SONY PS3- Watch out GeoHot's about !

Leiva

It seems that GeoHot the kid ( aged 19 at the time)who was the 1st in the world to hardware jailbreak & unlock the iPhone, has set his sights on hardware hacking the PS3 .
What his final intentions are , are still unclear ? ... Here is offical blog on his progress... http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/

CutzEr

Stuxnet

ive been following him on twitter for a long time now, where his iphone work is fantastic, he's seems like an arrogant little prick, his new ps3 venture will raise a few eyebrows and expectations will be high ! should be interesting to follow

Leiva

BOBBY wrote: »

i, he's seems like an arrogant little prick,

+1 , but i did find his jailbreaks excellent , will be keeping a close eye

Bonavox

Interesting, hope he fails miserably and falls from grace. But still, interesting ...

Leiva

Bono Vox wrote: »

Interesting, hope he fails miserably and falls from grace. But still, interesting ...

Im starting to think like that aswell ..Its one thing jailbreaking a phone , but hacking a PS3 could cause a tsunami of multiplayer on line cheating , thats one thing I would love NEVER to see happen !

M

Bonavox

mixednuts wrote: »

Im starting to think like that aswell ..Its one thing jailbreaking a phone , but hacking a PS3 could cause a tsunami of multiplayer on line cheating , thats one thing I would love NEVER to see happen !

M

Very true, wouldn't want to see that either. I also get the impression he's full of himself as well.

Leiva

Bono Vox wrote: »

Very true, wouldn't want to see that either. I also get the impression he's full of himself as well.

The kid is gifted (no denying that) but if he was made of chocolate he would eat himself !

Super Sidious

With Iphones etc. its optional to update the firmware... so when its hacked you just dont update it!

With a PS3 its neccesary to update the PS3 to play online... So if it did becomes hacked, PS3 would just bring out even more regular updates, start handing out bannings like MS and probably brick your PS3!

partyatmygaff

I never want to see the PS3 hacked. It will ruin everything.

Besides, Sony have spent millions in safeguarding the PS3 this time around. They are always searching for any security holes themselves and thats why some updates that appear to have very little changelogs are released.

Sony definitley have themselves covered. Even if he does get something hacked which I doubt, all sony need to do is release a system update.

Mossy Monk

If he can make my PS3 region free for Blurays then I will worship him.

rizzla

I don't play my ps3 online so a hacked ps3 is good for me.

If I'm not wrong I think a hacked psp was the first to bring ps1 emulation on the psp. If they can manage ps2 emulation on the ps3 I'd marry them.

Any current firmware updates will be ignored by me I think. Just to be on the safe side.

Bonavox

rizzla wrote: »

I don't play my ps3 online so a hacked ps3 is good for me.

If I'm not wrong I think a hacked psp was the first to bring ps1 emulation on the psp. If they can manage ps2 emulation on the ps3 I'd marry them.

Any current firmware updates will be ignored by me I think. Just to be on the safe side.

You have nine platinum trophies, and most games require trophies from online play to be unlocked, yet you don't play online? Surely if you can manage that, you can manage to hack the PS3 by 2010

projectmayhem

Wouldn't get too excited, his first proper update is that he stuck a semiconducter between the south bridge and cell processor to access the registers. Already that's a messy hack that's going to take a while to work, and that's without even trying to look at software.

Frankly I like the fact that the PS3 hasn't been hacked. Everyone's on a level playing field, and it's contributing to the industry. Look at the list of 2009's most downloaded games... pc/wii/360. No PS3. I kinda like that.

Leiva

I kinda like it to ...especially because I play most games on line .
I have seen the same games I play on my PS3 in their hacked PC version , its not pretty , i could see myself getting very frustrated been beaten by a known hack .

Lag switches and modded controllers are just about bearable , never mind a hacked console ! :mad:

Geohot ..I hope you fail miserably.

M.

rizzla

projectmayhem wrote: »

Frankly I like the fact that the PS3 hasn't been hacked. Everyone's on a level playing field, and it's contributing to the industry. Look at the list of 2009's most downloaded games... pc/wii/360. No PS3. I kinda like that.

Most downloaded is a little misleading. It's most pirated. I've downloaded a good few games this year but paid for em.

Original link for those who want to check out where the news came from, plus more info. http://torrentfreak.com/the-most-pirated-games-of-2009-091227/

A hacked ps3 doesn't automatically mean pirated games. Games sizes would be huge, especially first party titles. I just want it hacked for all the homebrew fantatics out there and to see what they can do with the hardware.

rizzla

Bono Vox wrote: »

You have nine platinum trophies, and most games require trophies from online play to be unlocked, yet you don't play online? Surely if you can manage that, you can manage to hack the PS3 by 2010

My only platnium that required me to play online was Uncharted 2 and I only needed to try the online mode for the 2 bronze's.

projectmayhem

rizzla wrote: »

Most downloaded is a little misleading. It's most pirated. I've downloaded a good few games this year but paid for em.

In the context of this thread I would have assumed most would have understood what I meant by "downloaded"

rizzla wrote: »

A hacked ps3 doesn't automatically mean pirated games. Games sizes would be huge, especially first party titles. I just want it hacked for all the homebrew fantatics out there and to see what they can do with the hardware.

File sizes wouldn't be huge. We're in an era where people download TV box sets and the like, don't for a second think a large filesize wouldn't stop people torrenting Killzone or Uncharted. Also keep in mind, those who won't download large files would still go off and download PSN titles.

And also don't kid yourself on the homebrew front. PSP sales were dire, not because of the crap games, but because people didn't buy any games at all. Even good ones suffered mediocre sales, but somehow did well on torrenting sites with lots of seeds out there, etc.

The homebrew scene on the PSP is a waste of time. I had my psp hacked and never used any of the homebrew features because they were fairly weak & a lot of them were riddled with bugs. You can test the PS3 to an extent through Linux.

Either way, the discussion is a little redundant because if you have to place semiconducters between the south bridge and the CPU, there isn't a chance in hell people will hack these things themselves. And sure the dude hasn't gotten very far, and he's not the first to try either. On top of that, blogging every step just means Sony can issue firmware updates to block anything he does if he does manage to get close to a working hack.

partyatmygaff

No one wants to hack their PS3 for "homebrew", that's mostly there to make it seem a bit more legal. The PSP was hacked and the console might have sold well but there are very few good games on the PSP because of the hacks. Sony have got the security tightenend much better now with the PSP Go. Its unhackable and any new games need the newest firmware, its not only for online.

It won't be hacked. Even if the smallest exploit was found, that blog would give it away and sony would have it patched.

rizzla

projectmayhem wrote: »

The homebrew scene on the PSP is a waste of time. I had my psp hacked and never used any of the homebrew features because they were fairly weak & a lot of them were riddled with bugs. You can test the PS3 to an extent through Linux.

Just because you didn't enjoy the homebrew scene doesn't mean it was a waste of time.

PSP radio was on homebrew before officially been added to the psp's firmware. So was the comic reader. PS1 emulation. Possibly more but these are the few that stick out most. I enjoyed it alot, used to enjoy seeing what other stuff they could do and I'd love to see what could be done with the ps3.

projectmayhem

rizzla wrote: »

PSP radio was on homebrew before officially been added to the psp's firmware. So was the comic reader. PS1 emulation. Possibly more but these are the few that stick out most. I enjoyed it alot, used to enjoy seeing what other stuff they could do and I'd love to see what could be done with the ps3.

And did the comics come from IDW, Marvel etc.? Did the PS1 games come from PSN? The answer is no. The answer is that they were used to pirate comics and games, and don't even try to convince me people only ever ripped ISO's from games they already own and dl comics that they already own.

rizzla

projectmayhem wrote: »

And did the comics come from IDW, Marvel etc.? Did the PS1 games come from PSN? The answer is no. The answer is that they were used to pirate comics and games, and don't even try to convince me people only ever ripped ISO's from games they already own and dl comics that they already own.

I didn't use the comics app. But i did use popsloader to rip my copy of FF7, 8 and 9 so I could play it on my psp. That's just me though.

You could say though that these things on the hombrew scene forced Sony's hand to officially bring them to the psp.

projectmayhem

rizzla wrote: »

I didn't use the comics app. But i did use popsloader to rip my copy of FF7, 8 and 9 so I could play it on my psp. That's just me though.

You could say though that these things on the hombrew scene forced Sony's hand to officially bring them to the psp.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sony announced PS1 games for PSP before the homebrew scene took that on. Comics was on the homebrew scene first, so then they went and found a way to monetise it rather then looking bad and just being a vessel for copyright infringement.

rizzla

projectmayhem wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sony announced PS1 games for PSP before the homebrew scene took that on. Comics was on the homebrew scene first, so then they went and found a way to monetise it rather then looking bad and just being a vessel for copyright infringement.

I'm not 100% on when ps1 games where on the psp. I just know that homebrew is where I first experienced it. It could well have been announced which pushed the hombrew guys to find out how it would work.

I think if Sony announced they would bring ps2 compatibility to the ps3 with emulation I wouldn't care as much about a hacked ps3. It's just that I really want it on the ps3. I have too many wires around my tv to hook up my ps2 aswell.

Stuxnet

and whatever bout homebrew or ps3 game piracy, if a ps3 hack were to allow linux ps3 full access to the hardware, you'd have a super computer on your hands !!

Rev. Kitchen

Im not too bothered about this guy hacking a ps3 its all part of the natural evolution of technology.

If downloading mp3's didnt happen then we wouldnt have itunes/deezer etc.

If downloading movies didnt happen we would still be waiting for 6 months to get a film over here as the companies dont want to buy 2 sets of reels.
Torrents where easy to get so now we have full HD streaming of movies ! why download a poor quality copy when i can stream the full thing instantly.

South park is now online to view legally 2 days after it airs !!. Each station has its own iplayer system that allows you to view all its shows straight away.

These are all a possitive responses to the problem of piracy. Its whats pushes technology along. The gaming industry will move too probibly to full game streaming which will render mod chiping consoles obsolite.

Leiva

projectmayhem wrote: »

Either way, the discussion is a little redundant because if you have to place semiconducters between the south bridge and the CPU, there isn't a chance in hell people will hack these things themselves. And sure the dude hasn't gotten very far, and he's not the first to try either. On top of that, blogging every step just means Sony can issue firmware updates to block anything he does if he does manage to get close to a working hack.

Dont underestimate this kid, he done a similar " hardware" hack on the 1st iPhone only to progress it to a full software hack , after his exploit was more streamlined.He also posted his progress which didn't help Apple stop him!
I am sure he is aware of all the possible preventitive steps SONY will take and is looking at the moment for the "ace up his sleeve".
Geohot is the only person who has a jailbreak availble for the 3GS iPhone and no matter what firmware Apple release ( to date) can prevent his hack.
People say more than 60% of iPhones are jailbroken and 50% iPhone buyers say they wouldn't buy one if they couldn't jailbreak , you do the math, Its ironic but he has helped Apple sales!
Can he do similar hack to a PS3 ? Who knows ... But he has some serious potential.

positron

I would much rather have Sony invest their resources into developing the motion controller and supporting game titles to use that, so I think what this guy is doing is going to do more damage to PS3 as such rather than good. Even if he does a crack, it's only going to be attractive to a part of the gamers, who want to play A LOT of the titles for free.

I have M33 on my PSP, and I have dozens of game CSO/ISO's, but I find myself playing the same three or four games over and again - and I could have paid for them really!

projectmayhem

mixednuts wrote: »

Dont underestimate this kid, he done a similar " hardware" hack on the 1st iPhone only to progress it to a full software hack , after his exploit was more streamlined.He also posted his progress which didn't help Apple stop him!

Two points. 1: The iPhone is nowhere near as locked down as the PS3 and 2: Apple don't have as much issues with pirated software, so wouldn't necessarily care as much as theoretically it'll sell more handsets (baseband hacking and what not to allow any sim in the phone, etc.), along with the fact that Sony were reeling after PSP being subjected to a lot of piracy so the PS3 had to be rock solid.

mixednuts wrote: »

Geohot is the only person who has a jailbreak availble for the 3GS iPhone and no matter what firmware Apple release ( to date) can prevent his hack.
People say more than 60% of iPhones are jailbroken and 50% iPhone buyers say they wouldn't buy one if they couldn't jailbreak , you do the math, Its ironic but he has helped Apple sales!
Can he do similar hack to a PS3 ? Who knows ... But he has some serious potential.

You may be right but the reason to unlock and jailbreak an iPhone is to run unsigned software that does things the phone would never do (like a 1st gen or 3G running a camcorder app) and of course, to shove a sim card from any network inside.

The experience on the PSP shows that console modding isn't to push the hardware at all. Sure, some people will develop cool apps that Sony will make better in-house, but the 360 is hacked and no one's developing apps - they're just downloading ISO's. This hurts sales.

Rev. Kitchen

projectmayhem wrote: »

- they're just downloading ISO's. This hurts sales.

It really isnt, The % that would buy their games if they couldnt download them is pretty tiny it doesnt hurt the industry anymore than when they told us in the 80's recording songs off the radio was going to cripple the music industry.

The music industry giving an idiot like robbie williams 80 million does far more damage than all the downloading combined.

The gaming industry is now the largest of all the media groups,yet historically its been the one most open to piracy. something doesnt stack up?

Stuxnet

Friday, January 22, 2010

Hello hypervisor, I'm geohot

I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip.

3 years, 2 months, 11 days...thats a pretty secure system

Took 5 weeks, 3 in Boston, 2 here, very simple hardware cleverly applied, and some not so simple software.

Shout out to George Kharrat from iPhoneMod Brasil for giving me this PS3 a year and a half ago to hack. Sorry it took me so long

As far as the exploit goes, I'm not revealing it yet. The theory isn't really patchable, but they can make implementations much harder. Also, for obvious reasons I can't post dumps. I'm hoping to find the decryption keys and post them, but they may be embedded in hardware. Hopefully keys are setup like the iPhone's KBAG.

A lot more to come...follow @geohot on twitter

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/2010/01/hello-hypervisor-im-geohot.html

Leiva

Took him 5 weeks , now he has full read and write capabilities ! , that's pretty mind blowing .

Is "Pandoras PS3 Box" just been opened ? Who knows only GeoHot .

He did say is intentions were not piracy related , so what they are only he knows now, and he is keeping his cards close to his chest .

Interesting times , Sony should be sitting down around the AGM meeting table just about now.

Just hope the hack does not ruin the online gaming experience .

M

eddhorse

No proof as of yet, seeing as he is arrogant he probably just needed to update his blog. Id hate this to happen too as if they do need to ban people etc then Sony might have us PAY for the PSN.....eek :eek:

Leiva

eddhorse wrote: »

No proof as of yet, seeing as he is arrogant he probably just needed to update his blog. Id hate this to happen too as if they do need to ban people etc then Sony might have us PAY for the PSN.....eek :eek:

True but going on his track record he never claimed something he never achieved .
The interesting part is when he said he dumped the NAND without a modchip , this tells me his exploit will be purely software based, and no need for modchipping .
Also mentions his idea won't or can't be patched ?
What is he up to ?

M

noodler

I would love to rip a game or two of mine (Pro Evo) o the HDD tbh.

I am not sure I want it hacked either - could he make it emulate stuff like the N64? I assume someone would have to write a program for it.

BaconZombie

Hello hypervisor, I'm geohot
I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip.

3 years, 2 months, 11 days...thats a pretty secure system

Took 5 weeks, 3 in Boston, 2 here, very simple hardware cleverly applied, and some not so simple software.

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/

Oat23

Should I be happy?

I have no idea what a feckin hypervisor is, what it does or the whole point of what this kid is doing.

Leiva

He seems to have indicated what his hack is currently able to do ..

"You can't expect to know everything and dump every piece of code. This hack is enough for homebrew, full linux, and even backups."

Does it stop here ?

Leiva

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055780057

Retr0gamer

noodler wrote: »

I would love to rip a game or two of mine (Pro Evo) o the HDD tbh.

I am not sure I want it hacked either - could he make it emulate stuff like the N64? I assume someone would have to write a program for it.

Once people can run their own code on the system then you can be sure homebrew emulators will follow. I'd love for this to happen sooner rather than later because I've got my Wii hacked and it's great as an emulation machine!

Dont be at yourself

I won't be exploiting my PS3 if a method becomes available. I've had a modded Xbox, PSP, DS Lite, Dreamcast and PS2, and as soon as they are modded and you have the ability to play any game for free, those games completely lose their value.

It reduces the experience to channel surfing, basically. If a game doesn't hook you in the first five minutes, you can just pop in another one. Whereas if you buy a game, you're going to stick with, invest time in it and get your money's worth.

There are legitimate uses for such an exploit: region blu-ray, PS2 emulation, for example. However, Sony should really be credited for opening up the PS3 as it is: they pushed for the blu-ray standard to be region-free, they included PS emulation, they made PS3 games region-free, and they allowed Linux to be installed on it, for running emulators and whatnot. They removed 90% of hackers' excuses for modding consoles.

Besides that, I work in the industry, and the rampant piracy on PC, XBox, Wii and DS are costing people their livelihoods.

Retr0gamer

These hackers aren't hacking these machines for piracy, they usually just do it for fun to show that it can be done and to allow homebrewers. Piracy usually follows. I can still think of plenty of legit reasons for this hack. Number one for me will be allowing me to play my PS1 and PS2 games on my system region free. As far as I know PS3 linux is fairly crap for emulators since there's so little of the system open and it has a hard time even running the SNES. I'll still be buying my games legit.

projectmayhem

I've merged the two threads so things are a bit confusing on page 3.

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Besides that, I work in the industry, and the rampant piracy on PC, XBox, Wii and DS are costing people their livelihoods.

+1

While this guy (who's yet to show off what he's done, and I don't care about his track record) seems to know his stuff, he's also going out boasting about his "work" far too much. He obviously has system access but this hardly grants permission to install anything at your own whim. He also says he can "zap" any system calls to errors or lock-downs in the functions... which is more likely to break the system then let him run things at his own will.

Ultimately though, a hack will come. Sure it took years and the system is obviously locked down quite well... but a hack must come at some stage. And while you can argue that it'll run old console emulators or linux as well as third-party apps really well realistically, this will be used to pirate games. Which is a shame. The reason I haven't bought a PC game in a year is because very few games I want are being released. This is simply because developers are afraid of it, because of piracy.

I run a games site and get some games early to review, yet every time I get a 360 game early in the post, a friend of mine has had it at least a week already.

You can sugar coat this hack all you want, unlocking the power of the machine, getting more useful apps, or whatever. The main goal here is to pirate games. And it'll hurt the industry at large, possibly forcing the big companies to release new consoles asap... moving developers to drop the ps3/360 sooner and begin work on new consoles. Sure, I might be all doom & gloom here, but do not for a second think this won't hurt. It was reported on engadget, gizmodo and all the other big tech sites. People will now buy a ps3 because the games will be free.

Dont be at yourself

These hackers aren't hacking these machines for piracy, they usually just do it for fun to show that it can be done and to allow homebrewers. Piracy usually follows. I can still think of plenty of legit reasons for this hack. Number one for me will be allowing me to play my PS1 and PS2 games on my system region free. As far as I know PS3 linux is fairly crap for emulators since there's so little of the system open and it has a hard time even running the SNES. I'll still be buying my games legit.

At the end of the day, the hacker's actions speak louder than their motives. Regardless of their moral stance, their work inevitably results in people playing pirated games. The vast, vast majority of people who install these type of hacks have no interest in homebrew or emulation, they just want free games.

The legitimate reasons are miniscule in comparison. You can run a SNES emulator or a homebrew DOOM on dozens of devices. There is no need to open the floodgates for piracy just so there's yet another machine capable of running these emulators.

And besides, the platform holders and publishers have made a huge effort in delivering old games to gamers in the form of Virtual Console, PSN and Xbox Live. I know not every game is available, and the cost of entry will be too high for those used to getting it all for free, but it's a positive move by the industry, and one which should be supported, not circumvented, by gamers.

People complain about terrible 3rd party support on the Wii. Piracy is the reason. At this very minute, there are more than 1,000 people downloading Avatar, and the same for FIFA 10. And that's just from one website. Multiply that by all the illegal sources, by all the big games, every day of the year, and it's clear that the effect on the industry is huge. Money's lost, jobs are lost, risk-taking and creativity are stifled, DRM proliferates. It's not good for the industry, and ultimately, it's not good for the player, either.

eddhorse

Sony should just sell the emulators as software on the PSN ! Roms would be an issue i guess. They could charge for them too ?
Who would Sony have to pay for the Mame roms for instance? The original makers who might not be around anymore?

Grayditch

I hope this attempt is somehow thwarted.

Retr0gamer

Well I think it's great that homebrewers may now have another platform to work with.

The moans about piracy don't get to me. I feel that a lot of the numbers are made up of people that wouldn't have bought the game anyway. The companies have the means of combating it but just aren't using it right. They could offer a cheap downloadable version but more often than not the download version is significantly more expensive than a retail release. If a game is good and marketed right there should be no problem getting good profits. They should stop moaning about piracy and get some decent TV spots for their games. Do you really think terrible third party support for the Wii is down to piracy? If third party games were actually advertised correctly you'd see them do a lot better.

As for roms, you used to be able to get a collection with 20+ games for 20-25 euros. Now you pay 5 euro for one nes game. It's also not uncommon to find code left by rom dump groups in these releases because the companies downloaded the roms from a rom site and yet have the balls to give out about these sites when they can't even archive their own source code. They really need to have a more impulse buy price point.

noodler

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

I won't be exploiting my PS3 if a method becomes available. I've had a modded Xbox, PSP, DS Lite, Dreamcast and PS2, and as soon as they are modded and you have the ability to play any game for free, those games completely lose their value.

It reduces the experience to channel surfing, basically. If a game doesn't hook you in the first five minutes, you can just pop in another one. Whereas if you buy a game, you're going to stick with, invest time in it and get your money's worth.

There are legitimate uses for such an exploit: region blu-ray, PS2 emulation, for example. However, Sony should really be credited for opening up the PS3 as it is: they pushed for the blu-ray standard to be region-free, they included PS emulation, they made PS3 games region-free, and they allowed Linux to be installed on it, for running emulators and whatnot. They removed 90% of hackers' excuses for modding consoles.

Besides that, I work in the industry, and the rampant piracy on PC, XBox, Wii and DS are costing people their livelihoods.

This is excellent post.

I have had my PSP hacked for quite a while, can download any game I want if I feel like it yet I have downloaded none.

There is a definite devaluing in your own mind once you can get these things for free and the likes of Demons Souls, for example, I'd wager wouldn't get as much of people's time as it has if you hadn't made the financial investment and felt compelled to get the most out of it (because of it's difficulty - not quality).

projectmayhem

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The moans about piracy don't get to me. I feel that a lot of the numbers are made up of people that wouldn't have bought the game anyway.

While this may be true, that is not how an economy works. You have this attitude and the whole thing falls down. Unlike music, games companies do not have the same outlets to recoup that money. No tours, no t-shirts and so on. There is no doubt that sales drop with the proliferation with piracy. To say otherwise is just ignorance.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The companies have the means of combating it but just aren't using it right.

This is true for the most part but the PS3 took over 3 years to hack. It'll probably take another few months for anyone to develop software that normal people can install and use, let alone develop on top of. Sony have done a good job of locking down the system (probably on the back of the disastrous hacks that ruined the PSP) and ensuring piracy isn't an issue for developers. Which is a big attraction. Sony will now have to pour extra resources into locking down the system even more, and maybe consider pushing the PS4 forward to keep devs/pubs happy on a system that's as locked down as humanly possible.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

They could offer a cheap downloadable version but more often than not the download version is significantly more expensive than a retail release. If a game is good and marketed right there should be no problem getting good profits. They should stop moaning about piracy and get some decent TV spots for their games. Do you really think terrible third party support for the Wii is down to piracy? If third party games were actually advertised correctly you'd see them do a lot better.

Third party games are advertised as they need to be, but you need to understand the economics of games. It costs a lot of money to develop a game, and the traditional channels of advertising are not viewed by the gaming public in general. The masses don't give a damn about Final Fantasy, but gamers do. So they advertise it on primarily gamer-friendly channels like the internet or cable/satellite channels that have games-orientated shows. Your idea of "correct advertising" is not taking your markets into consideration. Do you really think that having an ad during the 6PM news for Castle Crashers on PSN/XBLA is going to boost sales enough to pay back the ad and give the developers extra cash to develop new titles?

Retr0gamer

Using Castle Crashers is a bad example. It's an indie game and they used their resources well, making a niche game for very little money but putting advertising in the right places. However good advertising and being sensible with when to release a game would have stopped excellent games like Mirrors Edge and Dead Space being a flop.

Stuxnet

despite all the piracy, MW 2 made over a billion dollars in a week !, cant hurt that much !! dont think IW or Activision shareholders are too worried about the minority pirate's
i welcome the hack if it becomes available, i have modded psp and wii also, but never in a million years will i mess with my ps3, i only play online games, wouldnt like to risk getting banned, like they do to poxbox players