Generally though, I find a lot of the details amusing, particularly ones covering why the security was so terrible. The tl;dr version is essentially, there is a pair of public/private keys and both have been made public instead of just the public one. The algorithm behind it was also terrible, so now everything is fair game on the PS3.

If it were up to me, I’d put out a new firmware with the following:

1. Change to a new encryption system, we’ll call this the “NEW” encryption. “OLD” encryption refers to the system used pre-3.60.
2. Create a game database saved locally by the new firmware. Only games that follow the “OLD” encryption and exist in the game database can load.
3. Any new games in 3.60 onward are required to use the “NEW” encryption.

I should probably note that #1-3 above is probably possible, but if the core firmware update system uses the “OLD” encryption system being read from a read-only ROM chip, then it is screwed for life. Reason I say this is because it means CFW can be loaded at any time regardless of the current OFW; judging from the hacking team that claims anything can load now regardless of firmware, it’s more than likely this scenario was already considered.

Furthermore, this doesn’t solve the fact that all games using the “OLD” encryption are compromised. Essentially they are screwed, and I can’t see any way out of it. Publishers are going to be super-mad that this sort of thing was allowed to happen. The factors involved are a sight to behold:

1. Pressure to remove OtherOS encouraged hackers to break the system
2. Encryption algorithm was rather ridiculous; what was supposed to be a random number generator used constant numbers instead
3. PSP master key (!!) was left on the PS3

The PSP has also been compromised in this endeavor, but at this point I probably would not do a thing about it anymore. It’s time to move into a new system, perhaps the PSP2? It’s already late into its lifecycle and should be written off soon. The same can’t be said for the PS3, which has been compromised halfway through the lifecycle it was supposed to have. Anyone who had a hand in the decisions leading to the #1-3 here are most certainly going to be getting the pink slip.

Graphics: nVidia Tegra2

This one is posted about a lot. If you Google around, you’ll find a lot of news entries indicating that Sony is planning on the nVidia Tegra2. Other rumors out there indicate that the PSP2 was supposed to show at E3, but because it was a little over-budget for power it had been delayed until CES 2011 for an announcement.

CPU: Cell?

Rumor mills are spreading this information as well. Seeing that Sony’s already invested quite a bit in this technology, it would be a waste not to use it in a portable system. It’d likely be weaker than the PS3′s.

Format: MiniDVD or MiniBD?

This one is a bit of a jump, but allow me to explain. It’s already pretty obvious that the UMD format has failed in general. The movie industry didn’t really take off with the UMD Video format, what with the proprietary nature of it all.

What I imagine is that the PSP2 will have a disc slot for MiniDVD or MiniBD formats instead of the original UMD format. The UMD format itself is also playable, but to do so you’d have to remove the white casing. Retail chains would likely be trained to help customers remove the white casing, and seeing that some are familiar with replacing the UMD case, this is probably not a hard thing to tackle.

UMD offers 900 MB for single-layer, 1.8 GB for dual-layer. MiniDVD offers 1.4 GB in its current form, but could offer 2.8GB in dual-layer. MiniBD is not a very ready technology yet, but builds on the existing BD discs out there. Capacity for it is around 7.5 GB for a single-layer disc, and learning that Kojima was not too happy with the disc format’s limitations, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to use a full 7.5 GB. Perhaps with dual-layer, it can be boosted to 16 GB.

My biggest concern though is random access times, not throughput. You can get throughput to be really high if you wish, but I feel it’s not worth it if you can’t access data randomly in short periods of time on average. MiniDVD format might allow for better random access times, but MiniBD might not right now due to BD still being an evolving technology.

Storage: More Flash

PSP Go already offers 16 GB, and we’ve seen 16 and 32 GB Memory Stick formats out there on the market. Sony’s been also working closely with SanDisk to offer better storage solutions as well.

I predict the PSP2 will support the Memory Stick, but not the same way it used to. Instead, it’ll be a multiple-flash solution, similar to the SD/MMC/MS slots that we’ve been seeing on laptops. They’ve been around for years now, often coming as standard on the machines. It would be a mistake not to have this support on the PSP2, as people would like to store large amounts of data but not have to spend a lot to get the storage capacity.

If data security is an issue, the PSP2 will likely not require MagicGate anymore, instead opting for RSA signature checks to make sure that data and whatnot is secure. Internal flash storage within the PSP2 is also a given, but Sony may opt not to put in too much to keep the price down.

PSN: 3G?

This one is an interesting development. It’s not just the Nintendo 3DS that’s looking to do this, but Sony has also taken some interest in the Kindle idea; make access to the PlayStation Store free via 3G, instead gathering revenue through digital downloads. With 3G access in the system though, it means that the system could be connected indefinitely to PSN much like the PS3. Will this mean proper online support for games, rather than just via ad-hoc?

Though I imagine that to play games on 3G, you still have to pay some kind of access fee. 802.11 Wi-Fi support is still a given, but I wonder if they’ll push it to 802.11n? Perhaps only 802.11g.

Accessories

Looking at the PSP Go, we’re likely looking at Bluetooth connectivity to allow usage with a PS3 gamepad. The same connector for component and audio is likely to stick around, but I wonder if they’ll try with mini-HDMI this time around. With a Cell CPU and nVidia GPU in the machine, I reckon Sony will try pushing the system more as a portable multimedia system with features not unlike the PS3.

Even if they do offer mini-HDMI, I do hope that Sony does something like disable HDCP for anyone who wishes to record game footage from the PSP2 via mini-HDMI. Maybe they should do the same for the PS3 too…

Region Locking

This should be a non-issue, but I’d like to see Japan/US PSN stuff not being region locked either, including movies, comics, etc. It’d also be nice if they made it possible to activate a US and Japan PSN account on a single PSP2 at the same time (even better if they retroactively did it for PSP1).

Piracy

With the development of the PSP-3000 and PSP Go, you basically have an environment where only signed code will work so as long as the firmware currently running is not exploitable. I don’t claim to be an expert on the topic, but it should be obvious by now that modchips or other more tricky methods are not plausible. I imagine it’s set up more like the newest line of Wii consoles, where there’s an initial boot that does an RSA signature check before checking the firmware, and so on. However, said initial boot is likely placed on ROM, making it impossible to rewrite to a different signature check (or removing the check altogether). And even if modchips were placed on other chips in the system, it’d be easily patched. The only real method I’d imagine, is to replace the boot ROM altogether but even that is a daunting task.

Also, proprietary formats don’t stop piracy. If people want to pirate on a PSP, they’ll go through other means, such as breaking the firmware, and so on. If you have to protect your software on the format, you have to go through other means, such as obfuscating the filesystem or going with a completely proprietary filesystem, RSA checks and whatnot. The PS3 appears to have done this successfully, so what is to stop Sony from doing the same thing on a PSP2?

The feature of “Install Other OS” was removed from the new “Slim” PS3 model to focus on delivering games and other entertainment content.

Please be assured that SCE is committed to continue the support for previously sold models that have the
“Install Other OS” feature and that this feature will not be disabled in future firmware releases.

Now, we have this:

The next system software update for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system will be released on April 1, 2010 (JST), and will disable the “Install Other OS” feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009. This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update.

This has got to be the stupidest move Sony has decided to pull. So we either lose Linux support, or we lose the ability to access to PSN. Sounds like bait and switch to me, doesn’t it? I notice that a bunch of the guys are looking into class action lawsuits, so all the best to you guys, and good luck.

Back in 2005 and 2006, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo made pledges to make their consoles region-free. Do you want to see how far those pledges went?

Microsoft

Started off touting how all its games would be region free. Then, they backtracked and said any games made by Microsoft would be region free. Turns out this ended up being the case, as some games like Steins;Gate are region-locked to Japan only.

Also, you can’t buy Japanese games from Games on Demand if you’re in America, and vice versa. Doesn’t matter if you have a Japanese 360 or not, it is IP-locked. Same goes for their video store.

Finally, programs like 1 vs. 100 are also region-locked by console; even if you have a Canadian IP, if the console isn’t then you can’t go in.

Sony

Sony does a little better, but still not enough. All their PS3 and PSP games are touted to be region-free, that’s great. PS2 games are still region locked, though I imagine that’s more related to licensing agreements from the past that just bite them back in the ass.

However, their video stores are country-locked. Canadian users can’t access the US Video Store, and neither can UK users. We also can’t access the Japanese video or comic store. Gee, I wonder why? It’s not like they can compete with one another, since only people who can understand the language will benefit; the rest of the masses not so much.

Also, their comic book reader for the PSP is region-locked. The US comic book reader will not work on UK and Japan PSPs, and the Japan reader won’t work on US and UK PSPs, etc. Guess what this means if someone happened to bring their PSP into Japan, wanted to buy a comic and then read it? Given the PSP has a crappy resolution to begin with, they are better off buying a cold, hard copy of the said comic.

Nintendo

They started off saying they would be region free. Are they in any way? I won’t even go there.

Though it’s a shame, I had a group of 4 players including myself on PSN trying to take on the tank aiming for S rank. The best we managed was A rank, 5:54, no kills.

PS3′s Adhoc Party is great, it lets you connect the PSP to other players as if they were in the same room. Of course, voice chat/USB keyboard is supported, and you definitely want voice chat to be able to communicate effectively (these are supposed to be adhoc games, after all). There are a few bugs here and there with the interface, sometimes the network lags but it’s overall really cool.

Anyone want to post their experiences?

Unlike the PS3, only one account can be active on a PSP at a time. The PS3 can have more than one. I think Sony should have this fixed; it would lessen the trouble with people converting to the PSP Go, as there are people who would like to have content from both the US and JP PSN stores. Even if it means a PSN account can only activate 1 PSP at a time, being able to have multiple accounts active on a PSP would be really nice.

Speaking of which, multiple profiles on the PSP would be nice, just like how we have it on the PS3.

Doesn’t look like anything special, but thought I might just point out what they look like. They were earlier mentioned in the official blog, since they hadn’t been around for quite a while.