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Comment by iwwr | Hacker News Reader

If you watched the CCC presentation on the PS3, you know these people are more interested in running their own software than breaking the console to play pirated games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbUVgxw1yWc (30 seconds)

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Although I dont agree with SECA, their point of view is that once the console can run "uncertified" software then its only a matter of time before the pirates have their day.

I think that if Sony had just left the OtherOS option in the new consoles, and not removed the support from older ones and maybe improved it by allowing access to the GPU, then this would have taken a lot lot longer since there was no motivation for the hardcore guys

They may have even lasted into the release PS4 and so benefit from nearly zero piracy through the product cycle.

OT, but I haven't seen any rumors of a new generation of consoles. This generation has lasted a lot longer than the previous, and I wouldn't be surprised to see at least another year or two out of them. The addition of the new motion controls (Kinect and PS Move, although I haven't heard really anything about the latter) make it seem even less likely that they'll push for a new console yet.

Edit: I also wouldn't be surprised if these motion control addons are research for the next console generation. I've heard of people thinking of Kinect as the next generation of XBox somewhat, and it does kind of make some sense. I don't think we'll reach a stage where motion controls are integral to most games, because even in this generation with the SixAxis on the PS3, most all of the uses of it were one of gimmicks (Mirror's Edge: Use the SixAxis to balance, or just use a control stick. Uncharted: Use the SixAxis to adjust grenade arc...or again, just use a control stick. Ratchet and Clank: Use the SixAxis for two minigames).

No rumors of a new generation? Microsoft and Sony have been pretty open about planning the "Xbox 720" and PlayStation 4 since the current generation launched.

If you mean there's no rumor of the next generation arriving soon, that's true enough. Sony in particular have always stuck to the position that the Playstation 3 is meant to last for roughly a decade, which is why they said they weren't too worried by the fact that nobody wanted a PS3 when the system first came out. We're around the five-year mark now.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply this is the last generation of consoles (that would be ridiculous), just that there isn't one looming in the horizon despite it being the usual 5 year point.

Here is the whole presentation (45 min., three parts): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuIlbmn-4A4&feature=mfu_i...

Other formats here: http://events.ccc.de/congress/2010/wiki/Conference_Recording...; slides and links here: http://events.ccc.de/congress/2010/Fahrplan/events/4087.en.h...

Sony doesn't get a cut when people play games they've made themselves. If people play their own games, then they have less time to play games where Sony does get a cut, so it hurts them in just the same way that pirated games do. This is going to be a problem one way or another as long as the cost of the hardware is subsidised.

Do you seriously think homebrew is a threat to commercial games? The quality is 1/1,000,000th. The budget is one billionth.

Let me know when SCOURGE ( http://scourgeweb.org/tiki-browse_gallery.php?galleryId=2 ) starts impacting Diablo sales.

> Sony doesn't get a cut when people play games they've made themselves.

So, the obvious solution is to stop subsidizing consoles with title royalties.

Let the market decide whether they prefer a more expensive homebrew-friendly console or a cheaper homebrew-hostile console.

And, BTW, when it was introduced, the PS3 was an amazingly powerful computer. Now it's not. It's, at best, interesting.

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