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News

  Sony Sues Datel Over PSP-3000 Hacking Tool
by David Jenkins
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January 14, 2009
 
Sony Sues Datel Over PSP-3000 Hacking Tool
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has taken legal action against UK-based peripheral maker Datel over an accessory that would have allowed illegal and homebrew software to be run on the PSP-3000.

Encryption on the newest PSP model has proven much harder for homebrew enthusiasts to break, and Datel began advertising a battery-attached solution called the Lite Blue Tool in November.

The product was never released, but instead repurposed as a differently featured replacement battery called the Max Power Digital.

Since the device breaks the PSP-3000’s security encryption, Sony has continued to object to the Lite Blue Tool. A Datel spokesperson told website Portable Video Gamer that orders for the Lite Blue Tool could not be fulfilled "due to legal action by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe".

Legal challenges to reverse-engineered hardware products have been relatively commonplace throughout the history of the games industry, most notoriously in cases involving Nintendo and the original Atari, and between Nintendo and Codemasters’ Game Genie device.

Piracy and homebrew has been a particular problem for Sony on the PSP, whose strong hardware sales have never been matched by similarly-high software sales. When the PSP-3000 model first launched in October 2008, Sony described piracy on the on the hardware as 'trending downwards' shortly thereafter.
 
   
 
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Christopher McLaren
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Sony have always stated that piracy harms consumers by forcing publishers to raise prices. Problem is that on systems that are rarely hacked we don't see any reduction in price, certainly not in UK. Stands to reason that if Sony uses this reason to stop piracy they can't then rise prices.

Sean Sang
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I find the opposite happens, pirated systems have their game prices drop in prices such as with the PSP and PC. There is a far worse danger at hand and that is the drop of support from developers. This is the case with the PSP, brilliant game system but go into any shop and the PSP game shelf space gets smaller and smaller and stores aren't refreshing supply. Shame cause the PSP is such a good system that hackers have just about killed it off.


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