Kotaku
The engineers at Sony can't be too thrilled with fighting the constant battle against PSP hackers, issuing firmware updates that "strengthen security" in a futile attempt to curb piracy and homebrew applications. Going by a recent survey commissioned by Sony Computer Entertainment, passed on to us by a reader who was asked to take part, the company seems to be looking into the reasons why PSP owners are opening up their portables.
Sony reps call the survey a part of "ongoing PSP consumer research", attempting to learn more about the size of the PSP hacking population and the mentality behind the behavior. Questions like "Do you know of anyone who has "hacked," or modified, transferred and customized their PSP firmware and software?" were included elsewhere in the poll.
We're following up with Sony to learn more about its research.
Comments
NO ONE ANSWER IT ITS JUST A SCHEME TO TRACK DOWN ALL HACKERS!>!!!>!>
Makes me feel like a rebel. LOL!
BRB FBI
=p
There's no answer for "I want to play homebrew software" or "I want to program the PSP without spending thousands of dollars and becoming an official Sony developer". Sure, they have their "benefits of free PSP content" choice, but I don't really care that the homebrew is free. It's just indy games without a huge commercial slant that I want.
Its because you folks keep changing the firmware.
Its like asking people to constantly crack your guys shit.
Not to mention us regular consumers are getting slightly SICK of having to update the goddamned PSP all the time. Even more so when its not even that big of a change, or when the battery is low so we basically cant play our new games until the FW is updated.
Granted my PSP is legit, thats basically what my friends tell me / you read on forums. Along with my own personal pissoffs with the excessive firmware updates.
I dont mind updates, but enough is enough at times. Just update the shit when you are bringing out something USEFUL for the users.
Wow, those were some loaded statements in the survey.
Why are you taking stuff for free instead of paying for it?
Why are you taking games relased in other parts of the world now, instead of waiting an extra six months until it is released in your area?
Why are you using your own property to play and use fantastic homebrew applications that are free?
psp without custom firmware is BS really ! and "ongoing PSP consumer research" my ass . Sony agrees to disagree on the benefit of installing custom firmware on your psp.
i can do whatever i want with my nintendo ds..... not.
Folks also hack to add "features" to the PSP making it a more worthy puchase.
Granted the PSP has evolved quite a bit now and I dont think people should be complaining about its features as much as they used to.
Still I mean there will always be folks who love to crack things so I dont see what the point behind this is.
Then theres the most obvious reason PIRACY.
@Dreamwriter: What decent-or-better indy games are available for the PSP apart from Cave Story? Just curious.
I'll be getting the new slim PSP this summer. At that time I plan on "customizing" my older model PSP.
I always thought it was mostly an ego thing.
Mark me down with 5s all across the board!
wheres the i can't afford games so thats why i get my psp hacked option?
For some reason I do not foresee Sony getting the most accurate answers from this survey.
How about "I hack my PSP because Sony put piece of shit rootkits in CDs my parents bought and I had to clean it up?"
piracy would be #1 reason...
personally i haven't messed with my PSP but i would like to get the new slim version and start messing with the older PSP to play emulators and take some PS1 games on the go....
It makes you cool and girls want to talk to you.
Or piracy.
FEAR SONY!!!
most of those questions are talking about doing it to be/feel/look cool, or just to get away with it, and only a few bring up the whole pushing the psp to it's limit, or doing creative work with homebrew and what not. i think if they asked a few questions that actually mattered, maybe they could come up with some middle ground, rather than try to stop it all together.
imo at least...
@Dreamwriter: If I had a PSP the first thing I'd do is get homebrew games up and running for that very reason. Also, because homebrew games don't have millions invested in them they tend to be a little more experimental.
I bought another PSP so one is hacked while the other keeps up with updates. I find it fare enough. I usually play games on it that I can't purchase on my PSP. Thats a hint of how many games are out there that the PSP can play that Sony hasn't taken advantage of selling in their store *cough FFVII anyone cough*
From what I've observed, most people do it to play old Nintendo and Sega games because the PSP has a severe lack of good and original titles. Then those same people whine about how kiddy Nintendo games are and how bad they are, and how cool that person is for being able to play Nintendo games for free.
Also, Sony is making it seem like homebrew will get you thrown in jail.
Also also, I might ponder getting a PSP sometime this summer if I can find it around $100 new. There are some stores around here that sell for that price, but I've just never had the money.
because it's mine. i agree completely with that. even though i never hacked it. but it's true. they can't tell you what to do with your PSP after you bought it. but hacking isn't fair for online games.
still, it's a good thing they're doing this. they should actually help hackers. or at least do what they're doing. just listen to what PSP owners want, and give it to them.
Andrew Ryan is not pleased.
Honestly, doesn't Sony at least have, like, people who can read video gamer websites like this one? They'd learn everything they need to know. And some stuff they don't.
Piracy, simple as that. You got the nice guys who are like.... oh I'm going to run some custom apps..... then oh look.... I can download this new game 3 weeks early...hmmmm
As for myself I haven't actually hacked my PSP as of yet and I don't really have any compulsion to do so due to a large PSP backlog.
On the other hand, I worked feverishly on my PS2 simply because of multiple factors. I had a mess of imports I wanted to play and I didn't necessarily want to shell out another $175+ to play them. One particular homebrew app allowed me to wipe a severely corrupted Sony memory card that I would have had to either throw out or send to Sony and pay $15 to repair. Another app turned my PS2 into a media center before I could easily do so with the XBox. Another app allows me to transfer game save files freely between my memory cards and back to my computer so I can share them with my friends. And, back in my undergraduate days, it was far easier to take 30 of the games I owned, load them onto the HDD, and go to school.
I'm not up to date on the apps available for the PSP but, honestly, if they really started to offer things that Sony never thought of/attempted trying and it really enhanced the system, why not?
Sony should always do it like this: They create such a survey which is by itself pointless because of the limited answers options and other points like people not wanting to answer such a survey honestly which could get em into legal trouble anyways. Then someone tips kotaku about it, the readers here are a good overview of the hardcore gamer crowd and bam,there you have propper answers to the survey in the comments section :D
I like how there's no option for
"Hacking the PSP opens up a whole new realm of functionality which, if made available by Sony, would probably boost PSP sales exponentially."
i originally hacked mine for PSX game playing ability, but it also gave custom soundtracks, 4th brightness at all times, unlocked 333mhz processor, running games off memory stick (big in GTA:VCS, for example), etc.
its worth it, and not just for pirates.
Didn't hack mine yet, planning to. I just want to play Xenogears again =P
here's how i'd fill the form
31522554412552 :P
on a sidenote i haven´t hacked my psp either, not because i´m especially opinioned about that,just because i didn´t use my psp for over a year because most games that interest me on it are either already available on other consoles i have or will come out on other consoles i have (and i don´t travel enough these days to make playing the games on the go a propper argument). Hm, well, thinking about it maybe i would use the psp more if it was cracked open and one could run more other stuff on it,dunno.
Then again maybe not :)
Pirating has been around since the 13th Century BC, why would it stop now?
Where's the 'because I acutally want a PORTABLE PlayStation(one)' option? Cause highly agree with that one.
And for the record I've NEVER pirated a game in my life, even though custom firmware makes it as easy to pirate a PSP game as, say um maybe, pirating a PC game? My point is: doing the wrong thing is always close and easy, but that doesn't mean you have to do it.
@Cruithne:
I hacked mine for one reason: In game music.
I like how people act like Sony is a bunch of dicks just because they're giving a survey about homebrew.
Grrr... I hax my PSP cuz' it makes me feel like a big boy! Rawr!
Just kidding, I don't actually own one, although those options they gave really do give off a "You're a stupid little kid trying to act big" kind of vibe.
where is "i don't like to pay for stuff" ?
@QualityJeverage: And most of those who hacked their psp's are not buying games. So why would SONY want to open up the hardware to the public? People have said for a long time that sony should have opened up the PSP long ago, but then what? Hardware increase? Now your average joe can easily steal psp software. The "hardcore" are obviously not buying games, but if you look at torrent tracker stats, they are downloading TONS of psp software.
Opening up the hardware would likely bite them in the ass.
Piracy is NOT harming the gales industry.
Gamespot and other large retailing chains which are selling games secondhand ARE harming the game industry.
Ther's simply no proof that a pirated game means less money in the pocket of the games company, whereas a game bought second hand is taking money out of the pocket of the developer.
Why didn't they just change every question to "why are you such a big dookie head?" and get it over with?
simple answer, MOTHERFUCKING DOOM ON THE PSP. that and ps1 games (that arent released in the store, that i can rip myself, and put on there, yay me. also s/nes emus and the like. but i buy all my psp games legit.
@budash2: And those who act like Sony should be giving away free emulators for their software. Here we created a machine for you to pirate games with!
Gales s/b Games.
We all know Pirates don't harm gales, though gales have been known to harm pirates...
I don't think the 2 3 and 4 are really necessary options there....
Hahaha. How patronising.
@Cruithne: Except their is no proof about the other point either. Pointing fingers when Gamestop/etc are merely just another one of many factors that is bringing down the industry. It's ignorant to say that piracy has no effect on the game industry.
@Kyle81: I didn't mean that they should open the hardware. That would most definitely just be a bad thing for them.
But there are lots of other great things that "hacking" can allow the PSP owner to do, and if Sony would get a clue and start helping, rather than hindering that, people might just be more compelled to pick one up.