PS3 Hacker Raised All the Legal Funds Needed to Beat Sony in a Weekend

[dragontiers]

Also since he agreed to the EULA and ToS on purchasing the console:

Except as stated in this Agreement, all content and software provided through Sony Online Services are licensed non-exclusively and revocably to you, your children and children for whom you are a legal guardian (collectively for purposes of this section, "You" or "Your"), solely for Your personal, private, non-transferable, non-commercial, limited use on a limited number of activated PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems, VOD Devices and any other hardware devices, including peripherals that are sold or licensed by a Sony company, authorized by SCEA in the country in which your account is registered. All intellectual property rights subsisting in Sony Online Services, including all software, data, and content subsisting in or in connection with the operation of Sony Online Services, the Online ID, the access to content and hardware used in connection with Sony Online Services (collectively defined as "Property"), belong to SCEA and its licensors. All use or access to Property shall be subject to the terms of this Agreement, other applicable agreements, if any, and all applicable copyright and intellectual property rights laws. You may not sell, rent, sublicense, modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Property . Except as stated in this Agreement or otherwise expressly permitted by SCEA in writing, you may not reproduce or transfer any portion of the Property. You may not create any derivative works, attempt to create the source code from the object code, or download or use any Property for any purpose other than as expressly permitted. You may not bypass, disable, or circumvent any encryption, security, digital rights management or authentication mechanism in connection with Sony Online Services

Later on in setion 12.

Some content may be provided automatically without notice when you sign in. Such content may include automatic updates or upgrades which may change your current operating system, cause a loss of data or content or cause a loss of functionalities or utilities. Such upgrades or updates may be provided for system software for your PlayStation®3


So techincally he did something he agreed not to do ( section 12 is in response to the change in other os feature QQ...buy a computer you bums)

The problem here is EULA's are not legally binding. The fact that they claim you are agreeing to it simply by purchasing the product, before even getting a chance to read it, makes it invalid. Also, he has stated he does not use PSN, nor intends to, so therefore he is not held to the PSN Eula either. Contracts are only legally binding if both parties actually agree to them.

 

[Xanthious]

-snip-

. . .and if the EULA also included a few lines saying things like you agree to hand over your first born child to Sony or any other crazy thing would that also be binding? Point is, EULAs can say anything they want. Just because the EULA says it doesn't mean it's binding or even legal. Using the jailbreaking the iPhone example again. Im pretty sure Apple had a similar line in the iPhone's EULA and you can see how well that held up (it didn't) when it got challenged in a court of law.

 

[Charley]

Nintendo should sue him too. The tragic thing is that this nonsense has turned a basement-dweller with a silly nickname into a celebrity and martyr for the wannabe-hacker masses.

...and I can't quote for some reason, but to the guy 2 post above me, you can agree to a contract by taking a particular action e.g. buying a product (a lot of people don't realise they've entered into a contract when they park in a pay parking lot). If you don't read it, that's your own stupid fault, plus EULAs are "standard and common practice" i.e. everyone knows it's what's happening (agreeing to an EULA when you buy a game), or whatever it's called - it's how builders screw people over.

 

[GodofCider]

Im going to laugh my arse off when sony shuts down PSN or most games stop MP support with the PS3 due to the rampart amount of hacking that will be occuring if this guy wins.
makes me glad Im a PC/xbox gamer.

Your avatar is a wraithlord; I'm befriending you now.

 

[dragontiers]

Even though he has aided people to play pirated games on the PS3? That pretty much makes him the accomplice to every person that pirates a game.

As I said in a previous post, if I show you how to install a custom steering wheel in your car, am I suddenly responsible for everyone who hot-wires a car? No. Just because the information can be abused, doesn't mean I am responsible for someone who does abuse it. Might as well blame Sony for pirating simply because they make games that can be pirated.

 

[RoBi3.0]

If any company pisses you off grow some balls and stop buy their stuff. Tell them why you are pissed so they know. Hell, find people that feel the same way and start making some noise.

Consumer power can't be taken away, you have to give it away.

If you feel that developers are forcing you to buy a game with out knowing about it first because of launch day DLC you truly have given away you consumer power. No one forces me to do anything I don't want to. And you Dragon age example is moot.

LOL, that piracy is a quality-assurance service, if a game is a pile of heaping crap way steal it? You want quality assurance demand it. Let the developer know you are pissed at the quality of a product, then DO BUY IT (don't steal it either). Downloading the game off the web in your room alone, where no one will know does NOTHING to prevent the release of shit games.

And OMG could you be anymore wrong about why game are yet to be classified as art.

The Dragon Age example is a good one; people let them get away with it because it's Bioware and everyone loves Bioware, but if ANYONE pulled a stunt like that back in the 90s they'd have been called out on it.

I'll assume you've played Assassin's Creed 2 (as most should, it's brilliant), that massive DRM scheme put a lot of people off it. So much so that people who wouldn't have pirated the game under normal circumstances ended up pirating it anyway just on sheer principle. Don't think for a minute Ubisoft didn't feel the hit.

In the 90s when piracy was rampant do you know what devs/pubs did? They made good games and people bought these good games solely on the fact they were good. The best titles of this generation (I'm not going to even use the term triple A, that denotes inmplied quality, let's call them McGames, overpriced and saturated) can be counted in under a dozen whereas back then there was a smash hit being released every month.

I love Dr Pepper, but when the price jumps as it sometimes does over what I think it should cost I don't resort to stealing to prove a point.

Nor would I resort to stealing it if Dr Pepper started to tell me that I was only allowed to drink their product at 10 am 2pm and at 4pm and that consuming it at any other time was against the rules.

And when Dr Pepper came out with the liquefied shit in a bottle that was Chocolate Cherry Dr Pepper I didn't resort to stealing that either.

In all the above examples I do and would refuse to buy it. Yah for consumer power!

If you dislike the fact that the market is saturated with squeals and DRM schemes don't buy those games, and then get vocal about it.

And if everyone gives Bioware a pass then maybe just maybe game consumers as a while are okay with it? If someone was doing something I didn't like no matter how much I loved them I would call them out on it. Think about....

 

[esperandote]

Is it illegal if i put a sticker on my PS3 because it isnt the way it was supposed to look?

 

[duchaked]

kinda sad how people are supporting him...

well okay admittedly the whole sony suing just for control might've been a bit much, but in this case it really was hacking so...correlation ya but he also is actually at fault

(and yea microsoft is overbearing too, no one being singled out here haha)

 

[Xanthious]

I think a lot of people are reading this wrong.

Geohot is NOT supporting piracy, nor is he supporting hacking games to cheat online.

It doesn't matter, he is still giving people the tools who might not otherwise not have them to do so.

For every person that only uses the hacks to do something legal, you would countless using it for something else illegal. I would be awed if even 1 out of every 10 people hacking their PS3 were not doing so just so that they can pirate stuff.

And that is totally irrelevant. If every single person except Geohot that mods their PS3 uses it for piracy Geohot would still have done nothing illegal. If Sony wants to get all litigation happy then they should be going after the people actually doing things that are illegal.

 

[nin_ninja]

This is not cool even though many will be like "Yay now I can hax with mah PS3". Has anyone thought of the consequences? Infinity Ward has stated(not sure about Treyarch) that they will close MW servers for PS3 if there are too many hackers there. No-one can control what someone does with their PS3 anymore because apparently PS network doesn't regognize a pirated game from a real one. It is really going to harm Sony and the gaming industry. Even though I'm a Xbox gamer I'm still worried because well who wants to invest to a big game when the gamers are just going to pirate it. And it could also mean DRM for PS3...Who knows(this whole post is just hypothetical but it's plausible.) But I think it is good that someone showed Sony that their system is not perfect.

I think its fine if he does it on his own system (cause why not), but then broadcasting to the internet how to do it crosses the line.

You pay for it, you agree to the rules and to abide by them. Don't like it? Don't do it.

Your breaking the rules. Its still a civil offense. Its like people who buy a gun, but then break the laws that allow them to own the gun.

 

[dragontiers]

I think a lot of people are reading this wrong.

Geohot is NOT supporting piracy, nor is he supporting hacking games to cheat online.

It doesn't matter, he is still giving people the tools who might not otherwise not have them to do so.

For every person that only uses the hacks to do something legal, you would see countless others using it for something else illegal. I would be awed if even 1 out of every 10 people hacking their PS3 were not doing so just so that they can pirate stuff.

Information (baring government secrets) is not illegal. If I show you how to install a custom steering wheel in your car and you go and hot-wire one, am I legally responsible for you misusing the information I gave you? No, you are responsible for your own crime, no one else.

 

[ragethebeast]

The problem here is EULA's are not legally binding. The fact that they claim you are agreeing to it simply by purchasing the product, before even getting a chance to read it, makes it invalid. Also, he has stated he does not use PSN, nor intends to, so therefore he is not held to the PSN Eula either. Contracts are only legally binding if both parties actually agree to them.

Hmm i'll look for a link but Blizzard sued a company 3 years ago for breach of EULA, what did they do they made a bot.

the bot on its own is technically legal (just like people claiming that what he did is legal)

The bot was then used in a way that was against the EULA (it was turned into a gold farm bot)

Ippso facto i think sony will win this and i hope they do. It would be one thing for this insinificant little twit to say yeah i know the rootkey... but when you release it to the public thats when i say it crosses the line.

 

[Crazycat690]

Oh c'mon wake up! This guy is a reason why piracy is now possible on the Ps3, he is a reason why Ps4 will be rushed, he is the reason why Ps3 is getting more and more restrictive updates, and if rumours are correcct, these hackers can now unban themselves and get other regualr users like myself banned.

And Geohotz damn well knew piracy was going to happen, I can open the door to a bank just to look around but of course I know people are going to steal shit as a result! He says he's not supporting piracy, sure, so why make it possible? He's full of shit, and shouldn't be allowed near a computer.

So lets praise and support this guy, and piracy for that matter, say hello to casual titles and generic shooters by devs playing it safe. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but don't tell my I'm wrong just yet, wait about 5 years, if the Ps4 is a well made, innovative, powerful and good product and alot of variety in games, then I'll admit that this stuff didn't hurt.

 

[HellspawnCandy]

It's scary to think just by basically jailbreaking your PS3 like an iTouch or iPhone that'll get you a neat little lawsuit. What happened to ownership?

 

[Les Awesome]

hope sony does the smart thing and throw this jerk in a lake

 

[dragontiers]

The problem here is EULA's are not legally binding. The fact that they claim you are agreeing to it simply by purchasing the product, before even getting a chance to read it, makes it invalid. Also, he has stated he does not use PSN, nor intends to, so therefore he is not held to the PSN Eula either. Contracts are only legally binding if both parties actually agree to them.

Hmm i'll look for a link but Blizzard sued a company 3 years ago for breach of EULA, what did they do they made a bot.

the bot on its own is technically legal (just like people claiming that what he did is legal)

The bot was then used in a way that was against the EULA (it was turned into a gold farm bot)

Ippso facto i think sony will win this and i hope they do. It would be one thing for this insinificant little twit to say yeah i know the rootkey... but when you release it to the public thats when i say it crosses the line.

I would be most interested to see this link. I am very interested in how the courts handled this case.

 

[ModReap]

I understand what this man is saying, he wants to use his PS3 to do crazy things like give everyone cowboy hats and play Mario and the likes on his PS3, and I think that's great.
But all that's stopping him from pirating and hacking the PS3 online into unplayability is a damn pinky promise. GeoHotz may have no intention of pirating his ass off, but there's easily 100 other people for every one like him who is willing to. And he and others like him are giving them the power to.
I can't support him in that respect. I'd rather Sony act like some damn dictator than have stuff end up like Modern Warfare 1 and 2...

Quoted For Great Epic Truth.
GeoHotz may not advocate piracy, but I think that he either overestimates the boundaries of human kindness, or is simply talking out of his posterior.

 

[Sheaphard117]

You Go Guy!