620°

Tretton: Sony Embraces Hacking Of A Different Kind

If you’re one of the many who believe Sony doesn’t want customers to modify the PlayStation 3, you’re not alone. It’s the message everyone’s gotten from the whole George Hotz debacle, but according to Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, it’s a real “misnomer”. In other words it’s untrue, because, according to him, Sony embraces hacking; just in a different way.

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gamesthirst.com
ClimateKaren4699d ago

“Some hackers say Sony wants to deter customers from modifying the PlayStation3. Is that true?”
“No,” Tretton said, “there’s a real misnomer there, we embrace independent game development; if you call that hacking, then we embrace that.

When has independent game development with the given tools ever been considered hacking?

If anyone is confused by this article, it's because it exists solely for people to see that title and click on it. I'll save you the click; There is actually no connection whatsoever, it's a (weird) quote taken from a lengthy interview that is being used by the author to attract hits.

The irony is that the NY Times interview the excerpt is from is actually a really good one, worth posting about on here. In case anyone wants to read it without going through the site:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.c...

b_one4699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

game developers are often kind of hackers, look at Flower or Chime, strange ideas but playable...

@Chopin, think about it, hackers often take equipment and change thier purpose, devs... they change gaming, its also creativity, experimenting, new ideas.

Cracking is other thing - all ppl scream about OtherOS and cmon - i have in my work few guys, they screamed about it from day one, voila - they have slims, it ended with CFW and TONS of pirated games...
No linux was EVER run.

Another example, Linger in Shadows - made by Demoscene group form Poland (plastic)
http://plastic-demo.nazwa.p...
read, look, think

Some of them are working for Sony Santa Monica now...
they started with little and now...
Demosceners are hackers - not in a straight definition but often they break boarders of equipment - making demos on microwaves etc or even building thier own electronics to program some 8bit hardcore presentations...

Creativity... Good one... counts most.

ClimateKaren4699d ago

I'm sorry, I don't see the connection between unique game ideas and hacking. Can you elaborate?

ClimateKaren4699d ago

It's really poor form to edit your comment to quadruple its original length after you've been replied to...

Anyway, you're arguing that since hackers think out of the box and so do game developers, that they are similar enough that independent game developing can be considered hacking? Quite a stretch, but even taken as you present it, there is still a clear distinction between the two.

Sometimes locksmiths open a business and fix locks, sometimes they break into houses. Does this mean that we can call locksmithing a form of breaking and entering? Of course not.

Also, I'm not sure what that link is supposed to contain, as it doesn't appear to pertain to the discussion, but please stop talking to me like a persuasive advertisement, it's really condescending, especially when you aren't directly engaging my point.

b_one4699d ago

@Chopin i wanted to answer to you but there was no reply button thats all

About that link, mainly they developed thier own Maya plugin as a freeware, you should take your time and look at content of that site, and im not persuasive, just wanted to show you that there is an alternative to stealing informations

DJMarty4699d ago

@b_one - Demo scene has never been hackers, they are just tallented coders that like to make hardware do the supposed imposible.

ZombieNinjaPanda4699d ago

>game developers are often hackers

The fuck are you smokin and where can I get some of this?

kneon4699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

@DJMarty

"talented coders that like to make hardware do the supposed impossible."

That is pretty much the original definition of hacker. What most people refer to as hackers are really crackers. Maybe if we all started calling them that again then maybe they'd go away, who would want to be called a cracker? I know, it won't happen, it's just wishful thinking.

thorstein4698d ago

@kneon,
Thank you.

A hacker. A true hacker is someone who can make technology go BEYOND what it was intended to do. See the hacks of Kinect for a perfect example.

A pirate is someone who tries to obtain intellectual property for free or to sell for profit.

A crack is the term used when employing code to "crack" a security system in order to open up the software (usually violating the TOS or EULA when doing so.) While "cracking" usually won't land someone in hot water. It is what is done with the IP after the crack that lands that person in deep.

Unfortunately, mainstream press calls all of this "hacking."

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4698d ago
movements4699d ago

I agree with b_one. Sony does embrace "legal hacking" then. Flower and Chime are perfect examples of that.

k2d4698d ago

"When you’ve invested millions upon billions of dollars into developing the system — as we have with PlayStation"

One. Quadrillion. Dollars. I'm sure that was a typo..

joeorc4699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

In one sense it's silly to argue about the ``true'' meaning of a word. A word means whatever people use it to mean. I am not the Academie Française; I can't force Newsweek to use the word ``hacker'' according to my official definition.

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/...

The concept of hacking entered the computer culture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1960s. Popular opinion at MIT posited that there are two kinds of students, tools and hackers. A ``tool'' is someone who attends class regularly, is always to be found in the library when no class is meeting, and gets straight As. A ``hacker'' is the opposite: someone who never goes to class, who in fact sleeps all day, and who spends the night pursuing recreational activities rather than studying. There was thought to be no middle ground.

What does this have to do with computers? Originally, nothing.

"In 1986, the word ``hacker'' is generally used among MIT students to refer not to computer hackers but to building hackers, people who explore roofs and tunnels where they're not supposed to be."

the above can fit software very nicely!

So yes what jack was talking about can clearly be viewed as Hacking , well by UC an MIT! standards

gamingdroid4699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

Are you a fellow CalBear?

That is an awesome article. I will have to bookmark that.

joeorc4699d ago

sadly no...lol, but i knew quite many peeps from both there an MIT. I did my courses the hardway...USN..hehehe or could be viewed the easy way unless you are happened to be @ war...lol

my luck .was of course wartime..so the Hardway it was. USS Forrestal (CV-59) AKA the zippo or Forrest Fire..read up on how it got its nick names...ooh boy. it was the first super Carrier in the entire US navy. it still had a steel belted hull.

my deployment was 88'-93'

http://militarypower.wikido...

couple of things they stated were part of the truth but i cannot state or go further into it.

gamingdroid4699d ago

Ahh... interesting. Pardon my ignorance, but does that mean you did your education in the Navy? I know some people getting paid through the navy (?) going to med school, but is basically part of the Navy now. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

I just realized, I had Brian Harvey (the author of the article) as my prof back in the day.

joeorc4699d ago

yup, right out of High school, went into the US navy,paying the University was not an option for me started with MM/HT/signal tech, than went into CVN ELECTRONIC's from there It was all pretty much free you just had to work your butt off spend off hours in certain div. helping out an learning courses if you wanted it with low amounts of sleep but you did not have to pay for it which yes there could be a war, which it was in my case when i was in but im still here today so i consider myself lucky.

b_one4699d ago

Thanks to bringing my point of view, im not so fluent in english.

@DJMarty, and hackers do what? "Impossible" same as demosceners...

btw. end of bubbles, so... thanks for chat.

MWong4699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

When I read the title I thought he was going to say something else. Something more along the lines of what we experienced with the PS2. Hackers that just modified the gaming experience and that was for SP games (invincible characters, unlimited ammo, mega money). Some messed with MP games, but a lot of those users got banned (most sites never really supported online).

skyblue142134699d ago (Edited 4699d ago )

If sony encourages it than why don't they create a program that utilizes creating homebrew games from the ground up, and little big planet and mod nation racers don't count because those types of programs are not what I am referring to. I am referring to a program that is more in-depth than little big planet and mod nation racers and are not bound by certain rules like little big planet and mod nation racers are.

plmkoh4699d ago

They have done exactly that, the PS3 had the Linux compatibility until people decided to abuse it and we also have the upcoming move.me development kit for homebrew move controller stuff.

Lawliet4699d ago

Sony like every corporation never said you can't mod or create hacks, you can, until you turn your PS3 into a bomb, then wonder why FBI is knocking on your door.

Just don't mod or create something which can hurt others and everyone can agree. Saying you got the freedom to do whatever you want is nothing more than being ignorant. You can walk into a farm, ask permission and maybe you get kind treats, stealing the corps however you wish, will make you understand why you've just been flagellated.

Show all comments (25)
120°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg13h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos12h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola8h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

Show all comments (7)
280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

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techraptor.net
ChasterMies20d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken20d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga20d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken20d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6420d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long20d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197220d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic20d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 20d ago
DivineHand12520d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91320d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer20d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91319d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit19d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
Christopher20d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6920d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit19d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher20d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken20d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197220d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic20d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2320d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218320d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder20d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts20d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

Show all comments (43)
80°

Sony May Soon Let You Decide How Much NPCs Talk In Games

Sony has patented to add multiple dialogue modes to let players switch between how many conversations with NPCs they want in the game.

blackblades26d ago

Sony is like the only ones outta the 3 that has atuff like like this pop up changing thing in ways.

just_looken26d ago

Sony in the past has always been first at bat with new ideas/tech but in the end never fully use it or just toss it away.

blackblades26d ago

I think they did use some but yeah most usually never happened but at least they thought about it. Sony seeks things like this and other, Nintendo seek different ways of playing going by there different controler designs and console designs.

just_looken26d ago (Edited 26d ago )

some of the other stuff sony want's/owns never used
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://gamerant.com/sony-p...
https://www.eurogamer.net/s...
https://metro.co.uk/2023/03...
https://decrypt.co/114754/s...

monitor/adjust game difficultly as you play
https://www.techradar.com/g...

Sony nfts
https://www.theblock.co/pos...

Pay ai to play the game for you
https://thebusinessofesport...

Oh all the above last 12 months

I just imagine a evil scientist with test subjects when it comes down to sony recent patent reports.

Kaii26d ago

Will we get dialogue options that won't spoil puzzles in a matter of seconds? :p