PS3 Allegedly Hacked

[Flack]

http://www.gadgetvenue.com/sony-ps3-finally-hacked-fully-01235158/

They're a long way off from a mod chip, but from a technical standpoint, it's pretty impressive. The PS3 definitely was the strongest of the modern big 3. It still be interesting to see how this affects PS3 sales.

EDIT: I forgot to add, the blog belongs to Geohot, the guy who wrote blackra1n (the jailbreaking utility for the iPod/iPhone). Definitely a credible source.

[The 1 2 P]

The fact that it's taken so long for the PS3 to be hacked it's a good sign for Sony. Their multiplatform games may not sell as much as the 360 equivalents but they atleast aren't losing alot of money on copies of their games getting pirated. Well, they probably will soon(thanks to this hack) but they went without it for over three years and thats money saved.

[kupomogli]

Even if this allows people to play pirated games, how many people do you think actually owns a Bluray Burner. Not many. Also, you know the prices of Bluray discs are expensive(although there is one sale going for 15 discs for $40. http://www.amazon.com/Memorex-32020013358-Write-Once-Blu-ray-Spindle/dp/B001B96HLU/ref=pd_sim_e_1)

What I hope this hack actually does is unlocks the region coding for DVDs to play Japanese, US, and PS2 titles on the PS3. Possibly even allow the PS2 software to be used on non BC PS3 systems. Also for those with the non slims, unlock all the things that stop Linux running at its full potential.

[WCP]

Hmm, interesting, but I won't consider it actually hacked until I see Craigslist postings with people advertising that they can mod your PS3 for $40, and advertisments of people selling burned PS3 games. So, maybe Sony will actually get to year 4 before that starts happening. Four years without any piracy would be pretty freaking legendary. What is the longest a system has gone before any piracy? I know that it took the GameCube awhile. I mean, there was certain ways to play Cube backups, but if I remember correctly, it wasn't worth all the hoops you had to jump thru. Obviously, the Cube eventually got broken wide open, but it lasted for like 3 years or so with no piracy, if my memory serves me...

[Flack]

TigerDirect has a Plextor blu-ray burner for $129 and blanks are running ~$3 each.

To be honest, I don't think anybody wants to get into to blu-ray burning game yet. I suspect when all is said and done you'll be able to play an ISO image off of the unit's hard drive.

Geohot (and others) are actually working on this for a couple of reasons. One is because the system is so crippled when running Linux. They also say that it's to blow open the doors for homebrew. We'll see what happens.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

Geohot (and others) are actually working on this for a couple of reasons. One is because the system is so crippled when running Linux. They also say that it's to blow open the doors for homebrew. We'll see what happens.

Please enlighten me since I am new to the world of the PS3 (just bought one a couple weeks ago). What is the reason for running linux on the PS3? Also, are there really that many people with the tools and ability to program homebrews for the PS3 just waiting for the chance? If so, why not try to get a job with an established development company? Not trying to cause trouble or offend anyone, I am just curious.

JY

[kupomogli]

Also. The PS3 can already play burnt games as well. I don't know how it's done(there's a guide.) But some way where you leave the disc insert motor running by making a switch. The PS3 then reads the info on the CD/DVD/Bluray without checking region coding.

I would like to play PSX and PS2 Japanese games on my PS3, but I don't want to do anything that has me cutting open the system.

[Raedon]

Even if this allows people to play pirated games, how many people do you think actually owns a Bluray Burner. Not many. Also, you know the prices of Bluray discs are expensive(although there is one sale going for 15 discs for $40. http://www.amazon.com/Memorex-32020013358-Write-Once-Blu-ray-Spindle/dp/B001B96HLU/ref=pd_sim_e_1)

What I hope this hack actually does is unlocks the region coding for DVDs to play Japanese, US, and PS2 titles on the PS3. Possibly even allow the PS2 software to be used on non BC PS3 systems. Also for those with the non slims, unlock all the things that stop Linux running at its full potential.

BluRay discs will drop the second people have a real need for them. If all you are doing is pirating HD movies, you have no need for a hard copy. Something like a game console needing you to burn a game will bring prices down. By the time they get everything to the point where Joe soldering iron can DIY this who knows what they will cost.

Lets hope they don't go the route of a MOD chip with 22+ wires that need to find their way onto tiny 64 pin I/O microcontroller chips. That original PS2 mod job was easily the hardest soldering I've had to do.

[Flack]

Please enlighten me since I am new to the world of the PS3 (just bought one a couple weeks ago). What is the reason for running linux on the PS3? Also, are there really that many people with the tools and ability to program homebrews for the PS3 just waiting for the chance? If so, why not try to get a job with an established development company? Not trying to cause trouble or offend anyone, I am just curious.

JY

The PS3 has an eight-core processor, which would be incredibly powerful and fun to play with in Linux. Unfortunately, Sony limited access to only one of the cores as it stands. I'm guessing a truly hacked PS3 might allow access to all eight-cores, at which point the PS3 would be a hell of a good deal. With a bit more power, you could actually play some pretty cool Linux emulators on the PS3 in PC mode.

I don't code homebrew stuff so I can't really answer that question, although "because they can" seems to be a good enough excuse for many of them.

[erehwon]

If someone can really crack open the PS3 to the point of the PSP or original xbox, it could turn into an awesome homebrew device. The thing that interests me the most is the idea of getting Xbox media center on the PS3. XBMC is the only reason I still have my original xbox hooked up. XBMC does have a linux version now, so I wonder if that could be possible?

[sisko]

What I hope this hack actually does is unlocks the region coding for DVDs to play Japanese, US, and PS2 titles on the PS3. Possibly even allow the PS2 software to be used on non BC PS3 systems.


This is all I want

[Raedon]

If someone can really crack open the PS3 to the point of the PSP or original xbox, it could turn into an awesome homebrew device. The thing that interests me the most is the idea of getting Xbox media center on the PS3. XBMC is the only reason I still have my original xbox hooked up. XBMC does have a linux version now, so I wonder if that could be possible?

The latest version of XBMC is what I'm using on my media PC. quad core Phentom and Windows 7 though. Got to have the hardware acceleration that comes with Windows for it to work perfect at 1080p when your pushing out a FLAC DTS track and 2 subtitle overlays on some anime.

I'd bet XBMC would run amazingly well on a hacked PS3. And not quite so oddly enough - there is a raging HACKED PS3 thread (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21849) in their forum.

http://xbmc.org/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/transparency/5_movies-slide.jpg
http://xbmc.org/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/pm3-hd/screenshot004.jpg
http://xbmc.org/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/confluence/screenshot000.jpg
http://xbmc.org/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/confluence/screenshot003.jpg

[Raedon]

I'll condense this down for you so you don't have to go threw all the old flaming in the XBMC forum thread. Apparently the team doesn't want to have to deal with console patches.

Even if they open up the PS3 all the way, XBMC will not be developed for it. They are focusing on PC/Mac now.

[RASK1904]

Maybe the reason the PS3 hasn't been hacked yet is it sucked for the first 2 years. Why would you hack a system to burn wak ass games? While the Wii and the Xbox were hot as hell and both have been hacked. But last year the PS3 has made a come back= time to hack it.

[G-Boobie]

Maybe the reason the PS3 hasn't been hacked yet is it sucked for the first 2 years. Why would you hack a system to burn wak ass games? While the Wii and the Xbox were hot as hell and both have been hacked. But last year the PS3 has made a come back= time to hack it.

I'm guessing the reason that it hasn't been hacked until now comes down to the nutty system architecture and the relative scarcity of re-writable Blu-ray drives. I doubt that the idiot fanboy game system war is as firmly entrenched in hacker culture as it is in internet GameFAQs retard culture.

[WCP]

Maybe the reason the PS3 hasn't been hacked yet is it sucked for the first 2 years. Why would you hack a system to burn wak ass games? While the Wii and the Xbox were hot as hell and both have been hacked. But last year the PS3 has made a come back= time to hack it.

I think the primary reason was the cost of a PS3. People didn't want to ruin their $500 or $400 machine trying to hack it. Now that it's more affordable, and you see used ones going for around $200, it's more appealing to the hacker community. Of course, I have no facts whatsoever to backup this theory...

[Vlcice]

The PS3 has an eight-core processor, which would be incredibly powerful and fun to play with in Linux. Unfortunately, Sony limited access to only one of the cores as it stands. I'm guessing a truly hacked PS3 might allow access to all eight-cores, at which point the PS3 would be a hell of a good deal. With a bit more power, you could actually play some pretty cool Linux emulators on the PS3 in PC mode.

I don't code homebrew stuff so I can't really answer that question, although "because they can" seems to be a good enough excuse for many of them.

Sort of, but not quite. The PS3 has a processor with one "main" core, and seven specialized cores (called SPEs) designed for parallel tasks. In Linux, one of the SPEs is reserved for a hypervisor which controls access to the hardware; Linux programs can use the other six SPEs and the main core. Scientists have been buying PS3s to get access to the Cell, even with one SPE down.

The big problem isn't the processor access, but the fact that the hypervisor prevents access to the GPU. That really limits what you can do with it, and some things like HD video aren't really possible.

[kupomogli]

In the interest of openness, I've decided to release the exploit. Hopefully, this will ignite the PS3 scene, and you will organize and figure out how to use this to do practical things, like the iPhone when jailbreaks were first released. I have a life to get back to and can't keep working on this all day and night.

Please document your findings on the psDevWiki. They have been a great resource so far, and with the power this exploit gives, opens tons of new stuff to document. I'd like to see the missing HV calls filled in, nice memory maps, the boot chain better documented, and progress on a 3D GPU driver. And of course, the search for a software exploit.

This is the coveted PS3 exploit, gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS. Enjoy your hypervisor dumps. This is known to work with version 2.4.2 only, but I imagine it works on all current versions. Maybe later I'll write up how it works :)

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/heres-your-silver-platter.html

[Flack]

I'll condense this down for you so you don't have to go threw all the old flaming in the XBMC forum thread. Apparently the team doesn't want to have to deal with console patches.

Even if they open up the PS3 all the way, XBMC will not be developed for it. They are focusing on PC/Mac now.

All that means is, XBMC will not be developed by the XBMC team for the PS3. It's open source, so anyone can take the project and run with it (and no doubt will). That's what the Boxee camp did.

[NayusDante]

Aside from backing up games I own, there's really not THAT much I'd want from a hacked PS3. It's a hell of a media center already, and I'm happy with it that way.

Still, I wouldn't mind the idea of ripping my DVDs to an external drive and having a better interface to manage them... I believe XBMC can do that, but I prefer the video quality of my PS3 over HDMI to my XBMC Xbox, or the prospect of building an HTPC.