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A law on PSP firmware updates and homebrews?

Posted Oct 23, 2006 at 1:43AM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PSP Tags: PS1, Sony

Just recently, Birdman ran an article concerning the legality of firmware updates for the Sony PlayStation Portable console. The post by hey u at the Sony forums, generated lots of comments. He argued that updating firmwares can be considered a legal transaction and since minors are not allowed to enter in a contract, the update is void. With this, hey u claimed that Sony has the responsibility to downgrade the minor's PSP firmware to its original conditions.

In his words, hey u said, "Well, it seems I may be on to something. I was thinking, that since a minor may not enter into a contract, which is what an update is, sony would have to restore it to its original condition if a minor updated it. Now the problem is, how do you prove that a minor updated it? It sux, because I would definately pull this on them if I could prove I updated. Any thoughts, I mean someone should video tape themself with their Photo ID in the pic, and update, thenget sony in court and see if they would comply. They would have to...... Its The Law!!!"

hey u has a point in his post, but then we don't think Sony would honor such a claim. In the first place, you must first prove in court that the person is indeed a minor. Someone even commented, "Homebrew is already completely legal under the Fair Use act. Sony cannot legally bind ANYONE to an illegal contract, which is what they're trying to do when they make you update." But we haven't checked if this is true.

Just a quick tour down memory lane, the 1.00 version of the first launch Japanese-only PSP allows homebrews to run in its system. When it was upgraded to 1.5 firmware, also called the golden firmware, hackers were able to hack the codes to allow homebrews like DevHook to run. DevHook allows PSP users to emulate up to 2.71 firmwares so you could opt not to upgrade your current 1.5 firmware.

Sony has tried to entice PSP users to upgrade their firmwares by adding new features in new firmwares. Take for example the current firmware which is in 2.81. It allows the PSP to download videos and images from RSS content and a 3.0 firmware is already rumored to be on its way which will be able to host PS1 games on your PSP.

Via Sony PlayStation forum

100% of voters think this story ROCKS!

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By purchasing a PSP, Sony has legal rights over it. You only have a license to use a PSP. You dont own any IP that deals with the PSP and therefore you cant sue Sony when they update their own product.

This like saying Microsoft has to rollback to previous editions of windows because a Minor updated the PC to Service Pack 2 or the upcoming Service Pack 3. Because you have to agree to the EULA before you install, a minor cant update the PC since they cant be binded to a contract.

This will never fly in court. Software companies have been using updates and requiring people tp update in order for the software to continue functioning.

Windows Genuine Advantage anyone? If Sony loses this battle, Microsoft will be taking a bigger hit then Sony ever will. Thats hundreds of Millions PCs that Microsoft will have to investigate, rollback, and then develop a secure system of age verification just to get windows updates.

This seems to be just another Anti-Sony thing.

Not to mention this also applies to all firmware/software updates Including the PS3 and Xbox360.

# Dude... — Guest 2006-10-23 03:18

Whoever wrote this has horrible grammer... Is english not your first language? How much do you know about the psp homebrew scene? You sound like a 13yr old trying to pro blog =/ Whatever.

# RE: — KirbySS 2006-10-23 03:18

Quite right. People should actually read the EULA. One guy got a thousand (?) bucks out of it.

# Stoooooopid lol — thebeeg 2006-10-23 03:23

hah you can talk. grammar is spelt G.R.A.M.M.A.R, not grammEr. Think before you type fool.

# get a life — Mercenary 2006-10-23 03:30

hey u needs more to do in his life.

Hes proberbly reading this post right now thinking hes done a good job to get in the press as he shines his pens and kills another wizard in dungeons and dragons.

Hey u, get a life. There is more to do than picking up on such a meaningless thing as this.

# MY GOD — The_Robster 2006-10-23 03:35

Ok. so minors can't upgrade and they will just miss out on the extra protection, people can exploit minors as an excuse to downgrade, and hundreds of people will be able to pirate isos at firmware 1.50 ANNDD get away with not deleting the file within 24 hours? THAT *****ING SUCKS! NOW I'LL HAVE COMPETITION WHEN TRYING TO HACK SOCOM!

# NOT TO MENTION — The_Robster 2006-10-23 03:39

THAT I HAVE TO BUY WINDOWS 95 BETA AND DOWNGRADE MY PC JUST TO SHOW THAT I RESPECT SOME F*CKING LAW? haoisDXasdnasow fcqwsfoqwoiqfoi ho...*cough*....

....*Dead*

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 03:42

Even Sony knows the PSP is a failure.

Hardware sales have been in the toilet worldwide. The PSP can barely manage selling 120,000 units a month in the USA. Meanwhile the GBA has been outselling the PSP in every single month since the PSP released.

The DS has beaten both the PSP and the GBA for at least half of the time the PSP has been on the market.

Meanwhile, there hasn't been a single top selling PSP game on the NPD charts for the last 9 MONTHS.

www.vgcharts.com

Developers are dropping PSP projects left and right and after reading this thread, its not hard to see why.

Here we have a bunch of PSP die hards defending the PSP from criticism (all of which is true) and yet at the same time you are all glorifying piracy, and thats the very thing that's destroying the PSP.

lmao.

The irony is hillarious.

If you think piracy isn't hurting the PSP then you are a complete moron.

# Piracy is inevitable — The_Robster 2006-10-23 03:52

they make DS isos at my favorite rom site (personally i have no use for those) yet the DS is still succeeding. So, piracy ISN'T the problem. It's the fact that they don't have any GOOD games left and that no one knows about homebrew, and at the same time are selling their own psp's at a garbage low price just to get a ds.THIS IS HOW THE DREAMCAST WENT DOWN! IS THIS GETTING THROUGH YOUR HEADS? "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it". Looks like sony repeated this dreamcast a long time ago...

# not entirely — Guest 2006-10-23 04:02

sony is not repeating, they are making history. The psp is not out for the count, sony will be bringing in the PS3 as backup for the PSP. The PS3 will be the deciding factor if the PSP will make or brake, that is the First Generation PSP, since there is a new PSP with HDD in the makings.

# huh — Guest 2006-10-23 04:02

And here you are posting on a Playstation news site.

# No — Guest 2006-10-23 04:04

you cant compare a bata 95 since microsoft has stopped supporting 95 and 98 they are in effect free. You can ask Microsoft for a 98 or 95 license and they will give it to you no charge.

# tis adware — Sinister 2006-10-23 04:05

The firmware updates are actually classed as adware anyway because it's denying you access to your programs so you buy their products and stuff. I can go into more detail but I can't be bothered because I'm eating my dinner.

# . — Guest 2006-10-23 04:05

lol OWND

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 04:09

http://videogames.yahoo.com/gamemain?cid=1951020118&tab=&page=0&eid=-1

Advent Shadow Cancelled

http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:BloodRayne%20%5BCancelled%5D%20PlayStation%20Portable:1951020490

Bloodrayne PSP Cancelled

http://www.edery.org/2006/03/psp-keyboard-cancelled/

Devs are even cancelling PSP accessories.

On the subject of cancelled PSP projects, I just saw a list naming 13 major devs who are giving up on their PSP projects. One of them was Ubi-Soft.

# DOWNGRADES FOR ALL! — RaiderX 2006-10-23 04:12

even though this story was out like 2 days ago

# It's just an update — Shamoo 2006-10-23 04:23

It's not the end of the world or worth going to court over lmao

# Right... — Guest 2006-10-23 04:46

...and "english" should be capitalized. Also, "13yr old" would more properly be written "13-year-old".

Three strikes %u2014 you're out!

# ur crazy — Guest 2006-10-23 05:06

dude the only reason to have 1.50 is to run illegal back ups

your the people who makes sony do this if people wont run illegal back ups they could release applications with warranty and stuff better than hombrew

# . — Guest 2006-10-23 05:08

So are minors not allowed to buy anything at retail stores? There is a return policy which they agree to at the time of purchase. Does that allow them to return anything at anytime because they are not an adult? hey u is a *****ing idiot.

# WTF? — Guest 2006-10-23 05:10

Your article should be divided,while i only read the last part wich is right piracy hurts,the rest is bullcrap at its finest.

Sales had nothing to do,infact PSP sales are the Solid sales ever,they never go down and they always go up,while Nintendo depends on pokemon and the overhype.PSP depends on the games since the ads are bland and they never seem to do justice to the PSP.

Saying PSP is a failure is from nintendo *****s that really like to bash other system since my opinion the Ds is a huge failure in entertaiment for its lacks of games.

If you look at the charts,yeah ds always on top.But with the same games,you are only buying a 1 hit handheld,the PSP has a lot of good titles that get in the same time so instead of one is divided on 5 or 10.

In the developer issue excuse me but PSP 3rd Parties>>>>>Ds 3rd parties.

All of this is true.

Im all against piracy since im on the developing buisness,people that believe piracy dont hurt anyone since they believe companies have millions more are wrong.

Maybe the company but the poor dudes that work from that company what?,Screw them lets squeeze them until they understand that we want stuuf for free even if they got fired because we are a bounch of Buttholes?.

I dont thinks so.

To recap Strangler 3/4 of his post +To Bull *****,but the final 1/4 +Right,piracy is wrong.

# Not True — Guest 2006-10-23 05:12

The DS is a success because it has a built in userbase. Nintendo has ALWAYS been a family friendly company, and naturally, whenever they come out with a system, the majority of people buying those systems will be kids.

The portable market has always been a kids one. The PSP is changing that. However, Sony needs to do a much better job of really advertising what the PSP can do. The average PSP owner doesn't even know that can surf the net!

Over the past 6 months, the PSP has had more high rated games than the DS. According to IGN, it's almost 2-1. That means the PSP has TWICE as many good games as the DS.

People should stop repeating what they hear without researching for themselves, and Sony needs to advertise what the product does instead of making animated dust balls.

# Law also says — The_Robster 2006-10-23 05:14

that minors are not allowed to leave their house without a sign that says "im a minor! use me for a downgrader and throw me in the trash afterwards! just dont let sony see!"

BLEH!

# LOL — Guest 2006-10-23 05:16

OWNED! Get your ass back to 3rd grade, child.

# oh and by the way — The_Robster 2006-10-23 05:18

sony and the majory of piraters/psp brickers are the real idiots here. Hey u just added fire to the fuel.

# Nothing better to do — Guest 2006-10-23 05:22

Well it seems you got banned for flaming in some forum,and now you as a defeated loser, you come here to see how you flame.

"Advent Shadow Cancelled"

So,it was never confirmed,Duh.

"Bloodrayne PSP Cancelled"

Too bad but again did someone care?.I heard something about 2007,lets see.Also there was never a screenshot.

"Devs are even cancelling PSP accessories."

Cellboost....No,Pelican......No,Datel.....No,3rd party batteries.....No,3rd pary useless crap.....No

And preety much were bad stuff,i mean they look cheap and burst in flames.Maybe Someone throw them a lawsuit.

"On the subject of cancelled PSP projects, I just saw a list naming 13 major devs who are giving up on their PSP projects. One of them was Ubi-Soft. "

So PoP the twin swords is an invent of my imagination and rainbow six was just a practical joke....Right.

Sorry,but that was bullcrap,Also those "News" are from months ago.you can declare ownage or failure of the PSP since is from the time when the mayor issue was

The fall of the PSP,which again is still here.

Your try to flame the psp was a total failure.

Its going to be dead when they stop releasing good games which hasnt happen,for me NDS is dead

People that use sales and use a zoom on imperfects of other devices is truly pathetic since it means they just try to prove their stuff isnt cheap crap,in your case Nintendo DS.

I declare Ownag3

# You're Wrong — Guest 2006-10-23 05:30

The only reason the DS isn't failing because of piracy is because it's so much harder to pirate on the machine. Just like it's a lot harder to pirate PS1 games compared to Dreamcast games. For the DS you need to buy a special cart for PsP you just need to download a program. For the Ps1 you needed to buy a chip for the Dreamcast all you had to do was burn the games. Piracy is illegal and kills machines because of low game sales. If a company has a choice between making a game for a platorm that allows pircay or making a game for a platform that doesn't 9 times outta 10 they make it for the machine that doesn't.

GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEADS PEOPLE, if your pirating YOUR the one killing game sales and turning off developers NOT SONY.

# I have proof i upgraded — Guest 2006-10-23 06:57

When I registered onto yourpsp.com I said I was 13 and I downloaded updates from there.

# You're an idiot — Sinister 2006-10-23 07:12

'Nuff said.

# smoakz.de.vu — Guest 2006-10-23 07:23

BEST PSP FORUM_-ISO DOWNLOADS 4 FREE !!!!!!!

# PSP games & required firmware update — dbr 2006-10-23 07:31

What sucks big time at the moment, is the required firmware update with the latest games. If I want to keep my present firmware and not update it to the latest version, I can't even play the game I purchased!! If the gameplay requires updating to the latest firmware, it should read in the game box, like the copy protection in the music cd's. That way the customer can decide whether he wants to update and play the game or not buy it at all.

# Well this CANNOT BE POSSIBLE — Guest 2006-10-23 08:01

i do admit i love using homebrew as much as da next guy, but sadly birdman or whoever thinkz their on to something your not!!! and its not the law for sony to comply if a minor BREAKZ the LAW and updates their psp, thatz on them, in the agreement b4 u update a psp it says you have to be a certain age to accept it and whatsoever, so basically the minor is at wrong, this is da same exact thing as the case in michigan when a child was looking at an adult site, b4 u gointo the site it u need the say that u r indeed 18 or older, so the child was at wrong, and the parents that wanted to sue in return got a fine and needed to go to therapy to better watch their children's actions. soo its basically the same thing. i m hoping eventually sony allowz u to just downgrade your psp to 1.5, they should jus allow it to be your choice, homebrew is not illegal, however if ur psp is bricked becuz of it, thatz on u n ur warranty is voided.

# Freerunning is mint but i can rest just 2 play on my psp — Guest 2006-10-23 08:03

Yeh life can be a bee hatch.

# ONE WORD — The_Robster 2006-10-23 08:04

DEVHOOK!!!!

# hmm — Guest 2006-10-23 08:12

does this mean that if a minor upgrades there psp sony can downgrade it and if im right that means everyone is going to do it so they dont have to wayt for a 2.80 downgrader and this will mean less psp sales because of more piracy so its basically a *****ed up loophole see.

1.minor buys psp

2.they got a 1.50 and they upgrade

3. sony downgrade it cos of legal reasons

4. person gets isos and never tuchs the games in the stores.

# its possible to prove — Guest 2006-10-23 08:13

the only evidence i can find in proving that the owner upgraded is to look on the barcode of the psp box. every now and then i've seen pspupdates give us some type of warning to look for when purchasing the psp and the desired firmware. There's also a code on the bottom of the psp but i'm not sure of its worth.

# homebrew! — Guest 2006-10-23 08:32

if sony let the PSP run homebrew then the sales would go through the roof! and dont give me that crap about not playing ISO's, barley anyone does that.

# actually — Guest 2006-10-23 08:44

upgrading any electronic device according to electronic consumer laws is not a contract and everyone can upgrade any electronic device by free will and do not have to be given the priviledge to have it downgraded and sony stays by the law this time (most times they get sued for irresponsible acts) because on the update you agree for it to happen. Yet I found a loophole but I doubt someone may sue sony for it since hiring a lawyer is expensive. According to consumer laws if you buy an electronic product and it requires for you to update the device (sony game umds) then it must be stated in the boxes or if not the consumer has the right to have his money back if he returns the product, meaning that you can buy any game without worry, and if it requires you to upgrade and you don't wantto you have the right to return it to the store for your money back.

# hmm — Guest 2006-10-23 08:51

so basically you have to be 18 to use the features available in higher firmwares is what this guy is saying... i think its just a bad attempt at trying to get sony to downgrade our firmwares. i swear people find anything to sue for

# good points about windows but... — Guest 2006-10-23 09:04

I said but because updating windows and the psp are two different options. Here sony is making user to update in order to stop emulation (homebrew). Micrososft inthe other hand, the updates help what you purchased, whether buy fixing bugs,

# EHH THIS IS G4Y!! — Guest 2006-10-23 09:10

this is the stupidest article ever !! ITS YOUR CHOICE TO UPDATE !!! YOUR GONNA SUE A COMPANY CUZ YOU UPDATED UR PSP? WTF IS THIS?2.80+ FOREVER!!!!!!!* **** HOMEBREW!!!!!!! !!!!

# Wrong — Vietone 2006-10-23 09:16

Wrong Sony is making firmware updates to add features to the PSP.

They are patching up holes in the PSP software.

Sony not patching up holes in the PSP is like Microsoft not patching security flaws in the Windows OS.

# whew — Guest 2006-10-23 09:24

this article scared me i thought sony had finally illegalized h-b hahah dont scare me like that (evin if they idd id justr tell them to shove their firmware up ur a$$) this wont pass never could but i do think that sony should really let us h-biers alone. well its cool dont scare meh.

# hmmm — Guest 2006-10-23 09:35

homebrew is technically not illegal because if u bought the psp that means the psp is yours to do whatever you see fit. and it is for personal use only. so if u see fit to install homebrew then its your perogative. Now EMUTLATORS on the other hand are illegal in most cases seing as the people who made the emu and the emu version of the game probably didnt get written permission from the game makers and in the process violated copywright laws making it unlawfull to own/use emu's. unless in the case where sony itself is disteributing its own emu for its own consoles.

# hmmm cont... — Guest 2006-10-23 09:39

and homebrew is distributed meaning that the creator is giving the program out so he doesnt give a rats ass about people playing it so ... yeah...

# the question isint how you can prove that a minro updated — Guest 2006-10-23 09:45

the real question is can sony prove that our parents took our psps, went to the sony website, downloaded the upgrade, and handed it back, thats gonna be hard to prove

if it went to court, nobody would say there parents updated, cuz thats a lie, the person for who its meant for updates it as ergularly as they want, not the persown who payed...

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 10:49

DS games typically have much lower dev costs than PSP games, so they don't need to sell as many copies to be successful. Majesco said Guilty Gear: Dust Strikers was a big part of the reason why their profits are so good, but at the time they said that the game had only sold 30,000 units.

despite the PSP's existence, Nintendo recently announced their stock was at a six-year high. That's SOOOOOOO scary!

Almost nothing that isn't a launch title, GTA, or Madden has sold well on the psp. It's not an excuse, it's the truth. You used to agree they sold "poorly" and said it was because they were too hard until I owned you (like I always do in arguments with you), so now you're going to change your mind and say they didn't sell poorly? Make up your goddamn mind.

No matter how you spin it, the PSP is in big trouble. Some people would like you to think that the PSP's hardwares sales have been good.

Well nothing could be further from the truth. Sales of the PSP have been WELL BELOW Sony's initial expectations. It is regularly beaten by both the GBA, a six year old portable, and the PS2, a 5 year old console. Not to mention the DS, which routinely kicks its but all across the globe.

Sept NPD

Nintendo DS 403,435

Game Boy Advance 177,145

PlayStation Portable 153,353

August NPD

Nintendo DS 278k

Game Boy Advance 156k

PlayStation Portable 146k

If you check the global sales figures, things get much worse. In Japan the DS outsells the PSP by a 5 to 1 ratio almost every single week.

In Europe, the DS leads by a wide margin in every single territory. The same goes for Australia, Canada, Mexico and Central/South America. The PSP just can't compete and Sony knows it.

Worst of all there hasn't been SINGLE PSP game on NPDs top 25 list for the past 9 months.

That's the exact reason why developers are dropping PSP titles. Now I mentioned a few cancelled projects earlier in this thread. I even mentioned a cancelled accessory.

But wait until you see the complete list of cancelled PSP games. I will post it soon. Watch for it.

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 10:51

UPDATE: Silent Hill Origins' future is in doubt as well. Originally conceived as a 10-hour game, it may either be cut to about four hours or be canned altogether.

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 10:53

"The portable market has always been a kids one. The PSP is changing that. However, Sony needs to do a much better job of really advertising what the PSP can do. The average PSP owner doesn't even know that can surf the net! "

oh really? and that explains how games like cooking mania and brain age have outsold every psp game and are made to bring non gamers into gaming?

# moron — The_Robster 2006-10-23 11:01

if they already bought the 1.5 they dont NEED TO UPGRADE!!!

# re — Guest 2006-10-23 11:03

if you donw like the games on the ds what kinds of games do you like? If you cant enjoy ds games its cause your a stubborn prick who cant play a game cause "its cartooney" instead of seeying the game for what it is, your not a true gamer but one of those gta/madden drones who only buys games that are "realistic".

# GeoLod — The_Robster 2006-10-23 11:10

From colin:

if sony let the PSP run homebrew then the sales would go through the roof! and dont give me that crap about not playing ISO's, barley anyone does that.

Dear colin:

THATS THE ONLY REASON WHY PEOPLE DOWNGRADE TO 1.5 AT ALLL!!! YOU F***ING MORON! Fanjita shouldve made a downgrader that ONLY goes as low as 2.50. 2.50's can run user mode homebrew. The only thing they CAN'T do is run isos. win/win situation! But no. SOMEONE ELSE had to make a full downgrader aaaaaaallllll the way down. So what do I see? More f*ckheads on socom using devhook and cheatmaster to hack and screw the noobies and they are all like "HAHA NOOB I GOT THE HAX AND U DUNT!". F*** you. im sorry. please gods of pspupdates, forgive me for what im about to do.....

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

F*CK YOU

thank you.

# WRONG. — FreePlay 2006-10-23 11:26

When you buy a PSP, YOU OWN THE PSP. Period.

# Re: polonius — FreePlay 2006-10-23 11:27

No. NO. NO! They are NOT free.

# ... — FreePlay 2006-10-23 11:30

Return agreements are not legally-binding documents. When you agree to the terms set out in the firmware's EULA, you are *explicitly* agreeing to be bound by a *contract*.

# Actually... — FreePlay 2006-10-23 11:32

Agreeing to the terms of a EULA is tantamount to signing a contract.

# .... — Guest 2006-10-23 12:09

english should not be capitalized, you capitalize the first letter of countrys, not from languages...dumbass

# Yea..but — Guest 2006-10-23 12:20

YOU chose to update, that is YOUR choice, am I right?

so how could you sue Sony for something you voluntarily did? That's like suing a doctor after you agreed and excepted the fact that you could have a stroke or whatever from whatever it was that he injected you with. pretty stupid right?

# d — Guest 2006-10-23 12:52

what does "it is the law!" mean? do you think all PSP users live in the same country in the same jurisdiction. there is no "the law", it depends on the law where you live. how hard is that to understand??

# Nuh uh — KirbySS 2006-10-23 14:45

Incorrect, Freeplay. Go learn about licensing and EULA's.

Software, for example. When you buy a game, you don't own the game. You own a copy of it, and the right to use it. THAT'S ALL.

# Are you insane? — FreePlay 2006-10-23 15:07

I didn't agree to a EULA when I bought the PSP. I BOUGHT THE PSP. The system software ITSELF may be Sony's property, but the PSP is MINE.

# whats is better than a psp? — Guest 2006-10-23 15:42

Didnt read the other posts... they are all the same.. I dunno why the psp isnt as popular as the rest of the handheld devices IMO i think having something that plays high quality video, audio, games, apps, has wifi (or the net whatever you want to call it) , soon to have a camera and gps AND another emu built in and most likley in the future a phone! cant be beat!! who in there right mind would want a ds or one of those "ipoo'd" things that only crap out one thing (depending if you got an audio ipod or a video one...stink. back to the ds...whats the point cant do much looks crap i would rather have an "all in one" that looks cool and works great..psp all the way

# Sony... — Guest 2006-10-23 15:45

Sony should let us use homebrew.

More restricted? Yeah. It's true that piracy is destroying the PSP. But instead of fighting against it, why not use it as a weapon?

Hell, I bought my psp the day it came out with 1.50 Firmware. I haven't updated since, but I didn't bore out on it because Homebrew.

The PSP can run GBA games on normal speed, maybe faster. Though people created this emulators, the main machine is the PSP. What a potential.

Sony, a company full of morons. Not all though.

# firmware 3.00 — Guest 2006-10-23 15:58

Has Anyone Figured That Firmware 3.00 would able to be cracked due to it sending information wirelessly for ps1 games? that will open up a flaw which we can run unsigned code.

# Kids an idiot — Guest 2006-10-23 16:38

F#*king rediculous story.

All being a minor means WRT contract law, is that they cant be bound be the terms of a contract. He hasnt got a legal leg to stand on. Sony have no obligation to him either, it was his choice to upgrade, its just that when he accepted the Terms and conditions in the installer, it had no legal weight other than that already provided by existing laws. eg because the DMCA still applies he couldnt legally do ***** that involved messing with the PSPs firmware.

Moron.

# Sigh — KirbySS 2006-10-23 19:16

Go read about shrink wrap licensing. By opening the box, you agree to the terms within. If Sony were to change those terms to say "No, you can't downgrade the firmware or use a firmware not made by us" then they would be fine.

# ..by accepting this agreement you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age.. — groggo 2006-10-23 19:16

any parents reading this, take that psp away from your minor "child", it's far too easy to look up pornography on the internet..I wouldn't recommend the psp for anyone under 18, buy a DS instead, it is more for them..

..even if you won the court battle, you'd have to send the psp to sony; sure they'd fix it...with a TA-082 motherboard and with the latest firmware, smile and say "don't do it again, kiddo" with pat on the head..

# RE: — Guest 2006-10-23 19:32

When u buy a PSP, you physically buy the unit. U do not however own the rights to the technology that connects the components together or the firm/software in the memory. U may use the PSP for any personal reasons. You own a licence to use the psp and the firmware. you may not make copies or modify the licensed materials

# Yes, but, there is a but, a very big but... — Guest 2006-10-24 01:53

Sony effectively force you to update your PSP in order to play games which you PAYED for, games which are say, intended for three year olds.

Maybe all games should be 18+ and the updates on UMD only, that would certainly clear everything up. That way, if a minor does upgrade, then it is not sony's fault as they shouldn't have been able to get the UMD in the first place.

# Hey! — Guest 2006-10-24 02:01

Are you an idiot? The person who made the 1.5 downgrader, Dark_Alex, also founded the custom 2.71 fw, which is, as far as im aware, incapable of running iso's.

User mode just isn't enough for homebrew.

When the 1.5 downgrader was founded, homebrew on 2.5/2.6 was run through GTA, which was HIGHLY inconvenient.

Dark_Alex came along, made a downgrader with the help of the SXT and enabled homebrew straght off of the menu, the way it was supposed to be.

Hell, if your so concerned about piracy, try banning the internet!

# And, in return... — Guest 2006-10-24 02:02

I would give them a good kick in the chuddies and leg it.

# what does "it is the law!" mean? — Guest 2006-10-24 02:05

I'm pretty sure that the majority of countries don't allow minors to enter in to contractual agreements.

# Hold on... — Guest 2006-10-24 02:08

This got me thinking. We are being forced to take a risk on our PSP's in order to play a game that we have a right to.

# Emulaters arn't illegal per se... — Guest 2006-10-24 02:14

After all, emulators are just programs that simulate an environment that allows the games to run.

As long as they are not packed with any copyrighted material, they are completey legal.

Even ISO loaders.

The problem is, the power to emulate consoles is commonly abused and people have been downloading images of games that they do NOT own.

Think of it as limewire. There are many legitimate things that can be found through limewire, such as stories, homebrew games, podcasts.

# even then... — Guest 2006-10-24 02:18

Sony probably won't downgrade them.

Having a higher fw isn't part of the contract.

It's the act of upgrading.

# Just a quickie — Guest 2006-10-24 02:24

The_Robster: Don't you mean fuel to the fire?

# Wait a second — Guest 2006-10-24 02:26

Didn't thedreamcast go kaput because it was released only a short while before the next generation of game consoles (PS2, XBOX, GCUBE)

# I dont know what will be the biggest failure here: — The_Robster 2006-10-24 03:32

This, or the war on piracy....

# Screw it all — Guest 2006-10-24 06:39

All I can say is that downgrading 1.50 is good, homebrew is great and playing ISOs are brilliant. This so-called "law" on updates are confusing and C**P, it's gving me fu****g headache.

# haha — Guest 2006-10-24 07:31

Haha... calm down

# Downgrade — Guest 2006-10-24 08:35

I'm a little miffed at Sony myself. I mean, the PSP hardware has the ability for so much, ex. IR port, and yet we have to rely on Homebrewers to come up with software for improvements. Shouldn't features like that come ready to use at launch? Jeez! As aggravated as I am as Sony, I'd still never buy a DS :) And another thing, why is everybody pronouncing the death of the PSP? You all sound like a bunch of rabid drooling FANBOYS!

# .... — Guest 2006-10-24 09:40

Honestly, who really gives a damn? i don't really. psp firmware hasn't killed a minor yet HELLO.

# never happen — Guest 2006-10-26 19:06

This will never happen because sony have covered themselves. READ THE FINE PRINT!.

Quote: This User Agreement can be accepted only by an adult 18 years or older. By accepting the User Agreement, you affirm that you are an adult 18 years or older and you are accepting this User Agreement on your own behalf or on behalf of anyone that you allow to use your account, including, if applicable, your minor child or children.

# F**k that — Guest 2006-11-02 18:47

yeah i used to be a sony fanboy: sony tv's cameras and so on... untill i got the psp that is. while psp is an awesome device it's the sony's policies regarding upgrading and import of games that pissed me off.

yeah i use 2.71 se-b and yeah it can run homebrew and isos.

so what if the game kicks ass like the gta or burnout i will still buy the umd. but the rest is crap. most of the isos that i get like gangs of london, outrun and etc. i erase within 24 hours and never play again. coz they're all sh*t anyway.

It's not the piracy that's killing the psp it's the sh*tty games and various restrictions related to upgrading and being unable to import new games. liksang anyone ?

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