PS3 Hacker Geohot appears in Court

The start of 2011 is proving to be an eventful one for Sony. The year has already seen the PlayStation 3's security measures broken wide open, a development followed promptly by a Sony lawsuit against the responsible parties: original iPhone jailbreaker George Hotz and a hacker collective called fail0verflow. Hotz responded to the charges in court for the first time yesterday, as his attorney filed a response to Sony's request for a temporary restraining order and confiscation of the hacker's computers.

Now it's time for hackers to try and crack Sony's legal team.

“This case is not about Sony Computer Entertainment America LLP attempting to protect its intellectual property or otherwise seek bona fide relief from the court,” the attorney said in his response. “Rather, it's an attempt for Sony to send a message to any would-be individual that attempting to use any hardware it manufacturers in a way it does not deem appropriate will result in harsh legal consequences, irrespective of any legal basis or authority for such action.”

[Raendom]

He looks like Elijah Wood... kinda.

[jizzyjones]

He look's like he's going to jail

[Loner]

Dont put your money on it

[NewMonday]

The case is about restraining his hacking and impounding his hardware only so far.

The lawyer didn’t respond to the serious infringement of the privet key. Which any software will need on the PS3. Can the hacker hack the PS3 without it or is he a hack?

This looks like it will drag on and maybe exhaust the kid financially.

[SasanovaS1987]

sony doesnt need to win the case. they need to drag it out, drain the kid of everything he has, and forfeit. that should teach him a lesson. and when he gets all his money back again, and tries another hack, hel think twice to release it. thats enough for sony i believe. as for the hackers, im pretty sure once their done with these hackers, the turn off switch is able and ready to be pulled. total shut down of every ps3 that has been tempered with. Oh did you say you dont log on to PSN? thats cute, but just explain to me how your "news" bar at the top right of your screen updates itself? guess what, their watching you even when your offline. better start saving up another 300 bucks for a new ps3, or just move ur sorry @ss to the 360

[BlackKnight]

@SasanovaS1987

"Oh did you say you dont log on to PSN? thats cute, but just explain to me how your "news" bar at the top right of your screen updates itself? guess what, their watching you even when your offline."

Lol, it's sad if you are that stupid or ignorant. This isn't an insult, you legitimately look to be stupid. If you don't connect your PS3 to your home network, wired or wireless, it will be impossible for Sony to see anything going on with your PS3. What are they going to use? Magic?

[Eamon]

LMAO at BlackKnight's comment.

There's a very easy way to not let your PS3 connect online.

It's called removing the ethernet cable :)

[Omegasyde]

He is going to jail.

And in another article people are crying @song for sending the 1 dollar. The whole reason for sending the dollar was to pull his Pay Pal account as evidence.

The Judge can request financial inquiries on all acivity relating to the account. But in reflection what Sony did was set him up which the defense will argue "entrapment". It's really a gamble, however they sent many cease and desist letters and documented them. ( I am *assuming* that is why he backed out a while ago over the whole linux debacle.)

However if Sony will be burned like Apple in court is debatable. Obviously the lawyers took a long hard look a that case, and feel as if they have a better leg to stand on.

In the digital copyright millenium act it states:
"The congressional determination to promote electronic commerce and the distribution of digital works by providing copyright owners with legal tools to prevent widespread piracy was tempered with concern for maintaining the integrity of the statutory limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright owners."

Link:
http://www.copyright.gov/re...

--In a nutshell, The copyright owner (Sony) has the right to protect against piracy. Now Sony has to provide the burden of proof that the (geohot) exploit was responsible for piracy. How they get the evidence is beyond me. They can use PayPal as a tool to bring in witnesses to testify i.e. further subpoenas.

My *guess* is that they find a smaller fish (hacker/pirate) to try and fry Geohot in which they probably already have. Either way the case will probably take a while. I highly doubt GeoHot will see any prison time but looks to lose more than Sony.

[morganfell]

To add to what Omegasyde is saying, Sony is not a legal authority. therefore they are not bound by the same ethics or discovery of evidence rules as governs the actions of federal, state, and local law enforcement. All that has to be proven as that said evidence when handed over is authentic. Even chain of custody is not a matter since nothing is being seized.

By Sony using their own investigations, they can move faster and into areas which would be forbidden to law enforcement without lengthy proofs of cause.

geohot is going down and he will have nothing to blame but his own arrogance and ego.

[presto717]

I am secretly rooting for Geohotz to win. I am tired of the crappy official firmware from Sony that has pretty much sucked all along. Seriously...Facebook integration?? WTF?!!

[gman_moose]

I'm getting really annoyed with these hackers claiming they are against piracy. There is no reason to hack the PS3 if not to play pirated software.... NOT ONE REASON AT ALL.

Anything else you can do on a hacked PS3 CAN BE DONE ON A PC!!!! SNES emulator? Who the fuck needs a PS3 for that? You can do it on your PC. Homebrew apps? Why PS3? Do it on PC.

It comes down to this. Sony said the system was secure, and these douchebag losers would not rest until they could prove otherwise. Congratufuckinglations assholes. Now every online game is slowly going to get hacked to shit until they are unplayable. The reprecussions of this go far beyond being able to use Linux again, and they were well aware of it. This was malicious in nature, and I hope Mr Hotz does have to serve jail time, and I hope his corn hole is prepared for it.

[Shadow Flare]

Well if he goes to jail then someones gonna be the lord of his ring

[nveenio]

Only law enforcement can be guilty of entrapment, and only with regard to felonies.

[King-Leonidas]

lol Loner u shouldnt support piracy/hacking of anykind since it hurts the gamming industry. And im pretty sure u like games right

[smashman98]

look i know just as much as the next guy what geohot did was morally wrong he said so himself that he was scared ur not scared if ur doing the right thing. he knows this is illegal he knows the laws hes been on several sites and the news quoting the law but hes just a kid 21 years old andd it hurts me that someone as young and as smart as him is risking his life for this

[baodeus]

@blacknight

Sasanova@1987 even get 28 agrees. Sure show how smart some people are on N4G.

[Jamegohanssj5]

ROFLZ! Jizzy, you've been bubbled.

TGSI

[Kran]

@jizzyjones win!

[DOMination]

Even if he doesn't log into the PSN, he won't be able to play new games if they come with the latest firmware as a mandatory install.

[laaakokaracha]

even if he goes to jail , can he not hack himself out of jail again??

[TheMutator]

lol

[Blacktric]

I hope he drops the soap.

[Armyntt]

Someone explain how hes going to jail. Last i heard there was no charges brought against him just a lawsuit. A lawsuit does not equal charges of a crime. For the guys above that think hes using any of his own money think again. He'll be backed financially by a electronic rights group. BTW i dont condone piracy or back this guy in any way.

[hakis86]

@1.1
Shouldn't be a problem for him - he knows how to jailbreak.
;)

[zag]

I wonder how he's going to get out of the agreeing to the T7Cs on the back of the manual, that you agree to when you open the box to a PS3.

I guess he hasn't thought of that and this lawyer probably isn't going to be too crash hotz either, if he hasn't picked up on that.

T&C's aren't just for the PSN.

Also he'd have agreed to the firmware upgrade T&Cs as well, as it has a firmware updated PS3 to 3.55.

While he might be bright enough to hack something.

he's a bit behind the times in the real world.

Going to be a laugh when Sony state ALL of the above in court.

[zag]

@Omegasyde

He's a goner for sure, the digital copyright millenium act was brought in the deal with this stuff directly.

The people it's used against have to PROVE they DIDN'T do what they are being accused of doing, other wise your guilty.

It's not really a case of Sony having to prove their side they just have to provide enough stuff so that he can't PROVE that he didn't do the hacking.

To which everyone knows he's been hacking the system and he's said it himself all over the place.

Saying you don't want people to use your hacks for piracy won't stand in court as he hasn't done anything to directly stop people from using his hacks for piracy on the PS3.

Him releasing the key and a program to sign stuff with it only requires 1 person to release a pirated game via it to have him busted/prove it was only for piracy alone.

regardless what he actually thinks.

[ChickeyCantor]

"rain the kid of everything he has, and forfeit. that should teach him a lesson""

yeah these million dollars big guys are awesome roll models by draining a guy who probably lives on a minimum lone.

Yeah I mean, way to show them sony!
Your fanboys are proud !!!

They should just offer him a freaking job to help in development or something.

Its a WIN WIN.

[dkgshiz]

I highly doubt it. Honestly, what could Sony really get back from this kid? I highly doubt he has a lot of money.

[Dragon_Hiko]

Haha, what? I'd say Sony's a great role model...they are showing when someone breaks the law and potentially not only loses millions for the company that brought some amazing hardware into the world, but also ruins the gaming experience for potentially millions of people playing online; and also the potential problem (as I saw someone else state in another article) of other hackers getting a hold of some poor fella's credit card info thats on the psn.

I as a customer of Sony...I would be outraged if Sony did nothing; and am very happy they are throwing the fucking book at him, and I hope it hits him right between his smug eyes.

And let me ask you this, would you hire the man who came into your house and took your shit while you were away, to then guard your house for you while you were away next time? Well by your logic, yes, yes you would. And it's dumb logic.

And as another post said up the list, he's only 21 fucking years old. I suppose it's his younger sense of immortality that has pushed him onwards in his quest for fame and glory. Because as I said in another article, the reason hackers are doing this is for the fame and publicity. If they were not, no one would ever know they hacked the thing but themselves.

[Retro_Zombie]

"He look's like he's going to jail"

And in jail he's going to be someones bitch. XD

[ChickeyCantor]

" And let me ask you this, would you hire the man who came into your house and took your shit while you were away"

Why yes, with his SKILLS i think i will profit more from it than to drain the little he has.

" Well by your logic, yes, yes you would. And it's dumb logic"

You really don't see the benefits of his skills for programming do you? He could be a good asset for Sony.

Dumb?
Boy, you think your perspective is the most intelligent isn't it?

" Because as I said in another article, the reason hackers are doing this is for the fame and publicity. If they were not, no one would ever know they hacked the thing but themselves."
what kind of bs is this?
First of, most hackers do this to enhance their knowledge. Next to that, he is EXPOSING the flaws of a system. This isnt about fame, just a discovery.
Sony should have made use of this, instead look what happened.

[Dragon_Hiko]

" And let me ask you this, would you hire the man who came into your house and took your shit while you were away"

"Why yes, with his SKILLS i think i will profit more from it than to drain the little he has."

" Well by your logic, yes, yes you would. And it's dumb logic"

"You really don't see the benefits of his skills for programming do you? He could be a good asset for Sony. "

HAHA, first there is not much skill in waiting for you to be gone, and breaking a window and stealing your shit, that is no skill, and you would be RETARDED to hire that man to then guard your shit. It was a loaded question on my part, and you're really dumb for agreeing to it.

Here let me ask you another one. If a man breaks into your house, and kills your wife, will you hire him to guard your daughter too? Come on...but his skills are so good.

Now about Geohot, no I don't see anymore benefit in hiring him than any of the thousands of college graduate computer genius's that could have been hackers but went to school to get jobs like at Sony.

And by the way yes, my opinion of my opinion is that it is more intelligent than yours. I normally only reply when I see something of great interest to discuss, or really stupid comments like yours that I just can't stand to see unrefuted.

"First of, most hackers do this to enhance their knowledge. Next to that, he is EXPOSING the flaws of a system. This isnt about fame, just a discovery.
Sony should have made use of this, instead look what happened."

Well maybe if he HADN'T MADE IT PUBLIC to the WORLD, and contacted Sony detailing everything he did, maybe then I could understand your 'Sony give him a job' attitude. But with what they did, we already have tons of cheats, broken multiplayer, broken trophies, potential to lose credit card information to hackers, and more and more. And again if hackers do it to 'enhance knowledge' then WHY MAKE IT PUBLIC TO THE WORLD!!!!!??? Oh yeah...they are attention whores and when faced with legal action that could cost them their entire lives they lie....who'd of thunk it?

[knifefight]

@ people talking about jail.

People don't go to jail for lawsuits.

[The_Illusive_Man]

if he doesnt i would put money on sony doing somthing else

[xCaptainAmazing]

That he wins. Anything.

[ChickeyCantor]

" HAHA, first there is not much skill in waiting for you to be gone, and breaking a window and stealing your shit, that is no skill,"

You compared it to hacking the Ps3.
So it must be some advanced secured house im living in.
And by going the money power i would have then, comparing it to sony, i would hire him to steal for me.
Get it? ah...guess not.

This is guy is a good asset to any programming group.
Even to Sony.
Thats all im saying.
Now take your nose off their hole.

[Dragon_Hiko]

" HAHA, first there is not much skill in waiting for you to be gone, and breaking a window and stealing your shit, that is no skill,"

"You compared it to hacking the Ps3.
So it must be some advanced secured house im living in.
And by going the money power i would have then, comparing it to sony, i would hire him to steal for me.
Get it? ah...guess not."

You really are a smeg head you know that Rimmer, I mean Sidar, a total smeg head. And no I used a basic example of the idiocy of hiring someone who wronged you. I actually put in another example in my last post you ignored. I'm curious if you'll ignore it again or not. See when I debate I debate every point my opponent lays forth or...basically I'm just talking out my ass like you are. So once again, if a man broke into your state of the art fancy house and killed your wife, would you hire him to protect your daughter, or hire him to go kill your competitor's wife? Either way...your stupid or pretty messed up man.

"This is guy is a good asset to any programming group.
Even to Sony.
Thats all im saying.

Now take your nose off their hole."

Hehe cute kid, very cute. I'm sticking my nose up sony's ass, because I think the man who potentially lost them millions of dollars and at the same time fucked up my gaming experience should pay for it? Thats a great argument you got there. You remind me of the way idiot kids argued back grade school. Stick to an actual point! If you want to insult someone, like I do you, at least back it up with a decent point besides that, otherwise it's rather shallow. How do you know he's a good asset to a programing group just because he can hack? He could have bad social skills, could be a royal douche bag that no one wanted to work with. He could be driven towards only doing the things he wants to do and not helping out the team for the good of the group. Theres a hundred different reasons why he would not even be good in a programming group without even taking his 'skillz' into account.

And why aren't you debating the other points in my last post, the ones about hackers going for fame and glory? About how you think they do it for educational experiences only...but still feel the need to let the whole world know what they did? Why did you even come back and reply to me at all with nothing at all new to bring to the table? I think you should just stop while your a few steps behind my friend.

[ChickeyCantor]

"and at the same time fucked up my gaming experience? "

LOL
right. Lay of the drugs.

Im not sure what fame will bring them good.
No hacker will benefit from it.
The reason he showed it to the world, is to tell them there is a potential use for doing more with your system.

Home-brewers love this stuff, and for your information, not all home-brewers condone illegal downloads.
But even the home-brew community is little, so how will a world wide announcement benefit him? What will this fame do to him ? what is it that he will gain with this fame?

"" How do you know he's a good asset to a programing group just because he can hack? He could have bad social skills, could be a royal douche bag that no one wanted to work with"

Cause bizz is one big happy family? LOL.
He is a good asset, due the things he can do.
He was able to reverse engineer stuff on his own.
ONE GUY. I've known many Douchebags while being on the work-ground. social sh/t got nothing to do with it.

" Theres a hundred different reasons why he would not even be good in a programming group without even taking his 'skillz' into account. "

Who says he wasn't already working for a company?
You think programmers just sit home and do nothing?
All programmers i know make their own stuff while not being at work.

" if a man broke into your state of the art fancy house and killed your wife, would you hire him to protect your daughter, or hire him to go kill your competitor's wife? Either way...your stupid or pretty messed up man.
"

We are talking about hacking, you then compare it to "Murder" of my wife.
There is a difference.
The stealing example i could understand, but this is just over the top.
So as far as stupid goes, take a look in the mirror.
Comparing theft/modification with murder is kinda idiotic.

If someone is able to hack my system, hell yes i would hire him. Cause he could point out where the flaws are. His insight brings KNOWLEDGE to the table.

If a thief is able to break into a secured building, hell yes i would hire him to steal sh/t for me.
( IF I WAS SOME VILLAIN, why not?)

But damn, going to compare this shit with murdering my wife? LOL.
I eat babies for breakfast, you were saying?

[Dragon_Hiko]

No, no drugs, look at this site.

http://modern-warfare-2-hac...

This one

http://www.tobys.dk/cod/mod...

and this one, which is interesting, it adds a santa hat, as well as aim bot firing through walls.

http://www.callofdutyhacks....

It took me 1 minute to find those links. Or am I in a drug hallucination imagining them?

And the enjoyment of being famous...is the adrenaline rush you feel when you think about how many thousands, upon tens of thousands of people either think you did something amazing, or at least know of what you did. How many people on this site alone have been talking about him in the last 5 days? I didn't say he'd get money from the fact that he's famous, I said he's getting off on it.

Also, I never said every hacker is evil/condones what Geohot does, just that he is a bloody idiot, and also every hacker that DOES condone game ruining experiences or theft is a douche.

And unless I'm mistaken, didn't Geohot give up on cracking the ps3 about a year ago publicly, and if it weren't for the team of hackers referred to as Failoverflow who did what he could not, taking the hacking to the next level; Geohot never would have been able to come back at the very end, finish a bit of coding and as far as I know release Sony's key or whatever it's called when Failoverflow did not want him too?

"I've known many Douchebags while being on the work-ground. social sh/t got nothing to do with it."

I honestly don't know what you're talking about there. If a person is a douchbag...it's normally because he acts like a douche to other people...hence he's got social issues as far as I know...social issues = problems getting along with others??

"We are talking about hacking, you then compare it to "Murder" of my wife.
There is a difference.
The stealing example i could understand, but this is just over the top.
So as far as stupid goes, take a look in the mirror.
Comparing theft/modification with murder is kinda idiotic."

Well...my analogy does make sense, even though it is very extreme, very extreme I admit...But I can also understand why it's a bit messed up, and on this one note alone I apologize, I suppose I got a bit too fired up and wanted to create a very colorful and over the top scenario. Talking about murdered wives is a little extreme of an analogy especially when we're talking about video games. Although, I still think it would be a stupid idea to hire a man who broke into my house and stole my things, but I guess...thats just me.

[renegade]

He looks like a punchable guy!

[Wenis]

You look like you stole that joke from the other article

[pixelsword]

all nerds are punchable

-FACT

[40cal]

I wouldn't mind pistol whipping the S*** outta the kid.

[yesah]

why is everyone against him? hes fighting for our rights, piracy may be bad but i for one would like the freedom to change my electronics software if i choose. It should not be illegal to hack things, it might violate Sony's TOS and get u banned from PSN but illegal? No.

[DeadIIIRed]

@yesah haha no, soldiers in World War II fought for our rights. He's fighting for a hobby.

[OGharryjoysticks]

yesah, I agree. You can unscrew it and put a sandwich in there if you want, but if you figured out how to run games without having to pay for them and post it on the internet I don't think you should be doing that. Just like you're free to sign up and buy a gun, and when you get it will you pass it around to everybody and say I don't condone shootings or stick ups?

[ComboBreaker]

And yeah, I was implying an*l r*pe.

I am not sorry if I was too clear.

[Exquisik]

@Yesah

How about I hack your house alarm system and then give your alarm code to everyone in your neighborhood so that they may have access to your house? That should be okay right? Since you consider hacking isn't illegal.

[yesah]

@ above, yes that would be bad because it was MY alarm system if u hacked your own alarm system to have a different sound should you go to jail?

[ScentlessApprentice7]

He looks like he needs a swift kick to the face! Showing his teeth like that only reaffirms that statement. I'll be waiting in line.

Edit: This article was submitted by Loner? LOL, now that's funny. Don't quit your day-troll kid.

[Loner]

* Don't quit your day job troll kid.
I correct it for you

[ScentlessApprentice7]

You are troll, therefore you are. Trolling is just as synonymous with your daily life as going to the bathroom. It doesn't appear to be a simple daily distraction for you, hence no requirement for the word "job".

BTW, if you even care for communicating in proper English, it would be "I corrected it for you". Still a nice thought though. Thanks kid.

[FailOverHero]

I dare you to make less sense. Seriously, I dare you.

[Baka-akaB]

@Raendom

I think you just gave hollywood a casting idea for the movie

[Eyeco]

theres a similar film like that already , its called Roadhouse

[deadpoole]

Loll

[sobekflakmonkey]

if thats george hotz, i would say he looks like a creep, but maybe thats just the image...

[The_Illusive_Man]

i agree he looks like a future pedofile

[Noctis]

He looks like the ice truck killer D:

[DeFFeR]

Holy Shit... you're so right...

[MGRogue2017]

Frodo Baggins from Lord of The Rings. :D

[Infernostew]

Fresh meat walking!

[Christopher]

***This case is not about Sony Computer Entertainment America LLP attempting to protect its intellectual property***

Actually, that's exactly what their documents look like. They don't mention anything about Hotz or others hacking the software. Their complaints are purely on the distribution of the security keys and software that enables people to place unsigned software on the PS3, specifically software that facilitates piracy by opening loop holes previously closed by Sony in order to prevent piracy.

He needs a better lawyer if this is what they're opening with.

[The_Illusive_Man]

well sony probably have 10 of the worlds best lawers working for them so yeah he needs a betther lawer

[UNLOADEAD]

Fuck Geohot! He is a douchebag who wants attention.

[madpuppy]

He sounds like he has a jaw breaker in his mouth when speaks. weird. :P

[milohighclub]

he looks like he's gonna be bending over in the near future.

[ComboBreaker]

are going to love this Geo nerd so much. And yes, I meant true love, the kind of true physical love one get from behind.

[TVippy]

Elijah, yeah.

[the_manson_charles]

Geohot turned in celebrity of Sony... :)

[FinalSpartan]

sony trying to trap him with donation lool This makes sony foolish.

[manky]

Don't worry he won't go to jail...

I'm thankful there are people like him still around willing to open up DRM protected machines so that anyone can do what they want with their own lawfully bought property.

I'll donate a dollar to to his legal cause if SONY persist.

[nskrishna2]

How does it feel like having something you've worked hard for 3 god damn years taken away from you in the blink of an eye...don't answer... Rhetorical question

[The_Illusive_Man]

so if somone uses a computer to hack somones bank details its ok because they bought the computer?

[nskrishna2]

he does..actually..:O

[the_best_player]

Geohot won last time with Iphone :)

[the_best_player]

As we speak some poor programmer who slipped up ONE time in making a security code is being brutally tortured in a japanese work camp.

[gameraxis]

Obviously Sony's legal demartment (all 20 laywers) walking into the court will probably shred this kids case apart. BUT if the information above is quoted accurately and Sony's first attempt has been the "hearsay" on discussion boards... then the laywer this kid has is pretty excellent at his job. The kid not signing into the ps network what so ever (unless sony finds his other name with the same default router or ssid) because we all know the kid has gone on psn... but the mere mentioning that he didn't sign in, therefore didn't read the terms of use and had to agree to NOTHING, is pretty big... at least big enough for sony to hire the kid, some sort of deal, or at the very least, not going to jail...Sounds like a very good attorney, i only have my associates degree in law but the teen, was intelligent by having on record not to send money... if its donations, that's certainly not illegal, loop hole or not. and the attorney is def pushing the right aspects as far as being motivated and concerned to get this kid a job at Sony lol, settle, or keeping him out of jail..

BUT if sony's like "ok punk, we'll take our pretrial lawyer off the field and send in the A team, its over. lol just the sheer power and money behind sony to put into these suits will overwhelm the kid, AND his attorney. Its all about how much Sony wants to invest at the end of the day to either obtain the method used as to prevent further attacks or make an example of the hacker. Interesting story to follow, it really could go either way.

[DarkBlood]

to the face that is :P jks

[SKUD]

Well one FACT could be although he has many supporters. None are willing to pay for his legal expenses.

[awesomeperson]

What I hope happens is not a quick straight out win for Sony or Geo (which in both cases I don't think it would be).

As others have said, I want this case to drag on for ages, sure it'l cost Sony but they're loaded. I want it to kill all of Geo's money and finance, preferably making him mortgage whatever he owns (if anything, if he's not still living with his parents). I hope his smug smile is wiped off his face and is replaced with a big, ugly, frown.

I hope that it would set an example for other hackers, and make Geo think twice if he ever wants to get his life back on track.

Hackers make me feel sick, they are just attention whores.

[Quietpower10]

Your profile picture clearly expresses your disdain against hackers.

[awesomeperson]

Lol yes it expresses me in quite a lot of comments, I clicked agree not the disagreer by the way :P

[deadreckoning666]

"Hackers make me feel sick, they are just attention whores."

And ur a drama queen.

[FailOverHero]

And how!

[awesomeperson]

@Fail

If you were talking to me, about how they are attention whores.

They want to be recognized in the world, they want to see their ugly mugs on the TV been broadcast to millions. It gives them a sense of purpose and belonging in the world.

@dead, maybe I am, but its how I feel. I swear if hackers ever manage to hack KZ3 online I will ... (well I couldn't actually do anything...)

[Mahr]

"I want it to kill all of Geo's money and finance"

Not ever going to happen. If things look even remotely serious for Geohot, all he has to do is solicit the EFF. This is precisely the kind of case they jump at the chance to take, and they work for free to boot.

Hopefully, this backfires on Sony like it did in Spain and winds up legalizing console jailbreaking in this country for good.

[Da One]

Won't happen console manufacturers would lose millions possibly billions....

3rd parties would be crushed cause you basically just told pirates/hackers that it's ok too pirate(this is what happens when the systems are jail broken) without repercussion and that Devs, Publishers, and the Big 3 shouldn't be able to do anything about it.

The financial ruin it would it would cause would be to great. The Law would virtual kill the industry.

[Eamon]

This scaremongering with "financial ruin" is BS really.

Look at the App Store's success even though jailbreaking iphone is legal.

Look at game sales on 360 even though it's been subjected to piracy for years.

It's similar to how US gov scares its people into thinking Wikileaks puts "lives at risk." But I guess wars don't, eh? =P

[Da One]

You fail to see the point.

Look at the market those apps are marketed too vs the market video games are marketed too.

Next it's not illegal jailbreak iphones, Apple can't do anything if you do. So if that happens as long as people don't go online with their consoles in which they have to agree to a ToS they can pirate to their hearts content.....

That hurts devs especially the ones who specialize in single player games (Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch, BioWare, Lionhead, etc).

Financial Ruin is not false it will and can happen

[Mahr]

"Won't happen console manufacturers would lose millions possibly billions...."

Modding a system is fair use. Piracy is not, and would still be very obviously illegal and carry ideally harsh penalties.

"you basically just told pirates/hackers that it's ok too pirate"

If you want to send the message that it is not okay to pirate, prosecute the pirates.

"So if that happens as long as people don't go online with their consoles in which they have to agree to a ToS they can pirate to their hearts content"

Not true. Pirating iPhone games is absolutely 100% illegal whether the user goes online or not -- as it should be.

I suspect that if companies spent more time trying to put the screws to actual pirates than to guys like Geohot, this knowledge would be much more common.

[TronEOL]

Yeah, lets make Jailbreaking consoles legal. Then the last generation of gaming will probably be the PS4, next Xbox and Nintendo console. Only for PC gaming to follow next since almost any casual gamer will resort to doing other things with their lives, therefore it wouldn't mean 50+ million gamers moving to PC gaming, it'd mean 50+ million gamers changing to doing non-gaming activities.

Good job you fucking twat.

Now if you want gaming to be in your future, you'd be saying "I hope Sony wins this and it sends a grim message to hackers out there to keep their shit private, or don't hack at all".

That is unless you absolutely love to play iPhone games (if they even last once console games are gone) with about as much fun and imagination as a cement wall.

[Mahr]

"Then the last generation of gaming will probably be the PS4, next Xbox and Nintendo console."

If that conclusion met even the most basic standards of reasonableness, it would be worth taking into consideration.

But seeing as how piracy will still be highly illegal even in a world where jailbreaking is acceptable, your argument fails to satisfy those standards.

[BlackKnight]

@awesomeperson

Do you hate hackers or pirates? big difference. Do you hate hackers or cheaters? big difference.

I think we all agree some one hacking to CHEAT on a game is shitty. And that hacking a console and using is for piracy is wrong and not fair to developers.

However, what many people on N4G seem to be so willing to give up, I assume due to immaturity and fanyboy loyalty, is the right to use the hardware YOU NOW OWN, similar to how when you can buy a PC, you can write your own code, you can install what you want, and so on. You can also pirate on PC but THAT's when it becomes wrong. You should NOT be pirating on PC or any console.

But I see nothing wrong with being allowed to run your own code and make your own programs not only for PC, but for consoles as well. You can make your own games for the PS3, perhaps another browser to compete with Sony's built-in, have complete control over the XMB or implement your own type of XMB, hardware monitoring software so you can see your temps, network activity, your own file transfer protcol for moving files from your PS3 to PC or vice versa, like pics and movies, not being stuck with Sony-only methods. This goes for xbox as well. If sony/MS don't want modded consoles on psn/xbl, fine. That sucks but fine, don't let them connect. But you should not BRICK the console in any form and ESPECIALLY not try to sue someone who lets the PS3 act like a PC. Sue those who give out the PIRATED GAMES!

[beavis4play]

if these hackers are just doing this for their own personal fun - why did they RELEASE THE INFO ONLINE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS IT? especially when the hackers know better than anyone the POTENTIAL FOR USING THE INFO TO ILLEGALLY PIRATE GAMES?

your arguement (and many others on this site) smells of false naivety.

[DragonKnight]

You own the HARDWARE, you DO NOT own the SOFTWARE. Do you understand what that means? iPhone jailbreaking is legal when you own the software you break, it's VERY different with the PS3.

Geez. Why can't you pro-hackers understand that basic fact. This is a general response BTW, just replied to you because you brought up that owning hardware point.

[awesomeperson]

I hate them both now.

The hackers know darn well that if they release their hacks then it will be thoroughly abused, and can be present in online games (like now in MW2 [and possibly GT5]). The hacks were released quick smart and now anyone with intent can do harm with them. I don't mind hackers if they do it in their little secluded 1 room apartment, to make themselves feel good. Its when they want attention that I become annoyed.

All that hackers are doing by claiming to put features into the PS3 which Sony haven't already done, are slowing Sony down in making these features official. Instead Sony are making patches and putting valuable time, money and resources into combatting piracy instead of developing new features.

I straight out hate cheaters for ruining online, no explanation is needed there.

[duplissi]

@DragonKnight

wooosh.... right over your head eh?

actually jailbreaking/rooting is legal when done to enhance features and/or to install software that you have LEGALLY OBTAINED.... sheesh you dont ever, ever own the operating system for ANY device.....

so it is the same situation with the ps3.

[DragonKnight]

@duplissi: You didn't read my post at all did you? Why comment on something you didn't read? You reiterated what I said about jailbreaking. I believe you are making the mistake of believing that the case for the iPhone applies universally, and it doesn't. It's one thing to hack software you bought and, through the terms of that purchase, then own the rights to. It's quite another when you by a piece of hardware like the PS3, which requires proprietary software to function properly. You buy the hardware, and Sony provides the software to give the device a proper function. They own the software, meaning you can't legally hack it to do what you want with it.

All you are permitted to do is whatever you want with the physical property. That's why you could attach guns to your ps3 if you wanted and Sony couldn't do a thing. Wouldn't be smart, but they don't have to care at that point. What this hack does is steal industrial secrets, which is also illegal. So maybe it's gone over YOUR head.

[bailoutbenny]

@dragonknight

You should just stop while you are ahead. The iPhone jailbreak involves the same type of hacking of the licensed Apple iOS that hacking the PS3 requires. In both cases, the OS and firmware were probed for potential exploits that would allow the hacker's code to run. Once the weakness was found, it was used to execute the code that gave the hackers full access to the hardware.

In both cases, the hackers do not "own" the original code running on the device. They reverse engineer and otherwise manipulate the existing licensed code in order to run the hacked code. Once they can get their hacked code running, THEN they can fully replace the original licensed software with their own. The iPhone jailbreaking case is EXACTLY the same as PS3 jailbreaking.

[DragonKnight]

@bailoutbenny: I guess you didn't pay much attention to Apple case other than the final ruling being that jail breaking iPhones is legal eh?

[Lord_Doggington]

BlackKnight, I completely agree. He owns that console. Just as anyone would own their PC.

1) His hack doesn't allow for piracy anymore than OtherOS, which was on the console for YEARS and could allow emulation of "little games" like Castlevania. Sony is just as much at fault for having that software available on the PS3.

2) He's not pirating anything. Guess what folks. It's not illegal to hack. It's illegal to alter code to software such as games and movies then distribute it, but it's not illegal to hack a computer. Especially if you went out and bought it with your own damn money. There's no license being broken. You bought it. It's yours. If Sony is mad about the code that you wrote on the PS3 that you bought, then they can have the right to ban him from using his PS3. For all you dummies that think he's wrong for "stealing the security key." It's not stealing if you own it. He paid for it. Literally paid for it. It's like you buying a house, then finding out the previous owner buried the keys in the back yard. So you go digging for it and you get them and open to the keys to your own house. Because you paid for that house. The previous owner can't get mad and then ask that you don't dig up your keys. Because they're YOUR KEYS.

3) This has already been proven w/ the iphone case. Geohot has already won this exact same case against Apple. He hacked into their closed system in the iphone and the judge said it was legal. Cell phone or not, it's still a computer. The judge knows that he can't act against the ruling of a previous case if the defense can link it to the current one.

4) He didn't ask for donations. He never asked. Even if he did have a donations button on his site, there needs to be a formal wording on his site that specifically asks for money for making his PS3 hack. He can take gifts all he wants, because they're not a profit.

5) Ethics are not the same as the law. So it's illegal to run pirated software. We all know that. But how illegal is it to run PROGRAMS that run pirated software. In the context of this case it may look bad for Geohot. But in the "real world" he's completely safe. Why? Because programs like Divx, MAME, Daemon Tools, etc. will have to have been on the chopping block. This attack on free third party software is something that unprecedented. The law protects them from monopolistic corporations like Sony.

There are so many more reasons why this is just a shitty case and should be thrown out. Geohot's hack doesn't allow for piracy. Period. I don't know why people think this. It allows for Homebrew. So then if nothing is wrong, Sony is just trying to bankrupt a 21 year old kid?

...if you wanna talk about ethics, talk about that...

[DragonKnight]

Ok, to you people using the Apple case as an example, do your research. The ruling was made because of Apple's own restrictions, specifically about phone carriers. Forcing people to use AT&T as a carrier, where there were several instances of very poor service, was one of the major reasons jailbreaking was made legal. Apple's restrictions on the device were what killed them in the end. Also, unlike the PS3, the iPhone's Master Keys were NOT discovered and leaked to the world so that people could do whatever they wanted on the iPhone.

Also, the policies between both companies are vastly different. Whereas 3rd party software and services are allowed to be run on the PS3 (3rd party games, Netflix, Facebook, etc...) the same could not be said for the iPhone, which was severely restricted in that market. Furthermore, when OtherOS was still on the PS3, Sony gave people the chance to run their homebrew apps on the PS3, no one took advantage of that and instead tried to exploit the system for their own gains under the guise of homebrew. They already had the option, why didn't they use it? Because the hackers aren't really interested in homebrew apps. It's pretty obvious.

The situations between the two are not similar. The iOS was hacked using various security holes and workarounds. The PS3 OS was hacked using Sony's own Master Keys used for signing official codes. You're trying to say that that's legal? If you think that that's legal, then you're basically saying that no company has a right to proprietary goods and services, all things should be made open source and open to piracy, and that it's perfectly fine that there are no industrial secrets which, up until now in the PS3's case, have pretty much provided you with nearly 5 years of entertainment that you didn't have a problem with. Up until now that is.

Suddenly the PS3, which offers more than any other console in terms of over all features, doesn't offer enough. You have to be able to play homebrew on it. That's what it was built for right? Nevermind that PC does it better, or that you had your chance to use homebrew with OtherOS but didn't, and hackers ruined it for you. Sony proved they had no problem with homebrew when they allowed OtherOS on the PS3, hackers wanted more. If you believe it's not about piracy, you're naive.

You DON'T own the OS software on the PS3, it's plain and simple. Trying to claim you do shows ignorance.

[Lord_Doggington]

Firstly, if Sony had just left OtherOS on their system, this whole thing would never have happened.

Secondly, the iPhone case wasn't just about which carrier you could use your phone with: "...to allow iPhone owners to use their phones with applications that are not available from Apple's store, and to unlock their iPhones for use with unapproved carriers."
It was also to rule that people could now use the phones to run undesignated apps, just like in this case.

Thirdly, IT'S SONYS STUPID FAULT FOR INCLUDING THE SAME DAMN MASTER KEY IN EVERY SYSTEM. I mean, really? If they were smart they would have a separate master key for each system. But the a hacker can't ignore that glaring omission, can he?

The thing is, DragonKnight, is that the security key is in essence just a number. It's just a number. There's nothing that you can really do if someone knows a number. Just because someone publishes a number doesn't mean you can take them to court. There is no End User License Agreement that can protect a number. For something like this to hold up in court you have to go beyond just a security key and ask about the purpose of knowing the key and whether it was distributed for malicious intent. In this case, he gets off free because intent is the hardest thing to prove in court. If he claims it was just for homebrew and denies knowledge that it could also be used for piracy, he gets off.

Hence the "intent" portion of the allegation...

[BlackKnight]

@beavis4play

Because maybe there are people who want to have the cool stuff I listed above but don't know how to hack. Similar to people on PC who can't even make a custom map but download custom maps for their games. Maybe the hacker releases the code to "unlock" your PS3, another guy says awesome, a small indie dev on PC, and he wants to make free games and such. Then others might want to play the games he makes. Or maybe he makes cool programs that replace or surpass Sony's. The list goes on what you can do which is legal. Obviously pirating should NOT be done. But you should not restrict user rights on something they own simply to stop those that would pirate.

@DragonKnight

Lol, where are you getting this idea that you own the hardware but not the software? I own that COPY of the software. Let's go with your silly logic.

I own my PS3 but not the PS3 OS. Why can't I hack the PS3 OS and remove? What right does Sony have to say I can't remove their OS and put my own on MY PURCHASED console? Easy, you just made that whole thing up.

Also, the iphone is not different, they jailbroke the iOS. Are you saying the owner's of the iphone then own iOS? Another flawed argument. I have no idea where you are going with this,

"It's one thing to hack software you bought and, through the terms of that purchase, then own the rights to. It's quite another when you by a piece of hardware like the PS3, which requires proprietary software to function properly."

It's the same thing, they hacked the iOS so you could install ANYTHING, same thing as the PS3. And when you say "function properly", you mean run it the ONLY way sony let's you. You can put your own custom OS and add your own apps and have it do what you want, play music or movies off your PC with a better interface than the XMB, surf the web with a custom browser, and so on. And it will "function properly", it will do what you want it to do.

Yes I brought up owning hardware, I bought it, it's mine.

And what "industry secrets"? Are you talking about the code the prof put up? Lol that's not an "industry secret".

You are an idiot, third party programs WERE allowed on iphone. Any program NOT MADE by Apple is third party. You can get netflix on your iphone right now without jailbreaking. You are totally making stuff up.

And now you start a slippery slope argument. IF YOU WANT TO RUN YOUR OWN CODE OR CHANGE SONY'S THEN YOU JUST WANT ALL THE SOURCE CODE OF EVERYTHING AND NO COMPANY GETS MONEY OR OWNS GOODS.

Immature and marked as so. They should have a "Misinformation" description.

Yes, otherOS was awesome. And you again make hackers sound like some collective that advocate piracy. They didn't want piracy. And even otherOS had limits. Some hackers probably want to do piracy, but to generalize and then agree that no one should be allowed to run code on THEIR hardware is immature, and oblivious to what rights you give up in the world.

You are a joke and slave to a corporation. You think that when you buy hardware, that the company can tell you what you can do with your hardware? Now going online and DOWNLOADING GAMES is wrong. But putting your own code on the PS3 and having it as your oyster should not be. And I hope the legal system sees it as so.

[jerethdagryphon]

as to the people saying keys arnt illeagal , if i make a copy of your housekey to see if i can thats one thing the moment i use it it becomes illigal

he used the keys to open sonys door now hes saying that even though he left the door open hes not responsible for the thives who go in an rob you.

keys are unique and should be protected by copyright the package there in the programmers tools are protected

individual numbers cannot be copyrighted ie 0-9

but if you have good reason you can copyright sequences

such as binary source code. because it constitues work and ideas they have value intrinsic to them.

[itsalive]

would this apply in this situation? corporate espionage act of 1996.

"The second section, 18 U.S.C. § 1832, criminalizes the misappropriation of trade secrets related to or included in a product that is produced for or placed in interstate (including international) commerce, with the knowledge or intent that the misappropriation will injure the owner of the trade secret. Penalties for violation of section 1832 are imprisonment for up to 10 years for individuals (no fines) and fines of up to US$5 million for organizations."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

brought it up in another thread, but was just wondering....

[Lord_Doggington]

jerethdragryphon. there's no EULA contract that protects a master key, which is essentially just a number.

Sorry, but there just isn't.

Two things that Sony (and other console makers) should do before the next gen:

1) Flesh out the EULA
2) MAKE EACH CONSOLE HAVE A DIFFERENT MASTERKEY LOL

[jerethdagryphon]

doddington you cant have different master keys thats the problem

and its not end user licence agtreement its copyright

the master key is part of the ps3 programmers tools which are copyrighted

[Bolts]

Did you just woke up this morning and found out that hackers and pirates exist? Where were you when hackers and pirates were downloading Sony IPs like Spiderman 3 and Sony Music songs by the truck loads?

Now all the sudden the PS3 got hacked and it's like OMGZ!! Hackers are eviiiiilll.

LOL.

[GhostofHorizon]

When you download a movie, does it impact the people that actually bought the movie with their money?

When you go online and reset a whole bunch of people to Level 0, is that somehow enjoyable for those people?

I fail to see how people don't see something wrong about this.

The comparison between PS3 and movies or music is laughable at best.

[awesomeperson]

Pretty much what Naki said is my answer.

The analogy of music/movies- PS3 isn't really the same.

It takes a LOT more dedicated work to crack the PS3 open, you don't have to modify your DVD player or computer to play pirated music/movies.

[Burning_Finger]

Make.Believe

[mightyboot]

Jailbreak man either goes broke or goes to jail.

[Elven6]

This kind of reminds me of the HD DVD key thing, basically a key that allowed you to essentially rip HD DVD's was leaked onto the internet. A few companies tried to silence it and initially they were successful but the internet took over and posted it every where they could.

[RememberThe357]

But geohots lawyer is right, this isn't about stopping the hacking, it's about making an example of him. Sony already has the PSP they know that they can't stop hackers but they also have to do something about what is going on. This is really the only thing they can do at this point.

[Ultraplayerxp]

No one can beat the internet.

[AKissFromDaddy]

Hotz has an awesome lawyer. Hotz never signed the ToS. The lawyer uses Sony advertisement as a counter argument. Where did Hotz find this guy because if he's successful in this case, he's famous. This quote from the lawyer is perfect:

"Sony, through its marketing of the PlayStation computer has touted its versatile ability to do more than play video games," the response reads. "And yet, this is the crux of Sony's argument as to why the system cannot be treated like the computer that it is. The PlayStation computer has the ability to play films on Blu-ray discs and other media and it has the ability to access the internet and play music and a myriad of other features. All of these additional features can be enhanced by an end user's ability to install and run third-party software on the PlayStation computer. Instead of pointing out the possibilities in innovation and enhancement to the PlayStation, Sony has instead chosen to quote internet chat boards and other unauthenticated hearsay sources to demonstrate the 'truth' of the matter asserted: that 'jailbreaking' the PlayStation computer has no use other than to play pirated, copyright-protected, video games."

This lawyers sounds too good, so far, that if I were Hotz, I'd submit a counter lawsuit so we could both get paid. They'll probably make something up. Nevertheless, this lawyer is impressive, at least to me. Think about it!

[RememberThe357]

On what grounds? There are two sided to the argument. Sony has some great lawyers too and if you read Sony's request for a restraining order you can see they've read up on the subject as well. Geohot violated the GMCA. It's pretty clear as long as Sony's lawyers don't let Geohots lawyer re-frame the argument they seem to have a winning case.

[AKissFromDaddy]

You mean the DMCA or Digital Millenium Copyright Act, lol.

Sony wants to sue Hotz and failoverfl0w for modifying PS3 software, circumventing what they describe as the PS3’s TPM (“technological prevention measures”), and distributing the means to do so.

Hotz showed a demo of running homebrew applications on PS3 firmware 3.55 without using any jailbreak usb dongles, based on the discovery of the security exploit by the fail0verflow team.

Sony sued Mr. Hotz on 8 counts for violation of the DMCA. In response, Carnegie Mellon University professor David S. Touretzky mirrored Hotz' writings and issued a statement confirming that Hotz' publication is within his right to free speech.

Source - http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/...

The information is all on the web for me and you. And I doubt the Digital Millenium Copyright Act can take away the First Amendment. What do you think?

PS. With geohot's PS3 jailbreak guide, you won't be able to play backup games or pirated games or whatever you choose to call them. You can install packages with the provided installer.

[Omegasyde]

@ akiss

Wrong, all they have to prove is that his hacked caused piracy: (From The DCMA as well)

The congressional determination to promote electronic commerce and the distribution of digital works by providing copyright owners with legal tools to prevent widespread piracy was tempered with concern for maintaining the integrity of the statutory limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright owners.

[Eamon]

@ AKissFromDaddy

It will be interesting to see the result of all of this.

[AKissFromDaddy]

@Omegasyde

The problem for users tweaking their game consoles, at least in comparison to the smartphone market, is the legalities are anything but clear. When Apple tried to outlaw jailbreaking on the iPhone under the auspices of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), it was rebuffed. The DMCA granted an exemption to iPhone users: you couldn’t be sued for jailbreaking your phone because you legitimately owned it.

I'm leaning towards that the same outcome will come to Sony forcing them to create a even more secure console with constant updates. I think it's inevitable that Sony will discover in court that the PS3s have new owners after it's sold and they can do anything almost anything they want with it.

Sadly, I know a time will come when we have to sign agreements just to purchase a console and that will end consoles.

@Eamon

100% agreed on that. Nevertheless, I don't want either party to lose. I wish there was a healthy consumer to corporation relationship, then we wouldn't need all these useless rules but then lawyers would be twiddling their fingers.

[RememberThe357]

lol Yeah, D*MCA (YMCA same thing)

The problem I though was the real beef of the case was that Hotz released Sony's key and that was a violation of the DMCA? How is that protected under the First Amendment?

One professors (the guy is a avid free speech activist. I got nothing against that, just implying his motivation and/or view of the subject) opinion of the case is far from confirmation. It was my understanding that circumventing the PS3's TPM and then distributing the Key was a violation of the DMCA. I really don't see how any of this would violate his First Amendment rights?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[Omegasyde]

If has a PSN account he accepted the ToS.

[jerethdagryphon]

ok i have a clock radio its listed as being able to do multimedia functions, should i be entitled to hack it to run games?

ps3 out of the box is very versitile web browsing games internet videochat photo printing and limited editing web players vilms streaming from a media server.. .

thats what its stated to do thats what its meant to do nothing else

additionally the 3rd party stuff is 99% of the time something to defruad or damage otherpeoples enjoyment or value to the system

less then 1% of the people who jailbreak a phone do it to write there own apps

[beavis4play]

AKissFromDaddy - how do you figure his lawyer is
"awesome"? unless his lawyer can show where sony says that one of things that the ps3 was intended to be used for is to hack it's security which allows for anyone to pirate any game it wants and use it illegally in a way the software was NEVER meant to be used - unless he can find that information - his words come off as a snakeoil salesman selling fake cures to sick people.
his lawyer sounds like an idiot to me.

[blackburn5]

I just saw the lil turd on Attack of the Show. 'I don't do anything, Sony's just mad that's all'. Of course Sony is evil but these thieves are seen as heroes. Isn't it funny that they stole from Sony, handed the keys to anyone that might manipulate them how ever they may feel like and they have the never to say 'We haven't done anything' @ RememberThe357. Don't bother trying to make sense. Everyone thinks that Sony's lawyers didn't advise them before they launched this lawsuit. They still talk as if Sony is some rookie company who just started business last month @ Lucas25 if you owned a business or company you wouldn't think it was a waste of time. You would do anything to protect it.

[FailOverHero]

Lol, you sound just about ready to burst out crying. Seriously, I kept imagining a 13 yr old girl talking an tears starting to well up in her eyes and her voice starting to go all whiney.
But then I have a vivid imagination. I'm sure you were as cool as a cucumber when you wrote that.

[ScentlessApprentice7]

If anyone here is posting with pure emotion and no rationale or logic, it would definitely be you. Just because you cry out in front of the computer like a 13 year old girl with a whiny voice doesn't mean other people do.

Now did that make any sense to you? No? Oh well. Be damned. I guess no one can help you.

[Lucas25]

Geohot going to win this, sony's just wasting their money.Their making it worse, geohot is getting more exposure.

[ComboBreaker]

He'll be even more famous in jail, where all the bullies will be lining up to take their turn knocking him out.

[Checkmate]

He looks like the new waiter in training from that movie Waiting :)

[ashcroft]

Geohot has a win win situation. If he wins he's free, He loses he Jailbreaks out of jail. :)

[Omegasyde]

Why do that when you can use the Konami Code for Life®:

Up, up, Down, Down, Left, right, Left, Right, B, A, Start

I am sure it will help GeoHot obtain 99,999,999 credits and 30 lives. It's gotten me out of doing dishes, family visits, and helped me with ladies.

[Bolts]

LMAO!!

[Elite_737]

I really don't get all of the hate around this guy. Hacking the PS3 is the best thing for the consumer. Think about it, you now have an open machine that anybody with an idea can code on. You don't have to wait for Sony's slow-ass development team to bring in new features, now you have the collective community. We now have competition. Sure, piracy may be an inevitable byproduct from an open console. But, that isn't what hacking is about. When people hear hacking they for some reason associate it with piracy, but that's such a small portion of what it brings to the table. Anybody that hacked their psp/wii knows the awesome benefits from an open console.

People who are actually sticking up for Sony here shows fanboyism at its worst. Regardless of what Sony says, ALL they care about is profit. They don't care about you, they don't care about me, they don't care about geohot; they just want more money. I don't blame Sony; they are a corporation, that's what they do. You are deluded if you somehow think Sony is fighting for you. They aren't. They are fighting for their shareholders.

You don't have to like geohot; just remember who's on your side.

[badz149]

really now?

"Hacking the PS3 is the best thing for the consumer. Think about it, you now have an open machine that anybody with an idea can code on." - yeah, like ISO loader, online cheat codes etc...good things for pirates but what about legitimate users being screwed by these cheater?? have you ever thought about that?

"People who are actually sticking up for Sony here shows fanboyism at its worst." - fanboyism? I bought my PS3 to play great games and last time I check, these awesome games I've been playing on my PS3 are from Sony (not to forget other 3rd parties) not from this douchebag! what has this guy gave to gamers in general? NOTHING! he's maybe good for hackers and pirates but for average and legitimate gamer (which consist of majority of people with console), he's nothing but an attention whore trying to ruin the scene!

[joeorc]

"People who are actually sticking up for Sony here shows fanboyism at its worst. "

ok there sparky how old are you?

think about this say the court rules in favor of it's ok to now Hack the software on embedded computer entertainment devices. that means all those games from Nintendo , Sony an Microsoft 1st party you may be seeing go bye..bye..because no one would want to invest the time the money to make software that people could freely steal!

the Game industry as it stands not the market dynamic is not set up like the market is for Smartphone's but guess what if it does happen don't say that you want better made games, because you just got your wish..yes you can Hack your system but if all the games you like are not being made for it than what's the point than.

no market no games. Oh there would be games just most likely no games like Uncharted, Halo, alan Wake all great games but cost in the upwards of million an million's of $$ to make . Kiss that goodbye

[jerethdagryphon]

actually im protecting my investments

i spent thousands over the years on a colection of games and hardware some dev signed others rare what quality programs would come out for the ps3 something to make the piracy worth wile, nothing

no bedroom coders gonna make anything more then a pdf reader or add a mkv codec emulators bah i own the consoles and games besides unless you own those games your running from roms its piracy nintendo didn't release em to public domain so its illigal to dump a rom

[beavis4play]

Elite, you boob - there is NO sides in this. everyone who LOVES gaming should be concerned about this - the losers who think geo is some hero are just smart-@sses and thieves.
the only possible sides would be those who DON'T break the law and those who do.

this is news for GAMERS - not news for thieves. where is all of this trash coming from.

[Thoreau]

not you or geohot. no one is on my side, except for the devs that create great games "that i would gladly pay for"

how about this scenario...elite 737

you don't get paid for work..... oh that is right, your game has been released on the internet so no sales for you.

[faysal]

think about it, devs going to spend years and money to make amazing games but because of this shitty pirates this poor devs will be out of business and job, you know why ? because only 1 person has to buy the game for £40 or $60 then puts it on the net and BOOM every 1 will be able to download it for free = devs will get paid nothing and that will lead to devs stop making games because they dont have the money to make the games.that will effect the people who makes the console, they will stop making them and this whole gameing shit will come to an end. is that what you want?

[SnakeMustDie]

Uninformed among thieves

[andfed]

I agree with elite. Besides everyone is talking that piracy is going to kill the gaming industry, but last time i checked piracy exists for a LONG time yet new games are being released every year and the industry is expanding.
What I say is that the effects of piracy are incredibly overated.

If I can get a garantee that sony isnt going to ban me from the PSN for using a CFW while playing legaly purchased games, then I will install it without second thoughts

[user8397144]

If he goes to jail would he be able to jailbreak himself?

[JJFNIGHTS80]

SO LONG GOOD BYE GEOHOT

[BoNeSaW23]

George is a WHORE!

[SKUD]

No relation.

[BoNeSaW23]

Glad you cleared that up LOL

[MGRogue2017]

I actually like the guy.. Without him, My iPod Touch 4G wouldn't be able to be jailbroken..

I'm currently on 4.2.1 tethered >> Latest

It'd be really cool to be best friends with him. Talk about PS3 hacking, & whatnot.

[Lannient]

@enkeixpress Yeah I like him too, not to that extent but he seems like a cool person.

[Lannient]

>>>> http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[joeorc]

notice what George wants..not only the physical Hardware but the software that comes on the unit to be open also. the problem with that is..no one would invest millions into making games for such a device because it would be 100% legal to even hack the software.

this would in all likely hood mean the End of not just any embedded device being distributed with nothing more than Opensource software which is fine but it's not fine for devices for Games consoles for anything like a game made on a big budget.

not saying that would in of it self kill games being made but , it may infact kill any big buget series you may like.

more importantly this may have real problems for every software company that makes not just applications but any Operating system. this may force all operatings systems that come pre installed to be forced to open source!

[guzman]

Mmmmmm, I hope he comes to my prison so I can tap that sweet bottom.

[Lannient]

lmao...

[Sarobi]

Touche mr. hotz, touche

[zero_gamer]

If I were Sony I would just hire this guy as a tester for the PS4's security system. From a business standpoint I would want my hackers working with me to contribute to my product's security instead of opening doors to piracy. Hackers would have been something useful in this regard supposedly. Then again good luck convincing them to work with Sony.

*shrugs*

[jeeves86]

I wouldn't trust him, Hackers 'seem' very seedy and underhanded.

[Thoreau]

why hire someone that is a compromiser. you do know what happens to informants right, jail or death.

[King-Leonidas]

if he hadnt released ps3s rootkey and shut the fuck up then they might have thought about it

[joeorc]

"If I were Sony I would just hire this guy as a tester for the PS4's security system. From a business standpoint I would want my hackers working with me to contribute to my product's security instead of opening doors to piracy. Hackers would have been something useful in this regard supposedly. Then again good luck convincing them to work with Sony."

why Hire him if you would not need him anyway.

Say George wins an it's ruled anyone can put signed software on a game console. than the game console makers. give every game console now on forever an opensource OS.

then no big budget games, just security update's on their online networks an less an less interest's into new Ip investments because everyone could just take other people's game engines an make all the games they want an free distribute games witout needing the console manuf. network.

so trading HomeBrew for big budget games is a great thing right?

I already develop software in the Mobile space but if George get's his way..pretty much all games consoles from here on out even next generation would most likely have less invested into them..look at it this way..games would be cheaper, and so would the hardware. is that worth it for near to none of the big budget games being made anymore?

[Omegasyde]

@ akiss

Wrong, all they have to prove is that his hacked caused piracy: (From The DCMA as well)

The congressional determination to promote electronic commerce and the distribution of digital works by providing copyright owners with legal tools to prevent widespread piracy was tempered with concern for maintaining the integrity of the statutory limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright owners.

Edit: Yes you can modify you own purchased (whatever) *BUT* all sony has to do is link the piracy (Software, mind you) to his hacking. I am highly guessing, they are use the whole pay pal account as a bridge to prove that. If they obtain records (from paypal/forums) and one of the transactions leads to an individual(s) who is actively pirating software for the PS3, he is screwed.

They can't go after him for the hacking itself, but of knowingly distributing the tools/know-how. In relation to Iphone, he created Cydia which was its own App-market the underground apps which allowed were not created by him in any affiliation. I think song got him when he did this:
http://psx-scene.com/forums...

[Lucas25]

From PSX Scene

"Geohot never condoned piracy, and never enabled it. Infact he has with held the NPDRM keys, as well as the APPldr keys because they are the gateway to piracy. He released what he did so people could run their own software. What people do with their own system has nothing to do with sony unless they sign into PSN. Which he never has."

[jerethdagryphon]

ok he may not condone piracy but he still enabled it

if you work out how to copy a key to a door and i use that theroy to do it and rob your neighbord house your an accesory you provided the technolagy to make a start

even if it need more work its still that persons fault if piracy or robbery occurs

ok for the i phone originally was break a monopoly, monopalys are against the law in the states atat had a monoply on the iphone, as for the apps he took a car that used propriatory parts and changed it so it used standard parts that anyone could change problem is someoen goes along and copys fords expensive parts and give the copys away for free

[Mudkipz]

use that argument on what hes done for ipod and iphone, and you will get a result in which he is trying to provide for the playstation

[faysal]

"unless they sign into PSN. Which he never has." then how did he lose otherOS ? for you to download updates you have to sing in to PSN and he did download the update that disabled the otherOS by singing in to PSN him self. update dont happen to your console automaticly you have the option to update it or not. sony gave us option! update your ps3 and lose otherOS for PSN, or lose psn for otherOS. END OF STORY. his been stupid by saying i did all this for otherOS RELLY ? are you trying to tell me that if you lose £10 by purpose and later you find £100 laying around you would only take £10 coz you only lost £10 ?? NO any one would take the £100 coz that extra £90 is benefit!. if he says no i did'nt do it for piracy bla bla what makes you think other hacker out there wont hack the files he sent out and create feuture that allows you to play pirate games? if he can hack sony's firmware ofcurse other hacker can hack his firmware.

[hellraiserpop]

He (and millions of others) bought a SLIM.

[joeorc]

once again i have links to allow you to go to a FTP file server that oh shocking only works with Geohotz 3.55 CFW PS3

Black Box v1.2

does that ring a bell.

"for now there is no backup manger in the work's. there is one but only some games will work. if you boot them direct. and if you don't know how to jailbrak your ps3 than your going to brick it. so don't if you have no idea what are you doing. the backup manger will let you back up the games but most of them will not run for now. we are just going to have to wait."

so tell me than did George just say on the attack of the Show today that Piracy games would not work on his CFW...if so this was posted 1 day ago

[Mudkipz]

Do you think this guy is going to screw around with this shit without knowing what hes getting into?, this guy isn't mentally retarded, and if people think he did this with no thought in his mind that sony would come after him then you surely don't know much about this punk, this guy single handly handed apple their own ass with the jailbreak, hes not just some kid trying to start trouble

[TronEOL]

But he sure as hell is nearsighted.
He doesn't see what he's doing as "wrong". He opens up platforms for everyone else to mess around with, then he claims all that isn't his fault. It's as if you give a bunch of children guns, and watch them all kill eachother. Because he handed everyone the tools, HE is directly involved.

So my point here is you shouldn't put him on such a high pedestal. If he was as smart as you make him sound, he'd be smart enough to see he's a fucking moron not capable of even the most basic human problem solving.

[Mudkipz]

Last time i checked mister george hotz was not a murderer, and was not handing them guns and watching them kill themselves, there is a difference between murder and technology, technology cannot kill you.. i understand you was trying to get your point across but you should use a related logic

"hes a fucking moron not capable of even the most basic human problem solving", and what is it he should he should see?, that people like you don't like what hes doing?, because he should care for everyone else in the planet and not do as he pleases?

this is sony's fault, no one elses, he proved that the playstation 3 is easier to hack then the other two systems, and because of this we should go about and hang him?, kill him and his family?, rape his neighbors?, piracy will always be around, and if no one is going to accept this then you need to stop coming on the internet.

when the xbox 360 was hacked and people started using pirated games not one person gave two shits, now the playstation gets hacked and suddenly the console market is at risk?, i'm sorry if i sound rude but the people here sound like they work for sony,

[rob6021]

If the hackers win, the days of console makers selling hardware at a loss are likely to be over, and we'll be a generation behind technologically every time a new console releases. No company will invest and sell at a loss if they can't avoid piracy that will destroy their means to regain money lost from the start.

[Thoreau]

sony's lawyers only have to prove that the thief nerd (hots)intended results was to create an atmosphere of theft. good job.

[TronEOL]

Wow, why are these hackers doing this? NO GAMER WANTS THIS. Look at the recent hacking that is going on in PS3 titles that will now ruin the fun for every other REAL gamer who wants to enjoy the games they buy for what they are.

I see these hackers think they are on some noble crusade to kill of the big corporations (that MADE gaming what it is today), but maybe us true gamers should ACTUALLY go on a more realistic and meaningful noble crusade and support those big corporations that gave us all of our gaming memories since the day we started playing video games.

And for those who want to argue. Why does Call of Duty suck to play online? Or why does it suck to play online for any matter in any game? That's right, because glitchers and now, hackers. The games are perfectly fine and play perfectly fine, it's only when you have someone on the other end messing with the game in a way it was not intended to be played does it become some terrible game.

It's the same reason laws were created. To keep people in order, to give some foundation to things. Hackers are trying to take away that foundation from gaming. They want it to be "you can do whatever you want, when you want to". When there are probably 40+ million gamers out there that have NO idea how to even open a PS3. Therefore you have these 1000+ hackers ruining the fun for almost every other person they encounter.

Which makes one afternoon that was supposed to be a fantastic time in Call of Duty, Halo, or Gran Turismo, a terrible frustrating moment where you wish that little fuck was standing in front of you.

If I could help Sony, or any other company for that matter, fight these hackers, I would. I could prove what they're doing as wrong in no time at all. Will it stop them? I doubt it, since they must have something mentally wrong with them. The only time they'll stop is when they're dead.

[gypsygib]

Maybe he should hack into the lawyers and higher ups at Sony's email and personal history and then just black mail them to drop the case (some one's cheating on their spouse or sleeps with hookers or has a coke addiction or something. Or threaten to randomly put child porn on one of their computers if the case continues then call the cops.

[Hashashin]

Is it me or does he look like he is laughing at us? He needs a prompt brick to the face to wipe that smug look off.

[RoyMustang]

That was very dumb move on his part to release his face and name to the public.

[XabiTheHumble]

MW2 online has been destroyed, the majority of the games I have played online today have been glitch/hackfest the hackers even managed to change my user name. Man I hope Sony leaves this guy pennyless.

[funkycoldmedina]

They were able to change your PSN ID! That is much power, makes me wonder if it wasn't an insider some where (bitter 1st-3rd party employee) helping them out some where leaking info on exploits and security. Shiet, and I just bought MW2 for $20 too.

[XabiTheHumble]

They only changed it so when i see my user name in mw2 it has the word cunt before it. this has not affected my user name anywhere else outside of mw2.

[creamsoda]

Instead of going to jail why doesn't sony use him as some sort of anti-hacker for them.

[hiredhelp]

i agree there.
thats exactly what they wanted to do with a certan popular psp hacker. (DARK ALEX)he is now teaching other hackers his work and they are now following on the psp underworld.

[SuicideShaun]

Why would they do that? Look at how that seems, "Hey I'm gunna hack the shit out of someones product, oh wow! now they are going to hire me and pay me to hack!"

If you already don't see what I am trying to say, that will show a bad example. Next thing you know, ever hacker out there will destroy games and consoles to get a chance at the pay grade.

[rmedtx888]

Thanks to this idiot we may have to endure more pain in the neck security measures from the publishers. The industry suffers every time people play pirated games. Don't hack your consoles.

[marichuu]

I suppose Sony are going to do this the cheap way as most of you already said; make the kid poor by dragging him to the court every now and then.
The wholse system is crap... if you drag someone to court. Finish it already! If you lose, well... too bad! But don't keep going until you win on some retarded argument.

Blame the people who use the hack for playing pirated games, and let the others, like George, have fun and learn something about hardware and security... if it wasn't for hackers, we wouldn't have any security at all on the internet.

Even if this guy ends up going to jail, he will probably end up having a better job than all of you later on.

Sony should hire him instead of kick him around... I'm sure he could improve their firmware and security in many ways.

Disagree with me all you want, but deep down you know I'm right, when I say that we don't want to be in chains all our lives.

Don't steal, play fair, but feel free to explore the possibilities!

[TheDesperadoLives]

I hope this crapbucket is bled dry and has to suck puddles of filth for nourishment once Sony is through with him.

Hackers deserve death, but if extreme poverty is the best they can do, I'm fine with that.

[AJ Hartley]

My whole view on pirates isnt as bad as some poeple as such some have said they would kill them and such , im no fanboy as i own all consoles of this gen, but i can say ive had the same xbox for 3 years and i have had 3 ps3's in 3 years and i have been a good customer of sony i have two of there bravias had 3 ps3's let alone the one i have now. My mates both broke down also one of theres was omly 2 weeks old and i know this may offend you but fuck sony the money grabbing bastards same with any corporation i hope the kid wins, you may feel the way i do if sony fucked you over like it has me , i mean come i had to pay £131 to get ps3 fixed which they dont fix it they just send you another shit house back and that even broke down, atleast with microsoft when the xbox broke down they fixed that xbox and returned it withing 2 weeks just in time for gears 2 and has worked perfect since , sorry if offended any of you but it just pisses me of that every is like sony are the best but in my opinion there all fucking idiots , p.s. i have seen a few 360's die also. ;)

[The_Nameless_One]

Put him jail. Let him get ganged raped and then we'll see if he keeps that smirk.

[unknownhero1123]

dude, i don't agree with what he did but that is extreme. save that kind of punishment for people who deserve it. What I think sony should do is drop the charges and in exchange geohot will help encrypt the ps3 for free. that way, geohot doesn't lose any money from court fees and it will make sony look good in the eyes of the public. it's a win/win scenario I think.

[punkpop101]

OMG Sony Rocks Best Company Ever.

[BI0RAPTOR]

People of this nature deserve everything they get? from the legal prosecution service.
Will the out come of this case stop it?
Probably not....

[phinch]

now that's a smug face you wanna punch........

[Master of Unlocking]

Shadow Flare
"He looks like Elijah Wood"
Well if he goes to jail then someones gonna be the lord of his ring

OMFG, lmao. Comment of the month! Bubbles! LOL :D

[Miiikeyyy]

hahaha XD

[Miiikeyyy]

Geohot has that kinda face i just wanna hit with a sledgehammer...

[khamvongsa09]

Its going to be a very interesting year for Sony Computer Entertainment...

[BABY-JEDI]

I'm looking forward to him hacking the jail bars open.

[XxCYONIDExX]

The way I see it is once you buy the hardware it's yours and you should be able to do whatever you want with it. Taking it online to cheat in video games isn't right but that's sony's deal to get rid of him. But seriously are we really gonna start sending people to jail for cheating in a video game or switching around hardware that they purchased. If so then the Air Force has one hell of a lawsuit coming for the super computer they made out of PS3's.

[TroyAndAbed]

^_^ You guys know they'll settle.

[PirateThom]

I don't think Geohot has anything Sony want...

[TroyAndAbed]

If he has nothing they want...

...they will take his life.

[unknownhero1123]

more likely, sony will drag the case out until geohot loses alot of money. I think they want to teach hackers a lesson. If you can't beat them, stalemate them.

[Manac0R]

It's the nature of technology/software. Those of you defending corporate Sony, its like you are just renting your ps3's from them. Once bought the product is mine, if I want to tinker and tweak it, by god that's my given right.

Anyway the point is mute. Time for Sony to to get the R and D boys on to the PS4, and that people is progress.

[solsub]

The point is "moot", not "mute".

Anyway, I'm all for progress, but I don't want the PS4/Xbox 720/Wii 2 arriving too soon. This generation has already been expensive enough without investing in a new gaming system.

The current gen consoles can last a few more years.

[AceofStaves]

There's a difference, though, between doing what you want to something you own and making content available to others. You own the hardware, not the software required to run it. Purchasing the console gives you a 'license' for that software. Not ownership rights over it.

If I buy a DVD or a video game, I own the disk the content is on but I don't own the content itself. The content still belongs to its copyright holders. Same with books or whatever.

[Wikkid666]

Just imagine if these individuals actually used there intelligence for good use. The world might actually be a better place.

[Chucky2003]

i have a feeling Sony will loose this

[Roozium]

A fkng legend, that's what he is!

[Neo Nugget]

A fkng douche bag, that's what he is!

Fixed that for ya.

[Figboy]

I'm usually all for giving the huge, multi-billion dollar companies the finger and telling them to swivel on it, but this time, I'm totally in Sony's corner.

Why? Because, unlike pirating a song or movie, the end user experience for people that legitimately bought the game can be directly, and adversely affected by this hack.

Oh, the FUN we'll have playing Killzone 3 online when some asshole has initiated some cheats that give them infinite health, instant kills, shooting through walls, etc! I can't WAIT!!/sarcasm

When you pirate a movie, or a song, do the people who bought said movie or song suddenly get an inferior movie/song experience? Did someone dub over their movie/song with gibberish? No. Their experience is left intact.

When people start hacking video games, opening the door for less noble types to ruin the gaming experience for the rest of the community, THAT'S where I draw the line.

We're all gamers here. We should want, more than ANYTHING, for the integrity of the gaming industry to remain in tact.

I don't want to read a story 6 months from now, 12 months from now, that Naughty Dog is closing it's doors, because Uncharted 3 failed to sell due to rampant piracy.

If Geohotz and Failoverflow had kept this shit to themselves, like most hobbyists, and just played around with their discoveries in a closed and TRUSTED hacker community, there wouldn't be a problem.

But NO. That attention whore egomaniac Geohotz just couldn't rest knowing that Sony's PS3 did a damn fine job being a secure system for 4 years. It ate away at him, and he wanted to make an example out of them. He wanted to make sure that the system was not only hacked, but COMPLETELY compromised. He wanted to send a message to Sony. And he wanted EVERYBODY to know it was HIM that blew the doors off of the PS3 security (although, technically, it wasn't him at all, it was the hackers at Failoverflow, and Geo just took the credit for their work, and now his arrogance is bringing all of them down with him).

I don't want my enjoyment of gaming being compromised by assholes like Geohotz. If you want to hack your system, go right ahead, but now this douche has paved the way for a LOT of douches to ruin our experience, and possibly cripple some truly talented developers that don't get the exposure of a Call of Duty (like CoD deserves ANY of the praise it gets), or a Halo.

Contrary to popular belief, not all games sell 1 million units. Most developers would be lucky to sell 300,000. For those devs, EVERY SALE counts. Franchises like CoD have nothing to worry about, because even if the latest game sells HALF of what the last game sold, Activision makes BANK.

If Geohotz wins this, we may as well just start prepping to say our good byes to smaller devs like Q Games, thatgamecompany, Number None, Playdead studios, etc. But hey, at least we'll be guaranteed another CoD game every year! Yay!/s

[rataranian]

COD sucked before the hacks. ;)

[Laeto256]

Just to remind and clear people - jailbreaking is only allowed for SMARTPHONES, yes jailbreaking is not legal for all devices, the previous ruling only said it's allowed for smartphones because it was relating to unlocking it. However in this case Sony can easily prove the hack is leading and allowing piracy people are already doing it.

[sarshelyam]

Ruin him!

[Ratchet510]

send him to SQ

[MWH]

to those who bitch alot; grow up or your asses will be owned. i vote for the freedom of choice. GeoHot, stay strong buddy.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I at first didnt really care what happened here but the more I read on this case the more I am intrigued. I think this case is going to take on some huge significance for the industry.

[joeorc]

you want to be sold a Game console with no game os pre-installed on your game machine an you not only have to reg. your Name but also all games will have pretty much less single player games and more Online Only Games because that way you get caught cheating or Hacking you get no one but to blame but your self for following these Hacker's.

this is exactly what kill's big budget games..not just because of the PS3 being Hacked, no but look at the underlining factor about what Geohot is asking for.

you do know if this set's an goes against Sony this not only does it effect you or me but effect's Sony even less. because you see what this will do is allow any device's own pre-installed Software on a device to allow any home user to hack and bypass any security measure the software engineer's place in their software. and you would be allowed to tell anyone how to break that security. pretty cool huh, you not only own the Hardware but the software on your machine.

that would also include all PC's with the Windows OS also thus no licence would be needed for the consumer to be bought from Microsoft they can just ignore all the security of the Windows OS and make what ever programs they want. Tell me again how any software company would want that.

less an less Software get's made because "if i buy it i can break" what ever software protection's in place an tell everyone else how to do it.

but that's ok no worries the job markets will not have any problems filling in lost jobs...?

why invest into security software right on the PS3 or how about the next playstation 4 or what ever it's called itself.. they can just release off the shelf parts an make it a PC, because that is what many want it seem's.

I buy the hardware I can run what ever software I please..yes you can..you can now on a Gameing PC with restrictions , more DRM and Have to be online connection to get the most out of the system..Many developers were seeing the Hard work pirated on the PC and moved to the Console's market but i guess that was not enough for some people that want the game console industry to become another PC game development platform in the industry.

because companies are going to spend less an less investment in a platform that will be open no custom Hardware, just use PC parts..but that's great is it not? more developer's to make ports that go across as many platforms as they can. Like we do not already have a market like that already in place?

once again it's called the PC...im rooting for the Hacker's/sarcasm

[OC_MurphysLaw]

HOLD YOUR HORSES... Why do I feel like you have pinned me as someone following the hackers and supporting them? I merely said at first I didnt take too much notice to this case, but now the more I have read the more I am intrigued (as in interested) in this case and its outcome. I too am a believer that this case could have very large ramifications on the industry (good / bad...possibly indifferent).

You do make some interesting points that I dont really agree with. One many PC developers moved to consoles ...because there are large install bases to sell to and its only one or two hardware platforms they need to program for....unlike PC which developers need to make their games available to a wide array of hardware configurations. There has always been plenty of pirating going on in the console space so please dont tell me that they went the way of the console to get away from it. See PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PSP, DS, Game Cube for examples of devices that were heavily pirated...and yet still developed for inspite of that.

You also made some curious comments about PC companies... Are not PC's open platforms? When was the last time you were told you couldn't remove or install something different on your PC? Install Windows, Linux... whatever you want. Yes there are licensing agreements on the software..but nothing says legally you have to have XYZ components in your PC in order to use it. You just need to make sure your hardware is configured right to run it ...and in the case of software you may need a license key, etc.. to use it. But nobody is telling you that if you bought that Quad chip, 4Gig Ram Laptop that it has to run Windows 7. You could un-install that the minute you get it and put Linux on there should you desire.

Anyway, I am getting side tracked. Look the bottom line...I dont agree with pirating software as I see it as stealing (because it is)... but I also take some exception to a company telling me I cannot monkey around in a device I bought. Sure I may not beable to use future services, etc...that is my decision...but again, I take exception to big brother saying I cant trying and mess around inside my electronics once I buy it if I so choose.

Again, its an incredibly interesting case and one I am now watching with interest.

[MWH]

the talk about the industry being killed by hacking and piracy is a load of diarrhea shit, hacking and piracy has been there since the dawn of gaming and yet the industry is still increasingly making millions of dollars but no this is not enough, "the industry" is sparing no effort in making us believe that load of shit and recruit us directly or indirectly to support them reaping even more. believe it or not and i don't really care, it doens't bother me how many race cars their money can buy and it doens't bother me that i pay 60$ for their game but the idea and the feeling that i don't own what i paid to own doesn't just bother me, it simply fucks my mood Fatality.

most of the people here are pissed of hackers because they have the opportunity to try different things and they have choices and the beauty of it is that they share it. at least have the balls to admit it even if you don't like it.

hackers/pirates are not killing this industry, if there truly is a killer then it's greed and corps policies.

you may chose to be someone's bitch or so called "fanboy" but i don't and i won't. i like the feeling that i'm free to chose, free to select, free to own and free not to share it with some corporate mother fuckers who are smothering the soul and passion of video gaming and tainting it with this "$".

most of you guys are immature sons of bitches with your arrogant and stupid insults just to gain points from each other. here, vanquish your thirst for attention: "Disagree Season Open" give it your best shot, asswipes.

[Supman]

he looks evil.

[TheCryptKeeper]

i bet the prisoners hack his anus faster than he hacked the PS3.

[swishersweets20031]

wish i could still be a kid and pull shit like this. Kid needs to get spanked because its only going to me a bad news bears move on gamers around.

To all you out there that support this clown. Buy your games. Buy your music. Nothing is free.

[jjank11]

Even though I don't like some of the things hackers do. They are in some way essential to keeping large corporations at bay, especially when we are in a time when large corporations hold way to much power in society.

I hope Sony looses this fight because Its silly to think that when I buy a console or any product for that matter that I technically do not own it....How does that make sense? I paid for it with my hard earned money!!

Sony is going to wake up a sleeping dragon!! if it has not done so already.

[GigaGaia]

Sony can't win. Apple couldn't take him down, so there is no way Sony will either. Not only will they lose, they will have to pay him his lawyers fees at the end.

[Omega Zues]

Unlocking a phone to work with different Network Providers and hacking a PS3 to allow piracy are Two completely different things.

[GigaGaia]

They are both considered not computers, so it doesn't really matter, in the eyes of the law, they're just entertainment machines.

Also, Sony were dumb enough to try and prove he accepted donations by sending him 1$. They screwed themselves up even more by tempering with the whole case.

[alex3369]

bro he didnt hack the ps3 for piracy jesus you people never learn. also jailbreaking the iphone was also for homebrew so i think its very possible he could win.

[MarkusMcNugen]

I love reading all the responses that claim there is nothing good about a system becoming open then piracy. Anyone have an iPhone? Do you see how much more useful it is when its jail broken and you can use homebrew apps? Hacking isnt just about piracy like everyone seems to think. People could release custom firmwares with special features, or perhaps even flash kernels to the system for low-level tweaks to the system. Maybe even find improvements that could be made on the SPE architecture.

Lets not forget all the people who consider themselves true gamers because they dont hack anything. If it makes you feel better about yourself telling yourself that then go ahead but your no more of a gamer. People who cheat are just sad, but that doesnt mean all hackers are cheaters. Thats ignorant. If you think all the glitches on CoD are because of hacks you be partially correct, the majority are glitches in the game code from the developer. Pretending that its all hackers hacking everything that happens incorrectly in a game is also ignorant.

I dont support piracy but I believe in open systems that can be modified by their owners. Now its Sonys responsibility to find a way to identify hackers online and ban them. If I recall the Xbox 360 was hacked a while ago and it doesnt seem to have affected all online gameplay like some N4G users would like you to think.

Perhaps Im in the minority here but I would actually purchase a PS3 if all of this was possible. I love tweaking systems to run more efficiently.

[Omega Zues]

I agree on some points but also disagree with others.

The whole phone situation happened years ago when iphone was previously only to the ATT networks. Geohot who was unheard of at the time was successful on unlocking the iphone to run on other networks. He then pretty much started unlocking phones for people BUT not in exchange for cash but for objects. I remember him getting a car for unlocking a phone. Crazy I know.

PS3 however is a completely different device and in Nature. For example, in many ways the PS3 is currently the most open Platform. Even Gabe from Valve made that comment. In a lot of ways the PS3 has been open to wide scope of things.

Homebrew and tweaking, theres nothing quite wrong with that but sadly it opens up to cheating for on-line games. Right now, with 2 seconds to spare on google. You can buy modded controllers that allow insane things, auto fire for example. That allow a huge unfair advantage. Let alone other network mods like lag switch that is as we all know, is low of the low.

So as you can see, Modding/Homebrew hasnt been too kind for the Gaming Community. It make work better in different fields but not the Gaming Industry.

And the most interesting thing is, Not once have I spoke about Piracy and yet you can see that theres ton of damage hacking a game system can cause.

[MarkusMcNugen]

True, it does allow for hacks and cheats in online multiplayer games but now its Sony who bares the responsibility to weed out these users who abuse the rights of an open system. Something theyve not had to allocate resources towards which will cost them money and they're mad about it. However the 360 has been under the same threat for a while and Microsoft seems to have found a way to ban these consoles when connected to the internet.

Piracy is a result of jailbreaking a system but there is some responsibility on the developers to add security measures to prevent said cheats and hacks. A good example would of a failure would be CoD... One good way to cut down on piracy would be the system that Activision has been talking about where you need an activation code which comes included in retail, and could be bought for used/rented games. Maybe Im wrong on whos idea that was but its something any PC gamer is use to, the dreaded CD-Key! lol. A small inconvenience for a greater security online...

This part isnt necessarily direct at you Omega Zues but all of the people who seem to think that Linux on the PS3 was useless and never amounted to anything.

http://www.1up.com/news/ps3...

http://www.wired.com/techbi...

Im going to have to agree with the minority of hackers and say that Sony brought this upon themselves by removing a function that they specifically used to sell their consoles. Other OS.

As far as I see it, this is a court battle to determine who actually has rights to produce and write code for the system, the corporation that manufactured it or the consumer who purchased it. Frankly I have to side with the end user. Sony needs to take some responsibility and monitor their networks and consoles now.

[MarkusMcNugen]

Now Sony can officially say "It only does Everything" lol

[Op24]

the difference between a $1.00 app being pirated and a $60.00 game being pirated...

[PatchowPietro]

I hope him and his family burn in a fire.

[divideby0]

yea..hope he keeps that smile when he is in jail and his new roomie, 450lb bubba takes a liking to him...

[Donthizz]

bubba is going to hack geohot every night..who knows he might find geohots root key in the process..

[kudakadere]

i think that the clever thing to do for Sony is to hire him and give him a good salary for making there system more secure

[Fel08]

Hopefully Karma will take its course.

[tunaks1]

its great to see the sony fanboys over reacting. Homebrew is amazing and the fact that they are over reacting to it shows how far up their heads are. Anyone remeber xmbc? That was awesome. Fatal Frame 4 translation? Brawl mods? The list goes on. Playing the piracy card is useless, piracy has been around longer then the ps3, it wont cause the game industry to collapse.

[alex3369]

you sir are spot on! thanks for showing everyone why they shouldn't worry

[LeShin]

Funny, I also remember the tons of bloody firmware patches I had to download for my PSP because I like to buy a product and pay for the games for it. I also remember the many developers that came out and publicly said they will stop making PSP games because piracy was eating into the profits and I also remember hearing that Sony wouldn't put trophies in the psp because of how it could easily be hacked and render it useless.

Here's an idea hackers, if a company releases a device that can't do the things you want it to do...DON'T BUY IT! Stop fucking it up for the rest of us, pricks.

[tunaks1]

"Sony wouldn't put trophies in the psp because of how it could easily be hacked and render it useless. "

sony also said otherOS could run on the slim...

"Funny, I also remember the tons of bloody firmware patches I had to download for my PSP because I like to buy a product and pay for the games for it."

Not specifically to the psp, but if companies just let linux run on the dam thing from the begging they would have made things easier for them selves. Linux will run on the device eventually.

[JoelEH]

HaHaHa! This is VERY BAD publicity for Sony, Specially to the Millions and Millions of people that have a iPhone Jaibroken and love GeoHot for what he has done for the iphone community! Its funny to see the Fanboys that hate on GeoHot for cracking their "Unhackable" system. Don't hate on GeoHot he has always been anti piracy. I love that the same guy that cracked the iPhone, cracked the PS3 shows that he is VERY good at what he does. I WILL be Jailbreaking one of my PS3s and if Sony don't like it, they can kiss my a$$ or give me my money back. I would give GeoHot a donation my iPhone is waaaaaay better now that it's JB, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to like my PS3 being JB as well. Thanx GeoHot and good luck.

[Japam]

I personally think what he has done could be good for sony in a way, thats if people start writing homebrew programs that could speed up downloads, alter the interface, better photo integration etc etc. They then might take note as to what people want in the future firmware updates.

But as for modded/pirated games its just ridiculous. What happened to the day of saving up pocket money/wages etc and then having the thrill of going to town (or ordering online nowadays) and buying the game you have been waiting so long for. Even legal payed-for games and movies from online services as PS store or itunes just dont come anywhere near as having the real thing. I just think true gamers will stick to the method of buying games and supporting the developers. Everyone knows excellent games like uncharted and even god of war undersell. So imagine if naughty dog decide this recent hack would damage their predicted profits and jumped shop to xbox. Just think

[tunaks1]

" Everyone knows excellent games like uncharted and even god of war undersell."
what...

"So imagine if naughty dog decide this recent hack would damage their predicted profits and jumped shop to xbox. Just think"

Because the 360 doesnt have any piracy...

[LeShin]

Smug git! That picture posted of him just makes me want to knock his teeth out.

[tunaks1]

because Sony tells u to? No need to be a sheep. Why do u hate him? How does homebrew on the ps3 disadvantage you? Homebrew is more then piracy.

[Donthizz]

heckers = wannabe " MAFIABOYS"

[tunaks1]

?
wtf?

[faysal]

@hellraiserpop.
just to let you know slim came out back in September 2009 with otherOS. sony decided to take off otherOS back in April 2010. so i dont see what kind of point you're trying to prove here.