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Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

overkill.wtf

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Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#51
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI you can probably just use a Logitech GCloud ( https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/products/cloud-gaming/cloud-... ), Razer Edge ( https://www.razer.com/mobile-handhelds/razer-edge ), Abxylute ( https://abxylute.com/products/abxylute-handheld-console ), or any generic Android portable gaming thing to do that. Not sure if you even need Moonlight; wouldn't Steam Link work too? Personally I use a GCloud and stream from G…

The GCloud and the Razer Edge are both significantly more expensive than the PS Portal if I recall correctly though. The Abxylute does seem similar in price, although I'm guessing the PS Portal likely has better controls (being essentially a Dualsense split in half) and maybe a better screen. Also yeah, Steam Link would work too but Moonlight/Sunshine generally seems to work better.

I see. Yeah, $200 seems like a great price point for that device and build quality. Too bad it's locked to PS games! Just Sony being Sony, sigh.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy a refurbished 256 GB Steam Deck for $319, and there’s an app to easily use Remote Play with your PS5! For not too much more money than the PS Portal, you can also download your entire Steam collection + non-Steam games (Minecraft w/ mods + shaders), and have a fully-functioning Linux machine! Personally, I’m very confused on who exactly the PS Portal is for, but the only important thing is that people are…

>For not too much more money than the PS Portal 60% more money is signifigantly more. That was about the price gap between the 3DS and Vita and we saw how that ended (even though Vita hardware was far superior). And of course we're comparing used tech to brand new MSRB price as well.

To be fair the bigger issue with the Vita was that Sony didn't really support it with games the way the PSP got. I remember watching E3 every year back then and being disappointed that they spent barely any time on Vita stuff.

The price of the console itself would've been fine if the memory cards were cheaper (or if they had just used a regular standard) and if there were as many good exclusives as the PSP had.

It basically just ended up being an indie and niche weeb gaming machine.

I guess it was kind of foreboding of the then upcoming console generations.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#53
post #38
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus it was cool to be around for a time when the hack to get boot access was as simple as popping the battery pack open and penciling in one line on the PCB.

As I recall Sony just forgot to enable the signature checks on the PSPs 1.00 firmware, and they could be bypassed on 1.50 by giving the executable a malformed filename. Simpler times.

My favorite was the tiff exploit to install virtual CFWs by scrolling through an album of digital chickens. Good times

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy a refurbished 256 GB Steam Deck for $319, and there’s an app to easily use Remote Play with your PS5! For not too much more money than the PS Portal, you can also download your entire Steam collection + non-Steam games (Minecraft w/ mods + shaders), and have a fully-functioning Linux machine! Personally, I’m very confused on who exactly the PS Portal is for, but the only important thing is that people are…

There’s savings to be had over time on Steam sales too, where even AAA titles eventually become dirt cheap. With new games now costing $70, it doesn’t take long for the price difference between a Deck and a Portal (or other similar streaming device) to pay for itself. If all I wanted was a PS Portal-like experience I think I’d get one of those USB-C phone game controller things to put my smartphone in, which would be…

I pick up more games every Steam sale that end up getting put into The Backlog™. But when you can buy the entire Arkham series for $10, how can any reasonable person say no??

In all seriousness, Steam sales are the only reason I’ve been able to try out so many new games I’d otherwise not be able to afford, unless I was using Game Pass or something. I grew up on consoles, and didn’t even get into PC gaming until adulthood, but man, Steam has saved/cost me so much money, haha

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#55
post #4
post #2

The moment the hack is public Sony will release an update to block it. And so the game of cat and mouse continues.

this will always be true of jailbreaks as they fundamentally break the security of the device. this means that it can be used for cool things like shown in the article but it could also be used maliciously by an attacker to completely take over the device which the manufacturer should definitely patch.

After the last update to my expensive DSLR broke third-party batteries for no reason beyond pettiness and greed, at this point I trust random hackers more than I trust Sony.

*the battery ruining was not mentioned in the changelog for the update.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#56
post #4
post #2

The moment the hack is public Sony will release an update to block it. And so the game of cat and mouse continues.

this will always be true of jailbreaks as they fundamentally break the security of the device. this means that it can be used for cool things like shown in the article but it could also be used maliciously by an attacker to completely take over the device which the manufacturer should definitely patch.

It's a shame that such exploits are needed in the first place, when allowing developer mode to be toggled like a normal android device (ideally easier than on an xbox/quest) would be enough for most of these cool things.

It's also a strangely perverse incentive to stay on an exploitable firmware if you want to hack your own hardware.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#57
Its a cool hack but I dont' see why anyone would go through the trouble when you can do the same with a steam deck (no hacking required)

there's also the neo which will come out https://neo.manjaro.org/

all the same benefits and without having to play this cat and mouse game with a company who just wants to turn you into a stream of income.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#59

What's the market for a (non-hacked) device like this, when the Switch and the Deck already exist? Surely the appeal of a handheld is that you can bring it with you on the train, airplane, etc. What am I missing?

If you mean emulation on handhelds:

Multiple vendors with multiple new models per year, different quality and price levels. Some come with Linux based systems others with android or even Windows. So you can choose between a selection of models for roughly 50-100USD, 150-300 or from a section that is even more expensive than a steamdeck but also provide more on some or all fronts for they bigger price tag.

There are some devices that are basically the same concept, just in new generation, but there are also many that are more unique. The space seems to require it, button layouts or screen ratio / resolution play a mayor role how well the emulation experience is, but there are so many different consoles over the years that they can't just do one thing fits all, especially if they want to keep it a handheld or sometimes pocketable. There was just a windows device released with clamshell dual screen design like the DS, but thicker to run basically everything on a modern AMD Windows setup.

The portal wasn't an unknown device in that bubble, bc some people use there emulation handhelds for streaming, as in in-home streaming or like the nvidia shield, cloud gaming streaming, often Xbox game pass these days.

There is a whole section of controllers that make a smartphone a portal/switch/steamdeck like device, by holding it in the middle and connect via usb c, lightning or Bluetooth. There is a good set of emulators for phone, snapdragon is quite good in emulating switch for example, but there is a also next to streaming, android native games that support controllers or apps that produce virtual touch inputs to map the controller.

There is also a scene that makes handhelds like the DSi, psp, vita, etc emulators who work quite well if you want to put in the effort to set it up.

I recommend retro game corps on yt for a start, he doesn't do quick bait or mind numbing flash cuts.

Re: Sony's Playstation Portal hacked, can now emulate PSP games

#60
post #13
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they're selling it at cost or at a loss (I don't know if they are) as a value-add to the PS5 then they wouldn't want people buying it just to play emulators.

Notably they still sell retro games on PSN. As long as retro sales exceed the cost to lock the device down you will see stuff like this. I recall one time paying for FF7 which I played on PS3/PSP. That game alone probably makes it worth it.

And the retro games on PSN are very dissapointing.

I would love to have Tekken 3 on the PS 5 just because it is convenient. Instead they only offer Tekken 2, which is only available via the PSN subscription.

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