Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Sony's Official Statement Regarding PS3 Hacking

Posted by Soulskill on from the as-disappointing-as-you'd-expect dept.

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.'"

2 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this news? by cbope · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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...

    1. Re:Why is this news? by Ben4jammin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.