PS3 Custom Firmware

[skidzilla]

http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/1/5/first-playstation-3-custom-firmware-arrives/

All itll take now is for someone to port a backup loader/manager to the new signed executable format.

Sony must be pretty worried right about now, since this uses their own signing keys. The only way theyll be able to beat this will be to issue a new set of
properly randomised keys, but it would stop all games prior to their issuing a fixed firmware from working.

[Tek_Ed]

Ive been following this over the last few days and the implications for us PS gamers are not good.. Cheating, pirating and hacking will now become much more difficult to control. If piracy does become rife, which is a significant possibility then game developers may stick to using the XBox as their platform in order to maximise sales.

The only positive I can see coming out of this is it may cause Sony to speed up development of the PS4 as I have been reading their is no quick fix (possibly no fix at all on already purchased consoles/games).

I for one am not pleased with this development..  

[Clock'd 0Ne]

Without buying into all the scaremongering, there are a number of problems with this in terms of the rampant piracy predicted. Theres already plenty of piracy on the X-Box so why does everyone keep saying developers will start to ignore the PS3? Thats garbage Im sure, the piracy numbers on any console are probably significantly less than they are made out to be, certainly not low enough to cause developers to ignore a worldwide platform.

The games are on Blus which are expensive and more difficult to copy as well. Most people dont have the knowledge or time to download a massive game anyway nor will they want to risk bricking their PS3 trying to run new firmware.

The piracy-hungry geek market this will be for is pretty negligible I reckon.

[matt5cott]

Custom firmware will stop you being able to play online I reckon, all sony has to do is run some kind of check server end to see if all the files tie in, like steam. Im not saying this check cannot be spoofed, but I doubt there will be a one box for everything solution available unless you want to use a service like x-link kai.

With that said, being as the keys have been given up it would be remarkably easy to make a custom firmware or such boot off a USB/CD/ext HDD leaving your ps3 untouched, still detectable likely but it does leave you the option of legit online play if you boot normally.

edit -> thinking about it Sonys only real weapon is to ban your PSN id and wipe your trophies, if they ban your console ID etc Id imagine tools will emerge letting you generate new ones.

[soopahfly]

At the moment there is no way to create a loader, as the sys-calls arent there in the stock firmware.  Thats not to say a custom firmware wont be created with these sys-calls embedded.

There is piracy on the 360, but its getting tackled.  The developers can see that Microsoft have a system to ban people playing online and features in later dashboards and games to prevent the games from being made.  There are ways around it but they can be seen to be doing something.  At the moment, the 360 has not been fully hacked.

The PS3 has, and because of that, the PSP has too.
People are claiming that there is no way for Sony to combat this, as all consoles need to be able to play all games (bar dashboard updates and the like) but look whats happened with the Wii.  You can spoof versions and add the IOSs required to play.

Im more interested to see if this goes down the route of a decent media player, then I might be tempted to dabble.  XBMC for PS3 isnt going to happen officially as the bottom line from one of their coders is "Nah", but it would have made a nice all-rounder.  TV, Bluray, Media Streaming etc....Would be possible when they get Linux running again with access to the RSX.

Although surprisingly, all seems quiet on the "scene" websites I follow.

[matt5cott]

psx-scene is getting updated regularly, this is all coming on in leaps and bounds, talk of a dual boot system, one with an untouched PS3 dash, and one with a hacked to bits linux OS