Long time no see!

Well its been a long time since I updated this PS3 blog.  A long time indeed!  So whats been going on over the last 12 months?  Regular readers will know that a lot of the updates have been going on over on my Facebook page.  This has meant that the jailbreak blog has become a little neglected.  So lets put that right with a quick catch up on whats been going on with the PS3 jailbreaking scene.

Obviously many users have now upgraded to nice new shiny PS4's but like me many have kept their PS3 jailbroken and running CFW more so for the emulators than for the latest games.  In fact I rarely play any new games on the PS3 these days with most gaming being done on the PS4.  So I have not had the need to update the PS3 to the latest custom firmware as this is only required if you wish to either run new games or go online.

That said, like most I still keep one eye on the happenings over on the PS3 scene.  The PS3 latest OFW is 4.70 now.  Looking through the archives it seems the PS3 jailbreak for 4.70 released within days of the official firmware is running fine and has no problems in going online with any game.  Of course there is the small risk of a console ID ban but if you stay away from cheating on games you shouldn't be too much at risk from this.  You might read different to this on some of the poorer forums.  In many cases the people saying they were not cheating in PS3 games when they received a console ban turn out to not be telling the whole truth.  The truth is even cheating once can get you banned even if it was some time ago.  It appears the reporting system takes a little while to actually get around to banning the console.  So.  Just Don't Cheat.  Seriously don't!

So what else has been going on?  There has been another case of a SEN user having his account hacked in the news this week.  Back in February UK user Ben Smyth had his account hacked and 49.99 GBP ($74.55) was fraudulently used on his credit card by the intruder.  Sony were quick to change his details and are happy that it was not him that made the purchase.  The credit card transaction was stopped by  his bank.  However Sony are still demanding that he pays the outstanding balance on his account or they will close it.  Its not too different to the case last year of nearly $600 being spent.  In that case the charges were wavered.  This time it seem that Sony want their money or else.  You can read more about the case here.  Of course sensible users only use gift card credits in their SEN accounts and would never dream of putting sensitive credit card information into a system that apparently has more holes than a really holy thing!

That is about it for this update but check back soon for more updates.  Theres rumors of a fully compatible SNES emulator on the horizon for the PS4.  If that turns out to be true then this is big news for that scene as it may mean that someone out there has found a way of running unsigned code on the console...and that of course would be HUGE news!

See you soon.

Is there a PS4 jailbreak yet?

It’s not always something that is of interest for all gamers but there are others though that will decide which of the next generation consoles to go with based entirely on its likelihood of being hacked.  When the Playstation 3 first launched a lot was made of the consoles resistance to being hacked but this all went out of the window once a simple method was made public.   So easy in fact that many gamers who had never walked this gray area of video games before found themselves getting involved.  

Now we've had the PS4 for a few months one thing that seems to pop up on almost a daily basis is if anyone has so far managed to jailbreak the Playstation 4? Now some people have said that it is flat out impossible to jailbreak the Playstation 4 as there is simply no way for a person to do this.   Then there are people who have already made claims that they have hacked the console and can run pirate games off it.   Now let's say that not all people who want to jailbreak a console do so with the intent to run pirated software.   The majority of jailbreakers of course are only interested in playing the latest games for free on their consoles.   

Of course its certainly not going to be as easy for a regular Joe with no tech skills to hack their PS4 like they could there PS3.   There is no doubt a lot of money to be made from some unscrupulous company releasing a working jailbreak for the PS4.  Once this happens of course the method will be analyzed and most likely replicated for little or no cost.    How Sony will react to this and what they will do is just as interesting as the actual jailbreak its self.  

Interesting times coming up for the new console. 

In short though, no there is no current working jailbreak for the PS4.  While the PS3 still remains wide open it does beg the question is anyone actually looking to Sony's new console yet or will it take the removal of a much used feature by Sony to kickstart the scene - as it did way back with OtherOS.

4.50 CFW/Jailbreak Firmware released

As usual it was only a matter of days (for some probably just hours) before they started to see PS3 Jailbreak 4.50 downloaded on their favorite PS3 news sites.  It seems this update seems to be mainly concerned with trasfering data to and from a PS Vita handheld.  But it seems even this minor update is not going to pass without at leat a minor glitch.  Within hours of OFW 4.50 going public Sony released a hurried statement on their website

We have mistakenly announced in our PS3 system software update 4.50 blog post one feature that is currently unavailable, “Data can be transferred from PS3 to PC Vita using Wi-Fi and ethernet connection.”

This feature will become available when the latest system software update for the PS Vita system, currently under development, becomes available.The system software update timing is yet to be decided but we will announce when it is ready.

It also says that the data can be transferred via ethernet connection which is not supported on the PS Vita system. This is referring to the PS Vita TV system which will become available in Japan later this year and in Asia in January 2014.
We apologize for the confusion and appreciate your understanding.

So it seems if you are looking forward to this feature you will have to wait a little longer until the Vita firmware is released.  But what of the other features this new update brings?  Well there is now a function to hide some of your trophies from online friends.  Who would user or indeed why they would use this feature is a mystery though.  Surely the whole point of the trophy system is to show them off?
To be fair the other inclusion in this update is quite nice.  Now all PSN users have access to automatic downloads in the same way Plus users have had for quite some time.

I wont post the links to the ps3 jailbreak download site here as they were already in the previous post here

Are PS3 ODE's the answer?

Well?

Simple answer is a great big No!

However that doesnt make for a very interesting blog post so I guess I should elaborate on that at least a little.

Firsly lets get the moral argument out of the way.  ODE devices have one purpose in life.  To run game backups.  Now we all know the legitimate reasons that are often touted for wanting to backup ones games such has having kids and wanting to protect the original media.  However we all know that while this is certainly something that is true for a small minority of users the rest of the rabble just want to grab games for free off the net.  This is a type of scene that can only have a detrimental effect on the life of a machine.  Just look at some of the past scenes like this such as the Dreamcast or even further back the Amiga.  All these machines were eventually killed off as so few people were actually buying the games.

This is obviously not what we want to become of the PS3, especially now its new shinny big brother is soon to be released.

This is also not what the PS3 scene has been about up until now.  For many people just being able to play emulators on their consoles as well as the new games as they come out is all they need.  Some also need the extra movie compatibility that showtime can bring.

Then of course there the cost. Jailbreaking a ps3 cost nothing unless you need to buy a USB memory stick where as the ODE devices such as the Cobra ODE and the 3K3Y are not cheap.  Just checking now they are also out of stock at all the main retailers.

Another possibly quite large problem associated with the PS3 ODE's is that you need to update your PS3 to the latest official firmware for the games to work.  While this is great what will happen when Sony decide to patch this method of running backups?  You will then be on a firmware version too high to jailbreak and a non functioning backup device.

This is a major factor that is hardly being mentioned by any of the  mainstream news sites.  If you think it can happen then think again.  3K3Y's manufacturers were also responsible for a very successful Xbox 360 ODE called the XK3Y  (See the pattern?).  It wasnt long before Microsoft found a way of detecting the devices and started handing out permanent bans.  Before jumping into the world of ODE's its good too google around about XK3Y Bans or something.

Make an informed decision.

PS4 (Playstation 4) Details and Specification

So the rumors for once turned out to be true and Sony treated the world to a video stream announcing their next gen console, the PS4.  As it turned out they stopped short of actually showing the console itself.  In fact very little new hardware was shown with a new Dual Shock 4 controller with a touch pad being the only notable item.  The biggest news is the decision to move away from the Cell processor to an 8 core x86 type processor was maybe unexpected by some but from a financial point of view it can only help Sony in the next generation.  What that means for the future of PS3 exclusives looks in doubt though as the switch to x86 could mean companies preferring to develop the game on a PC platform before porting it to the PS4. It should be noted though that the difficulties with developing for the Cell processor were blamed for the poor release titles of the PS3 so maybe moving to a more established framework will payoff next Christmas.

And talking of the Christmas 2013 were are told that the following games will accompany the PS4 to launch...

• Knack
• Killzone Shadow Fall
• DriveClub
• Infamous Second Son
• The Witness
• Deep Down
• Agni’s Philosophy
• Final Fantasy title
• Watch Dogs
• Diablo 3
• Destiny

The backward compatibility question is answered in the form of online game streaming which is the only possible way of providing full PS3 compatibility after switching to the x86 platform.  However we would hope that the online streaming capabilities are not reflected in the quality of the stream provided for most people trying to watch.  Buffering problems were wildly reported with many having to give up on the stream entirely.

One thing that was not mentioned at all in the launch presentation was the inbuilt security of the PS4.  With the PS3 taking famously a few years before a working PS3 jailbreak was found expectations of high security on this new console are very high.  However will the news that the PS4 is based on more familiar architecture mean that a PS4 Jailbreak will this time arrive much sooner?

Evolution of Playstation videos

It cant have gone unnoticed recently the Sony publicity machine has been winding up to what many are predicting will be the announcement of a new console, the PS4/Orbis.  As part of this publicity drive they have started releasing videos showing the Evolution of Playstation.

The first video covers the original Playstation console...

 

November 1993 and the massive electronics company Sony created a new division called Sony Computer Entertainment and a little under a year later launched their first gaming console in Japan in the September of 1994.  At the time it featured the fastest gaming processor on the market with advanced 3D visuals which helpted with the launch arcade perfect conversion of the launch titles Tekken and Ridge Racer.  The saw the 1st million units fly off the shelves in Japan in the first 7 months.  Early in the next year Sony Computer Entertainment hit the 1995 E3 show hard with their "You are not ready" campaign keeping demand for the Playstation high fir its US and European launch in September 1995.  Soon the controller itself was updated to the Dual Shock design we all know these days.

The next video details the Playstation 2...

With the Playstaion popularity still high having gone through a few facelifts and price cuts. Development of the next console began in March of 1999 Sony aimed even higher with console processing power and introduced the emotion chip.  Mainstream PC gaming graphics at this time had begun to overtake the original Playstation so the PS2 when announced it was to be into a much more difficult market.  Segas Dreamcast and Microsofts XBOX would beat the PS2 to launch on this generation.  But once again by marketing it as much more than a mere gaming console demand was high for the eventual US and EU release of October 2000.  So much so that supply problems after the launch meant that consoles were changing hands on ebay at the time for almost $2000.  The launch games were considered lacking though as sales were not as quick as with Sony's last console.  That all changed though over Christmas 2001 with the launch of Grand Theft Auto and the resulting media storm concerning the content on the game.

The next video (surprisingly) covers the Playstation 3...

For the announcement of the PS3 Sony once more used the power of the E3 conference and in 2005 showed a futuristic console with a boomerang shape controller.  Details would remain vague until the 2006 E3 show the real console was eventually shown with cut down specifications such as less hdmi ports. The boomerang controller was now gone and replaced with everyone's favorite the dual shock controller but the bluray drive was still present allowing it to be marketed as an all in one media center type system.  Once again supply problems dogged the consoles launch in 2006.  But this time it was parts for the bluray drive that held up the european launch until March 2007.

More information on the history of the Playstation can be found here and for the PS2 here

So all this begs the question whats coming up from Sony.  It seems almost certain to be an announcement of a new console as this is something Microsoft have started to leak details about.  Off course as the history shows us what is announced is often different to what will actually go on sale.  PS4/Orbis?  Its going to have to be pretty impressive when you take into account where PC game graphics are these day.  Whatever the outcome we are living in interesting times.

Subscribe to the Playstation YouTube channel to get the next video as soon as they release it.

For the cheaters! - Black Ops II Modding Tool

Here is the Call of Duty Black Ops II Modding tool released by Choco.  What this tool does is enable your to cheat on Black Ops II by building the .SELF & /BIN files which can be transfered to a jailbroken PS3 running Custom Firmware.This tool works with the 1.04 game update from Activision. As you can see it enables many things including God Mode, Unlimited Ammo, Super Jump, Super Speed, Long Knife, Floating Bodies, Disable Lava, Disable Fog, Disable Recoil,  Super Perks and custom onscreen text.  No aimbot obviously but with No Recoil switched on with unlimited ammo you dont really need it!

So before the instructions the very necessary disclaimer and warning.
Use this in Online Multiplayer and there is a very real chance you will get banned!

With that out of the way heres a quote from the release

1. Download the .rar file and extract it (if you delete any files from inside the rar, the tool will not work!)
2. Launch “BOII Modding Tool.exe”.
3. Load an ELF file for either campaign or MP/Zombies (EBOOT.ELF is for campaign, t6mp_ps3.elf is for MP/Zombies. Downloads for clean ELFs can be found in the downloads section of this post).
4. Check off whatever mods you want. Make sure to pick a region and a firmware version. If you want to choose DEX firmware, you will need to get the file “make_fself_npdrm.exe” from the PS3 SDK and add it to the folder with my tool.
5. Click on “Build .SELF/.BIN”. Save the file as whatever you want.
6. If your mods are for campaign, rename the file you saved to EBOOT.BIN and copy it to /dev_hdd0/game/YOUR REGION/USRDIR/ on your PS3.
7. If your mods are for Multiplayer/Zombies, rename the file you saved to t6mp_ps3f.self and copy it to /dev_hdd0/game/YOUR REGION/USRDIR/ on your PS3.

And once more for the hard of reading out there....
Using this Black Ops 2 Mod online in multiplayer mode will very likely get you banned. 
In fact playing Black Ops II online with any PS3 running CFW can lead to a console ban due to the spyware Activision included in the game.  There is the Unban pkg that can temporarily change your console ID but you should avoid getting into that situation if you can.  Once your console is banned you will be reliant on the tools like Unban being updated - something which you can't rely on!

Black Ops II Modding Tool:
http://www.mediafire.com/?9zxf0ft3mnd7ph7