LogInPirated software, homebrew programs, PS2 games. What will Sony do?
Eurogamer reports about the hack of the PlayStation 4, firmware 4.05. Users are now able to launch their own software on the system, use pirated games and run an ever-expanding catalog of PS2 projects.
The floodgates opened earlier in the month with an exploit that allowed for low-level system access on the console, albeit restricted to consoles operating with system software 4.05. This automatically limits – severely – the amount of consoles on the open market that can run the exploit, and the vulnerability in the console was patched with firmware 4.06, which arrived way back in November 2016.
However, since the exploit was released, there’s been a lot of activity and support from hackers, including the arrival of Linux support, full root access to the system via FTP and the arrival last week of PS4HEN – a homebrew enabler. We’ve now reached the point where package files can be installed on the PS4, and tools are available to decrypt games, which can then be re-packaged and installed on compromised consoles.
Work has also been carried out to reverse engineer PS2 Classics for PS4, and tools are now available for users to inject their own ISO files into a specially prepared package that installs and runs on hacked machines. PlayStation 2 emulation is a system-level feature that PS2 Classics downloads tap into, and features a number of interesting features – including a 4x resolution boost and improved performance compared to the same code running on original hardware. Until now, users have had no way to run their own PS2 games on PlayStation 4 – only a relatively small number of titles are available on the PlayStation Store.
If you’re interested in more details, please head over to Digital Foundry.
It does seem like Sony might have a huge problem on its hands. While Eurogamer believes most users were not actually using the 4.05 firmware, we do feel that this is only the beginning. The sales in the emerging and less developed markets could take an enormous hit ‘thanks’ to the piracy issue. It would be interesting to see if there are some decent tools that can help a company like Sony to battle this.