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"Crackers remove PSP anti-piracy features..."

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Thu 29/09/05 at 02:57
Regular
"...y'crazy fool!"
Posts: 584
Crackers this week claimed to have successfully ripped out the latest Sony PlayStation Portable firmware and replaced it with an earlier version of the code containing fewer anti-piracy features.

The procedure exploits a recently discovered buffer overflow exploit which allows code to be incorporated into image data. When the PSP attempts to display the picture, it writes data beyond the space reserved for the image and into memory used by executable code. The code inserted into the picture file is then run.

The software, posted on the internet yesterday, forces the PSP to run Sony's firmware 1.5 updater, replacing firmware 2.0 with the older code.

One poster joyfully claimed the console is now "wide open".

Numerous postings on PSP-cracking websites claim the procedure works despite a system crash most of the way through the installation process. Some posters have even claimed to have re-applied firmware 2.0 successfully and downgraded to firmware 1.5 a second time, again without a hitch.

Sony released the PSP's firmware 2.0 this summer, first in Japan and later in the US. The consumer electronics giant launched the handheld games console in Europe on 1 September, and all European machines sold through official channels since then also include firmware 2.0.

In addition to patching a number of security holes then being exploited by crackers, along with tweaks to the console's existing copy-protection technologies, firmware 2.0 brings web browsing to the console, along with support for a range of new media types including iTunes' AAC (part of MPEG 4) and Sony's ATRAC 3 Plus, the latter supporting DRM, though the AAC component does not.

Curiously, the arrival of the crack code was followed almost immediately by a bun fight between different PSP cracking groups, each claiming to have come up with the procedure.

Meanwhile, Sony's own PSP coders are almost certainly nailing down the way the crack works and are likely to block it in a future firmware update.


Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/28/psp_firmware_crack/

Victory for the consumer! (again)
Sun 02/10/05 at 14:09
Regular
"Beg For Mercy"
Posts: 68
What do you call {Firmware & Crack} downloading illegal stuff and cracking out you psp's!
Sun 02/10/05 at 13:20
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
"I don't like Xbox coz it is black."

Hmm.

Okay. No point falling out over consoles.
Sat 01/10/05 at 19:12
Regular
"8==="
Posts: 33,481
Hedfix wrote:
>
> Dress it up however you like, you've admitted it and I don't see any
> point in discussing anything with you any further.

See what I was trying to explain to you here is that there's no point in taking anything you've said at face value because you're a fanboy: there's simply no point.

Hell I'll reply a bit but I'm in this just to play around now since you're into the equivalent of 'console racism'. :D
Sat 01/10/05 at 13:54
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
:-D
Sat 01/10/05 at 13:52
Regular
Posts: 939
Nerd fight
Sat 01/10/05 at 13:48
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
Hedfix wrote:
> I was infact commenting on your comments about the PS3 vs 360 but if
> you will assume I was talking about the PS2

I was making comparisons between the two. How many times have I said as much?!


> to thinly 'justify' your reasoning as to why the PS3 will be so much
> better than the 360

And how many times have I pointed out that's NOT what I'm saying? Potential is all I've talked about.


> I don't see any point in discussing anything with you any further.

Very true. You're quite obviously taking what I've written and turning it around in your head into something quite different.
Sat 01/10/05 at 05:13
Regular
"8==="
Posts: 33,481
I was infact commenting on your comments about the PS3 vs 360 but if you will assume I was talking about the PS2 (heaven knows how you got that impression, maybe because you said the PS3's games would progress more like the PS2's which was a daft thing to say in the first place since the early offerings on the PS2 left much to be desired so of course there was room for progression!) then so be it.

I could accept your opinions about the PS3 but as we've seen in the other thread they're laughable and nothing more than the rantings of a self-confessed fanboy. If you are a fanboy then there's no point in discussing things with you, I've already seen the lengths you will go to thinly 'justify' your reasoning as to why the PS3 will be so much better than the 360 and I really can't see the point of bothering to discuss various consoles, with someone who has admitted to being a Sony fanboy, anymore.




To be honest: I lost interest when you admitted to being a fanboy.

Dress it up however you like, you've admitted it and I don't see any point in discussing anything with you any further.
Sat 01/10/05 at 04:59
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
Hedfix wrote:
> Riiiight. It doesn't do much for you but you're playing Doom 3 on it?
> :S

Yes. Because my PC isn't quite up to it, and it's not out on the PS2. What's wrong with that? I've played a number of games on it - Munch's Oddyssey, Halo 1 & 2, PGR, Dino Crisis 3, NFS:U, DoA3, FIFA2003, Driv3r, Full Spectrum Warrior are those I can think of off the top of my head.

Again you seem to be reading things into what I'm saying which aren't there. I don't dislike the Xbox. It just doesn't have the same appeal to me as the PS2, in the same way that the Oric-1 was less appealing than the Commodore VIC-20, the Spectrum was less appealing than the Commodore 64, the Atari ST was less appealing than the Amiga 500 and the Saturn was less appealing than the original PlayStation.

I didn't dislike the other formats, I simply made my choice based on what I knew about them, and I haven't gone wrong yet.

And it's a situation not helped by the problems I've had with the Xbox. Who knows - if they hadn't dropped the price so drastically so soon after launch, if the HD hadn't failed, if it didn't scratch some of the discs, and if it hadn't been a fire hazard, I'd probably be sitting on your side of the fence.

But everything combined has tarnished my opinion, in much the same way as those who've had problems with PS2s (or indeed sPiKeCaSt with his PSP) may be put off of the PS3. I really don't think it's that hard to understand!


> As far as having an opinion goes, I've nothing against that except
> the fact that yours seems to be rather ill-informed and rather
> fanboyish to say the least.

Yes, must be that, mustn't it. Not simply that I have a different opinion and preference to you. Heaven forbid. Of course I'm ill-informed. That's why I posted on these very forums the fact that there would be 2 versions of the next-gen Xbox, several months before it became public knowledge.



> Well for starters it means there's little point discussing anything
> rival console-based with you.

Well, not if you refuse to accept or consider any opinion but your own, no. I've had many interesting discussions about various systems over the many years I've been playing games. It usually helps if the other people involved can at least appreciate an opinion other than their own.


> Nope, unlucky I have a PS1, Xbox and Cube. I appreciate both the Xbox
> and the Cube greatly and still intend to get a PS2. The Xbox is the
> best multi-format machine so I mainly use that.

Ah, right. So while I actually own the consoles I'm commenting on (another point you seem to have missed or conveniently ignored/forgotten about during the fanboy comments), you don't actually have a PS2. I see. And I'm the one giving an ill-informed opinion? Okay.

I'm starting to wonder if the real bone of contention here is not which of the next-gen machines is the right, wrong, good or bad choice... but simply the fact that, unlike you, after much personal experience of both machines, I happen prefer Sony's platforms over Microsoft's. Something you seem unable to accept.

Now I really have had enough of this discussion. Your opinion won't change, and nor will mine; I've already repeated myself, so I really don't see any point in prolonging it.

Now I'm off to bed. It's stupidly late, and I need some sleep.
Sat 01/10/05 at 04:59
"High polygon count"
Posts: 15,624
Hedfix wrote:
> Well the great opinion that springs to mind is how you kept banging on
> about how the PS3 was more powerful than the 360.

But if you take the stats released by the companies, it is. I'm not saying it's on a grand scale or that the 360 pales in comparison, but there does appear to be an advantage in one area considered vital to next-gen games (for improved physics, AI etc.) - raw number-crunching power. Even if it's not the straight 2:1 they claim, it's still likely to be higher, and that could (not will) affect games considerably.

I won't even start on the potential issues caused by changing hardware over the next 5 years. [URL]http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/nid/1283/[/URL]


> when those are all added up and approached with an open mind it does
> seem to suggest your opinion is infact less valid.

No, my opinion is just as valid as yours or anyone elses; it's based on the facts as presented, and my interpretation of them. You just think it's less valid because it doesn't agree with your own.

The "progression" issue is very true (you've admitted as much), and is not at all laughable if you can grasp the reason I mentioned it.

My point was that I said years ago that PS2 games would improve, particularly graphically, and the response was "yeah, right". But they have. GT4, God of War, the forthcoming Black (among others) - all look far superior to early games. Not as good as the Xbox, maybe - but then that was released several years later, so it's not really a viable comparison. PS2 was "difficult" (according to some developers... others felt differently), but as developers got used to it, much better things emerged, and they stand up incredibly well considering the age of the machine.

Translating that to PS3, it's not as difficult as PS2 was (developers have already said so in interviews with Edge), but it is new technology. While early games look almost identical to the 360, if the progression of developers is similar, it has the potential for more improvement as developers get to grips with it.

Even forgetting about the 360 for the moment, it seems to me to be quite logical that there will be a similar situation with the PS3 - in just the same way that it takes developers some time to get the best out of each generation of PC graphics cards, or any other technology.

The 360 is, more or less, another collection of off-the-shelf components, just as the Xbox was. There's nothing wrong with that at all. Developers can create good games from the off, as they know pretty much what they're getting. There's a minimal learning curve. Code for the PowerPC chips can already be easily optimised. Consequently, there is (relatively speaking) limited room for improvement.

The PS3 is an altogether different beast - completely new technology. Yet it's starting on a similar level. And again, as developers learn more about it, optimise code and so on, it can (not will potentially get much better.

That's how I see it, and that's the only point I'm trying to make - purely from a technological point of view, not with any particular favourites, likes or dislikes in mind.

Even if you can't see this point of view, hopefully others will - and hopefully they'll see it as what it is... an opinion based on experience, rather than fanboy rantings. I don't see that I can explain it any simpler.

Please note that this is not rubbishing the 360 in any way. Chances are games will always look similar on both machines, but in terms of what else goes on in the games (physics modelling, larger game worlds and so on), IF the raw power figures are true, the PS3 would appear to offer more scope for improvement - even if the difference isn't as big as Sony claim.

As with everything else in life, our opinions are formed by our experiences, and no opinion is any less valid than any other. I can only give my opinions, based on my experiences. My experince with the Xbox has not been a great one, and though it hasn't exactly been terrible either, it has left me unenthusiastic about the 360.

I certainly don't rule out ever buying a 360, but my priority at the moment is to get the PS3. My Sony consoles have been nothing but reliable, and since my purchase of the PS1 in 1996 I've gone on to buy a lot of other Sony equipment, all of which has been superb.

Am I a Sony fan? Damn right I am. But not blindly so. I still bought an Xbox and a Gamecube. If I become interested, I will buy a 360. That still won't stop me believing that PS3 has an edge.
Fri 30/09/05 at 23:47
Regular
"8==="
Posts: 33,481
WòókieeMøn§†€® wrote:
> Hedfix wrote:
> Having played it SO much I'd wager.
>
> Enough to know it doesn't do much for me, yes. I'm currently playing
> Doom 3 on it.
>

Riiiight. It doesn't do much for you but you're playing Doom 3 on it? :S

>
> As far as having an opinion goes, I've nothing against that except
> the fact that yours seems to be rather ill-informed and rather
> fanboyish to say the least.
>
> Yes, so I'm a Sony fanboy. So what?

Oops must've missed this bit. :S

Well for starters it means there's little point discussing anything rival console-based with you.

No more so than you are for
> Microsoft.

Nope, unlucky I have a PS1, Xbox and Cube. I appreciate both the Xbox and the Cube greatly and still intend to get a PS2. The Xbox is the best multi-format machine so I mainly use that. As for being a fanboy for MS? Nope.

It's okay for you to rubbish the machine, but if I defend
> it I'm a fanboy?

"Yes, so I'm a fanboy. So what?"

I don''t think I need to reply with anything more than that really.

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