We've heard it before that a crack to allow unsigned code to run on a PlayStation 3 was close to release and nothing materialised, but this time the rumours seem a little stronger with many sites and prominent members of the device hacking community all but confirming the existence of a new soft-mod for the PS3, being referred to (with iPhone modding vernacular) as a "Jailbreak".

MaxConsole has a detailed breakdown of everything known about the mod so far, including several proof-of-concept videos and images of the purported soft-mod USB stick, giving us recourse to finally believe the hype.

For the uninitiated, a mod like this would enable owners of PlayStation 3 consoles to run copies of their games backed up to hard-drive for faster load-times than are capable when reading from a Blu-Ray disc. It would also allow homebrew developers to create applications like the coveted Xbox Media Center app to run on PlayStation 3 consoles. Unfortunately it also opens the door to game piracy on the platform. All things that, unlike it's competitors, PlayStation's security has managed to thwart for 4 years.

It is not yet confirmed if this is a security hole that Sony will be able to mend in current devices but it seems likely that a firmware upgrade could be used to plug it. The mod is reported to work on the current firmware version 3.41 so if this is something that interests you, you may want to hold off on any further upgrades until the mod is available.

I would 100% buy a PS3 if I could get it running XBMC (200% if they continued to call it XBMC just for the ironing).

Once cracked open the Jailbroken units are used to more easily dissect and a find work-around for future updates by Sony, at least that is how I understand it.

4 years is pretty impressive though.

Makes me wonder what would've happened if the PS3 had been cracked at the same time as the 360. I still find it pretty hard to gauge the impact of piracy.

I got a PS3 instead of a 360 just two months ago, and it was because piracy wasn't an option that swayed me to it. oh well.

xbmc will rock.

Lucky for Sony they use Blu-Ray , expensive blank media and 50gig game images to fill up the Hard Drives.

I was reading about this yesturday, and im very excited.

I few australian modders have been given prototypes to test out, and if you search hard enough you can easily find more information on that

One of the guys i know says sony will be able to patch it, another says sony wont bother (they may initially but it will be easy enough to work around that any patch attempts will just annoy modders more then deter them)

One of them was also saying that xbmc for ps3 is already well under way and that they had a primal (by primal i mean, they had the basic code running, just couldnt enable all features due to the limitations of how sony close of areas of the ps3) version of it working on non hacked ps3's prior to the removal of linux, so it should be an easy feat getting it sorted out with this hack.

I really am looking forward to this, the ps3 is a beast of a console and by far gets the most use in our house, id gladly stick one in each room if i could hav xbmc and homebrew running on them.

Also sif id want to waste 35gig a game installing to the HDD.

This will be illegal to sell as it includes sony private key and sdk code.

This will be illegal to sell as it includes sony private key and sdk code.

That means nothing, order from oversea's. success.

Yeah but hopefully sony can track down the deb who leaked the files.

Lucky for Sony they use Blu-Ray , expensive blank media and 50gig game images to fill up the Hard Drives.

Single layer Blu-ray discs are only 25GB. Few games require a dual layer disc.

Lucky for Sony they use Blu-Ray , expensive blank media and 50gig game images to fill up the Hard Drives.

Hardly any games are that big. Think about it, most games are on both PS3 and 360, and both systems have the games on a single disc. A quick look at PS3 rips on the net shows that a lot of them hover around the 8-10GB range, just like a lot of other games. Of course, there are some which are significantly bigger, as it's silly not to take advantage of the extra space for higher-quality videos and such.

I would 100% buy a PS3 if I could get it running XBMC (200% if they continued to call it XBMC just for the ironing).

Well, that's made a lot more difficult since Sony patched out the OtherOS capabilities. Of course, if this mod does indeed trick the PS3 into thinking it's a development unit, that opens up a huge range of possibilities, as dev units will execute unsigned code.

This will be illegal to sell as it includes sony private key and sdk code.

I had a quick read of the article linked to in the OP and couldn't see that - where is that mentioned?

Hardly any games are that big. Think about it, most games are on both PS3 and 360, and both systems have the games on a single disc.

theres only two games that i know of that used the whole 50gb disc. they were mgs4 and ff13. ff13 on xbox had like 3 discs.


can anyone tell me why xmbc is so good?

last edited by ravn0s at 11:30:12 20/Aug/10

can anyone tell me why xmbc is so good?

Its the ultimate home theatre software, it will play anything you throw at it, not only that it's open source and complete customizable.

I had it running on the original xbox and it played everthing except for hi-def content (hardware limitiation not software)

Many have built media pc's to run xbmc.

On the original xbox, it would rip dvd's put them in a nice libary, it connects to imdb and tv databases to extract covers and information. aswell.

Its just f***ing awesome. kthx.

Rav - Didn't God of War 3 also use the entire Blu-Ray?

I had a quick read of the article linked to in the OP and couldn't see that - where is that mentioned?

He's making an assumption based on how the hack works,

as he explained it contains code owned by sony, which was not intended for this use, or re-production by a non sony manufacture.

that sounds awesome grog

We all knew that the PS3 wasn't uncrackable and sooner or later we'd see pirating on it. Whatever sony did though with their anti-piracy though worked brilliantly if this indeed turns out to be true. 4 years of pirate free gaming. Jesus that has to be a record of some kind of record as the xbox slim is already cracked after what? 2 months? Sony won't be thrilled their system is now open like this but on the other hand they stumpped everyone for 4 god damn years, even making 1 of the best known crackers on the scene to give up. Well done to the people who did this I say.

ravn0s, for a full list of supported features and codec's have a read of
http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=XBMC_Features_and_Supported_Formats/Codecs <- that.

Will this bring in more cheaters?

Entirely likely, but it depends on how well Sony are able to police their online multiplayer service. On xbox live, MS are able to dish out console and live account bans pretty easily which deters most would-be cheaters. Given that PS accounts are free, I suppose PlayStation would have to rely solely on banning detected-modded consoles, if that's something they're able to detect.

goodbye usb support

USB support wont go. Sony use those ports for charging the controllers etc. Not to mention the PS eye which is required for Move.

well duh, but they could remove file sharing etc. from usb stick

i doubt they would do that, they might release and update that wont read an private key and sdk code from usb however.

and if you search hard enough you can easily find more information on that

Contradictory liquid brain explosion.

Some people find googling... hard.

Also just to let people know how it works in a bit more detail.

Its basically software in a pkg format.. this format is the same as the content that is on the psn store. The software was packed by the sdk thus the reason the ps3 reads it. The software itself is just a backup manager it reads whats on the disc and copys it to the hdd and will then play that copy from the hdd, at the moment it does not copy blu-ray movies or dvds.

So you dont load games from the XMB (dashboard) you load them from a program installed on the usb drive (similar to how the wii works with soft modding and usb loading)

You would have to load homebrew via the same method.

What this means though is that they are able to technically get unsigned code on to the hdd and read by the ps3, this will allow for custom dash boards, xbmc and other neat and nifty things.

its expected to retail for $169

Given what the actuall hack is though i expect some third partys to start making it and bringing the price down.

i dont think they have a massive problem with piracy with files being 30gb+ either.

I dont think too many ppl will be wasting 30gb on 1 game.

Given what the actuall hack is though i expect some third partys to start making it and bringing the price down.

If your description is correct, then given what the hack is then there's nothing to stop the PKG being distributed freely like any other form of software (ie: without the need to purchase this magical USB stick).

Hmm.. the ethical dilemma of buying what might be stolen/copyrighted code to extend your freedom on your PS3.

Not in australia no but over in the US where they don't have internet caps sure.

not really ethical when they are features that a system of this day and age should contain and can easily run. But due to big company gayness they have left these features out

Not in australia no but over in the US where they don't have internet caps sure.

yeh, the US, where they're noted for their lax attitude towards violators of copyright - its a utopia, alright

I dont think too many ppl will be wasting 30gb on 1 game.

There was another thread a day or two ago about iiNet releasing 1000GB / month plans for $100/month . I dont think size is going to impede pirates.

@ ravn0s

Hmmm didn't think if blocking file sharing on USB, good point and a scary one.

They will not block file sharing via usb, thats just stupid.

PS3 have the ability to hook up to printers, cameras, the ps eye, charge controllers amongst a host of other abilitys, to stop file sharing or modify any way that the usb port reads information will cause a huge chain of effect for all those other features.

They will not block file sharing via usb, thats just stupid.

people would have said the same thing about removing other os.

but yer i doubt they will do it.

people can say what they like, im using logic. the other os feature was laughable, sure it was an advertised feature that a few people used, but it wasnt a feature that the primary function of the ps3 depended on.

Sure the ps3 doesnt need to hook up to a huge array of usb devices, but i believe its part of the sony plan to have everything talking to each other... plus the japs love neat s*** like that.

but but, all this s*** is why I have an xbox. ><

i dont think they have a massive problem with piracy with files being 30gb+ either.

I dont think too many ppl will be wasting 30gb on 1 game.

As I said in my previous post, hardly any games would be that big. Most wouldn't even be 10GB. How do you think cross-platform games fit on a single DVD for the 360?

Far as I know only 2 games have been close to filling the disc, MSG4 and FF13. Prolly way more though since they are the only 2 I know of.

If your description is correct, then given what the hack is then there's nothing to stop the PKG being distributed freely like any other form of software

would be a delicious twist of events if the pirates using stolen sony code have all their hard work pirated & freely distributed by yet more pirates.

I wish I had an antenna on my car that didn't run almost parallel to the car so I could fly the jolly roger yarrrr

How do you think cross-platform games fit on a single DVD for the 360?

There's heaps of ways, re-compression of video to smaller size for one.

last edited by Whoop at 19:38:03 20/Aug/10

would be a delicious twist of events if the pirates using stolen sony code have all their hard work pirated & freely distributed by yet more pirates.

Thats probably why the high price, they'll take a large amount of orders and sell them quickly before it happens.

The usb stick is not just any usb stick, it is a leaked one from Sony that puts PS3 systems into debug mode thus enabling them to run unsinged code (any code). What I think it does is that it tells the bootloader (like the BIOS on your PC) to boot from this usb stick instead of the normal firmwire. All Sony has to do is either check for devices running debug modes on PSN and then check if it is a developer. Or they could modify the bootloader not to boot from that USB stick as it probably has some serial number. Or just modify the bootloader to never boot from a usb device.

This mod is basically a RETAIL TO DEBUG convertor, using a JIGCARD from SONY services.
If you look at VHS, it has some DEBUG things.
This JIG CARD(aka USB DONGLE) is used for devs and technicians from sony to launch BOOT INI from DEV_USB0.
Combining some buttons you can change the SYSCON status, who launch as a primary boot this dongle.

BOOTSTRAP is read and the files from dongle are launched and the RAM is making a false REBOOT.
The whole thing its an SYSCON FIRMWARE EMULATOR.
TRM "thinks" we have a debug unit and KERNEL DEBUG is loaded.

This way a DEBUG VSHMAIN (temporarily) allows unsigned code load.
Now you can launch PKGs from USB (that has an explorer to do that)

To launch BDEMU you need a disc to activate MEDIATYPE BD.
When you launch LOADER(from usb) BDDRIVE CHANNEL is closed(they cant share the same channel).
To eliminate LAYER, it needs a CELLFTP to extract decrypted files(no layer) and to convert those to DEBUG MODE.
Executer files can be created with SDK,and generated by the same loader that extract the LAYER, and using PS3GEN to create signed isos(patched).
Same way a 360 works(using a core debug)

The LOADER is executed via APP.
ELIMINATING the initial USB BOOT, its all SONY has to do to kill this mod, because SYSCON is the boss

Source

yeah i read that earlier, its a possible method on how the key itself work, with more digging the method i described is purely how the boot manager works, thus the 2 combined make more sense.

awesome awesome awesome ^

nice tangle of cables there.

a little StageName redemption there.
well done.

If by redemption you mean he read the o.p., then yes redeemed?

Good one.

so more importantly, who's going to order one and see if it works for me?

$170 is a bit steep.

Meh, wont be f***ing with mine. Specially not for $170. Is the only thing this is good for running pirated games? My PS3 already does everything I want (except run an alternate OS which I am yet to hear back from fair trading about)

Gee. If only the OP had included a couple of examples of positive uses for something like this that weren't about pirated games!

Gee. If only the OP had included a couple of examples of positive uses for something like this that weren't about pirated games!

To be honest Dan. I dont believe the whole "backing up" to hard drive to speed up load times stuff. Games load pretty bloody quick as it is. The sad fact is, a mod like this will be used 98% of the time to run pirated software.

The sadder fact is, without this mod, I can't use the PS3 to do something it would be awesome at - running XMBC

I have absolutely zero interest in pirating video games (especially a blu-ray PS3 game), but I have lots of interest in buying awesome hardware like this and using it in other interesting ways!

The sadder fact is, without this mod, I can't use the PS3 to do something it would be awesome at - running XMBC

I have absolutely zero interest in pirating video games (especially a blu-ray PS3 game), but I have lots of interest in buying awesome hardware like this and using it in other interesting ways!

I have to admit Trog, I haven't used XBMC so I'm not across everything it does. What can it do over and above PS3 media server?

Actually I just realised that buying a PS3 would violate my commitment to never buy a Sony product again. So maybe I won't be able to get one anyway!@#

I haven't used PS3 media server so I am not sure how it differs. I do know though that people that have tried most other media things always seem to end up coming back to XBMC swearing it's the best

I have to admit Trog, I haven't used XBMC so I'm not across everything it does. What can it do over and above PS3 media server?

If only someone like groganus had answered that on the first page of replies!

Hmm, ok. Well, for what I need, PS3 media server does everything. It streams my photos and every kind of movie file I have to the TV via the PS3 without a hitch. mkv files play no problem with full surround sound as well. I might be wrong, but xbmc seems to just be a pretty interface for doing the same things.

Edit: me wonders if I can get a 3rd "if only" post from Dan.

Looking at Grogs post, XBMC apparently is more of an open source media library rather than just a media server. That being the case, sure, I'd run it as well :)

That Oz Mod Chips bloke is pretty nice he modded my wii for me. If i was gonna get one of these things it'd be through him.

I'd get one of these but id be worried about Sony banning me from PSN? Sure single player games are awesome but online is where its at.

I've got my 60GB PS3 being reballed at the moment ;(
I booted it up recently to be met with a YLOD

gaylord

hopefully mine doesnt do that anytime soon

Can i post the raw image of the usb stick? (you'll need a *nix machine with dd to write it to a usb stick) or will i get banzored/post limited to something even more retarded?

Is that all it is a normal USB stick. I just did a quick search and everything I can find still suggests there's more to it than just a specially formatted USB key.

Hmm, ok. Well, for what I need, PS3 media server does everything. It streams my photos and every kind of movie file I have to the TV via the PS3 without a hitch. mkv files play no problem with full surround sound as well. I might be wrong, but xbmc seems to just be a pretty interface for doing the same things.

You are pretty spot on, however what xbmc does over what ps3 media server is add extra functionality, eg, allow you to change subs on the file. Ps3 media server requires you to make changes at your pc. I assure you, XBMC is a fantastic piece of software that makes media playback so much easier and enjoyable.

PS3 media server purely streams media, the software "PS3 Media server" adds some functionality, mkv playback, subtitle support, and a few other codecs, but its all pc based functionality. XBMC is a media player on the ps3 that will read network storage and play media from there. (it can also play media locally). It allows you to access that functionality directly from the software on the ps3, and in most cases lets your make changes during playback. Imagine VLC on your pc with a pretty interface and media libary

I'd get one of these but id be worried about Sony banning me from PSN? Sure single player games are awesome but online is where its at.

Thats a very valid concern, this hack is probably detectable, however in my instance i would like one purely for homebrew and offline functionality, id be buying a 2nd ps3 just for this hack which is something id like to endorese to everyone, but i know is not cost effective to most. Wait it out, see how the hack development works out, this may just be a short lived hack.

Can i post the raw image of the usb stick? (you'll need a *nix machine with dd to write it to a usb stick) or will i get banzored/post limited to something even more retarded?

Probably not a good idea to post it, it has code owned by sony and breaches all kinds of copy write laws.

Will be interesting to see how this pans out. I don't think I will use it on my ps3, that is in the lounge room and only I touch the disc's.
I have the Wii in the kids entertainment room which I soft modded so the kids can play the games without touching any disc's.

We regret to inform you that today Sony Australia imposed an injunction against any company / person’s selling the PS Jailbreak devices, so it is with great regret that we have to inform you that we will not be buying or selling any PS Jailbreak devices. We have just issued a full refund to your card for the pre-order made.

We wish to apologize immensely for any inconvenience this may have caused, and hope that you can understand our position on this matter. Please note the refund we have issued can take approx 5-working days to show on your card.

Best Regards,

The injunction is in place until Tuesday 31-August at which time Sony has to convince the courts that the injunction should stick or the floodgates open on Wednesday 1st September.

PSX-Scene have a screenshot of the court document, which you can visit yourself here.

It seems that the Australian stores that were about to distribute these devices have to hand over any in their control to Sony's solicitors and that some of these will be examined by Sony including destructive testing, but that Sony will pay retail for them.

I thought it was also interesting that the order is in effect just by dropping it off at the address of the store and pasting a copy in to their website's contact form.

The judge was busy with something else so the case has been delayed until this Friday 3rd September - the injunction remains in place until that time.

just realised its the same company that is fixing my ps3
im none too worried though because its' completely balls right now so I have nothing to lose

This reminds me of the time I said everything Sony ever did was evil

This reminds me of the time I said everything Sony ever did was evil

I'm certainly not one to praise or defend Sony, but you can't really expect them to do nothing when a simple USB device is allowing people to rip/download PS3 games and play them on their console.

ive yet to see one ps3 game available to download

In somewhat related news, that Adelaide guy lost the lawsuit against Sony for removing OtherOS http://www.news.com.au/technology/aussie-gamer-loses-court-fight-over-ps3-upgrade/story-e6frfro0-1225912943999

ive yet to see one ps3 game available to download

I have, and i am not even looking.

The only place on Samui you can get an xbox is from a proper shop in a shopping centre and they are cracked already with 5 games. Crazy!

Im at work and thus can't be stuff finding another source... anyway news.com.au have an article about another ps3 hack (that works much the same) however it does not come with the functionality of ripping games, instead it is designed purely from a homebrew perspective.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/psgroove-makers-claims-their-device-can-hack-a-ps3-for-free-and-doesnt-promote-piracy/story-e6frfro0-1225913145033?area=technology

either way homebrew could be written for the device that would allow pirating games.
However due to the fact its advertised as being homebrew specific may allow for it to not get f***ed over in the courts. (probably still will though)

Also ive seen ps3 games for download on sites since the ps3's release. im yet to see an increase since the announcement of these hacks/exploits.

They've named it PsGroove and you need a programmable USB device like the AT90USBKEY.

These previously sold in Australia for about AU$40, but everyone is out of stock and the one company that seems to be getting stock tomorrow now lists them at $110 + postage

There are similar supply problems across online retailers world wide

The restrictions in the homebrew mod that stopped the copying software from running can be removed with a patch that's available online.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Teensy-2-0-USB-Dev-Board-AT90USBKey-PSGroove-Ps3-/110580949645?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bf23628d

*cough*

may allow for it to not get f***ed over in the courts

Not much they can do in this case though, it'd be like trying to ban blank cd's.

Someone tried to post this in another thread, I think, and I'm not sure I see it in this one?

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/02/1530210/Open-Source-PS3-Jailbreak-Released

The PS3 jailbreak is available open source and you can DIY it.

It's about 4 posts about yours.

so anyone gonna try it and let us know how it goes?

I would if I had a Teensy++ USB stick lying around, which I don't. Can't even buy them now, they're all sold out.

There's currently projects in the works to get the hack working from homebrew capable PSPs and jailbroken iPhones. Will be interesting to see what shakes out of those.

Main point of note is still that if you want homebrew on your PS3, don't be updating beyond the current firmware. Surely can't be too much longer before Sony rollout an update that plugs the hole.

The hack seems to work by funking with the USB software in the PS3, so it seems (to this laymen) that it will be able to be messed with by other devices like android/ios/windows/linux and that it will also be able to be easily fixed by Sony.

My PS3 is currently blocked from the internet in anticipation of a forced patch (which Sony allowed themselves to do in recent changes to the T&C with a PS3 update)

Looks like Sony won the court case today. The court named the Chinese company that supplied the device, named their bank account, and have demanded that all stock be turned over to Sony's lawyers.

Thanks to my long standing and well known interest in programmable usb boards I think it's time to finally fork out for a AT90USBKey and start programming my own USB devices. I wish i'd bought one two years ago when I first got interested, not now that they are priced double.

One guy is already working on an Android port of PSGroove. Yay!

http://netzke.blogspot.com/

My PS3 is currently blocked from the internet in anticipation of a forced patch (which Sony allowed themselves to do in recent changes to the T&C with a PS3 update)

Can you explain further, ive been unable to sign into psn for a few days, yet when i run network setup on it all the tests come back fine.

Havent dont any research into the error yet, but when you said that i was wondering if im experiencing the same thing.

Can you explain further,

He unplugged the ethernet cable.

Not quite as I still need my ps3 to talk to my media servers, instead I used the router/firewall function on my modem to block all traffic to/from my ps3's ip address so it can't see the Internet.

Might be easier to just specify manual network settings and just set the default gateway to a local IP that doens't exist?

Now you can install an application called PSFreedom on your Nokia N900 and use it to "JailBreak" your PS3.

It can't be too far away that other phones offer this facility too.. I'd read yesterday of Android development, but Kararto has delivered the N900 version sooner.

well ive removed the ethernet cable just in case they do a forced update.

The iPhone port of PSFreedom has been released. You only works on older iPhones and they must be running OpeniBoot.

Allows you to play "backed up" games. Yeah, sure, no rolling eyes here.

Just say what you mean - it allows you to play pirated games.