Report: Sony Targeting German Buyers of PS3 Hack Device

October 20, 2010 -

According to admittedly loose translations, a shipment of dongles to be used for hacking the PlayStation 3 have been seized by customs officers in Germany, and now Sony is targeting the purchasers of the devices with cease-and-desist letters and threats of fines and litigation.

A forum user on the DC EMU UK forums (thanks SlashDot) translated an article on the German website Heise Online (Google translation) in order to disseminate the information. From the story, it seems Sony wants PS3 Break buyers to agree to no longer import, distribute or use any device that allows the PS3’s copy protection to be bypassed by signing a letter, which also gives Sony permission to destroy the devices.

If the person in question breaks the signed agreement, they could be at risk for penalties beginning at 5100€ (approximately $7,100 U.S.). Refusing to sign the cease-and-desist agreement could leave buyers open to litigation.

Such litigation, as noted by Heise Online, would most likely prove troubling for the PS3 Break users as:

It would be extremely difficult to prove in court that a special USB controller stick called "PS3 Break" does not circumvent the copy protection… for the PS3…

Comments

Re: Report: Sony Targeting German Buyers of PS3 Hack Device

Submitted by MechaTama31 on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 14:41.

Hey, Sony.  You know the MPAA and RIAA?  Have you noticed how they act, and what has happened to their public image as a result?  Lucky for them they don't have two major competitors, huh?  Yeah...  I'm just sayin'.

Re: Report: Sony Targeting German Buyers of PS3 Hack Device

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 15:12.

Actually, both organizations have competition. They both compete with independent film and music respectively. These are film producers and musicians who are not represented by the MPAA and RIAA.

E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma

E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower

Re: Report: Sony Targeting German Buyers of PS3 Hack Device

Submitted by madman on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 08:00.

Yeah but in Sonys case, they constantly insult to injury in the face of competitors with already


superior public images.

Re: Report: Sony Targeting German Buyers of PS3 Hack Device

Submitted by Vengful_Soldier on Fri, 10/22/2010 - 09:52.

You do realize you shouldn't need to break the copyright of a fucking console, right? Its just that, a console, the only reason to do something like that is to do something illegal. Like modding your console, enabling hacks or being able to get all the stuff in the PS store for free. Seriously, we're not talking about songs that are sold for 0.99 cents online but absurdly expensive on CD. We're talking about an expensive peice of hardware.

 
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Monte: trolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm
Monte: Papa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm
Papa Midnight: Monte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm
Avalongod: I think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm
Avalongod: @Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm
Wonderkarp: Zippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm
Monte: Seirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm
Monte: We have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm
ZippyDSMlee: Wonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm
MaskedPixelante: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327940/ Night Dive starts charging for freeware.10/18/2014 - 12:21pm
Matthew Wilson: the sad thing is there are trolls on both sides of this. people need to stop acting like their side is so pure.10/18/2014 - 12:19pm
MechaTama31: So, only speak out on a scandal that hasn't attracted trolls? I wouldn't hold my breath...10/18/2014 - 10:49am
Monte: I feel like GG just needs to die. The movement is FAR to tainted by hatred and BS for it to be useful for any conversation. Let GG die, and then rally behind the NEXT gaming journalism scandal, and start the conversation fresh.10/18/2014 - 10:33am
quiknkold: and we dont have a Dovakin to call a cease fire10/17/2014 - 7:37pm
quiknkold: The whole thing is Futile. Both sides are so buried deep in their trenchs that there isnt a conversation. Its just Finger Pointing, Name Calling, Doxxing, Threats. there needs to be a serious conversation, and GG isnt it.10/17/2014 - 7:37pm
quiknkold: I thought it was a good article. Jeff is right. I feel like GamerGate did destroy its message. I am for Ethics in game journalism, but man. so much hate. and its on both sides. I've seen some awful stuff spewed on twitter. Its a big reason why I exited..10/17/2014 - 7:34pm
Matthew Wilson: while he focused on gg, he did call out both sides crap.10/17/2014 - 7:18pm
Papa Midnight: That was a damn good read offered by Jeff Gertsmann.10/17/2014 - 7:17pm
Matthew Wilson: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/ deferentially a nice write up.10/17/2014 - 6:44pm
james_fudge: I think Evan killed it. He's a great guy and super smart.10/17/2014 - 6:38pm
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