Sony Targets Custom PS3 Firmware with DMCA Takedown Notices

[Callate]

Y'know, without this kind of reverse-engineering there's a good chance consumers would never have known about Sony's music CD rootkit monkey-business. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal)

I think Sony is making a big mistake, turning this into the kind of issue that makes communities circle the wagons. I appreciate that they want to contain piracy- especially in this extended hardware cycle- but this isn't the way to do it.

 

[Wicky_42]

Perhaps someday we wont be shackled with the bonds of a consumerist profit driven society and perhaps we can evolve intellectually beyond what has held us back for so long.

Sorry, forgive me.. just in a philosophical mood.

I know how you feel, but it's not gonna happen any time soon. Humans suck - or at least, enough of them do to stop things like that happening on a large scale. Plus economy and stuff that most of the planet's societies are based on... feh, self-perpetuating system of control and all that.

 

[Grey_Focks]

I think I'll just quote myself from a post I made a little earlier, just because I don't feel like typing it all out again when it's still relevant...

The fact that any of you guys would actually try to defend Sony's actions is really just stupid. Honestly, you bought a product with features X, Y, and Z. The people who made the product decide to release an update to remove feature Z, but you don't have to download it, you just won't be able to use feature X anymore if you don't. Either way, the customer is having something they paid for taken away from them. Plenty of people bought the PS3 on the pretense that they could use it to run Linux, and now they cannot. Good on Norway for stepping up and telling Sony "Hey, you just can't do that, it's breaking our laws." I hope they win, and set a precedent to keep this thing from happening again.

Seriously now, Sony, just keep digging that grave...you killed any chance of me buying one of your systems again when you went and showed us you were perfectly willing to just remove a feature because it was inconvenient to you, instead of finding a solution that didn't rob your customers.

 

[TelHybrid]

Well this whole thing is what Sony deserves. After removing other OS (an advertised feature of the console), they should have lost all legal rights to their firmware structure.

 

[felixader]

Wow, everyone's just hating on Sony now.

I remember..September, was it? When this whole Pirating/Hacking the Ps3 thing started, everyone was like "Go, Sony! F*** those hackers/piraters in the arse!" now, people despise Sony for it.

The Problem here, as already stated by others, is that the Hacker have done their creative programming stuff on the PS3 under use of the OtherOS.
Then Sony REMOVED OtherOS and made it NECESSARY for those who want to keep working with the PS3 as a programming and coding tool (no pro here, so slice me a cut ).

Conclusion:

All Sony has to deal with now is their OWN FAULT.
And removing the files DOES NOTHING as those are now out there beeing torrented, shared and what not else.

Sony is litterally throwing their money down a black bottomless hole.
And people are strange so other hackers will get even more goaded by this and will work even more on hacking the PS3 in various ways.

All of this just cause Sony jumped to conclusion (and keeps pon doing so).
The only people benefitting by this is the personell of their legal departement.
They cash in now big time.

 

[Starke]

they might as well release a FW update that initiates the self destruct function on bootup its the ONLY thing that would stop hackers. Seriously Sony you are only gonna LOSE customers instead of GAINING THEM stop trying to prevent FW mods and go back to developing the PSP2 or PS4

They did that awhile back, didn't they?

 

[viranimus]

Perhaps someday we wont be shackled with the bonds of a consumerist profit driven society and perhaps we can evolve intellectually beyond what has held us back for so long.

Sorry, forgive me.. just in a philosophical mood.

I know how you feel, but it's not gonna happen any time soon. Humans suck - or at least, enough of them do to stop things like that happening on a large scale. Plus economy and stuff that most of the planet's societies are based on... feh, self-perpetuating system of control and all that.

Your right, and I know, unfortunately. The way I am seeing it is that its like two people having a gun pointed at each other and both hesitantly wanting to walk away without anyone getting shot. The problem is.. someone inevitably has to be the first person to put the gun down. It can happen, Someone has to be the one to do it or we are going to remain locked in this standoff forever.

 

[Low Key]

I hope this is a lesson learned for Sony. There are some people out there who love installing Linux on any device can find, and they will do anything to get it back once it's taken away. The unfortunate side effect is piracy, though as this video shows, I can't believe that many people are using it right now.

This is the guy who first cracked the PS3.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Guess it's time to buy all my PS3 games used.

 

[SpaceMedarotterX]

Guess it's time to buy all my PS3 games used.

This is the stupidest fucking logic in the world.

Wait... Third stupidest.

Oh right if you said something so stupid you probably don't realize why it's stupid.

You're not hurting Sony as much as you're hurting the people who MAKE THE GAME, and I'm rather sure your 'impassioned letter' you assume you can send them saying "This is all Sony's fault" will be met with apathy. Since it's not Sony's fault you choose to take money out of the developers hands to, it's your fault.

Eh everyone knows I enjoy watching this trainwreck

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Just... just stop it.

You're not going to make any friends with this, guys, and you sure as shit won't stop your console from getting pirated left and right.

So you want Sony to just let it's console get pirated? They're not doing this to make friends. They're doing it to protect their business. This is the fault of Geohutz making a code that allowed pirating on the PS3. How do you think that developers feel now that Sony is going after people who steal their games? Probably better than they did with that whole R4DS situation that Nintendo pretty much couldn't stop.

It's not about Sony making friends. It's about them keeping the business partners they have and running a business.

..and Sony won't be able to stop them either but they can sure as hell piss off alot of customers in the process. I wonder how developers will feel if alot of people refuse to buy their games on PS3?

I think companies forget who buys their products. It isn't the shareholders, it isn't developers, it's consumers. So keep pissing off those who do buy your products to please those who don't doesn't sound like a brilliant business move.

Even with the R4, the DS still prints money. I think Nintendo must have gone about things a little better.

I don't get how Sony telling sites to remove files that could harm security pisses off customers. Seriously at least Sony is just telling these guys what they shouldn't be putting in their custom firmware. Nintendo tried to outright circumvent the homebrew on the Wii and failed at that. And yeah the DS prints money. So are the guys who are selling the R4DS. That thing can carry the entire DS library and it costs you $40 to buy online. Who gets majorly screwed in the end here. The developers. I don't think taking down some files from a custom firmware is going to have people stop buying their games. The amount of people who do use PS3s with custom firmware is not big enough that it would hurt 3rd party developers in any significant way. That and a lot of people who do want to pirate games on the PS3. I understand people want custom firmware here but honestly it shouldn't lead to people hating on a company for protecting itself. That's just asinine and illogical. The PS3 this gen has been the most secure console up until the Geohutz incident. Now that they are trying to stop the modifications people are getting mad? If they are breaking the rules of the DMCA then Sony has every right to tell people to bugger off. This isn't hurting Sony. Sony has the money from these guys buying the console. This is hurting the developers. What Sony is trying to do is stop people from being able to completely pirate games. Pirating of full games is already present on the 360 and the Wii as well as rampant on the PC. Why give Sony shit for trying to save 3rd party developers and publishers (a.k.a. business associates and direct customers) an extra massive headache? It seems silly to defend the hackers here.

 

[Fearzone]

Sony should just do this: prevent anyone from logging into PSN if their system is modified from the standard in any way, including a Linux install.

Then, Sony firmware should open up Linux installs for the fat PS3s that were originally shipped with that capability.

With that, I think it will only be a narrow group motivated to use a homebrew system.

Sony cannot undo the fact the PS3 was cracked, and trying to put that genie back in the bottle will be a pathetic waste of effort.

 

[ProjectTrinity]

If I understand pirate/internet logic, the fault goes like this:

Sony Targets Custom PS3 Firmware --->PS3 being cracked open for hacks---->Sony taking away the OS feature.


If I understand the less bias group correctly, it goes like

Sony takes away OS feature--->Someone is using it to (try and?) hack with disregards of the clearly obvious repercussions that trickle down to the customers ----> Sony won't give them certain features.

As far as I'm concerned, both sides are jerk-a-lerks. If I had to choose a side, I'd side with Sony for the sole reason I am no fan of people on horses higher than my own. And I'd hope that even pirates can see when other pirates / pirate supporters are riding those horses hard.

 

[DTWolfwood]

give me the PSP2 Sony! i dont care how many ppl you sue at this point! or how many cd/td's you hand out!

sony can do no wrong now with delicious psp2 on the horizon!

/blinded fanboyism!

 

[Leg End]

Well, Sony can go eat a Gantedo then.

I reserve my right to do what the hell I want with the system that I purchased.

It's not like I'm pirating games, I just want more features and homebrew.

 

[Asehujiko]

if only that stupid geo hotz had never tried to get pirate games on their other OS use then this shit storm wouldnt be here
so just learn dont hack for free games that people put time and effort to make and dont hack to ruin games like MW2.

Find me one statement from GeoHotz where he says he did it because he CBA to pay for his games and because he wants to cheat at MW2.

 

[UberNoodle]

You see what companies like Sony have done now, by lobbying to create the DMCA legislation? They've defined 'LEGAL content usage' as useage contrary to what is enabled and approved by the rights holder. Whereas in the past, accessing legally obtained and paid for content was NOT copyright infringment, it NOW IS - IF you access it in a means contrary to what the rights holder wishes. Why? Because you are not adhering to your licence of useage.

Back in the day, when corporations had not yet suplanted government in the developed world, copyright infringers were people up to bad deeds, duplicating and theiving other parties' material. NOWADAYS, they need only be people wishing to decrypt a DVD to put it on their iPod, or view it in another country. They need only be people wishing to subvert otherwise anti-consumer DRM and content locks, so that they can access what they paid for. These are the new 'criminals' of the new, corporate controlled 'Information Age'.

 

[Musiclly enhanced]

if only that stupid geo hotz had never tried to get pirate games on their other OS use then this shit storm wouldnt be here
so just learn dont hack for free games that people put time and effort to make and dont hack to ruin games like MW2.

Find me one statement from GeoHotz where he says he did it because he CBA to pay for his games and because he wants to cheat at MW2.

no you dont get it
he made the jailbreak for the ps3 and people use the jailbroken software to hack games on mw2