Hotz declares war on Sony

Having been the first to crack some of PS3’s key security features earlier this year, famous iPhone hacker George Hotz has vowed to discover a method to circumvent Sony’s upcoming PS3 update that will remove the ability to install an alternative operating system.

Hotz claims that the move is not intended to enable piracy on the machine, but instead to make the point that Sony is wrong to remove functionality that was an advertised feature of the machine upon purchase.

I never intended to touch custom PS3 firmware, but if that’s how you want to play,” Hotz said in a letter to Sony on his blog.

This is about more than this feature right now. It’s about whether these companies have the right to take away advertised features from a product you purchased. Imagine if an exploit were found in Safari on the iPhone, but instead of fixing it, Apple decides to pull web browsing altogether. Legally, they may be within their right to do so, but we have to show them it’s the wrong move for the future of the product and the company.

The PlayStation 3 is the only product I know that loses features throughout its life cycle. Software PS2 emulation, SACD playback and OtherOS support are all just software switches you can flip. It’s unbelievable you would go and flip one, not just on new boxes you are shipping, but on tens of millions already in the field.

Hacking isn’t about getting what you didn’t pay for, it’s about making sure you do get what you did. Sony, I expected more from you.”