Sony is to block out would-be PlayStation 3 pirates at the manufacturing stage, with the release of a new, hack-proof SKU, according to reports.
Everything HQ cites an anonymous source who claims Sony is already “deep into plans” for an unhackable version of the PlayStation 3, caused mainly by the premature leak of Killzone 3 which has prompted concerns of PS3 piracy going truly mainstream.
The system was hacked in December after the fail0verflow group discovered that the PS3’s private keys – which authenticate software as genuine – used a fixed, instead of a random, element. Shortly afterwards iPhone hacker Geohot published the system’s root keys online, opening the system up to piracy.
As we reported at the time, one of the few workable solutions available to Sony was to insert a new, properly randomised key into new PS3s at the manufacturing stage. Everything HQ’s source says the new model, a 300GB slim, will retail at £186.99. No release date has been set, apparently, as Sony awaits the outcome of its lawsuit against Geohot and fail0verflow.
Geohot has now stopped taking donations to help fight the lawsuit, which we reported on yesterday. “Things are looking up money-wise,” he announced on his website. “I have enough to cover my legal fees for the time being, and in the worst case scenario, we don’t want Sony getting it.”
Source: Everything HQ / Geohot.com