PSP 2.01 firmware on the way
Oho, we're sure that firmware 2.01 will add loads of compelling new features and, uh, added stability… or something. Nahhhh, Sony just wants you to update so that you can't downgrade anymore. What — us, cynical? Be on the lookout for v2.01 arriving soon so that you can avoid it like the plague.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jeebus @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
good thing I made a back-up of the 2.0 firmware plus the downgrader files. If I couldn't play my Doom 2..... *shaking fist*.
Casey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Honestly, I wish I cared more for the Nintendo DS, because I'd officially SWITCH. But, hey, you go ahead. You go ahead, Sony, and continue to waste precious labor in this fight that YOU WILL LOSE. You have been losing and you will CONTINUE to lose. So, seriously, F you Sony, big time. Bite the big one. I am now upping my donations to sites that promote hacking and homebrew so that we can beat you at your own game. I love the downgrade exploit that was found with your 2.0 firmware. You know, the one in which you thought was hack-proof? Hilarious. You'll never win this. Bite the big one, baby.
Callum @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
can sony really be THAT interested in the homebrew movement... we must be such a tiny tiny minority of users. Really. But if we are effecting things up top-- that's cool!
Where there's a will there's a way.
Gil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
It's funny. Sony is uncharacteristically un-hack friendly. In most other products they support hacking
iomatic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
...
That's fine and all; let's just hope they integrate correctly-working WPA functionality.
...
PixelBrat.com @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
This makes me respect companies like Lego that much more. They fully support "hacking" of their software and are very open about it. Take a hint Sony.
Joseph T. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Something tells me LEGO is not the best example for this. Sure they have some software, but major extent to "hacking" their "hardware" is taking the pirate ship package and using it to build a car instead.
zabayione @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Come on.. The situation is not about using only homebrew applications, but the piracy that comes along. I don't see any reason to yell or blaim at Sony for their actions to prevent piracy.
Without Sony and their decisions, there wouldn't be a PSP at all. Without game makers, there won't be any games to pirate and use your homebrew on!
Like Lego, I am sure that Sony would be very open to support homebrewed projects as long the users would not use it on taking their revenues.
What does Lego lose with supporting hacking ?
NOTHING. It only get's more customers and satisfied users excited of it's expandable capabilities.
What does Sony lose by supporting "pirate" hacking ?
Everything. Economy is a two-way process, in which goods are exchanged. In this case though Sony is getting nothing in return for it's games.
If Sony loses this fight, it has no motivation nor logical reason to develope new console in the future. Nor do Game developers; they have to earn their every day nutrition as well.
Only possibility for Sony to release new consoles in the future if it's unable to take actions against piracy is to raise the price of the main product.
Now what do you say of a PSP retailing for $700 ?
Mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Joseph T.: He is referring to Leg Mindstorms which is a computer controlled box. It has its own control language and everything, but you sure can hack the crap out of it! It's actually a very neat system.
Wes Ellis @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I ranted about this a little earlier. All the big game companies are sitting on a cash cow - and now Sony is even fighting it's products FEATURES! http://3wave.blogspot.com/
clicclic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
zabayione <-- you're partly right, or umm... partly wrong.
Sony *used* to be a hardware company. as such, they could've cared less about hacking. But they bought Columbia and now most of their revenue is from sofware. So yes they care.
But I guarantee the Japanese genius engineers go home at night and cry on their bamboo mats that they have to think about copy protection at all. How lawyer/American. Yuck!
So the game continues. Sony stuff will ALWAYS be hacked because I think their engineers ensure there always will be a way to hack them...
OT @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
"What does Lego lose with supporting hacking ? "
Well, their software (which allows you to build something and will tell you which packages you need to have all the parts) originally concerned itself with only the largest (and maybe medium) sized parts packages. So if you needed 1 unique piece the software would tell you to buy one of the large packages. Someone hacked the software so that if you needed 1 piece from a package it would tell you to buy the smallest pack. Common sense tells ya Lego will get less money per order because of the hack (yeah, it may not be that much though).
Hunter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I don't really see the appeal to homebrew. I'm not denying that playing Doom on your PSP makes for a nice novelty but the whole attraction of the PSP is that it delivers near-PS2 quality graphics. I've been playing 16 bit games on my SP for years, I don't really need a larger, heavier handheld to play roms.
Now, booting games off of my memory card would be awesome in theory but I'll be damned if would go through the trouble to do it. I much prefer my games on UMDs and my Futurama and Fenslerfilm episodes on my memory stick.
I'll be downloading 2.01 in the vain hope that it fixes the bug that makes my PSP crash when I go back to "Home" from Burnout Legends.
jesse @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
how do the firmware updates work? is it updated automatically somehow?
Deathdealer0351 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I stood on line until midnight waiting for the PSP release all I got was
1. mediocre games
2. no HDD
3. overly expensive duo cars
4. overly expensive UMD movies
Sony needs to pull its head out of its ass!!!
I will give them the benefit of the doubt. If GTA LCS sucks im selling my unit. If SOCOM sucks Im selling my unit.
Sony is getting left behind by PVP's which are providing wicked HDD's, beautiful screens and tons of options. Archos AV500, Zen Vision.
Sony get with it, or get out!! quit taking these kid's hard-earned money.
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
"The situation is not about using only homebrew applications, but the piracy that comes along. I don't see any reason to yell or blaim at Sony for their actions to prevent piracy."
The point is there is NO NEED for them to disable homebrews in the name of "preventing piracy". They could quite easily build in piracy controls SEPARATE from the ability to run homebrew code. There are plenty of ways to do it.
The dumbest thing about this is Sony has encouraged homebrews on their machines in the past, first with the Net Yaraoze and then with the PS2 Linux Kit. Neither of these allowed you to play pirated games on the respective systems, just homebrews. Why is Sony suddenly so hell-bent on pissing people off this time? (Maybe I just answered my own question. Coming in 2007! The homebrew-enabling PSP attachment! Only $650!)
They've basically convinced me NOT to EVER buy a PSP. Thanks, Sony, you just saved me the $120 difference between your machine and a Nintendo DS. (I don't even care about playing homebrews on a $130 device, but for $250 you'd better let me do whatever I damn well please.)
Casey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
#8. Congrats on your 'hooray for Sony' response. Good for you. Perhaps you should buy some stock in the company.
As for me, I still say screw 'em. Say what you want, but mods and hacks create new communities of users who probably would otherwise not be interested in the system at all. It's a chance to make your PSP...well, YOUR PSP.
But that's not what Sony wants. Sony wants to control ALL aspects of their product. From updates, to an exclusive browser, to image formatting, games, even their own exclusive media format (UMD). They are steadfast in their refusal to accept ANY 3rd party additions unless they have a piece of it. Now, is everything that's left considered 'pirate'? Perhaps, but hacking has been going on ever since the Commodore 64. And guess what? They didn't 'freak out' about it. You could argue that Microsoft made feeble attempts to control the mods and hacks for XBOX and even Sony tried a little to stop Ps2 mods. But, for the most part, they basically said, "aw, the hell with it. Do what you must. Make the system however you want. YOu'll just void your warranty. If you don't care, then go for it."
This is definitely NOT what Sony is doing on the PSP. They are doing everything in their power to stop YOU from doing what YOU want on YOUR PSP unless it is released by THEM.
and #13, whether you see the 'appeal' or not, the fact remains that the ability to do so should not be challenged by Sony to the extent they are going to in order to stop homebrew. You are simply talking about personal preference. But that's my point: It should be UP TO THE USER what they want to do for the most part, NOT SONY. And also, I'm pretty sure that the Sony's priority in releasing the 2.01 upgrade is NOT to fix the Burnout Legends crash you mentioned and you know it.
GunForHire @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
This is no biggie for anyone that owns even a 2.0. We can just stay on our downgraded 1.5 firmware and use a version changer to bluff games that'll require 2.1. It's been done before, it'll be done again. And I'm sure 2.1 will be cracked fast enough as well.
Ian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
thats great, sony is spending time to make an update that makes us do less with our PSPs to fix some crappy bug just to have 2.1 hacked later
seriously, why are they wasting their time, the small amount of users who do use homebrew wont update anyways and theres already a firmware by passer for UMDs
sony should stop worrying about it, they always are crazy when it comes to piracy but their actually losing money rather then making money on it, not all homebrew is bad and the PSP can do so much more then what they want it but they keep holding it back, why? just so the little group of homebrews cant make some programs or play a couple roms
another waste of money....
vm-01 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Well I just ordered my PSP for 3 reasons:
1- I now have PSP, DS and a zodiac. No more fanboy war for me! All games are belong to me.
2- The first must-have game for me, NBA Live 2006, is comming out.
3- I can be certain that the highest firmware on it will be 2.0. And you know what that means.
Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
If homebrew will lead the way to piracy its important for sony to take care of it and if that means that I wouldnt be playing super mario bros. but be able to play new and better PSP games, so be it... nobody is biching because they cant homebrew in their DS...
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> The point is there is NO NEED for them to
> disable homebrews in the name of "preventing
> piracy". They could quite easily build in
> piracy controls SEPARATE from the ability
> to run homebrew code. There are plenty of
> ways to do it."
Why should they do this? Are they obligated to go out of their way to enable you to develop your own software -- which usually means pirating old Nintendo ROMs and running them on an emulator?
Does it say "write your own applications" on the PSP box? If so, I must have missed that.
> They've basically convinced me NOT to EVER
> buy a PSP. Thanks, Sony,...
You sound like a spoiled brat with a huge sense of self-entitlement. I'm sure Sony is really upset that they can't subsidize the sale of the hardware so you can turn around and pirate their games and movies.
I think Sony should be thanking you.
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> They could quite easily build in piracy
> controls SEPARATE from the ability to run
> homebrew code. There are plenty of ways to
> do it.
Oh, and to make the point clear enough for you, it's against Sony's interests to even allow homebrew. Why? Well, the more you are playing with apps and games that Sony isn't gettting money for, the more they're losing money. Pretty logical, right?
I can practically hear you saying "it's mine, I bought it, why shouldn't I be able to do what I want with it?"
Well, because Sony lost money in selling you that. Let's say you buy it strictly to use as an AV center remote, or for watching Divx movies you dowloaded, even if we ignore the possibility of piracy, if you don't buy games and/or UMD movies, then Sony is paying you to take their hardware for no reason.
The units are subsidized. Sony loses money on each one. If you aren't buying games/movies from Sony, they lose money. This is why they should discourage homebrew.
Simple enough for you?!?
Casey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
OOOOH! Boy I bet you were patting yourself on the back when you typed that rubbish of a response #22.
I don't get it. Why the hell do you homebrew naysayers really care what Sony does or doesn't do if you really have decided that you don't need a PSP? Whether you get one or not, and unless your a Sony shareholder, what business is it of yours?
Yes, you're right. Sony does NOT have to GO OUT OF THEIR WAY to create separate piracy controls. What they ARE in fact doing, however, is going WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY to stop anything from going into or on their system that they do not control. IF you feel that this is a good move for them, then more power to you. Buy up all the Sony products you want and praise their brilliance for having such deep insight into what their consumers want.
So, give kudos to Sony, say we're all crazy for fighting the antihack of the PSP, but the fact remains that they are wasing their time fighting a losing battle. The exploit on 2.0 is gaining ground every day and with the new additions on 2.0 (wallpaper, browser) they have given us NO REASON WHATSOEVER for a 2.1 upgrade other than killing the exploit. That's for THEIR benefit, not ours.
Ian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
@23
"Why? Well, the more you are playing with apps and games that Sony isn't gettting money for, the more they're losing money. Pretty logical, right?"
how are they losing money? its not like sony gets charged for you running homebrew on your PSP, plus most people dont go to the store and say "hey i cant run emulaters on the PSP, i think ill get it"
some people bought a PSP because of the homebrew abilities so i dont see how sony is losing money
thetrash @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I guess if I really cared that Sony was losing money on every unit this would be an issue. But I dont, so, ok. Maybe my "morals" are not in the right place, but worry not dear fanboy. Every dollar sony loses on me from not buying a UMD game, will be made back from me watching another stupid movie put out by Sony Pictures, or me buying a Sony walkman phone. Sony's rich, and they don't love you. Keep that in mind. I'm gonna go back to playing Super Mario All Stars with my recently downgraded PSP now.
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> some people bought a PSP because of the
> homebrew abilities...
You're totally proving my point here.
> ...so i dont see how sony is
> losing money
Because the hardware is subsidized. What don't you get? Look it up in a dictionary if you must. They take a loss on the sale of each PSP.
I'll repeat it, now read sloooowly:
They take a loss on the sale of each PSP hardware unit.
If you buy a PSP for homebrew purposes and don't buy their games (even if you aren't outright pirating anything), they lose money.
It's very simple. This is why they want to discourage it. This is why it makes sense for them to go out of their way to discourage it. It's a 110% logical thing for them to do.
------------------------
And separately to #24: your post is a complete ramble. You make a large number of completely disconnected and illogical statements that don't reflect what I wrote, so it's hard to respond, but I'll summarize.
(a) I don't personally care about homebrew. I'm just explaining Sony's actions as completely logical since some people fail to understand why Sony is trying to stop homebrew.
(b) I never said I do or don't want a PSP. Where did that come from?
(c) I never said I am pro or anti-Sony. Nothing in my post was pro-Sony. I'm just explaining their actions, since so many of you are confused.
(d) Whether or not they will be sucessful in defeating hackers is a separate issue, one which nobody is really debating. They probably know they can't stop it outright, but if they continually fight against it, it may curb homebrew and piracy somewhat. One thing is certain: if they don't do anything, the piracy and homebrew "epidemic" will grow over time and they will lose more and more money.
(e) They're not encouraging you to upgrade the firmware, so your personal interest is moot. They'll stick it on the next batch of games they release and that'll be that. Your active participation isn't being sought by Sony, so disinterest in the new firmware is irrelevant.
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> I guess if I really cared that Sony was
> losing money on every unit this would be
> an issue. But I dont, so, ok.
> Maybe my "morals" are not in the right
> place, but worry not dear fanboy.
> Every dollar sony loses on me from not
> buying a UMD game, will be made back from
> me watching another stupid movie put out by
> Sony Pictures, or me buying a Sony walkman
> phone. Sony's rich, and they don't love you.
> Keep that in mind. I'm gonna go back to
> playing Super Mario All Stars with my
> recently downgraded PSP now.
Man, what a sleazebag. Do you steal everything you own?
noname989 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Number 22
So I should thank Sony for the privilage of not being to do what I want why my PSP that I bought?
If Sony had any business sense they would stop fighting the hackers and help channel their efforts to benefit both groups. I find this tit for tat "War" to be very unprodcutive creating a no win situation for both Sony and the Hackers.
I guess it must be more fun for Sony to play "War" with the "evil haXorZ" even if it's costing them millions in unproductive work.
Sony engineer = $$$$$$
Evil HaX0rz = Doritos, Soda
h0mi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
They take a loss on the sale of each PSP hardware unit.
and if I buy 1 PSP and buy only 1 single solitary game, Sony is screwed and does not recoup their losses. Sounds like a personal problem to me. boo hoo hoo for Sony to have a plan to make profits that requires that I spend X amount of dollars on software when I have no intentions of doing so.
Their concern regarding piracy is primarily pirating their software- you know, playing a dled copy of GTA-LC. That's the biggest threat to Sony far more than anything else. Not people buying a PSP and never buying another game because of homebrew "pirated" arcade or NES or Gameboy Roms.
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> So I should thank Sony for the privilage of
> not being to do what I want why my PSP that
> I bought?
I've already responded to this, repeatedly.
> If Sony had any business sense they would
> stop fighting the hackers and help channel
> their efforts to benefit both groups. I
> find this tit for tat "War" to be very
> unprodcutive creating a no win situation
> for both Sony and the Hackers.
Sony knows how much it costs to pay their programmers and has a good guess as to how much it's losing due to piracy and homebrew. Clearly they ran the numbers and decided it was more sensible from a business standpoint to fight the fight.
I'm guessing they know their financial situation than you do, so that sort of defeats your point, no?
Perhaps you should apply for a job there and tell them why your strategy is better than theirs. I'm sure they could use a good laugh.
Casey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
oh #27, who is rambling now?
If all you are doing is not giving your opinion, but rather telling us "what Sony's 'intentions' are" then you are wasting everyone's time. Everyone here knows what their intentions and purpose is for the firmware upgrades, so thanks writing a huge response only to state the obvious.
Also, they're not encouraging us to upgrade the firmware? Are you serious? If PSP's were online enabled to the point that you had to login everytime you booted up, you can guarantee they'd FORCE the upgrade on you, make no doubt about it. So, since they can't do that, what the next best step? Putting the firmware upgrade on UMD games and forcing you to upgrade if you want to play them. Does the firmware upgrade enhance the playing of the game? No. Does it improve the graphics? No. It simply is a way for them to kill homebrew, the ONLY REAL POINT of the upgrades in the firstplace.
Most new games 'force' the 1.52 upgrade before you can play them. The only reason the 2.0 upgrade is not yet forced is because they haven't had a chance yet. But, rest assured, the new games at the end of the year WILL force a 2.0 upgrade.
If that's not 'encouragement', I don't know what the hell is.
YOu can bet your bottom dollar that Sony will force the 2.1 upgrade on future game releases to come. What's the great thing about that? Well, Sony is so friggin' slow that there will be a hack for it to 'trick' your PSP into 'thinking' it's running 2.1 probably by the time they start doing it.
So, once again, keep up your losing battle Sony. Way to waste everyone's time, including yours.
Hyena The Pirate @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
yo ho ho, hey there casey.. i take it all is well with ye friend?
now fer my two cents..
this discussion has gone on ad nauseum, and truthfully i dont think anyone on either side is givin a thought to the otherside..
Sony IS fighting a losing battle, and whats worse, they seem more intent on fighting the mod/homebrew community than actually developing their system and games to make it more attractive..
on the other hand, my biggest problem is that mod/homebrew has become synonymous with 'hacking/piracy'.. namely because people are now flocking in droves at the idea of getting 'free games' that they can download, instead of being a conscientious member o' society (such as meself .. ha)
the problem is exemplified by the recent downgrader release.. look at how many noobs and computer novices jumped the bandwagon and are already downloading iso's as if it were friggin christmas and sony was santy claus?? their profits must be plummeting like sputnik. it's THESE people, a majority of which are kids i bet, with no regard whatsoever for the law, or think 'i wont get caught' that are making it hard on EVERYONE.. the idea of 'free games' is too tempting..
see i dont think sony would be givin a square shilling about homebrew if it was contained to SNES emulators and the like.. hell they might even have gone so far as to encourage it.. what they DONT Like is the sinking hole in their profits from ISO loaders and their ilk.. iso loaders are just bad business mates.. it's like being a smuggler who only deals in alcohol or cigarettes and then one day decides to move up to heroin.. one is something to look the other way on.. the latter is degeneration into a life o scum..
the problem is now more people are trying to learn to STEAL games than to be happy with playing emulators. a good deal of them were locked out when they upgraded to 2.0..
my suggestion is that dev-teams should of course carry on their work, but should stop making the hacks so darned 'user friendly' (complete with 'pictorials').. make the hack community what it USED to be.. UNDERGROUND.
nobody cared about us then, now we're at war with one of the mightiest companies in the world..
what would serve us all right is if sony just said 'screw it' and pulled the PSP.. stopped developing any games for it, and just let nintendo have the handheld market. twould be a fine lesson for us all, because we got too greedy too fast..
i for one, never try to fill me pockets with more gold er' i can carry, and a full hold that flounders a ship is useless booty if'n ye need to get away fast or are caught up in storm. there is such a thing as TOO greedy.
if ye want a good look, go look at any psp/hack forum, and yer gonna see the same posts: how do i play isos? where do i get roms? what's a loader? how do i run it?.. it's obvious everyone has jumped on the 'rob sony blind' bandwagon.
what all these 'rookie thieves' dont realize is, we ALL deserve to get hung from the yard arm, if'n we get caught.
every last one of us.
and thats the reality of it.
(engadget should offer me a job as a writer. i rule.)
noname989 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
So Anoumous Coward where do you work?
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> Most new games 'force' the 1.52 upgrade
> before you can play them.
That was exactly my point. You are not being encouraged, you're being forced. Ergo, your opinion of it isn't really an issue. They're not trying to persuade you to voluntarily upgrade the firmware.
> If that's not 'encouragement', I don't know
> what the hell is.
This explains why you are having a hard time understanding my argument. You don't even have a basic grasp of English.
Here's some help:
Encourage:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=encourage
Force:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=force
In programming parlance, Force != Encourage.
Oh, and Hyena, nice post.
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> So Anoumous Coward where do you work?
I'm a grad student in physics and I'm waiting for a simulation to finish running. This is why I have nothing better to do than feed this endless thread.
And no, I don't have a PSP or any stock in Sony, though I have a friend who's a translator for them.
I just can't understand why others can't understand why Sony would want to fight homebrew. Like it or hate it, it's a perfectly sensible thing to do as my posts, and now Hyena's, pointed out.
Casey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Oh, I've been stung by his sharp wit once again!
I'm surprised you didn't throw in a useless Wikipedia reference as well when you had the chance...I guess one bad joke is enough, though.
Sony sux the big one. Simple as that. If you want to define their actions, go ahead. If you want to disagree and defend their actions, go ahead. Hell, if you strip naked and paint the Sony logo on your ass, go ahead. I don't care. The homebrew community will continue to thrive, fight, and will NEVER STOP. Sony's intentions be damned, the homebrews and hacks will continue, even into the 5.1 upgrade and beyond...
So whether they 'encourage' or 'force' their intentions on us (it's the same thing to Sony, who are you kidding?), the fact remains that Sony wants to TELL YOU how to run your PSP...WITH ONLY THEIR STUFF AND ON THEIR TERMS.
And, ye ol' pirate boy. Good point with the ISO loader argument. Of course, that's more than likely the primary reason for the firmware upgrades. Yeah, when you can grab a game and dump it onto your memory stick and play it...not going to make Sony or any company happy. But let's face it; it goes WAY beyond that for Sony. ISO dumper or not (and I'm sure you can make the argument against) Sony would be ramming the upgrades down our throats regardless.
thetrash @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Who said anything about stealing Anonymouse Sony Shareholder? I just said I wont be buying any UMD games. I use my PSP for emulators and watching movies I transfer to memory stick. Unless you consider me "stealing" the Mario All Stars rom? Either way, read closer. Maybe take a break from your degree and try a few nights of hooked on phonics. Whatever works.
Uncle Pecos @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I'll be honest, I only bought the PSP for the capability to run the whole load of homebrew emulators out there. (playing retro games all the way down to the Atari ST is incredible, not to mention handheld!)
Sony are losing money on each sale? I think they'd lose a bit more if my PSP was still sitting on the store shelf.
Changaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
If i was Sony, I would release a Firmware upgrade which supports Homebrew code. Make it publically known that this upgrade has all the new whiz bang features and also allows unsigned code to be run.
What the firmware would actually do however, it have a sunset feature whereby the homebrew feature would be disabled after a certain date or number of appz being run.
That way, everyone will upgrade their firmware thinking they get the best of both worlds, and then get stuck with a harder to crack firmware with fewer people having access to older versions to experiment with hacking the new firmware.
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
"I'm a grad student in physics and I'm waiting for a simulation to finish running. "
Ok dude, wake us up when you actually work for a living. Some of us have to live in the real world, some of us work for our paychecks, something you obviously have no experience with. You wouldn't be making your "spoiled brat" comment if you weren't diddling around in school while the rest of us were toiling away for our hard-earned dollars. I don't think I'm the spoiled brat between us - you're the one who can afford wasting his money on grad school while the rest of us put in 60 hours a week trying to support ourselves and our families. Given that, for $250 you'd damn well better believe I'm going to expect certain things.
(and btw, hiding behind an "anonymous coward" tag doesn't do much for your credibility. I don't necessarily believe you're not a Sony lackey, and nothing you say at this point could really convince me otherwise.)
In the real world, people buy products with the expectation that they'll be able to use them in the ways that they see fit. If the manufacturer doesn't like it, you know what? TOUGH. If Sony doesn't want to "subsidize" the price of the PSP, then they should either raise the price or make a device that doesn't put them out of business the more units they sell. Or, they should actually put out games that people want to BUY so they wouldn't have to worry about it. Hello? Is this rocket science? You got a thick skull or something?
The fact of the matter is Sony built the device they did, they're selling it for $250, and once that money changes from my hands to theirs it is NO BUSINESS OF SONY'S what I do with it. This applies to every other company as well, btw. Sony CANNOT force me to buy games and movies; if I want to buy the PSP and never touch it again, that is MY PREROGATIVE. I do not exist as a consumer to keep companies in business or to ensure profitability. My role as a consumer is to buy the products I want to buy for the reasons I want to buy them. That's *it*.
What I want to do with the products I buy is my business and my business only. If I want to use the PSP as a doorstop, it's not up to Sony to tell me I can't, and to say things like "it was not designed for that". Who the hell cares? If that's what I want to use it for, that's my business. Sony can come arrest me for all I care, or bring the doorstop police and have them do their dirty work for them. Last I checked, we lived in a free country, supposedly, except that idiots like you not only look the other way when companies like Sony try to take our consumer freedoms away, you actually *support them*. Your position is basically anti-American as I see it. It is most definitely anti-consumer, at the very least. Why would anyone argue in favor of *less* freedom and *more* corporate control over our lives? Are you freakin' *dense*?
You're the best argument I've seen yet against sending kids to grad school. You're obviously living a sheltered life where your money doesn't matter, to the point where you don't believe anybody can really own anything. Well, those of us who actually worked to pay for the items we own (yes, own) believe otherwise.
I'd better quit before I piss myself off. I'm done with you; you're not worth any more of my or anyone else's time.
Stinky Freak @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
Look dipshits, Sony wants you to buy a real PSP game. That's how they make money. If you're playing homebrew or other games via emulators then they don't make money. Simple.
Hyena The Pirate @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
yar, the flame wars begin anew i see..
look, the real truth of the matter is, everyone has valid points.. those that say sony is a money hungry greed machine is right on target.. and those that think certain ASPECTS o' homebrew is modern thievery again are spot on.
what ye have to do is look at everything from both sides. Now i'd be a hypocrite if'n i said i wasnt knee deep in the 'misappropriation o' intellectual property'.. and since i dropped the $400+ dollars on the system (lets tell it like it be, buckos.. aint nobody gettin a psp for $250 dollars.. to make it even worthwhile for what SONY ITSELF has to offer, ye needs at least a 512 mb, and prolly needs to get yerself some 'periphials' (such as a USB CABLE FOR FRIGGIN $10.. what the hell? ye can make those for a $1 that shoulda been included in the kit Sony, shame on ye), and a decent case (that 'sleeve' is about as useless and trustworthy for yer $250 fragile-as-hell-gaming-system as a 2 year old condom tucked away in the back of yer wallet.. anyway i digress, if'n ye want to run homebrew.. HOMEBREW, not BURNOUT LEGENDS.. then i'm all for it..
the problem is when ye look at sony's side of things.. here they give us this great system. with great abilities. and like children, we run amok. again, ye get people who will justify till the end of time that downloading and playing PSP UMD GAMES that they DO NOT OWN, is somehow 'ok'.. that is NOT homebrew. that's THEFT and piracy.. and no matter how you cut it, when sony's ONLY profit from the system comes from those UMD's, ye can be yer sweet bippy they'll do whatever it takes to stop it. and as well they should. It's no secret sony took a loss on the PSP systems.. expecting to make it back in game sales.. the problem is every 12-18 year old who believes in the 'give it to me now, i deserve it' mentality that pervades youthful society today is the reason why a.) game prices, movies, cds, and dvds are as expensive as they are, and b.) why companies are waging vicious campaigns to root out and stop hacks/mods at all costs.. people whined when napster got shut down.. well maybe if they werent stealing every cd they ever wanted without giving it a second thought, then it might not have happened. (delusional.)
People keep saying 'i'm not gonna give sony more money for crap.' blah blah blah, but that doesnt mean ye have a right to steal their 'crap' it means you have two REAL options: buy it, and suck it up.. or DONT BUY THE SYSTEM.
now of course, meself, i agree, sony's line of games right now are a bit lackluster (for cryin outloud NO SYSTEM NEEDS 15 car racing titles at launch!!!).. but i still OWN burnout legends. give sony at least SOME profit. ye have to admit, the PSP is a phenomenal system. whatever yer feelings about the prices, ye got to admit simply on it's merits, it's an amazin piece o' hardware, and i thank sony for givin it to us. but what the non-homebrew community (by this i mean the isoloading PIRATES, not homebrew users or emulator users) is doing is the equivalent of being a child in a toy store, opening the toys, playing with them, then getting upset when they get a spanking even know what they are doing is wrong. these people will be the first ones blogging about the injustice of the 'system' when they recieve an indictment from SOny for piracy, crying about how unfair it is and blubberin forth no end of pathetic excuses that attempt to put the blame ELSEWHERE for THEIR miscreant behaviour..
take as ye will, if yer playin a umd from the memory stick and ye DONT OWN the game, yer stealin, and make no mistake about it, ye deserve whatever sony does or throws at ye. if'n it was me, i can honestly say i'd be hunting down each and every person until it stopped. any of us would if we were sony.
on the flip side o' things, i'd be quite content with the few good games that came my way, and fill the rest of me time enjoying it's OTHER features, such as watching my dvd's i've ripped, working on a nice neat homebrew game, or playing emulators.
speaking of emulators, who'll wager with me that Nintendo will be jumpin on sony's bandwagon once the revolution with it's (backwards compatibility' comes out? at that point playing roms will be 'stealin' all over again.
the war goes on fellas. give and take. just dont hate the law comin down on ye fer yer decision to IGNORE it or defy it. even a pirate knows that bein a pirate aint exactly legal.
and thats all i gots to say on this subject, henceforth and so on, requiem and terapax and all that.
ignition. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
dont know if anybody has said this but...
err...
its not about homebrew...
its about ISO loading, i doubt if they could care less that we're playing free games that nintendo developped, lol.
vance @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
what if it were all a sales gimmick? wait till a version is hacked, then say a new unhackable firmware is on the way so that people rush out to buy the hackable models before they leave the shelves...
Stephen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
I think the big problem is because a signficant amount of people use the security holes to pirate games beside using homebrew software on the PSP
I know certain number of people that have the PSP but never upgrade the PSP to 2.0. Why? Because they want to play games for free...not running homebrew software. It's these people that's killing the PSP homebrew community in my opinion.
I don't think Sony would really care about us using the security holes running homebrew software on the PSP. But what they really don't like to see is people using the holes to pirate games.
Games are the hardwork of the developers. No matter how you put it, pirating games is wrong. I know some of you say you are living on a limited paycheck and have no money to buy games, but the developers also need to make a living too you know. It doesn't give you the right to steal their hard work. If you don't have the money, then don't play the games. Maybe you shouldn't even be buying the PSP for games at the beginning.
Business is not a charity...Sony is selling the PSP at a loss and the only way they can make the money back is on the software. That's why they have to plug the holes, or else a lot of people will just keep pirating games.
Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
So let me get this straight:
If I buy a PSP but never buy games for it and, instead, for example, merely rent games for it, am I in effect "stealing" from Sony?
I am sorry, but it is not my problem if Sony, or any other video game console manufacturer (Microsoft or Nintendo) "takes a loss" off of every console sold. That's their business plan and that's their gamble. I am really fed up with this argument.
I am not saying I have a right to pirate (and that is a separate issue, which I personally am against). I am saying I am under no "moral" obligation to abide by their business plan.
peter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
you know, it would only seem natural for a company like Sony to try and prevent hacking. Especially hacking with the potential for pirating. Hacking may be OK in some products, but for a console/portable I don't think Sony or any company would like.
And of course, although hacking is currently for homebrew, I am certain people are only motivated to do it so they can play psp roms.
Well, I don't like Sony preventing it, cuz if pirating was possible I would buy a PSP. But you gotta think on the other side for once.
And I would be really suprised if this update is the result of the downgrade exploit. More likely they were planning an update all along. Anywho, the amount of people that have a psp for homebrew is like almost 0 percent I'd imagine.
Hyena The Pirate @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
um.. in response to.. well everyone after my post: ye all just reiterated my previous arguments. thank ye.
in response to #47 in Particular..
what the hell are ye talkin bout??? if ye want to validate yer argument, then why bother even BUYING the system if ye arent goin to be usin it as intended? why not just go buy a MUCH cheaper gameboy advance, or any of a DOZEN other technologies that lets ye play music, videos, and have been openly hacked to run emulators? if ye arent going to be part of their business plan, then why purchase their product at all? ye see, there is no true WAY NOT to bein a part o their business plan because in order to USE their product, ye have to purchase things to use WITH it, in this case UMD'S and Games! dont tell me ye just want an ipod with an lcd screen and the ability to watch movies. So if'n yer buyin the PSP with NO INTENTION to buy their 'games' cause ye dont feel obligated, thats shameful premeditated pirating there bucko. ye already have as much admitted that the only reason for buying their product would be to pirate it. i'm sure it aint so ye can play tetris 2.0...
Look, ye can justify it any way ye be likin, but playing games ye dont own and have no intention to buy with NO financial loss to ye is PIRACY and STEALING, no matter how ye cut it. even with the emus and roms we run, we're technically STILL stealing, as most roms are the intellectual property of others and any tiny bit o money they deserve should be goin to them.. by the way lad, 'renting' games as ye put it, ye do realize that those stores either a.) pay a renter's fee to the company for the ability to rent their product, or b.) pay an exhorbitant price far FAR above what ye might be payin if'n ye just bought the game in the store. they make their money back on rentals.. they buy 'x' game for $99 dollars.. ye rent it for 3 dollars.. someone else rents it for $3 or $4 dollars.. eventually they make the money back on it in spades, but just think.. ye paid for something ye dont own.. and yer out twice for a loon, cause if'n ye like the game, ye then have to go an purchase it at near retail price (dependin on if ye have a trade/buy game store nearby) ON TOP o ye renter's fee.. and try 'misplacing', 'damaging', or losing a 'blockbuster' game sometime.. and ye'll see that renting isnt without IT's price tag either..
anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:25AM
> If I buy a PSP but never buy games for it
> and, instead, for example, merely rent
> games for it, am I in effect "stealing"
> from Sony?
That's not what was said. You guys have the worst reading skills.
What was said is that they are subsidizing the hardware, so they have a vested financial interest in seeing to it that you buy games and movies for the system they sold you (at a loss).
Or rent them, since they get a cut from places like Blockbuster. What they don't want you to do is (a) pirate games. (b) buy the hardware only for homebrew.
Therefore, when people say "why doesn't sony allow homebrew?", the answer is obvious. If you buy their system and don't buy games, it costs them money.
If you don't like it, hack the system. Just don't act like Sony should be doing you some kind of favor and writing a special version of the firmware that allows unsigned code to run. The very suggestion, which has been made by a number of posters here, is tremendously stupid and naive.
As are apparently half the other posters, who do things like accuse me of owning Sony stocks, or of not having a job (do you even understand how graduate education is funded, Einstein?), or my favorite, the poster "Jeff" who accuses me of hiding behind the name "anonymous coward", when, last time I checked, there were thousands of people with the first name Jeff in the English speaking world. I don't see you posting your full name, street address and phone number.
The truth is, there are a bunch of self-entitled whiners throwing a hissy fit because Sony isn't catering to their every desire. Since they can't come up with a solid counter argument to mine, they resort to personal attacks that have nothing to do with the topic of the thread.