We have seen alot of progress with PS4 development lately in the form of backing up some games & even some simple POC that showcases a simple PoC of homebrew abilities., but honestly I am not very excited about it yet. While the exploits/development are progressing well, they are restricted to a low firmware of 1.76 which I am sure most of you are on a firmware that is much higher. We have no downgrade solutions for the PS4 and even if we did, its still a v1.76 firmware and many of the PS4 features are not contained in those early firmwares. You are restricted to a very limited number of PS4 Games that the console can even play, as many games ( a large majority ) are signed with a firmware higher then 1.76. Meaning that they can not be played on a console with a 1.76 based FW, So this takes alot of the appeal the PS4 gives a user in the first place, but can that trade-off be justified in the form of receiving new features an exploited firmware can give?
NO, not in the case of 1.76. As in my personal opinion I think its a bad platform to expect regular homebrew from, not to say there can not be quality apps created if devs attempt, but for homebrew there not only has be an exploit for unsign code but also just as important an audience/developers and that is the biggest problem with PS4 1.76. there is not an audience and getting an audience is a problem as your console is not going back to 1.76 once updated, then no downgrade solutions as of the time writing this article. There is always the option to purchase a 2nd PS4, but since 1.76 is so early in the PS4 lifecycle your going to be restricted to older models of the PS4 ,that have proved to be very hard or near impossible to find for most, then some that are found have often an inflated price. So if less people are unable to get on the 1.76 platform then we see less user's / developer's and development interest falters for even those that can obtain the firmware. So the driving force "development" of a community does not reach its potential because the PlayStation Homebrew Scene is already a small gaming audience , now is that much smaller with only a very small percentage of even homebrew enthusiast that are on 1.76 with a PS4 .
(One of the bundle that contained a console with 1.76 firmware from factory, but could also contain a FW higher then 1.76 like 2.03)
Now PS4 1.76 progress is not useless by any means whatsoever, but for most user's perspective it is directly not much of use to a majority at least on 1.76 . There is alot of positive things with v1.76 .It can and will serve as valuable groundwork/building blocks and development that is essential for the future of the homebrew cmmunity, when a higher firmware is exploited for the public there that much of a head start and documentation that has been done So there is alot of good work being done by hackers and developers and also some no so honest work being done as well,. Even with the positives 1.76 has seen it has taken very small steps to make progress since the console was cracked on 1.76, one big contributing factors for the slow progress is the fact its a small development core vs something more widespread like an exploit on a current firmware. As those give several weeks typically of a window that anyone can choose a path of exploits or update to the next Firmware that patches the exploits.
For most user's the PS4 Homebrew Community will not get very exciting until we see a current firmware exploited. PS4 1.76 is great to see the progress in the development sense but the exploit came to late to be exciting for a end-user and this will be the case for any exploited firmware that is not for the current firmware of the time an exploit is released. With 1.76 being so early, even if it had mass user's on the FW i think it would of showed its age a long time ago . Lets step back and go back a generation and take a look at the PS3 CFW cycle. In the 3.55 era when for a period between firmware's 3.55 and 4.21, exploited consoles were restricted to only handling games that were 3.55 and below and the community was desperately searching for a solution on 4.xx CFW. So comparing the PS4 1.76 - 4.74 seems like a humongous leap as it is, hypothetically let say the exploits for 1.76 came out when it was the latest firmware and 1.76 had a much bigger userbase then it has now, do you think by now the community as a whole would be clamoring for a new exploit anyhow on current firmware? A hack in per-historic firmware is a path of the past, not one of the future. I think those waiting and staying on a older firmware hoping for an exploit, your wasting your time awaiting and only restricting yourself for false hope for something that will not reach its potential in my opinion. If most can not obtain the firmware then don't expect mass development around it.
For most user's the PS4 Homebrew Community will not get very exciting until we see a current firmware exploited. PS4 1.76 is great to see the progress in the development sense but the exploit came to late to be exciting for a end-user and this will be the case for any exploited firmware that is not for the current firmware of the time an exploit is released. With 1.76 being so early, even if it had mass user's on the FW i think it would of showed its age a long time ago . Lets step back and go back a generation and take a look at the PS3 CFW cycle. In the 3.55 era when for a period between firmware's 3.55 and 4.21, exploited consoles were restricted to only handling games that were 3.55 and below and the community was desperately searching for a solution on 4.xx CFW. So comparing the PS4 1.76 - 4.74 seems like a humongous leap as it is, hypothetically let say the exploits for 1.76 came out when it was the latest firmware and 1.76 had a much bigger userbase then it has now, do you think by now the community as a whole would be clamoring for a new exploit anyhow on current firmware? A hack in per-historic firmware is a path of the past, not one of the future. I think those waiting and staying on a older firmware hoping for an exploit, your wasting your time awaiting and only restricting yourself for false hope for something that will not reach its potential in my opinion. If most can not obtain the firmware then don't expect mass development around it.
Is this the Outdated Exploit that Came to Late?
Absolutely (IMO), when your talking about being useful to a end-user (such as trying to obtain a second PS4 on 1.76). You should think 1.76 as only a great window for developer's to learn and even get a head start on some developing, but that will be slim due to the attainability of a 1.76 Console. The work these current/past devs / hackers in 1.76 will pay off in the future for many people but not on 1.76 itself with the majority of the community unable to use this work. My advice enjoy your console on OFW and wait for an exploit to arise on a current firmware and thanks to the many devs there will be a head start with various research and tools Then decide which path you want to take the OFW update or Exploited FW and when people have that choice that is the start of the homebrew community for the end user. Don't buy a 2nd PS4 for no reason or set yourself up for disappointed by thinking outdated firmware are the answer. .
Absolutely (IMO), when your talking about being useful to a end-user (such as trying to obtain a second PS4 on 1.76). You should think 1.76 as only a great window for developer's to learn and even get a head start on some developing, but that will be slim due to the attainability of a 1.76 Console. The work these current/past devs / hackers in 1.76 will pay off in the future for many people but not on 1.76 itself with the majority of the community unable to use this work. My advice enjoy your console on OFW and wait for an exploit to arise on a current firmware and thanks to the many devs there will be a head start with various research and tools Then decide which path you want to take the OFW update or Exploited FW and when people have that choice that is the start of the homebrew community for the end user. Don't buy a 2nd PS4 for no reason or set yourself up for disappointed by thinking outdated firmware are the answer. .
Last edited:
it also has a metal slime theme that I'm currently using on my vita. I got the theme on hackinformer. I don't know how someone dumped it since this was before henkaku. the person must've used the email fail exploit and dumped one file at a time. since my ps4 was used at $500-something, I didn't get the ps4 version of the theme. I updated to 4.07 just to get the Dragon Quest 30th anniversary theme from the Japanese store. it sucks though. it looks ugly as hell. I bought FF 7, so I'm using that theme. 
Every hack is outdated and unusable for the masses if it is not permanent or at least easy to use (i.e by just going to www), and also on rather new firmware. PS4 doesn't have any of that so it isn't even considering by any average scene user as something worth interesting. I still see this console with 1.76 as playground for kernel hackers only. IMHO. In example me, I didn't plan buying Vita having only Rejuvenate but HENkaku changed everything.
