PS3 root key found....Anyone think we are going to see some changes soon

[Robin]

The big houses will take a hit but will just keep on churning out games... but a few thousand or hundred thousand sales lost to piracy may just be enough to put smaller game developers out of business.

I do agree with what your saying but the notion of what a small developer is has somewhat changed in my opinion (compared to the 90's). Nearly all small developers are now owned by huge corperations are its very rare to see a truely indepandant developer doing major releases, especially on consoles. Small developers seem to be doing 'app' style games for mobile platforms which involves far less financial risk.

What I'm bacially saying is most small developers which do high level titles now have some sort of safety net behind them and as long as they produce good work the effects of piracy can be absorbed by the bigger company.

Every other online gaming platform works in exactly the same way so I'm not sure what you are talking about. Windows isn't a gaming specific platform but Steam and Games for Windows Live won't allow you to access the network if you don't update them. Honestly people shouldn't be allowed online if they don't update their PCs since they are just giving the rest of us problems because they get infected, become parts of botnets, spam, etc.

What I mean is updating Windows via Windows update. I don't have to take the patches that they constantly issue plus I can play a PC game offline without updating which you cannot do on console (you have to install the latest firmware even if you are playing offline). Another thing I like is that I control the visual changes to Windows, so no changes like you see to the XMB etc.

My PS3 has been more reliable than any PS2 I've ever had. People assume that just because developers can push updates that games and systems are released half-assed. That's not true at all (I won't say for every developer, but for most). I tested games back in the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era and I also tested games recently on Wii/X360/PS3 and I can tell that there is not much difference in the way developers go about their business. The reason that a lot of bugs get left in is because the developer will look at the issue report and decide that it's too hard to reproduce and unlikely to happen, decide that the bug isn't bad enough or it's too risky of a fix. Of course when the games get out in the wild that unlikely bug or not an issue bug could end up being a big problem.

I tend to dissagree, I feel that games were less buggy back in the day because they knew once it went gold there was no going back so they made more of an effort. Now theres this 'fix and add later' attitude with developers so they release a substandard product (like Black Ops on PS3). I never had any bug problems with the games I bought on PS2, maybe I'm just lucky.

They make a loss on the consoles, and make a large profit on the games. If the games are all pirated, they lose money overall. The consoles are considered to be "loss leaders".

Only in the beginning, after a few years the consoles also start to turn a profit like the Wii. I think the 360 has also starting to be profitable and the PS3 is nearly there. The percentage of pirated vs geniune is still a small amount, its not like 50/50 or something.

This "piracy" issue for console games must really be an issue in poorly regulated makerts then.

Piracy is nothing to do with how regulated the markets are, its everywhere! I've seen so many places where its done so openly you wouldnt believe it and these are developed countries.

Also there are many contries where people are not very well off. So how is it fair that they can't enjoy games like the rest of us. I personally blame the greedy companies for setting ludicrous prices. There is no way on earth a game should cost 40-50 quid! I don't know where they come up with such a crazy figure. It should be half that (like PC games).

Robin.

 

[JGW]

There will always be people who will pirate software. It's a fact.

My biggest problem, wether it be console, PC, or whatnot is when the producers puts such overhanded protection schemes in place that it places an undue burden upon the customer.

If I am legally allowed to make a back up of whatever software I buy - then the producer needs to allow me the ability to do so. PERIOD.

As far as the PS3....to me it seems it would be more effort intensive to try and install a pirated game than to just go buy it. Maybe my time is worth more than others, but....

My biggest concern, and the reason I started this thread, was Sony's reaction and what possible heavy handed action they may take. Admittedly, in this case, there really isn't much they can do. On the other hand, they may have had a contingency plan if it ever did happen.

So my interest in this story lies mainly in Sony's reaction. To my knowledge, they have not yet commented on the break.

 

[Robin]

I think Sony hasn't commented because there is nothing they can do this time. The hardware has been compromised by an error in its coding giving access to the master key and the only thing Sony can do to plug this up is issue new hardware. Basically Sony can protect every slim yet to be produced by changing the hardware but for the millions of consoles out there they cannot do anything about it.

They still could ban people using detection over PSN but it seems like the hack is immune to checks as the system will appear legit (because the hack doesn't modify the coding on the system at all). All I want to see out of this is Other OS back, the ability to change the way the XMB looks (change the ugly PSN logo + remove all the store advertising) and play games off the HDD with a disk check like with the 360 to save the blu ray laser.

Robin. to

 

[niky]

Interesting about apps... I think this may be the future of gaming. Where interesting ideas and gameplay mechanics can be developed on-the-cheap, and where playability takes precedence over flash. Flash-based online games, iPhone/iPad games and Android games have rekindled the market for simple, fun games... and if an idea is good enough, it sometimes makes it into the big-time.

Amazing how you can be over and done with a big budget title like "Call of Duty" after several hours and one play-through... yet a small, cheap game like "Plants and Zombies" can keep you occupied for months on end.

The real problem is POOR legislation and management of piracy in 3rd world countries - so why should other USERS and purchasers of the products have to suffer because piracy is rampant in countries with poorly applied laws, rampant corruption and other issues unrelated to the products being pirated.

Clamp down on illegal street vendors and purchasers of pitrated goods and they will begin to dry up.

Sorry I picked up on your location... but you questioned the volume, I assumed you were stating: "I can't see it... thus it's hard to believe it's so." My apologies. I purposely cited Madrid because Spain isn't exactly the Third World. And there are those who pirate in the US. It's just not quite as visible as in many other countries.

While I agree that clamping down on pirates will help stop the bleeding, the problem isn't limited to pirates for profit. There are the rogue programmers and warez vendors who make things available to anyone interested online for free (in fact, sources in the US and Europe help drive the PSP pirate download industry).

Sadly, the fact that all consumers suffer due to the needs and necessities of one market isn't limited to piracy. There's socialized pricing... which manufacturers resort to because people in the US are willing to pay a whole lot more money than consumers in other countries... which is why you see regional locking for DVDs, too... there is something to what Robin is saying... companies can sell games/movies/music for a profit at prices that are consumer-friendly and which discourage piracy... but they use copy protection as a shield that allows them to sell the very same products for twice the price in markets where consumers have more disposable income... even if the danger of piracy is not as big there.

 

[RC45]

Interesting about apps... I think this may be the future of gaming. Where interesting ideas and gameplay mechanics can be developed on-the-cheap, and where playability takes precedence over flash. Flash-based online games, iPhone/iPad games and Android games have rekindled the market for simple, fun games... and if an idea is good enough, it sometimes makes it into the big-time.

Amazing how you can be over and done with a big budget title like "Call of Duty" after several hours and one play-through... yet a small, cheap game like "Plants and Zombies" can keep you occupied for months on end.



Sorry I picked up on your location... but you questioned the volume, I assumed you were stating: "I can't see it... thus it's hard to believe it's so." My apologies. I purposely cited Madrid because Spain isn't exactly the Third World. And there are those who pirate in the US. It's just not quite as visible as in many other countries.

While I agree that clamping down on pirates will help stop the bleeding, the problem isn't limited to pirates for profit. There are the rogue programmers and warez vendors who make things available to anyone interested online (in fact, sources in the US and Europe help drive the PSP pirate download industry).

Sadly, the fact that all consumers suffer due to the needs and necessities of one market isn't limited to piracy. There's socialized pricing... which manufacturers resort to because people in the US are willing to pay a whole lot more money than consumers in other countries... which is why you see regional locking for DVDs, too... there is something to what Robin is saying... companies can sell games/movies/music for a profit at prices that are consumer-friendly and which discourage piracy... but they use copy protection as a shield that allows them to sell the very same products for twice the price in markets where consumers have more disposable income... even if the danger of piracy is not as big there.

True.

 

[deftonesmx17]

Sources?

http://torrentfreak.com/damned-pirates-hollywood-sets-10-billion-box-office-record-091211/
or this
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/06/gamestop-reports-3-02-billion-in-holiday-sales/
GameStop has announced that for the nine weeks ending January 1, 2011, the company had sales of $3.02 billion -- a new record.
or
http://torrentfreak.com/more-music-sold-than-ever-before-despite-piracy-110110/

Keep in mind I was not condoning piracy, just merely pointing out that it is not what the MPAA, RIAA, and others would lead you to believe.

Most piracy happens from individuals that can't afford it in the first place. If one would not or could not purchase it in the first place, how can that be considered a lost sale?

Come on, the economy is still considered to be in the crapper yet these companies are making even more than before!!!!!!

 

[tankuroded]

And there are thousands of third-world vendors who will happily load your PSP with hundreds of pirated games for less than the price of a Happy Meal.

I sure one could fill one's PSP with 🤬 numbers of (pirated) pre-loaded games? We may think of hard-disk loading case on PSP (here the media is Memory Stick ).

Here's the scheme of "hard-disk loading" (for PC, but sightly also applies to PSP):

Hard disk loading is a type of software piracy that occurs when hardware dealers; brick-and-mortar or Internet vendors, install an unauthorized copy of commercial software onto a computer system. In many cases consumers will not receive any manuals or original CD of the software but the hardware dealer may charge for the illegal software in the total system purchase price. The end-user, or the purchaser in this case, will then use the computer system with pirated software, often not realizing that the software that was pre-installed on the computer system is not legitimate. This type of piracy is most common with operating systems, especially older Microsoft branded operating systems such as Windows 95 and Windows 98. Public awareness along with requiring users to activate or register their products has helped software manufactures deal with hard disk loading piracy.

On a side-note, should this be in Opinions and Current Events sub forum now?