Hacker finds PlayStation Vita exploit, begins Homebrew process

By: Musa Afridi

  |   September 10th, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

Yifan Lu claims to have hacked Sony’s PlayStation Vita console to allow users to create homebrew games for the console using the “Usermode Vita Loader”, however the process is still in its early stages.

The PlayStation Portable, which was the predecessor to the current PlayStation Vita console, started off strong but encountered several problems later on its product lifecycle. The issue emerged when a group of hackers managed to break through the console’s fail safes and pretty much opened the PlayStation Portable to piracy.

The homebrew grew rapidly in Asia as well as other territories, as consumers could now purchase and play pirated games on their PSP console. The exploit also allowed the same PlayStation Portable console to run two different firmwares. This meant that gamers could have the latest firmware from Sony and the homebrew firmware running on the same console and get the best of both worlds.

This led to the software side of the PlayStation Portable taking a major hit and Sony will be hoping that reports of Yifan Lu’s hack will not open Pandora’s box for them this time around.

According to Lu, the hacker claims to have found an exploit in the Vita, which will allow users to upload data onto the console, but that data is specifically catering towards games, which, in essence, means that it could be the PSP scenario all over again.

That is bad news for Sony if it turns out to be true, as there are reports in the industry that the publisher is struggling for third-party support for the console as it is. The fact that the console has been hacked and open to piracy and user created content could mean the end of third-party support for the console.

However, there does seem to be some time for Sony to react as Yifan Lu has admitted that the process is still in its early stages and that he himself is looking for support on the project from fellow users as well.

Where this battle goes could be a major factor in the success or demise of the PlayStation Vita. However, one should expect Sony to be ready for such an event, seeing how the company had to endure the similar problems with the PSP.

The PlayStation 3 had similar problems with hacking but they were kept to a minimum by the constant barrage of firmware updates and security measures. Whether or not Sony has done the same with the Vita remains to be seen.

But what about the readers; do you think the homebrew exploit is the final nail in the Vita’s coffin or can Sony handle the situation better than they did with the PSP? Let us know in the comments section below.