Hacking, Lawsuits, Big Business…This Is Still Gaming, Right?

I don't think you can Qubex, i know a couple people that are like that. And everything you say goes in one ear, and out the other.

My little brother for example thinks he knows everything and i keep proving him wrong but he still argues with me on things that he doesn't even know about and still insists he is right about it.

@Lawless,

"It's more like a cult of stupidity. And the poor mindless sheep are the ones sent to the slaughteryard for the actions…"

I often call the mindless negative group-think and entitlement attitude that Internet anonymity enables – and the net users that are part of that group-think – the Eye of Moron. I think that anonymous is simply a slightly more concrete and dangerous realization of that same phenomenon. Anonymity enabled people to act in ways they never would in reality, it enabled thinking that does not survive scrutiny in reality, and the power of the 'net magnifies the ability to 'act' on that. On forums the Eye or moron takes the form of floods of negative posters who simply destroy the posting community by swamping it, and trolling it out of existence. In the form of Anonymous, the Eye of Moron has gained the ability to reach beyond the Internet into other areas of out lives. But at the end of the day, it is still a form of the collected stupidity, ignorance, immaturity, anger, entitlement, negativity, hate and anonymity of the Internet. This is, at the end of the day, the Eye of Moron, in action.

No purpose other than piracy. That's a load of B U L L.

There were already rumors of Other OS being ditched, and even for the empty promises that Sony would keep Other OS, they intentionally crippled the power available to the user in Other OS to prevent people from being able to have access to the PS3's full graphic capabilities in a PC OS environment. Bypassing the Hypervisor allowed, among many things, the capacity to utilize the full power of the PS3 hardware when running Linux under Other OS. This massively boosted the power available for PC software, including opening up entirely new avenues of CREATION capability to content creators that wanted to play with the PS3 hardware, but don't have the distribution and dev kits of large developers. These are not pirates. These are hobbyists that want to use the hardware they bought for the purpose they bought it for.

Have you used Sony's browser. Have you used their video player. They are trash. Come on now! The dedicated hacker hacks to enhance, to improve. The hacks I hate the little DBs that hack games for an unfair online advantage. In all honesty, companies should always be checking the data from players online to make sure they aren't doing impossible things. You hate cheaters online, but off line, you pump restore health and no stars codes into GTA4 to have unsettling levels of fun wreaking havoc on Liberty City. No one complains about that, cause it's offline. Online hacks cheat people. People who do such idiotic things should be banned. No one gives a rats as$ about the offline cheater. Why do people not realize that there are those who want to "cheat" by using their own choice of browser, or media player, or their own choice of homebrewed games. Is piracy possible, yeah, I'm certain it is, but it's lame. I buy my games used at GameStop. Sometimes, I find them online for cheap. I find a way to own them legit. What many people want, quite frankly, is a jailbreak for the the PS3. It's about more than piracy, more than cheating online, and more than showboating by hackers. Jailbreaking is serious business.

The word hacker has been tarnished by the idiots who download a script and use it for online cheating, or who ride the coat tails of creators to use it as an in to piracy. That gaming industry you love so much was built on the backs of the hackers you now hate Those "homebrew" games you hear about are what the entire world of video games once was. A few programmers creating titles either on their own, and eventually for companies. A scientist in a lab creating "Tennis for Two" using analog circuitry, and an oscilloscope. Setting up a "PONG" arcade in a bar and becoming overnight millionaires over it. Developing a compact personal computer that could display color graphics, in a garage… That eventually became the company that put 10000 songs in your pocket. iHope you can guess who they are!

Another thing I hate, is when I hear people say Sony removed Other OS because it was used to hack the PS3. People, GeoHot didn't need Other OS to acquire the data for his exploit. It just was the simpler route. GeoHot used an FPGA chip with code to intercept internal signal inside his PS3. He had to solder the chip onto his PS3 motherboard. That's how he got the information to get access beyond what the hypervisor allowed. Using that technology, he would have cracked it eventually, even without Linux or Other OS.

Sony was simply tired of supporting and bug testing for compatibility, a feature that it had made the public and the buyers aware of before sale, but that made them no money and competes for your time against the services and products they sell or profit from. If you use Linux to play games, browse the web, watch videos, etc, you aren't using Sony's licensed games, you aren't renting video from PSN, and you're not only browsing where Sony's crippled browser lets you. None of these things are illegal, but Sony whipped out the old ban hammer on Other OS under generic security and piracy threats. Notice that Slim models, which NEVER had Other OS, as well as updated, NO OTHER OS phat models both seem to mysteriously be hackable, despite the removal of Other OS. Sony even backed away from the statement that OTher OS was removed to combat piracy or even as a security concern. Sony knew what they were doing. They saw an out, and they took it… Took it from those of use that USED that feature.

Sony wanted an excuse to take the feature away and focus on it's pay services. You can alter your user agent in a browser running under Linux, and with some tricks restore things like the free HuLu service is possible, if you know what you're doing. HuLu watches for those key identifiers in the PS3 browser's user agent data to prevent you from accessing the FREE HuLu site, and suddenly Sony and HuLu are offering premium services at a cost. This is the type of anti consumer garbage that Sony thrives on. They cut access that PC users have for free, so they could make a premium service more palatable. The same premium service that competes with free service on OPEN PS hardware. This is why a PS3 Jailbreak is so important. Sony has complete control over how you use a product you purchased. Sony says that just because you bought it, it doesn't mean you really own it. They want to make the claim that since it runs their software, they still own all aspects of the software and you have no rights to change it or even remove it if you don't care for it.

At least here in America, the government has ACKNOWLEDGED the legitimacy and need for cellphone jailbreaking. Computers are typically sold completely open for a user to install and delete software as they see fit. The PS3 WAS a powerful computer, but Sony was crippling it, and GeoHot was trying to uncripple the system. Sony's response… amputation!

There is a reason I hate Sony with all the hate I can muster. All their previous legal and privacy shenanigans have killed any trust or faith I might have ever have once mustered for them. "GTL-Balad of Gay Sony" Is my PSN comment. "Grand Theft Linux; The Ballad of Gay Sony" is my parody of the similar sounding Rockstar GTA DLC "Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony". It will remain that way a long as Sony continues to STEAL features I paid for. I have also already made my protest in CASH. I have purchased a Nintendo 3DS, and will not put one penny toward the NGP. Deep down in my heart, I'm hoping the NGP fails as hard as the PSP did. I don't care HOW powerful their system is. I don't trust Sony anymore. I don't trust them enough for me to feel safe in buying an NGP. As a GameStop employee, I make an active effort to buy my games used. I get an employee discount, and my purchase does not send any additional revenue to Sony. I guide customers to the 360 and Wii sections when ever I have the opportunity.

As for the Anonymous attacks, once they realized their attack was impacting the PSN, they quickly withdrew to regroup their attack to focus on Sony corporate, and not harm the gaming community. Anonymous is dynamic enough to know when to back down. People like to FORGET that little fact. They are heroes to me, though they would say they're just doing it for the lulz. Truth is, they are pissed at Sony for their douchebagery. They repeatedly try to use the law as a tool for the invasion of privacy.

Screw Sony.

I'm sick of Sony.

Sony can sink into the ocean for all I care… Then wat do?

$100 advertising campaigns? I'm sorry Ben, but even Sony isn't that cheap 😛

You know, I do play games to relax, and I try to ignore all of the big business surrounding it. yes, I've announced here before my utter contempt for Activision and their practices, but that's only because I know about all of that. I know about the GeoHot debacle, and I think he's in the wrong. The only thing that he managed to do was pirate games, not improve the functionality of the system. I know about the Anonymous attack. I thought they were right to take on the Church of Scientology (not wanting to bring up a religious debate, so please don't start), but to say they're trying to protect the rights of people, when the people are in the wrong is ridiculous.

I wish that I could ignore all of this. I wish that I could just forget about it all, but as long as I want gaming information, I will continue to come across this underbelly. It's unavoidable and unfortunate, but we must take the good with the bad in this life. For me, gaming is an escape. It's something I do for pleasure, and I hope that it stays that way forevermore, and that I don't get too bogged down in the seedy affairs of business that I lose sight of the simple enjoyment that I receive as I play through a great game.

Thank you Ben for writing this editorial.
Peace.

its got absolutely nothing to do with that!
the problem is other OS was a ADVERTISED FEATURE!
heaps of people like me bought a ps3 partly because of that, i was using it every day to complete my OS1 and OS2 course.
once it was removed i had a choice loose PSN and the ability to play recent games and movies.
or loose linux.
so sony are forcing you to choose between 3 advertised features, and giving you the choice which ones to loose.
thats why there still getting sued in the other OS court case!
that is why the ps3 got jailbroken!
that is why there having all these DOS attacks on there domains.
sony brought this on themselves!
they did the right thing in protecting there property, but that does not give them the right to remove a advertised feature!

what they should of and easily could of done is make the FW update forceable but not required for PSN and game access like they have done for a few others.
they did that for a few updates, so why not do it for that?
ill tell you why, it was not to plug a security hole, it was to keep IBM happy!
IBM had the sh*tts because the air force was sending sony there money instead of IBM.
just a little coincidental the time the other OS was removed, sony denied the last request from the air force?
just coincidental that was the last time the air force asked to buy more?
sorry, but thats too coincidental to just be a coincidence!

Anon Cowherd,

Who removed it? Did Sony push an auto-installing update to your system and force it's removal? Or did *you* take the decision to download and install the update in the knowledge that it would disable the OtherOS feature?

You were the one thsat removed OtherOS from your system, you ran the update, you gave your agreement twice at least to the removal of OtherOS during that process because as I remember it it clearly stated that OtherOS would be disabled and you had to agree and then it double checked at least once before the update was performed.

Sony supplied an update that was mandatory for continued access to their (emphasis on THEIR) network, but not mandatory for your PS3 to continue functioning. They gave you the option of not installing it. You were free to purchase another PS3 which could be kept up to date for PSN access, and nothing you'd purchased on PSN was removed or deleted or restricted.

At the end of the day, anyone who wanted to, *really* wanted to, could have kept OtherOS.

Anon cowherd,

You have no name, so what else should we do than make one up? At least mine is consistent. Would you prefer I called you Anonymous Coward – as most anonymous commenters are elsewhere? Pick a name and live by it, don't pick a name and live with multiple interpretations on how to handle the lack of name.

OtherOS was a) never a core component of the PS3, b) not required for it's primary or secondary uses, c) not advertized as a feature, it was always pitched as an optional extra, d) as was pointed out, Sony did not remove it, they gave you the option of removing it.

Had Sony unilaterally removed OtherOS without making it an optional update, I would agree with the point you are making. The key point here is that at the time the new firmware omitting OtherOS capability was launched, installing it did not interrupt the use of any of your existing PS3 functions. What happened was that your ability to use the PlayStation Network was curtailed. Retail games continued to work, so long as they did not rely on any new feature in any newer firmware. Games already purchase continued to work, and BluRays continued to play. You could even go on to the internet without PSN.

Yes, the impact of not installing the newer firmware was that the Playstation Network service, a service you do not pay for, became unavailable. However that was not a direct impact, it is an indirect one because it is the terms of service of PSN that require the use of the most up to date firmware. The PS3 itself will quite happily continue working without updating.

I've had this discussion before with others, and at the end of the day, you cannot escape the simple fact that you elected to install the new firmware for your own reasons.

At the same time as the modification to the firmware to remove OtherOS, the PS3 slim arrived without OtherOS. New product, new price, free extra feature no longer present, owners of Slim systems knew it would not handle OtherOS when they bought them.

You can choose to accept Sony's reasons for removing OtherOS. Reasons of security and cost have been given. the truth is that it's probably a bit of both.

However, your consumer rights were not trampled on, as I said in my previous post, you lost nothing, you had a choice and exercised it. You could always have kept OtherOS and purchased a separate system for gaming.

The catalyst for removing OtherOS from older systems was GeoHot. The catalyst for removing OtherOS from Slim systems and beyond was cost. Anyone who had OtherOS and lost it can truly lay the blame at the feet of Mr EgoHot. Anyone who bought a Slim knew it did not come with OtherOS – no loss/no blame there.

@ Blank: Actually, it's really your fault man. I hate to say this, but Sony not only warned everyone via the media that this was going down…but they also warned you multiple times prior to actually installing the firmware update. If your intent to use the PS3 was for school and you absolutely had to have it, then spending the money for a laptop over…not updating your FW was really your call, wasn't it?

You could've also, spent….$300 and bought a new PS3, leaving the one you were using for educational purposes untouched, right? I'm sorry, but you had choices, and chose differently. That's hardly Sonys fault.

@ Richfiles:

I thought it was pretty clear what I blamed. Blank specifically stated he needed the functionality for OS1 and OS2 courses. If that were the case, updating firmware really shouldn't have been a priority, right? Even further, knowing exactly how frequent Blank is on this page, it's not just unlikely but outright impossible he wasn't aware of the update prior to it going live. I'm neither condoning, nor condemning what Sony has done. I'm saying he had the choice, and he chose games, movies and a $1500 alternative to…spending $300 on a new PS3.

You can go ahead and cite any enconomic example you desire, I really don't care. I never used OtherOS, and I think everyone complaining conveniently forgets every thing Sony has added to the PS3 and PSN since the PS3 launched…for free. It sucks, but them's the breaks. Sony lost a ton of money on the PS3, not only R/D, but years of selling the console at a loss, and people still complain that Sony doesn't do anything positive. Well, sorry Son, I have no sympathy for him, or anyone who willingly makes a silly decision when the choice to avoid it is staring them right in the face. It is not a sign of intelligence, to pay 5x the amount of money necessary to fix a problem.

EDIT: Btw, just to avoid any confusion, I have the original 60g CECHA-01 Model, and I'm not only 100% satisfied with my interaction with Sony thus far this generation, I'm most certainly purchasing their next home system and likely the NGP.

Last edited by Mornelithe on 4/12/2011 11:21:02 PM

Pirates suck(except for Jack Sparrow)

Ha, i like Jack Sparrow's character too.

Old news. Sony got that injunction lifted and the PS3s are freely flowing into Europe. Sony has licensed all key patents from third parties for BluRay, including those from LG. All BluRay makers belong to a trade organization that handles the cross licensing. LG are simply playing tit for tat games with Sony because they don't like the fact that Sony sued them over cellphone technology in the US. So LG decided to go nuclear.

In the end, it will all be settled out of court, but if it goes on long enough, LG will find their claims about BluRay dismissed.

Why do you take every opportunity you can to bash gaming in general? I can understand doing it occasionally, but considering that, given your previous statements, it seems to be a VERY large part of your life, does it not make sense to praise and give thanks to those that have given you so much entertainment over the years?

Sure, things may seem to be on a downhill slope, but that doesn't mean it'll continue. Seriously… here's your project for when you log on and write your posts tomorrow: No negativity whatsoever. You write positive, hopeful responses to whatever articles you choose to respond to, and we all see how it feels. What says PSXE? More importantly, what say you?

P.S. Watch Bad Boys 2 and "Woo-sah" along with Marcus and Mike.

Anonymousness… I think he feels games should be different and not necessarily representative of the the real world… they should be far out.

From what I have experienced many titles are far out and unrealistic so I don't know why he is having such an identity crisis this time around…

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

Last edited by Qubex on 4/7/2011 8:31:15 AM

There's a big difference between the unrealism of yesterday and today, though.

Back then, things didn't have to make sense ala floating platform, today, there has to be an explanation for it. Today's games may be unrealistic in nature, say, alien invasion, but it tries to be realistic in the approach, say, how we actually might act, realistic blood etc, etc.

Back then, it wasn't like that, you actually had huds, lives, score, funny sound fx…or like in Zelda, pull a switch and a chest appears from no where to an iconic jingle sound. MGS had a perfect balance, it was semi-serious, but always reminded you it was a game with it's emoticon icons above heads, huds, funny sfx for e.g. if you didn't have the right key you'd hear a buzz, talk of the controler in cut scenes etc.
Think of a Mario 64 and then a platformer of today, the latter just wants to be a pixar movie most of the time. There's no magic, no charm.
It's not entirely absent today, but it's increasingly dying in favour of movie scripts.
It's hard to explain the difference without being face to face instead of text, but the magic defined by gaming is not favoured today.

The core Japanese industry are still intact, they still release games…and not movie wannabe's all the time.

Personally, i like a bit of both, BUT only if the more realistic side offered me something new like Heavy Rain, or was inbetween and reminded you its a game like MGS or a RDR.

I'm happy with the industry, but less enthusiastic about it when i don't want to be. I just crave the game formulas we had when the industry wasn't as mainstream. I do find a lot of enjoyment out of PSN titles now or throwback titles like 3D Dot.

You can like what you like, it doesn't bother me, but this is just from someone who's a little concerned about something we all have in common.

🙂

Last edited by Lotusflow3r on 4/7/2011 9:43:08 AM

Just throw your gaming system out the window. Last thing i remember that wasn't real were shi*** chinese computer games. Thoese games would take you into a better fantasy world then the ps3 and pc which you claim to be too real. Last time i remember I couldn't drive an awesome pagani zonda without buying one. I probably will never get to drive that car in my lifetime but close enough in a game.

Do everyone a favour and don't post anymore. You could of chosen a better name to go by then a big line.

*Snicker* Don't take him too seriously, guys. This is the same guy who feels the epitome of gaming was "Sheep Raider".

A good read. I don't care about hacking. these
are just what ben described them. (look at me)
I just play my game and that's it. best of luck
to everyone.and I hope no gamer will be effected
by the attacks of these morons.

Last edited by Wissam on 4/7/2011 5:14:38 AM

…in a way you are echoing Anonymousness point…

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

Last edited by Qubex on 4/7/2011 8:32:40 AM

Wait, did you mean i echo "_______" or something else?

Of course MS is to blame. I bet they're paying these hackers to take down Sony and PSN. Bill Gates also eats babies to fuel his dark energy and, rumor has it, he runs down old ladies who are crossing the street.

They very well may be Xbox fans. That doesn't mean Microsoft is to blame. The ones to blame are the hackers. Hacking has been going on long before PSN and XBL (or even the consoles themselves) were around and will always be around because some people get their jollies from ruining other people's fun and experiences.

Could be that they (Sony) wanting to throw someone in prison or take away a good amount of their income for hacking, modding, etc. while all MS does is block a modded console from accessing their network is what has their panties in a knot.

Mr. Highlander!!!

Microsoft is holding back the industry? I thought the WII was? The 360 can push out good graphics that are even better than the ps3 in some games. When it comes to exclusives the only best are Gears of War, Halo Reach (notice on reach not the entire series) and forza 3. Crysis 2 is an exception as it's better on 360 then ps3.

We have a more powerful processor but a weaker graphics card than the 360. I just wish Nividia did a uniformed like the 360 so more pixels or whatever could be pushed out on the ps3 so we get better framerates.

I thought the heat sink for the older 360 was a joke. No wonder why they rrod. The newer slim has a good heat sink with both chips combined in 1 so that solves quite a bit of problems in ways.

Last edited by thj_1980 on 4/7/2011 2:08:31 PM

When gaming was a closet geek activity, developers weren't nearly as blinded by dollar signs. Unfortunately, now that the gaming market has basicalyl become the next big economic bubble, most developers are more interested in hitting the largest audience possible, rather than creating their dream experience.

Yes, I do believe gaming was much better 10 years ago. Because honestly, I think catering to the biggest demographic possible is simply a way to crush ingenuity, and creativity. Why bother, when you can simply make another on-rails shooter, and force feed it to those who don't know any better?

Back in the day, shitty games tanked. Now? A good marketing strategy can still shift 2+ million units of a crappy title, just because the consumer has really lost their interest in researching their purchases.