Sony Europe boss promises new ways of fighting piracy on PSP

by Andrew Yoon { Jun 19th 2008 at 8:52AM }

SCEE's David Reeves spoke at the DevStation developer conference last week, admitting to MCV that "there is a piracy problem on PSP." According to MCV, Reeves admits that piracy has fueled hardware sales, and of course "we are not happy about it." He told developers at the conference that Sony will "unveil new ways to combat piracy soon." But exactly how? We're not sure.

This is quite possibly the first time a Sony exec has directly addressed the issue of piracy on the platform. Perhaps this is the signal of a more aggressive Sony attempting to reclaim the platform.

Tags: david-reeves, piracy, psp, reeves

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

GoBob @ Jun 19th 2008 8:58AM

"President of SCEE David Reeves has admitted to MCV that there is a global piracy issue on PSP – and said that Sony is set to unveil a new clampdown on those responsible.

However, speaking at the firm’s developer DevStation conference in London last week, Reeves said that the trend was actually helping drive sales of PSP hardware."

PIRACY HURTS SALES, OMG!!111

Wait, it doesn't? Whoops!

Vincent @ Jun 19th 2008 10:22AM

Hardware? Yes. Software? Not quite.

SparkyJ23 @ Jun 20th 2008 10:15AM

That will be the same Sony Europe that somehow has failed to to get Crisis core out in the uk before TOSAY? WTF? Were you having trouble localising from american to english?

Now of course every fan has inported it or gone cfw because of your ineptitude; the numbers won't be as high as expected and you'll cry piracy as per fucking usual....

Until someone can explain why i can read pdfs, CBZ and CBR and stream my movies direct from my pc to my PSP and sony can't/won't put any of this functionality into the device thay lose the right to bitch and moan.

I paid for it so i'll use it to its full ability thank you

strike @ Jun 19th 2008 9:07AM

It hurts games sales, not psp sales.

I'm glad Sony are waking up and combating piracy. future games should not be put on pc's. Is there no way of stopping people uploading games to the net? Some type of virus, or something?

Hashbrown Hunter @ Jun 19th 2008 9:35AM

They could enforce a much stricter DRM rule over UMD game's current code so it would be more difficult to rip. Besides that, I think the damage has already been done for this PSP and that they should create a much more secure successor.

[.sm0ke.] @ Jun 19th 2008 10:41AM

Sony already tried giving you a virus in exchange for ripping a disc a few years ago with the XCP copy protection they put on CDs. Adding DRM to the UMD would require a firmware update to have any effect, and since custom firmware can bypass the firmware update requirement on a disc, it wouldn't matter.

Kiltman67 @ Jun 19th 2008 9:20AM

If they realise that it's actually helping PSP sales then they should be doing what I've been saying for a while now: Open up the console to homebrew.

Provide, free of charge, some kind of SDK so people who want to can develop their own homebrew games and apps.

Then they can secure the firmware as much as possible and the only people who'll have complaints will be pirates. The lack of piracy may cut some sales in the short term, but a vibrant, Sony supported, homebrew community would make it a lot more attractive.

strike @ Jun 19th 2008 9:34AM

I'v also suggested this many times. I think it will benifit us and Sony, if they released it for a reasonable price. People are afraid of bricking their psp and buying magic sticks and pandoras batteries off unreliable auctions, like ebay, so they will turn to Sony's product instead.

Beat them at their own game!

Hashbrown Hunter @ Jun 19th 2008 9:41AM

BUT they don't want people playing PSP games for no charge and they don't want people emulating other consoles.

For original content, yeah opening up the console to homebrew is fantastic, but there are a few too many risks in doing so.

joey @ Jun 19th 2008 9:37AM

God, I hope it's not some sort of online validation crap.

Hashbrown Hunter @ Jun 19th 2008 9:44AM

Actually thats an extremely smart idea to stop pirating, but yeah it would be really f**king annoying to deal with.

theMediaman @ Jun 19th 2008 9:44AM

Come out with more PS1 games, so we don't get bored with our consoles and start seeing what else it can do

ignorance @ Jun 19th 2008 10:07AM

They need to do what they are doing with the ps3. Provide a secure platform with the option for running linux. They really should do more to find out what people want from their psp's to prevent them from turning to homebrew. Take the ps3, since it's launch, people have asked for dvd/ps1/ps2 upscaling, network media playback, support for divx, bd 2.0, dts hd ma.... and most recently in game xmb. It takes the incentive out of homebrew if functionality is continually added and negates the need to hack a system to make it do what you want. I think there should also be a way for novice game designers to get their game to work on the psp. The only people left then wanting to hack their psp are those that have no intention of buying a game.

[.sm0ke.] @ Jun 19th 2008 10:30AM

Not really. Providing a platform to run Linux would mean that all the old homebrew wouldn't work. Everything would have to be rewritten for Linux. Considering how much homebrew is already out there, I doubt a Linux kernel on the PSP would make people switch back to official firmware.

[.sm0ke.] @ Jun 19th 2008 10:23AM

*grabs popcorn*
This should be fun to watch.

s3jondoe @ Jun 19th 2008 10:42AM

i bet that its a new firmware (4.50) my guess. that cant be cracked or decoded that way no new custom firmware no more iso loader.(even though i wouldn't upgrade till theirs a new m33 gen firmware available ;)

[.sm0ke.] @ Jun 19th 2008 10:44AM

There's no such thing as "can't be cracked or decoded". Case in point: every PSP firmware released so far.

Alien @ Jun 19th 2008 10:48AM

Why the hell didnt they implement no piracy protection in the PSP first time around ? Thats the real question ? It was an extremly bad decision ...

emirabal @ Jun 19th 2008 10:51AM

Look, when you cant beat them, you join them , just make games downloadable and charge a cheaper cost, i said it before the cost of these games is not comparable to the quality but whatever that seems to be a moot point. Im even considering getting a ds bc there are just that many more games, with a system like the PS#, sony should be striking deals for developers to not only create a game for the PS3 but one for the PSP as well, make it part of the contract.

GoBob @ Jun 19th 2008 12:02PM

What's amusing about you comment is that Sony just recently increased the prices of their downloadable PSP games.

fanpages @ Jun 19th 2008 11:55AM

In order to harm software sales there would have to be some software worth buying in Europe.

I remember a time when I could be excited enough to 'acquire' a new title in advance of it being available in the UK, play it for a few minutes, confirm it was for me, and then pre-order it. Now, I cannot find any single title I wish to waste my time downloading, never mind playing.

I think the title of this article should be changed to:

"Sony Europe boss promises to nail last coffin in any sales of PSP consoles"

Please see:
[ http://www.destructoid.com/rumortoid-psp-library-pulled-from-stores-for-not-selling--88095.phtml ]

One choice comment about retailers (in East London) removing PSP titles from their shelves because they cannot sell them:

"I blame Sony for this. They have been pushing the PS3 like crazy and aren't working on any AAA PSP titles. Most PSP games are either remakes of PSOne games or stripped down PS2 games. Who wants to buy those anyway? Since I got a new firmware I haven't bought a single PSP game, but actually there hasn't been a single PSP game I'm interested enough in to buy anyway."

And, to be honest, who wants a GPS device &/or a Camera (with a lower resolution than a mobile telephone handset) stuck on top of their PSP console?

Arguably, if it wasn't for the PS3 "Remote Play" feature, and/or the release of the "Slim & Lite" model sales of PSP consoles would have dropped completely.

How about introducing PSP Centres to reintroduce interest into the bland, sorry, brand...

[ http://www.1upgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2974 ]

As for Universal Media Disc-based movie titles... scrap them completely & spend resources enabling more video codecs on the console.

BFN,

fp.

Dr Haisook @ Jun 19th 2008 12:15PM

I don't think Sony is going to do anything about piracy. They were not unaware of what could happen when they first released their device. A lot of statistical guys are there for them to predict such things. I think he meant by "new ways to combat piracy" other marketing strategies like lower retail prices, bonus offers,...etc.

Piracy is everywhere and won't stop because we're dealing with digital media. And it's not just the PSP, so it's not the cause for low game sales if you think so.

Saigon @ Jun 19th 2008 12:31PM

Sadly, I don't see anything changing.

"And it's not just the PSP, so it's not the cause for low game sales if you think so."

No one has any actual proof about how badly piracy is affecting psp game sales.

Joe @ Jun 19th 2008 12:55PM

I wish Sony would get some one else to do David Reeves job in Europe. In Europe you are always getting stuff later and He really does not seem to care. I think him and Yoshida need to go. Plus when ever the stuff comes out the games can be years old. I want to see more games launch at the same time not years apart.

Though it is good to see a person from Sony want to help destroy the pirates. My guess is that there might be new games that will be able to be bought off of PSN.
So think big games like GOW only when they come out they will not come out in the stores just online. That way that will help cut down on the pirates.

Angryfinne @ Jun 19th 2008 1:36PM

Their solution possibly.... New Model-no usb to pc, no memory card (512mb flash instead)

They need to have DEMOS of as many games as possible, i think that will help limit piracy.
I blame piracy for 4.0's craptivity, i think Sony are too busy fixing piracy issues to focus on innovation. But because of stuff like crappy 4.0 it makes me wanna go back to the darkside.

Mark @ Jun 19th 2008 2:43PM

Easy, release a secure firmware, with desirable features, that tempts people away from custom firmware..

Sorry, a crappy Google Search from XMB is NOT a desirable feature. How about DivX support, and other sbstantial stuff.

GothPunk @ Jun 19th 2008 3:23PM

That's what I was thinking, that there'll be a really big update that a lot of people want, like accessing the PSN Store from PSP, additional codec support and a better browser etc. But the firmware will have some additional security of some kind.

Then again, it might not be anything to do with firmware, it might just be a different approach to sales. Or homebrew. Sony do seem to be acting a bit differently since the PS3 release, so hopefully we'll all be pleasantly surprised.

xirtan @ Jun 19th 2008 3:10PM

It´s a crap....
I´m from Brasil and paid something like 800$ for my psp and the games something about 200$ bucks.
You still think that there is condition to buy games?
I bought only 2 gamges and sold the psp, and the games, it too expensive, and if try to contact sony they just say, Oh we are sorry but we don´t support the psp in your area

J@F @ Jun 19th 2008 3:37PM

I hope their plan to stop piracy is to lower the maximum game price to $30 or $35 and maybe the average price to $20 or $25. they lowered the price once before from $50 to $40. maybe it wasn't enough. I think the reason ds games sell well despite the relative ease some one could pirate them is because they're so cheap. you can spend $30 on a whim and even if the game sucks you still wouldn't feel bad for buying it. it's something i think sony should consider at least.

Jacksons @ Jun 19th 2008 11:32PM

$40 did seem a little high to me at first, but after picking up Mario Kart for my DS for $35 (it's nearly 3 years old!) it doesn't bother me anymore.

pixelator @ Jun 19th 2008 4:51PM

Piracy isn't why PSP software sales have tanked... It's lack of PSP software. Big titles are selling very well in Japan. You know, that place where they still get big titles released with some regularity. Japan, where piracy is as prevalent as anywhere else.

I think what we need, more than a solution to PSP piracy, is a solution to PSP apathy (Sony's).

bryansurvive @ Jun 19th 2008 5:42PM

i want the ps store to be directly off my rss just browser and buy, browser and buy. the divx i dont understand so can someone explain that.

Jacksons @ Jun 19th 2008 11:07PM

Pirates are worthless, but excessive DRM methods are even worse.

andwhyisit @ Jun 20th 2008 12:07AM

If they block out iso loading or come to an agreement about a drm for iso's (so that they can only be played on the machine they were ripped by) then that would be a good solution, but if they block out homebrew again then it won't do much and people will complain.