Pirated copies of PS3 games may now be played on the console using a new technique to ‘jailbreak’ the PS3 and allow the running of unauthorised code.
PSJailbreak is the name of a system that combines a USB Dongle with a piece of software to perform an iPhone-style ‘jailbreak’ on the PS3 hardware, allowing users to circumvent the PS3′s anti piracy measures and run ‘backed up’ code from DVD, network storage or USB. The software also makes it easy to create backup copies of games which could then be shared using bittorrent, etc.
The hack appears to use the same mechanism as the debugging methods that PS3 engineers use when working on the machine, although it is not known if it has been reverse-engineered from the official Sony tools. Either way, if this proves to be a practical solution that can be easily sold and installed then it will spell real trouble for Sony.
That said, Sony may take heart from Nintendo‘s recent legal victories in the Netherlands and the UK, which have resulted in the banning of R4 cards and Wii modchips – which essentially do the same thing as the PSJailbreak.
TBC | £tbc | PSJailbreak (via Eurogamer)
