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Today PlayStation 3 Firmware version 3.42 has been released which provides “Additional security features”.
This update currently blocks the recent, PSJailbreak, All of it’s clones and the open source ‘Psgroove’, while there is no sure way of knowing if this will be the end of the cat and mouse game between Sony and the hackers, however it is nice to know that the possibility of cheaters emerging on the PlayStation Network has been greatly reduced.

The update is available for download right now.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has filed suit in California against an online retailer, accusing them of a raft of charges including copyright violation.

While not specifically mentioned in the court documents, it’s believed the accused, Zoomba LDC – trading at the address SHOPPSJAILBREAK.com – has been attempting to sell the new PS3 Jailbreak modchip, which allows users to circumvent the PlayStation 3′s copy protection and play games retail games installed on the console’s hard drive.

Shoppsjailbreak is listed as one of two “official” distributors for the PS Jailbreak on the device’s website.

The suit was filed on Tuesday in the California Northern District Court, and accuses Zoomba of copyright infringement, violations of the digital millennium copyright act and trademark infringement. SCEA is seeking damages and an injunctive relief, which would block the sale of the devices.

[Source]

Today, Australian retailers including OzModchips have had to send those that ordered PSJailbreak some unsettling news. The news is that Sony Europe has imposed an injunction on any person selling the PSJailbreak and therefore they have no option but to issue a refund on PSJailbreak. It will take a very brave company to take on Sony! Sony has acted very quickly on the matter and a court hearing between Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and OzModchips is due on August 31st. E-mail revealed inside.

Here’s a content of one of these emails:

We regret to inform you that today Sony Australia imposed an injunction against any company / person’s selling the PS Jailbreak devices, so it is with great regret that we have to inform you that we will not be buying or selling any PS Jailbreak devices. We have just issued a full refund to your card for the pre-order made.

We wish to apologize immensely for any inconvenience this may have caused, and hope that you can understand our position on this matter. Please note the refund we have issued can take approx 5-working days to show on your card.

Best Regards,

For those wondering, SCE Europe covers the EMEA region which includes Europe and Australia, hence why they are taking action against an Australian retailer. Within the case, there are multiple parties involved including:

SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE LIMITED
First Applicant
SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Second Applicant

OZMODCHIPS PTY LTD
First Respondent

RYAN EMMANUEL CARUANA
Second Respondent

GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD T/A QUANTRONICS
Third Respondent

KEN TOLCHER PTY LTD T/A MOD SUPPLIER
Fourth Respondent

[Source]

With the internet awash with news coverage for PSJailbreak, sites are popping up all over with fakes, scams, and all sorts of schemes designed to benefit from the rush of interest in PlayStation 3 hacking. Widely reported across the internet is the “world’s first PSJ clone”, the x3Jailbreak.

Their website presently shows a selection of images claimed to be product shots of their yet-to-be-released device. However, this most likely isn’t true.

There’s a high probability that either the device will never exist, or that the team are simply generating hype to establish a following of users for when they do get their hands on the real deal to create their own clone. One thing is certain: the x3Jailbreak PCB they are currently showing is a fake.

As you can see from the above image, both devices follow a similar layout with a bank of SMT’s leading to a crystal oscillator then a flash controller and lastly the SMD (Activity light). On the lower device, the flash memory itself is located on the underside of the PCB, as the many vias present in the PCB around the flash controller indicate. A similar arrangement of vias are present on the purported x3Jailbreak, leading me to believe that there is actually a flash chip present on the rear of “their PCB” too.

Upon further inspection of the original PSJailbreak, it’s obvious that its functionality is completely different from that of a normal USB drive, with ground and data being used as what I assume is a serial connection to the host. Data+ and data- of x3Jailbreaks’ PCB, however, shows  me without question that the PCB they are showing off is nothing but the internals for a generic or branded-clone USB flash drive, which is further supported by x3Jailbreaks’ act of masking the flash controller’s printed ID. This chip is most likely an Alcor AU6984 flash storage controller.

There you have it. For the time being at the very least, the x3Jailbreak is fake.

[Update]
The owners of the x3Jailbreak site have now, crudely, added the following messsage:

The haters have started accusing us of being fake but video speaks louder then words. We are looking for a web site with high visibility to send them a sample so they could test and post a video demo of the solution as proof of evidence

Not to be a stick in the mud, but given that the updated image they are using has an Iphone with a youtube logo, wouldn’t the logical thing to do suggest they make the video themselves and upload that to youtube?
I suspect stall tactics, that they are waiting for their order of an actual x3Jailbreak to arrive to post videos and claim they were done using their device.

I’m no modchip maker, but it seems obvious to me that if you truly were in their position with a real USB mod, you would send it to one of the sites that received the PSJailbreak given their current exposure.
Further, given that the USB device pictures is just a USB memory stick, were they simply using a generic USB stick as a placeholder, you’d think they would have removed it when updating the page.

[Update 2]
Today logic-sunrise have posted new images of the x3Jailbreak, which I initially covered in the above post, i concluded that the original image they used on their website pictured a standard USB flash drive with the following opinion:

One thing is certain: the x3Jailbreak PCB they are currently showing is a fake.

And true to form, the PCB they are now showing is not the same at all.

As you can plainly see, the layout of this PCB is completely different and contains far fewer vias, retaining roughly the same number as given to the original PSJailbreak.
While they may brush off the original image as a placeholder, or claim it was an early prototype, the fact remains it was a standard USB storage device, and were they simply using the image as a placeholder it would have saved them a lot of trouble to simply state this.

I’ll be contacting them shortly to request a sample, as we were the ones to break the news that their displayed PCB wasn’t the real deal, it’s only right that we’re the ones to correct this should they have a working copy in hand.

Oh yes.  As promised, the ban hammer is a’coming.
Starting on Tuesday, August 24th – we will be swiftly and indefinitely banishing from the world of Red Dead Redemption multiplayer all Gamertags and PSN IDs we’ve detected  with hacked game saves.  Such cheating is a clear violation of our code of conduct, and punishable at our sole discretion.
If you are one of these people, we are giving you this last chance for REDEMPTION to restore your HONOR: you have one week from today to delete your hacked game save to be spared the hammer’s swift justice on the 24th.

Some notes to be aware of:

• This will not apply to those people who simply took advantage of temporarily exploits to rapidly grind up XP a few weeks ago.  We are able to tell who actually hacked their save to have impossible scores.
• Banned hackers will also be removed from the leaderboards.
• To be spared, any hacked saves that you have will need to be deleted – single player as well as multiplayer.  You should be aware that everything is wiped when deleting saves. These are the only exceptions:

  1. Players would keep any Achievements/Trophies they had already earned.
  2. All preorder items tied to their accounts would be unlocked for them upon signing in and creating a new save while connected to Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network
  3. Any cheats earned through Social Club would be unlocked for them upon signing in and creating a new save while connected to Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network

• After deleting your hacked game save(s), you will then need to go online with Red Dead Redemption (prior to August 24th) for it to register that you’re now playing clean.  For single-player saves, you will need to re-play the game while connected until you gain access to the safehouse at MacFarlane’s ranch.  For multiplayer saves, you will need to play one full game online or do one Gang Hideout.

[RockstarGames]

Much of the buzz this past weekend has been about people attempting to reverse engineer the hardware behind the latest, and to date the most successful, PS3 “hack”.

Forums, blogs, and even Twitter have been awash with activity as coders, hackers and modders exchange brief messages and ideas about how the device functions and whether or not it can be cloned. The answer seems to be a resounding yes, given that several websites are now claiming to know the exact model of the microchip used in the USB hardware, despite the maker’s best attempts to conceal the information printed on the chip itself.

While some believe the microchip to be a Parallax P8X32A-Q44, given the characteristics and design of the chip in the photos of the device’s internals, I am more inclined to say the chip (as many others are saying) is actually a 44-Pin TQFP PIC18F4550.

A problem many are facing currently is that there are no pictures of the PCB with the microchip removed. Possessing such images would provide greater detail with regard to which pins are being used and where those pins are traced to, but for now further identification attempts are hindered until the product has been released to the public.

To the left is the pin configuration for the microchip that is most likely being used, credit goes to planetadejuego for the original picture of the hardware.

The guys over at logic-sunrise then took this a step further by attempting to figure out the PCB layout from pictures alone.

The general consensus at this time would appear to be that the USB device could be cloned readily and reproduced at a very low cost.

One thing through all of this remains clear, however. Even before the product is released, this is something Sony can definitely detect should users venture online with their modded console, and will likely be patch with future firmwares – this provides a reasonable explanation for the ridiculously high price of the USB device: the creators are in effect taking snatch-and-grab approach before the device gets blocked and rendered useless.

Some so-called-hacker has claimed: “The stick is used to boot a special firmware from itself before the original PS3 firmware starts.” Given the relatively tiny storage size within the chips being used in this device, 32KB, it is fair to say that the above is obviously and completely wrong. What is more likely is that the USB device carries a specific device ID, and when triggered, the USB device then answers challenge responses sent to it. Other than that, I seriously doubt there is any actual file transfer occuring.

[Update]
The guys over at Gamefreax.de have done a full trace of the usb device and concluded that the chip is infact an Atmega, possibly an Atmega16, that emulates a 6 port hub.

Head on over there for a full report!

Well, well. Here’s a surprising turn of events for you! Following a recent set of videos posted by a modchip website, it would appear that a Chinese company have developed the world’s first PlayStation 3 “modchip” in the form of a USB key which allows the backup and booting of original PlayStation 3 titles in the latest firmware, Version 3.41.

Currently, said modchip website are offering pre-orders for the USB key for the ridiculous price of $170. Figures from the PlayStation hacking scene have come forward, commenting that if it is indeed real, it will be utilizing large portions of Sony SDK code, making it even more illegal than it already is.

We’ll cover this topic in greater detail when more is known.

The course count for Polyphony Digital’s real driving simulator Gran Turismo 5 is now approaching infinity, thanks to the game’s just revealed Course Maker, shown off today at Gamescom in Germany.

Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi demoed the Course Maker feature today, showing that it’s not the type of tool that will let players build a custom course from scratch, but something different. A fully featured track editor, Yamauchi says, “really requires a complete CG tool, which would limit the number of users who could use it.”

Instead, Gran Turismo 5′s Course Maker lets you build a custom racetrack based on a set of parameters. Players can select a theme, choose the number of sections and course type (one way or loop), weather, time of day and length. Two of the themes shown off were Toscany and the Belgian High Fens.

The Course Maker lets you edit that track section-by-section, choosing the frequency of curves, course width, sharpness of corners, degree of topography tracing, and bank angles. Those choices are set by sliders or drop down lists. Yamauchi created a pair of custom tracks, both with the same theme but with different parameters. He quickly took each for a test drive, illustrating how quickly a player could create two very different courses.

Yamauchi also offered a look at Gran Turismo 5′s newest vehicle, karts. The Polyphony Digital head honcho said that it was planned to be a feature for the next game in the series, but after the feature was apparently “leaked,” the team decided to include it earlier.

[Source]