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

overkill.wtf

81–90 of 123 posts

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

#81
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.

It's stupid that in 2024, Sony is still like this :( Meanwhile Microsoft has gone the other direction, opening up many Xbox games for crossplay/cross-save with Windows, partnering with GeForce Now to offer Game Pass games there (in addition to their own xCloud, which is total crap by comparison because it streams from actual Xbox consoles), and they don't care where you end up streaming it to (including web browsers)…

Microsoft designed the Xbox in such a way to be very resistant to exploits. I'd have no doubt if there was a viable one in the wild they could patch, they would.

They also only agreed to put their games on GeForce Now to be able to buy Activision.

And Windows is still a Microsoft platform. They don't benefit as much from game sales but they do still benefit overall in keeping gamers there instead of migrating to PS5 or Linux.

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

#82

News like this makes me so nostalgic for the PSP homebrew and "hacking" scene of the 00's. It's what got me into software in the first place.

Ha, that's how I got into the games industry and programming in general - I started coding little homebrew games for various competitions online when I was 14-15, then years later actually brought my PSP to a job interview with a games company and showed them what I made when I was a teenager, and I got the job.

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

#83
post #72
post #70

As usual, it ends up being about emulators instead of creating new stuff.

Why create new games for a proprietary platform that users would have to hack instead of just writing it for PC? Homebrew like this is about the challenge or about making existing hardware more useful, porting emulators is an effective way to do that.

>>Why create new games for a proprietary platform that users would have to hack instead of just writing it for PC?

Well, PSP(and DS/3DS) homebrew scenes were(and still are) amazing, with many brand new games created from scratch, even though any potential users have to hack their devices in the first place to even try them.

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

#85

Why not just sell something like the Portal as open in the first place? There are no Portal games to worry about protecting. What's the percentage in locking it down?

I mean, it's Sony. How long did it take them to get out of the Memory Stick business. There isn't an open system they haven't tried to compete with with their closed, locked-in alternatives.

Are you going to buy a PS6 if you build up a games collection on Steam?

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

#86
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why create new games for a proprietary platform that users would have to hack instead of just writing it for PC? Homebrew like this is about the challenge or about making existing hardware more useful, porting emulators is an effective way to do that.

>>Why create new games for a proprietary platform that users would have to hack instead of just writing it for PC? Well, PSP(and DS/3DS) homebrew scenes were(and still are) amazing, with many brand new games created from scratch, even though any potential users have to hack their devices in the first place to even try them.

The PSP existed in the short timeframe where all the alternative handheld devices were vastly inferior in terms of specs and cost to perf ratio. The choice between an expensive WinCE PDA that barely had hardware 3D vs the beast that is a hacked PSP was obvious.

Then came Android/ios and bothering with a hacked PSP was no longer worth it for general computing purposes. Running "backups" and emulators prevailed as the only reason to mod a handheld.

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

#87
post #9

Why not just sell something like the Portal as open in the first place? There are no Portal games to worry about protecting. What's the percentage in locking it down?

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.

The argument usually goes like this, but has zero evidence in real life. Even PS2 which was quite infamous for the amount of unlocks and hacks, sold really well and was very successful. I think business do that not to protect sales or anything but to appease shareholders.

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

#88
post #37

Why did it have to be hacked to do this?

Because Sony won't let you run your own code on a product you paid good money for.

Why should they? I get it with a general purpose device like a phone or laptop. But this is a PlayStation accessory for streaming games from a PS5. It doesn't claim to be anything else.

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

#89

News like this makes me so nostalgic for the PSP homebrew and "hacking" scene of the 00's. It's what got me into software in the first place.

I wonder how many of us learned how to program on the PSP. It's crazy to think how transformative this was for my life in the long run. It's also the same reason why I know Lua but went straight to C++ after that.

I wish I could bottle up the magic that was the PSP homebrew scene and give it to kids today. I'm guessing Minecraft mods are the closest modern version.

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

#90
post #76
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You can get second-hand G Cloud devices on eBay without a lot of trouble - that's what I did, and it was pretty cheap considering the excellent screen: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2024/02/03/2000

Why the downvote? This is completely factual and on point.
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