Do you think Sony will ban users on CFW connected to PSN?

[xPreatorianx]

In all honesty I hope they do ban users. Hackers should not be aloud on PSN. I've heard from friends that some games are already unbearable with hacks. With custom CFW and the system being as open as it is now it's only gonna get worse. You want PSN? Buy another console.

[C4rtm4N]

Anyone who thinks that the bans will not come are seriously deluded. There is one major difference between the likes of the PSP, Wii, DS etc in that Sony actually loses money on every PS3 that they sell & this position will continue for the forseeable future. They make their money from the licensing of games so why wouldn't they take moves to protect themselves?

I'd expect blacklisted consoles that have been detected either from the fact that a CFW was being used or that a backup manager / other homebrew was present on the disk regardless of whether it was in use at the time or not. Add to this an XBox style check of the position of data on any disk that's in the machine & Sony will pretty much know if you've ever done anything that breaks their EULA & decided to go online.

It won't stop there though, all software houses will take steps to protect themsleves also so the majority of games in the future that have an online part to them will go down a route where they have a one use only key preventing them from being shared / hired / resold without going to the developer to buy a new key. Some have been looking at this already but mass piracy will simply have the effect of either expediting it or forcing a move to subscription based gaming. Would you develop a game for a PS3 if you knew that it was going to be copied & you wouldn't make the amount of money that you expected? It's not the sames as music & video which are often quoted as reasons why piracy is not going to affect things too much - as I've said above Sony loses money of the PS3 & they make this up through licensing game sales which costs the developer!

People keep saying that it's game over & Sony can't patch things without a hardware change but I don't agree - I have no doubt that over the next 3 - 6 months we'll see different hardware that closes the door permanently (PSP style until it got opened again recently) but we'll also see a total change of keys that either whitelists old games or requires some kind of online / telephone activation (Windows style) prior to anything that doesn't use one of the new keys to be played. This will cost Sony & they'll simply recap the monies through other means.

Yes some people will vow never to go online again & only ever use CFW when they become available but sooner or later the latest releases will be secure again. Don't talk about homebrew etc when 95% of the users of this site are only interested in playing copied games for free - I'm not one of them, I value getting my ass kicked on Black Ops too much so won't be touching any copied games with a bargepole.

One final thought - Every single thing that is posted on this site & the others like it will be read by someone at Sony. They are fully aware of what hackers are working on & how people are trying to get around the security measures that they put in place. It is a game of cat & mouse but ultimately there will only ever be one winner, even if that means bringing the PS4 forward by a couple of years or the introduction of a PS3.5 (not sure whether it was on here or on theregister.co.uk where I saw the details of a daughterboard patent they'd applied for last month)

[xPreatorianx]

People keep saying that it's game over & Sony can't patch things without a hardware change but I don't agree - I have no doubt that over the next 3 - 6 months we'll see different hardware that closes the door permanently (PSP style until it got opened again recently) but we'll also see a total change of keys that either whitelists old games or requires some kind of online / telephone activation (Windows style) prior to anything that doesn't use one of the new keys to be played.

Well they can't ban the root key but they can add new app keys. But the problem is metldr cannot be updated(holds root key) so as long as that is in place they can't just update keys. I agree on the hardware front to an extent. They will either make a PS3.5 (second edition slim probably.) or instantly star work on the PS4. But if they do another hardware revision and don't update every single key on the system and do it correctly including the metldr then it's back to square one for them. They can't release a software update. But in the slight chance that they can, metldr key would still suffice to hack it back open and if they added new app keys we would use the old ones to get the new ones.

But I do agree Sony will try something. I 100% agree with their decision if they start banning users. It sucks because I wanna play Uncharted 3 online, but I knew what to expect when I decided to do this. People who don't think they will ban consoles are sadly mistaken. They will because at the moment the PS3 is their baby. They will protect it as long as they possibly can. No matter how futile it becomes. I mean hell look at microsoft. I know they are making a profit on hardware and software I believe. But xbox live is their only avenue to stop piracy, and they try and try and try.

[C4rtm4N]

I guess that this is what you're talking about Sony's PlayStation 3 finally turns a profit | News | TechRadar UK? I was aware of it but understood that the position still included revenues from licensing but on reading again maybe I'm wrong. It still doesn't affect my post though - ultimately Sony will pull the online plug on anyone trying to get around the security. They've shown in the recent past that they mean business by going after the JB resellers in a big way

[C4rtm4N]

They will protect it as long as they possibly can. No matter how futile it becomes. I mean hell look at microsoft. I know they are making a profit on hardware and software I believe. But xbox live is their only avenue to stop piracy, and they try and try and try.

I totally agree. I know for a fact that at least one of the developers of a PS3 only franchise are watching events very closely & are apparently making "contingency" plans should the worst come to the worst & piracy become rampant. Sony will do all that they can to keep their exclusives.