August 31, 2010 by Jay Smith
News reports suggest that Sony has managed to secure a temporary ban on a hardware hack which has been developed and sold in Australia. The dongle has been developed in order to enable PS3 users to jailbreak their machines, making it easy for people to download either home-made, pirated or illicit games on their consoles.
Sony’s ban has meant that the existing suppliers of the chip (OzModChips, Mod Supplier and Quantronics) will no longer be able to import, sell or distribute the device to customers across Australia. Sony has been given until tomorrow to take the issue to court to secure a permanent ban on the device.
While Sony has not commented directly about the situation, it is reported that the new court order has allocated all control of the existing dongles owned by firms to Sony, enabling the company to test the devices and ascertain how they work. They are entitled to destroy them if so desired.
The PS3 Jailbreak device allows people to save games on to the hard drive of the console. Initially, the gadget was viewed with mistrust by gamers, but its popularity soon grew. A spokesperson behind the manufacture of PS3 jailbreak commented: “The device converts a retail unit in to a dev unit. Dev mode means it will run any – even unsigned – code. Using a simple backup maker or player software, you can play backed-up [saved] games without the actual disc being in the PS3. We have not heard anything from Sony or any lawyer or court yet. I really doubt Sony has grounds to ban this dongle.”
The device is the first one developed which enables people to hack the PS3. Dev devices are usually reserved for technology experts looking to test machines. Each country has a different policy governing the legality of the devices, and Australia has not made them illegal. In the UK, they are illegal to import, advertise or sell.
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