Sony fails to prevent Playstation Emulator for PSP despite many attempts
Today, a proof-of-concept emulator was released that allows owners of a PlayStation Portable (or PSP for short) to play games released for the original PlayStation One (PS1):
Yoshihiro has released the first public release of his PSX-P Playstation One emulator for the PSP. This first public release is a good demonstration of what could be in time an excellent Playstation Emulator for the PSP.
Sony, the maker of both the PSP and PS1, does not allow emulators or other so-called homebrew software to run on its systems. Throughout the life of the PSP, Sony has been engaged in a cat-and-mouse game of releasing updates to disable software it hasn’t authorized from running on the PSP. This effort has largely proved fruitless for Sony as creators of homebrew software have always succeeded in overcoming Sony’s attempts to block their software.
Many PSP owners have criticised Sony for expending so much effort to lock them out of the devices that they have purchased. Unlike a desktop computer or laptop, owners of a PSP are not allowed to create their own custom software or modify the PSP system in any way. Any programs not verified by Sony will not run on the device unless a hacker finds a way to break Sony’s software locks. When this happens, Sony will release a new version of the PSP firmware (system software) that patches the vulnerability the hacker discovered. Users are forced to upgrade to the new PSP firmware if they want to play the newest PSP games.
This is a classic example of uninnovation. Even after a user buys a PSP, Sony will not let them write their own software for it. Whenever someone figures out a way to write software for the PSP, Sony has its programmers disable that ability in the next update. In an attempt to demonstrate the comical lengths Sony will go to prevent customers from using something own in they way that they want, below is a list of each PSP update and the hack that followed it.
Sony and its attempts to lock users out of their PSPs:
March 2005
- PSP Released in America. Firmware version is 1.00.
- PSP version 1.50 released by Sony.
May 2005
- A method discovered to run homebrew software on PSP version 1.00.
- PSP version 1.51 released by Sony.
June 2005
- A method discovered to run homebrew software on PSP version 1.50.
- PSP version 1.52 released by Sony.
August 2005
- PSP version 2.00 released by Sony.
September 2005
- A method discovered to run homebrew software on PSP version 2.00.
October 2005
- PSP version 2.01 released by Sony.
- PSP version 2.50 released by Sony.
November 2005
- PSP version 2.60 released by Sony.
December 2005
- A method discovered to run homebrew software on PSP versions up to 2.60.
April 2006
- PSP version 2.70 released by Sony.
June 2006
- PSP version 2.71 released by Sony.
August 2006
- PSP version 2.80 released by Sony.
- A method discovered to run homebrew software on PSP versions up to 2.80.
September 2006
- PSP version 2.81 released by Sony.
Summary:
- Number of PSP versions, including 1.00: 12
- Number of PSP updates that purposely broke homebrew support: 11
- Number of PSP updates solely intended to prevent homebrew: 4 (1.51, 1.52, 2.01, 2.81)
- Longest amount of time the newest firmware prevented homebrew: 4 months
Only PSP owners who have updated to version 2.81 cannot currently patch their PSP to run homebrew software. If the past is any indication, a hack to allow homebrew on 2.81 will follow shortly and Sony will then release a new software update to disable it.
Sony claims that it must continue this endless battle with its users in order to prevent massive piracy of PSP games. However, PSP piracy has continued mostly unfettered while legitimate homebrew development has been frustrated which has created widespread resentment of Sony in that community. Instead of spending nearly endless programmer time locking out users, Sony should focus work on a more positive solution (like Microsoft has done with XNA Game Studio) and encourage legal uses of homebrew software.
technorati tags:sony, psp, playstation, portable, emulator, homebrew
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[…] Sony fails to prevent Playstation Emulator for PSP despite many …Yoshihiro has released the first public release of his PSX-P Playstation One emulator for the PSP. This first public release is a good demonstration of what could be in time an excellent Playstation Emulator for the PSP. … […]
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Uninnovate.com ｻ Sony fails to prevent Playstation Emulator for PSP despite many attempts I like Sony products. I am a huge fan of its TVs, for example. But lock in is a crime in my book, and this kind of……
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fanjita were u at hurry up wid da emulator for 2.81
im am sick of stupid sony and there balls. its bad enough that the bloody original ps2 only lasted a year with out burning out. had to buy an aqua blue. now all i want to do is home brew my psp. it a perfect machine for this job. i think sony could give us a brake an allow us to do what we want with are own machines.