[IP] PSP Hackers Go Retro
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: June 7, 2005 8:07:39 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] PSP Hackers Go Retro
Reply-To: dewayne@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
PSP Hackers Go Retro
By Chris Kohler
Story location: <http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,67742,00.html>
02:00 AM Jun. 07, 2005 PT
"Hello World!"
That's the traditional phrase that programmers display when they
create their first piece of software for an unfamiliar operating
system. Owners of Sony's handheld PSP game system were delighted to
hear May 5 that a hacker had managed to write a small program that
displayed those words on a PSP. They wondered what would be next.
As it turned out, it only took hackers five days to go from "Hello
World" to Mario World.
On May 10, sites like PSP Hacker reported that a Japanese hacker
known only by the name Mr. Mirakichi had developed a program called
RIN that let the PSP play software written for the original black-and-
white Nintendo Game Boy system.
Emulators like RIN, programs that let a computer run software
intended for a different platform, have long been popular among fans
of classic video games who want to play the games of yesteryear
without having to deal with aging hardware. While emulators
themselves are freely distributable, the files that contain game data
are protected by copyright. This has barely slowed their popularity.
But the development of emulators for a new operating system is
usually a slow and laborious process, so the speed and accuracy with
which anonymous Japanese hackers have mastered the PSP has been
surprising. New, tweaked versions of RIN appear almost daily, and
other emulators that run games for different classic systems like the
Sega Genesis and Nintendo Entertainment System have appeared as well.
Some of the programs, like a Super Nintendo Entertainment System
emulator, are in early stages of development and run games very
slowly if at all. But some, like an emulator that runs games from
NEC's TurboGrafx-16 hardware, are nearly flawless, featuring full
sound, full speed and the option to stretch the game's graphics to
fill the PSP's wide-screen display.
There is one catch -- so far, the hackers have only found a way
around the security of the original firmware that was installed on
the first batch of Japanese PSP systems. Later units, including every
one released in the United States, contain version 1.5 of the
firmware, which tightens up security.
When it became available, Sony made the version 1.5 upgrade available
to users via download, encouraging them to update their systems.
Those who did not upgrade are the only PSP users who can run the
emulator software, as well as all other PSP "home-brew" applications
such as original, user-created games.
Even without knowing that such software was on the horizon, some PSP
owners decided not to upgrade. "I'd had previous bad experiences with
the PSX (Sony's PlayStation-branded digital video recorder)
firmware," said David Coyles, a Tokyo-based software engineer. "A
couple of friends and I were suspicious that some functionality might
be lost in a firmware upgrade.
"The PSP is very open for a Sony product, and the fear we had was
that perhaps its open nature was by mistake and not design. We'd
decided we'd always hold off from upgrading until the full effect was
documented," said Coyles.
Thus, the PSP community in Japan has been divided into users with
"virgin" 1.0 PSPs and those with upgraded 1.5 PSPs. Sony is using
even more creative ways to get users to upgrade. New PSP games that
are being released in Japan, such as Space Invaders Pocket and
Intelligent License, inform the user that they will not run unless
the firmware is updated.
"I'll never use my 1.0 PSP to play a new game now that new games are
forcing the upgrade whether or not you want it," said PSP owner
Jeremy Parish, an editor at gaming-enthusiast site 1up.com. "If
anything, I'll buy a second system," he said.
"I'm pretty much back to square one," said Jonathan Lumb, a Tokyo web
developer, "waiting until good enough games come out that make me
want to buy a second PSP. I'm not too excited about the PSP's lineup
right now."
[snip]
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
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