Sony's Official Statement Regarding PS3 Hacking

tekgoblin writes "Sony has stepped up its stance on anyone circumventing protection of any kind on the PlayStation 3 and released a statement addressing it. Most recently Sony had barred George Hotz (Geohot) from releasing any more information about the console whatsoever. Now, Sony has their eyes set on other users that may be trying to use pirated software or modded PlayStation consoles on their network. The statement reads: 'Notice: Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the "System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System" and the "Terms of Services and User Agreement" for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.'"

Comments

They are serious, guys.

[Anonymous Coward]

I just got a letter from Sony's lawyers regarding a particularly insidious piece of software I wrote for my PS3 entitled "Hello World". My Dad says that I have been very bad and will have to go to military school.

Problem solved

[RogueyWon]

Well, that's fixed that one then, hasn't it? With a statement like that, it's clear that piracy on the PS3 is good and dead.

Or maybe not.

Seriously, I don't see what Sony were trying to achieve here. I think anybody who mods their console (hardware or software) to run homebrew or pirated games will do so with the expectation that they will not continue to be able to use PSN features for long. All Sony have probably achieved is a minor Streisand-effect, making sure that even more people know that it's now possible to pirate PS3 games.

That said, I do applaud the policy of banning modded consoles from the PSN (and hence from the online components of PS3 games). The big attraction of console online multiplayer for me (and I suspect for quite a few others) is that playing on a locked-down system does reduce (albeit perhaps not eliminate) the scope for cheats outside of the exploitation of game-specific glitches.

Why is this news?

[cbope]

I really have to say something here... I have a hard time understanding why this is such a big deal. Bear with me here...

You are buying a product that works within a closed ecosystem, including Sony's Playstation Network. If you mod your PS3, of course Sony is not going to let you play on their playground because they have no way to determine if your box is cheating or doing other non-good things while being attached to their network. Why is this so hard to understand?

Think about it this way... you are an IT manager for a large company. You manage thousands of desktops and hundreds of servers. What would you do if your employees started taking their laptops home and installing a modified or hacked OS, and then proceeded to bring those laptops to work and connected them to your managed network? Would you like that? Or would you ban those laptops from connecting to your network? This is precisely what Sony is doing and I don't disagree with it.

Note that I'm not against modding and hacking, on the contrary, I am a self-taught hacker with an electronics degree and nearly 30 years of computing experience. But even I understand that if I buy product A that comes with service B, service B may be taken away or unavailable if I modify product A. Sorry, but that's the breaks when you buy into a closed ecosystem. Same thing goes with Apple's walled-garden approach.

Now, if you want to mod your box, fine, just don't expect support or service from Sony. You don't need to use Sony's network if you don't own any games that require it. If I modded my own box, I would expect that I can no longer use any associated services. However, intentionally bricking a device is a whole other topic...

Re:Why is this news?

[Ben4jammin]

I think you are glossing over one very important aspect: This is not just about Sony controlling the online experience, which I agree with. This is about a "bait and switch" with the core functionality of hardware that I bought. Mainly, the OtherOS feature and backwards support for PS2 games. So I agree with Sony cutting down on cheating to preserve the experience of non-cheaters with online play. I DO NOT agree with functionality that I paid for being taken away for no good reason other than they were tired of supporting it.

I haven't done ANY modding to my PS3, yet it is still a shell of its former self with the aforementioned features now gone. I played by their rules and got screwed anyway. So I have NO sympathy whatsoever for them. DIAF Sony.

And your analogy is a little weak in that when you are issued a COMPANY laptop, you aren't out any money and of course you should only do things related to your job description with it. The paradigm changes once it is hardware that YOU pay for.

Re:"Unauthorised" software

[L4t3r4lu5]

Yes, you own your PS3. No, you don't own PSN. Sony locks down PSN access because it keeps PSN secure from exploitation, which would degrade the experience of those who do not exploit on PSN.

If Sony didn't ban cracked PS3's from PSN, and my gaming experience was affected by active exploits, you can bet I'd be screaming for George Hotz's head on a platter, your homebrew be damned.

Re:A posteriori

[HungryHobo]

The condenced version of sonys TOS/EULA:

"We guarantee nothing, we promise nothing, we reserve the right to do anything we want or terminate this agreement at any point. You have the right to do absolutely nothing but we may decide not to punish you from doing some things if we feel like it. We also may change this agreement at any time and you shall have agreed to those changes as well automatically by agreeing to this"

it's remarkably similar to the agreement that comes with most antivirus software.

Re:"Unauthorised" software

[BriggsBU]

There's a difference here between your "rights" as a PlayStation3 owner and the "respect" you feel Sony should give its customers. Yes, it would be wonderful to be able to create home-brew software and what-not for your device. But that is not a /right/. Your rights in this situation are clearly outlined by the ToS and EULA of PSN. Sony owns PSN and has clearly stated they do not want you using systems with pirated or home-brew software on their network. You are more than free to make your home-brew software, but you are not free to use said home-brew software on their networks.

This is rather like a couple of kids playing. Your friend Sony has invited you over to play at his house and invited you to bring over your toy robot for a robot fight. However, when he sees the flame thrower that you grafted onto the arm of said robot, he declines to allow you to bring it into his house.

Although flame-throwing robot toys /would/ be awesome.

Re:It's your own fault for purchasing Sony

[elrous0]

The problem is that Sony, being the control-freaks that they are, will likely take steps that will punish *you*, even though you're completely innocent. Don't have your PS3 connected to the internet? Sorry, all future games require online validation before you can play them--and no refunds. Have limited hard drive space? Sorry, all games now require partial installation to the hard drive. Got an older PS3 model? Sorry, a PS3 Slim model is required to play this title. Haven't updated your system software in a while? Sorry, all games now require the latest PS3 update to run. Wondering why you're suddenly perma-banned for no reason? Sorry, we got a false positive that you were running unauthorized software--tough luck, buddy.