Rumor: Hackers Crack PS3 Copy Protection

[SAccharing10]

Nintendo had the right idea with the Gamecube and the stupid smaller discs, since they were the only ones manufacturing the discs at the time it was pretty much impossible to pirate GC games

 

[Xanthious]

Now only if the games weren't 50 or so gigs a pop and weren't on a medium that's rather pricey to set up and burn. Maybe if they could get games to load off a HD like the old Xbox then it would be worth looking into possibly. As it stands though, too much hassle when the Wii and Xbox 360 are far and away easier to mod and play free games on.

 

[Dioxide20]

Trying to crack proof your console just delays the inevitable. It will always happen.

Isn't that the point by now? You can't stop piracy, so just make sure that you can hinder their progress long enough for you to get past the critical points of your sales (either based on time or units sold) so that you can make a return on your investments.

Sure but as I said, there really should be better benefits for buying a game. Really, the old thing of free updates, where the updates weren't just slight balancing or fixing of glitches. I mean like TF2 style updates, or even new maps/game types.

As it is right now, except for a select few games, whats the point of buying a game, when you just end up having to buy more to keep the game from getting stale?

 

[Lacsapix]

Every device is hackable the only question is when, and the ps3 did pretty well

 

[cocodog13]

this just proves once again that there no such thing as a piracy proof anything. also btw you said "Even worse, this method of piracy doesn't seem to require any hardware modifications (like needing to "modchip" your Xbox 360 or Wii)" altho there are hardware "modchips" for the wii it is also possible to play backup games via ether a normal cd or dvd, off the SD card and via usb mass storage WITHOUT any hardware modifications.

 

[fenrizz]

Even if it does work, and even if applying the device and its software to the PS3 is fast and easy, it still won't create a massive amount of piracy on the console, and certainly not the level of piracy the Wii and 360 have struggled with. The reason for this is simple:

To mod a Wii, all you need is an SD card and the ability to follow simple instructions. Everyone has an SD card, even your grandmother. The games (a mere 4ish gb in size) are then burned on simple, run of the mill DVDs with any old burner & burning program.

To mod a 360, all you need is the ability to follow simple instructions, although it does involve popping off the case of both the 360 and your computer. The games (a very managable 7.5ish gb in size) are burned easily on cheap dual-layered DVDs, and just about all modern DVD drives can burn to them.

Now, to mod a PS3, you'll need an imported piece of hardware, which will obviously cost you money. You'll need a blu ray burner, which are still uncommon and pretty expensive (200+ USD). You'll need to download or rip the games, which can be huge - between 20 & 50 gb. Blue ray discs themselves aren't cheap, especially not the dual layered ones.

All in all, with the amount of money it will cost you to be able to start burning and playing pirated PS3 games, you could quite easily buy a sizeable collection of real PS3 games, and not risk being banned from PSN/sued by anyone. You could probably make the trip to your local store a whole bunch of times in the ungoddly amount of time it would take to download & burn a 50gb game.

This argument makes a lot of sense to me.

Besides, as someone else pointed out, couldn't Sony just update the firmware to neutralize the threat?

 

[graverobber2]

This sort of thing just annoys me, probably because I don't get piracy at all. I've never fully accepted that it isn't just stealing and I don't see why people steal luxuries like games etc. You don't need games, you just want them, and any technology that allows you to encourage an entitlement complex towards owning stuff will just keep twisting until you genuinely believe you have some sort of given right to own anything free.

It's not healthy, mentally or in a wider social context. And of course piracy does hurt the gaming industry, no matter what the pirates argue about 'striking a blow against the corporate businesses.' Even if the effect is indirect, ie. the whole DRM fiasco over Assassin's Creed II, you are still hurting the industry directly as a result of piracy.

Spoiler

Because I just know people are going to take offence to my Ubisoft DRM point, allow me to elaborate with this thing we call Earth logic instead of insane troll logic.

DRM was introduced as a method of countering piracy, if piracy had not been in existence there would have been no need to introduce the DRM in the first place. The counter-measures to piracy did not come first, otherwise they would be called pre-emptive measures, they came about because people pirated first. Thus this entire insane battle to try and defeat pirates vs trying to steal other people's intellectual property and hard work was in fact started by the pirates.

This is not some glorious anti-corporation striking for the working man sort of blow, this is self-entitled greedy immature people who just didn't want to pay something all those years ago when gaming first became vaguely popular.

While I agree that the pirates are the ones who started the whole thing, I don't think you can deny that DRM's have somewhat become a reason (or at least: a very, very, very good excuse) to pirate games. Some DRM's can be extremely irritating (Ubisoft requires constant internet connection, Securom requires a CD/DVD,... ). First thing I do when I buy a game is search for a crack to get rid of the DRM (with steam as one of the only exceptions).

If game developers/publishers would stop spending so much money on DRM's and instead use whatever money they saved to offer the game at a lower price, there would probably be a lot less piracy.

Lower prices would also solve their problem with used games ==> lower prices mean that you can gain less profit from selling them, making it less interesting to sell them.

somewhat more on topic: PS3 still has the advantage that the hardware you need is quite expensive (unless they find some way to run games from external HD's)

 

[Kefo]

I smell bullshit and even if this is real I doubt it will take Sony long to release a update that will kill the device. Besides as other have pointed out its a hell of a lot cheaper to go out and buy the damn game then to download/rip and burn a copy.

 

[Delusibeta]

Nintendo had the right idea with the Gamecube and the stupid smaller discs, since they were the only ones manufacturing the discs at the time it was pretty much impossible to pirate GC games

I would imagine it would be a smart move by Microsoft (and Nintendo) if they got Toshiba to resume production of HD DVDs for their consoles (of course, assuming some kind of 3D disc format doesn't come out in the market and render even BluRays pathetically small.)

 

[SnipErlite]

Pity, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. No system is 100% hacker-proof. Wonder how Sony will respond?

 

[Calhoun347]

PS3's unique hardware and software made it essentially immune to piracy

No it didn't. It's a matter of the popularity really.

The PS3 is the least popular of the consoles, therefore there is less people interested in doing it, and less people to market it to.

It's like Viruses and Mac's. Mac's are no more immune than any other system, they just account for so low a market-share, there is no reason to make the effort to make them.

Even worse, this method of piracy doesn't seem to require any hardware modifications (like needing to "modchip" your Xbox 360 or Wii) - just software and the USB dongle.

To be fair, all you need for the Wii is an SD card.

Why would you want to hack a Wii?

I did it to be able to play scummVM-compatible point-and-click adventure games on my Wii.

 

[saejox]

fake!
i won't believe until i see it with my own eyes.

 

[crepesack]

*Takes off sunglasses*
It looks like this console has been...Shang Hai-d

YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!

It was bound to happen, and knowing Sony, they will probably just force a software update to stop whatever foreign program was installed.

 

[JediMB]

Even worse, this method of piracy doesn't seem to require any hardware modifications (like needing to "modchip" your Xbox 360 or Wii) - just software and the USB dongle.

To be fair, all you need for the Wii is an SD card.

Why would you want to hack a Wii?

Region free games, mostly.

 

[Optimystic]

I wonder how long it'll be before Youtube takes down that video?

 

[ItsAPaul]

I'll never get how people I know living at home are always ahead of industry types on piracy. The PS3 has probably been flashable this entire time, this just makes it easier. There's no such thing as piracy-proof.

 

[Malkavian]

If it is just a USB device, what's the bet it can be nullified with a firmware upgrade...

On a related note, if the PS3 is so piracy free, then why aren't the games cheaper?

You answered your own question.

Why would you want to hack a Wii?

To be able to install custom software. Everything from being able to run backups of your games from an external harddrive, to being able to actually play DVD movies on it. It's silly easy to do, and you get so much more out of your console. there's plenty of reasons to do it, and they don't even have to be illegal ones.

 

[Malkavian]

double post, sorry.

 

[smithy1234]

Yeah I saw a thread about this on /v/. I also visited the website which is selling and releasing news about these hack devices, it's a little time consuming seeing as how large PS3 game files are and the fact that you need to transfer them onto a USB drive (takes quite a bit of time...). To be honest I'd rather pay for my games and support the gaming industry as well as be able to play my video games instantly. Not to mention I like shiny physical discs