Normally, if there is no "hello world" screen, such a claim would be readily dismissed, but when the claim comes from someone as well known as George Hotz, it demands attention.
While the details reported by Eurogamer are somewhat technical, they can be summed up as the beginning of the end for Sony's security. The hack doesn't yet allow for much in the terms of practical deployment, but seemingly the biggest hurtle, the low-level security features, have been bypassed. What, if anything they can do about it is most likely the big question circling around IBM and SCEA. Even more interesting though is what this means for PS3 owners.
The eventual possibility of running pirated games could spell disaster for publishers and dry up much of the quality third party support now finally being thrown behind the system. If games can be loaded off the hard drive, blu-ray titles may be hurt, but developers of the best quirky PSN titles would find themselves in a real tough place.
Then there's the issue of trophies. If game code can be manipulated, then the potential for accomplishment abuse could threaten the value of titles. Why would your platinum trophy matter if someone else can boast the same claim without putting in the time or skill necessary to achieve it?
Yet the possibility of running old emulators upscaled to HD without reserving a chunk of the system for Linux and playing MKV files locally does sound incredibly attractive.
This is something PS3 owners should be following very closely over the coming months.
Share this article