FACT #1) SONY as a company has always been pro development. They released dev consoles for both the PS1 and PS2. SONY has never to my knowledge pressed legal action against anyone in the homebrew scene, except for persons making copyrighted SONY software or bios files publically available.
FACT #2) SONY wants desperately to gain a foothold, if not stranglehold, on the handheld gaming side of the industry which has been completely dominated by Nintendo for 10 years.
FACT #3) SONY PSP users want to be able to use the PSP in ways perhaps not even dreamed of by SONY. And the user base will figure it out on their own if they have to.
FACT #4) The device literally begs to be put to greater use by way of advanced features like a hi-res/hi-contrast screen, wifi, flash memory, usb, stereo sound, and an extremely powerful CPU.
So to any SONY executives, or developers listening. You can take control of the handheld gaming market. You can take Nintendo out of dominance once again. How? By "inadvertently" releasing key pieces of development information to the general public. Say a PSP compiler, or documentation on how to run executable code from wifi, USB, or memory stick. How about just making a devkit publically available? SONY still has control over what gets pressed to UMD and can therefore still control the retail market.
The sooner you make homebrew available to the masses, the more units SONY will sell, the more games SONY can sell, and the more profits SONY will make. Why would anyone buy a Gameboy if they can emulate it perfectly on their PSP? That alone could be the deathblow to Nintendo. I know SONY can't condone emulation of their competitor's systems, but I believe they will secretly smile once the PSP is able to play every portable game published by their competition. It will happen eventually, why not just help it along a little bit? Give the users what they want. PR can call it a slip-up, being hacked, a rogue employee, or whatever, just get it done.
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Personally I could care less about running linux or web browsers on my PSP. I want handheld emulation; 16-bit consoles and MAME. I know it will happen, and I don't have the skills to do it myself, but I look forward to the progress made by all of you in the scene. Keep up the good work, lets get inside this machine and make it tick even better.
Open Letter to SONY
I think you are forgetting piracy.
This is main reason Sony tries to keep things tight.
If people can write an NDS emulator - what would it take to port a PS1 emulator?
This itself will result in lost revenue from sold games.
And as we know, Sony are making losses on the hardware and are relying on game sales to make the money.
I see your point.
If the PSP could play Genesis/SNES/N64/PS1 games (emulated) then nobody would buy a DS.
I also see Sony's reasons for using what they deem (hope) to be ubreakable protection.
This is main reason Sony tries to keep things tight.
If people can write an NDS emulator - what would it take to port a PS1 emulator?
This itself will result in lost revenue from sold games.
And as we know, Sony are making losses on the hardware and are relying on game sales to make the money.
I see your point.
If the PSP could play Genesis/SNES/N64/PS1 games (emulated) then nobody would buy a DS.
I also see Sony's reasons for using what they deem (hope) to be ubreakable protection.
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Guest
Generally, long time members of these forums do not believe in fostering a dispositive relationship with Sony. Granted, its not like we have "a" relationship, but given the choice between pretty much no relationship, and a bad relationship, we prefer the former.
So making public demands (or advising) of Sony, and telling them how to run their business, can be considered an act of arrogance. If we represented a large consumer group or large customer, there is a chance.
As it is, we are primarily a decentralized group of fans who rip apart their hardware and software for personal enjoyment and learning, many of us hoping to do something ultimately useful and/or fulfilling in the long run. How we go about doing that determines the ultimate perception and fate of the dev scene.
So we generally do not approach Sony, in thought or action, with hubris, and preferably non-bothersome visibility. Sony knows we exist, and has done things in the past quite beneficial, such as the PS2 Linux Kit. How we deal with Sony in the future determines how much Sony considers adding value to homebrew. Assuming, of course, we are even on their radar in a non-threatening way.
So making public demands (or advising) of Sony, and telling them how to run their business, can be considered an act of arrogance. If we represented a large consumer group or large customer, there is a chance.
As it is, we are primarily a decentralized group of fans who rip apart their hardware and software for personal enjoyment and learning, many of us hoping to do something ultimately useful and/or fulfilling in the long run. How we go about doing that determines the ultimate perception and fate of the dev scene.
So we generally do not approach Sony, in thought or action, with hubris, and preferably non-bothersome visibility. Sony knows we exist, and has done things in the past quite beneficial, such as the PS2 Linux Kit. How we deal with Sony in the future determines how much Sony considers adding value to homebrew. Assuming, of course, we are even on their radar in a non-threatening way.
'I don't have the skills to do it myself...'
That was enough for me. He's interested in nothing but free handouts. Like a greasy advisor to the king. 'Your majesty, you'll rule the world while I get ALL THE ROMS I CAN EAT!!!'
As if they're going to base their entire strategy on one person on one backwater forum. Sheesh.
That was enough for me. He's interested in nothing but free handouts. Like a greasy advisor to the king. 'Your majesty, you'll rule the world while I get ALL THE ROMS I CAN EAT!!!'
As if they're going to base their entire strategy on one person on one backwater forum. Sheesh.