PSP Brite is impervious to hackers

by Majed Athab { Oct 30th 2008 at 12:30PM }

Sony's latest hardware revision, the PSP-3000 aka PSP Brite, is doing well in standing up against pirates, hackers and their tools. According to PSP World, previous exploits which allow access to kernel memory and firmware are now patched up -- no way getting in there now.

Infamous hackers like Dark Alex have yet to find a way through the PSP Brite's new specs. Other hackers are getting frustrated; take Royginald from the Philippines who has swapped in the PSP Slim's CPU into a PSP Brite while keeping the screen and case intact. All that to run custom firmware and homebrew which doesn't even run properly because of signal output differences. We wonder if Sony has finally found a solution to its custom firmware woes.

Tags: hackers, psp, psp-3000, psp-brite

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ANTCEP @ Oct 30th 2008 12:58PM

looks like no brite for me for a while, i only realy use my psp for emulators.

dabamf @ Oct 30th 2008 1:05PM

Ahhhh...these are the features that necessitated the PSP-3000 coming out. Couldn't figure out why Sony would release a PSP 3.0 with such nominal improvements! Now I get it.

SecretAgentHam @ Oct 30th 2008 1:09PM

AWESOME NEWS!

hopefully this excites some third party developers to release some more unique titles on the system!

Christopher @ Oct 30th 2008 4:09PM

Why would they do that? Piracy is not stopping them. If it were, PSP games wouldn't be selling so hot in Japan right now, so what you're saying makes no sense.

SecretAgentHam @ Oct 30th 2008 4:31PM

do you really believe your own words? if its not because of piracy that the US isnt getting as much games as the JP market then why is it? these blog posts always end up in an argument with people who support piracy. ALL i'm saying is that due to the fact that the psp 3000 can block out hackers is good things for the psp market. NOW third parties will look at the PSP more serious and we'll get great games like Patapon coming into our hands. cant you see how piracy effects the market? for a small publishing company piracy is HUGE. think about the situation fully before you make a half assed comment.

PostedOval @ Oct 30th 2008 1:11PM

I have no sympathy for these hackers. Get the GP2X if you want that ability.

reson8er @ Oct 30th 2008 1:17PM

GoBob @ Oct 30th 2008 1:53PM

Except you can't play PSP games on a GP2X. I'm a CFW user who happily spent money down on games.

It's nice that the new PSP hasn't been broken(yet), I guess. Except for that whole "if they make it, they get crack it" thing. "Hackers" are resourceful and love a challenge. I hope DAX enjoys himself while he cracks the 3000 open. Too bad the Brite as interlacing issues.

Mattchewie @ Oct 30th 2008 2:13PM

I agree. I own a DS, PSP and a GP2X and I use the GP for all my old school emulation needs. I usually know before I leave my house what type of gaming I'm going to want to do so I pick my weapon of choice.

I for one welcome these lockouts if it makes developers look at the PSP again.

Christopher @ Oct 30th 2008 4:12PM

"Blah blah blah"

I use CFW and I have 100% legit games. I don't like carrying them all, so I have a couple 4GB sticks of memory. It's lot easier. Plus I love homebrew. If not for CFW, I wouldn't be able to play PS1 games on it of games I own but never finished...

Also, if you hate CFW so much, don't say it's because of piracy. Akihabara is full of it and it's right in Sony's back yard, so why is PSP doing so well there now?

I'll tell you why. Because until they came out with 15 different colors, Japanese didn't like the PSP because generally it's too BIG for them. When they put out a bunch of colors like Nintendo did and the perception that PSP was MORE than a game system, THAT is when the PSP took off with help of games like Monster Hunter.

So I don't want to hear this BS of CFW whining.

Kspraydad @ Oct 30th 2008 4:28PM

Christopher...you seem 'conflicted'

In a story on DS and the R4 you acknowledged:

Quote:

I can understand their panic since it opens the door to piracy...

So you DO see that CFW and the like 'open the door to piracy' yet you continue to insist that it is a red herring in your other posts.

???

http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2008/09/08/ds-daily-peripheral-guilt/2#c14205099

slickbwoi @ Oct 31st 2008 2:14PM

i agree.. no point payin £130 for a homebrew device

Frastoglegnia @ Oct 30th 2008 3:01PM

This is exactly what I've said on PSPFanboy for the past two months: A new iteration of the TA series and what appears to be a redesigned battery port (possibly related to the withdrawal of the previous extended battery kit) = what Dark Alex has been predicting: the hacker-proof PSP.

If you want homebrew, now's the time to pick up that PSP Slim bundle. Wait for post-BF bargains, if you like, but beyond that, I'd get one soon. Even though this looks to be the worst Christmas for retail in my lifetime, I don't want to end up buying a used or scalped PSP just to play PS ISOs of *my own* (not pirated!) games. People think homebrew is all about pirating. It's also about altering your own copy of Manhunt 2 in order to play the game uncensored. It's also about ripping copies of your own PS games to play on a portable. It's also about allowing musicians like me to use PSPRhythm, which is the best music sequencer software on any game handheld at the moment (yes, it's even better than the Korg DS-10 because of the import/export options and because song mode allows for more complicated structures).

Duscrom @ Oct 30th 2008 4:48PM

It's also about about ripping the PSP games I own to the memory stick because UMD cases are a) Flimsy as hell, can get lost, take battery life with the spinning drive, longer load times.

Now, Sony agrees with me, as they offer their entire first party lineup for download. But, 3rd parties haven't caught up.

Frastoglegnia @ Oct 30th 2008 7:51PM

Duscom:

I completely agree with you about SD vs. UMD. I didn't mention it for the reason you cite at the end of your post: the PSP direct store launch as of their 5.01 FW release.

Now if only they'd factor into the price the fact there are no physical media costs. I'd rather rip my $14.00 safety UMD of Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror than pay 25.00 for a download that could get erased inadvertently or one day decide not to play.

pat1202003 @ Oct 30th 2008 2:26PM

They will find a way to get CFW on it. I bet before the end of this year someone will hack it. Just like the iPhone and Wii they tried to patch it up, but there is always someone to crack it.

LokeSTL @ Oct 30th 2008 2:41PM

Also impervious to being purchased....
I'm sure these "signal output differences" contribute to the interlacing issues. Hopefully they will change the refresh from every other line at a time to every line refreshes together at the same speed like the previous models. Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

odan @ Oct 30th 2008 2:53PM

I agree that its nice to see some more effort to protect the system. But its only a matter of time before its hacked. Nor do i really care. Pirating games doesn't affect the gaming market as much as the gaming industry wants you to believe.

Roberto @ Oct 30th 2008 2:53PM

Its simples....
Sony will sell less PSPs.

DigDug @ Oct 31st 2008 4:05AM

??? No Sony will sell MORE PSPs... By combatting piracy, cosumers will buy games, therefore developers will make games, therefore PSP will sell more units.

Piracy is what has killed PSP titles this gen.

nomad @ Oct 30th 2008 3:48PM

i hope they break it,sceerew sony,bunch of commies runnig it and the playstation forums,lol. if sony was smart,which there not,they would imbrace hb and give the psp a chance to be a fantastic gaming divice. not held back with what we have now,gaming companys bailing out,slow updates,lousey store(it is worse now with the stupied media management junk)which i deleted from my computer,trying to sell us a piece of junk only a few mounths after the 2000. you go you hb hard working geniuses,lol. oh one more rant. Rant!

Extinction @ Oct 30th 2008 6:00PM

@Nomad: Sony is doing what they have to, to protect game developers. CFW is primarily used to pirate games. Sony can track downloaded ISOs by simply going to download sites and they've reported on huge amounts of downloaded games which = lost revenue for the developers.

Don't slap Sony then bitch about when they start blocking you.

I agree with whoever said this is a good thing. It will raise developer confidence in PSP. Look at how PC is losing developers due to piracy.

Sony is fine with homebrew. Sony added Flash 9 support on PS3, lets us install Linux on it since day 1. Flash 6 on PSP. They even opened PS2 up to everyone just a few days ago. Sony is by far the most homebrew friendly game company there is.

But they have no reason to allow piracy, and every reason to block it.

nomad @ Oct 30th 2008 7:34PM

i don't endorse the piracy poop. i like the way the hb has made there programs and stuff. thats where sony is messing up. they should make it so the psp stops the pirecy but keep the other kool things they are doing in hb on the psp.

RainMotorsports @ Oct 30th 2008 8:41PM

The swap uses the Tachyon(which contains the nand on the slim as well) that has customfirmware intended for a 2000.

Once the 3g components of the firmware are decrypted (something that hasnt been accomplished yet), screen support can be added to custom firmware. But the screen itself has nothing todo with it its the fact that its using custom firmware for the slim, with no support for 3g modules.

This has proved that once an ipl has been written for the TA-088v3 PSP 2000's, and how service mode is initialized on the 3000 that it can be hacked. Dark Alex has already commented on the new IPL security with great detail though it has not been broken yet.

A challenge yes, but it will be done sooner or later.

stevan @ Oct 30th 2008 11:13PM

i agree with those that say this might be a good thing for future third-party titles.
those who have CFW already will continue to use it (hopefully for good things) and those who WANT it that badly will find a way to get a PSP that can be hacked.

WEsker @ Oct 31st 2008 9:13PM

Sony is hardly home brew friendly they take to long to enable things ex ps1 games, which pretty much means they are not giving enough attention to the psp. But it is a good thing for everyone that the 3000 is unhackable for OFW users CFW users and sony. There has to be interest in the psp for better titles to be realeased. No use if the psp has only 1-2 games every now and then

cammerv8 @ Oct 31st 2008 10:14PM

it is not just the psp-3000 also psp slims with the TA-88V3 boards that are un hackeable !!!!

psp phat rulz

da44e @ Nov 1st 2008 7:28PM

I bet that if it doesn't work to lock it up with firmware, that there will always be some kind of chip thing ;P so don't worry for that. As for legit games, they will sell because there are many who doens't want trouble and don't know how to/where to install things like M33 plus that they can afford to buy games.

canonissan @ Nov 11th 2008 11:29AM

the psp 3000 to be ,not only had to be ,dark_alex there are millions of hackers altough hes good,dont be blaming all ,to el hermano alex,other thing its good that d psp be hack,b cause d sony dont want give the gamers good options n funtions on theit ,but they want to charge big prices for little bit more fun ,when they have much more than m $millions,so pls,if you not like hacks n their advantages not ,be talkin b/s n keep paying more to the already xxtra rich,..... ! ps. apoyo d_a y demas hermanos.

canonissan @ Nov 11th 2008 12:06PM

D_A no es el unico hacker para bregar el psp 3000, si es 100% bueno ,pero no anden con estuppideses cargandole todo a el hermano alex, es bueno q sony sea hackeado ,por q esa gente no quietes dar mejores opcines a los jugadores ,pero quiern mucho $ por un poquito de diversion y variedad mas , cuando ellos tienen mucho mas q millones ,si no te gustan los hacks y sus ventajas no hables b/s y sigue pagandole mas alos ya xtra ricos..... p.s. apoyo a d_a y los demas hermanos ,adelante m-33 y demas..