PS3 Hack PS Jailbreak warns beware Chinese knockoffs

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 12:20

Opinion and Analysis

Oh the irony, the makers of the PS3 hacking USB device PS Jailbreak are warning potential purchases not to buy cheap copies of their product.

Designed to enable owners of the PlayStation 3 gaming console to run 'back ups' of original games, the PS Jailbreak USB dongle looks like it has finally broken Sony's 'unhackable' flagship device.

But at AU$170.00 it is a bit of a gamble for those perhaps believing a whole world of free gaming will open up for them.

Distribution sites themselves are using words like 'apparently' when it comes to the capabilities of the product and descriptions such as 'we can't guarantee you will never be banned for using the 3rd party device.', referring to whether Sony will be able to detect the use of the USB Dongle software.

The PS Jailbreak USB device effectively allows the playing of pirated PS3 games, but chances are Sony are already working on a way to detect the devices use, and considering either blocking the technology, or banning/bricking consoles with a future firmware upgrade.

This means, people using the device will either be forking out for a second PS3 for online play, or just not go online to 'play it safe'.  Don't put it passed Sony to get tough, it removed the 'Other OS' function on fears that an installed Linux OS could be used in a similar way.  Sure, Sony is currently being sued for removing an advertised feature of the PS3, but protection of sales is higher on the agenda as far as it is concerned.

Buying a second console as well as a PS Jailbreak USB stick is an expensive way to avoid buying a few games that can only be played in offline mode.

In a somewhat ironic twist, given the nature of the PS Jailbreak device, it seems the code for the hack has already been cloned and distributed.  This has prompted the following statement on the PS Jailbreak site:  'Beware of imitators and Chinese Knockoffs, Buy Original for Warranty and Support.'