is capable of downloading content from the net so it should be able to update. Maybe it does. Doubt it, someone would have found out by now but just because they haven't doesn't mean they can't.
The naive idea is that Nintendo doesn't do this to be nice to its customers. Yeah right, this could only be considered an option by the insane or those to young to remember the Nintendo before Sony kicked them in the nuts with the PS.
More likely is that Nintendo doesn't consider it a big enough threath.
This is probably combined with not having the possibility to offer goodies to get people to upgrade. Sony is running a risk that people who would buy legal games, like me, might not buy a game if it requires me to upgrade and not use my homebrew anymore. It also runs the risk that it might break one of its own games.
In short it is all about piracy and how companies attempt to deal with this. Sony is more aggressive in its attempts but Nintendo too changes its firmware when it sees an opportunity.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Which is it? Either you want the PSP for homebrew or (as you said) you want it for games.
The issue is a simple one - using it for homebrew means it's not really going to be useful for games. Using it for games means using it for homebrew is going to be very hard.
I am thinking to buy one as well - but only for homebrew. I ahve no illusions ar expectations that Sony will support me in this regard, so I feel no animosity towards Sony for failing to suypport the device in a way for which they did not mean it to be used.
Do I wish Sony would support user created PSP programs? Sure. Do i think it would be smarter for them to do so because it would increase sales of the PSP which are languishing? You bet. But Sony has not and will not and as long as that remains true you can't expect to have your cake and eat it too.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Crazy idea huh? It had 3 games I really liked (Lumines, Wipeout, GTA). It plays all my audio files from iTunes, AAC and MP3. I could rip DVDs and videos to it fairly effortlessly with software like Handbrake or PSPWare.
So what's the big deal?
Well, the big deal as we all know, is that the potential for the device is much more than what Sony can throw at it. And I think this rankles a lot of users. Not the majority, mind you, not even close... but enough to create a homebrew scene.
However I look at that scene with a sort of detatched interest. I've never been tempted by any of the homebrew software enough to downgrade the firmware. I'm simply... happy with it. Crazy I know.
Since I received it, the thing has gained major abilities at a regular pace. Web browsing, RSS feeds, Flash lite, WMA support, better wireless security, etc. None of this stuff was really promised or advertised, but we get it all for free. Now I do cool stuff like stream from my G5 to the PSP (MyTunesRSS - kicks ass).
I dunno. Call me quaint. I am happy with the thing because I was satisfied with its capabilities as it was presented. So I can't really feel jilted. (Of course, it was free for me. But if I dropped mine in the lake tomorrow, I'd probably go get another.)
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
Sony has said from the onset of the PSP that they would look to enhance the firmware to provide added functionality. Lets face it; in this day and age, there is no need for set firmware. And if they can provide the required firmware upgrades on every game disk you purchase, it isn't much of a hassle to ask a user to do it.
Sony has never said that they would support or even allow homebrewed applications. It isn't as if these applications are made by legitimate developers with legitimate development kits. Furthermore, there are homebrew applications out there that can turn your PSP into a worthless brick. To summarize, they aren't disabling functionality, because this isn't functionality that they sold to you. It's not like they are turning off a feature that was listed on the box - Sony never said the PSP was for custom applications.
Also, as stated in my first point, all games are playable on all PSPs. What it takes, however, is installing necessary firmware updates from the UMD disk. If you buy a PSP game, you can play it on your PSP, no matter what firmware state it was in before; however, if you do not opt to install the new firmware, then you are actively chosing not to play it.
To repeat from your parent poster, you are not a victim.