PS News Why there is no Homebrew for the PS4 (and why they won't be any in the future)?

Okay, the Title says it all. But before you leave, let's face the truth. Since the developers were able to achieve several Kernel Exploits on different System Firmwares, their goal was to give you a "platform" where you can develop and/or enjoy your Homebrew Applications running on your own PS4. But instead of making your PS4 a "useful Gaming Machine" - to get out more of your PS4 with several new Features even Sony can't deliver - the side effect is that many people doesn't care about Homebrew and that Piracy is the only thing which counts on all "hacked" PS4's, which is very sad. I know for myself that this Thread here can't give you a solution for this problem and I know as well that this discussion isn't new and that there was already some Threads about that on both this Forum and on Twitter. But I would like to analyze and discuss this with you and maybe someone has some ideas what could be done better in the future.​

Puh, where I should start this. Well, I think it is important to say as a Disclaimer that this is just my point of view. But as explained in the preview above, everyone is welcome down below to discuss this matter with your own meanings and point of views. But to analyze this huge problematic, I would like to compare this with previous consoles released by Sony. And this comparison will analyze several Topics, which they are:​

• Why there is no Homebrew in General for the PS4?
• I installed Linux on my PS4, but what should I do with it?
• Where is my Media Center Homebrew for my PS4 (Part 1 & Part 2)?
• File Manager, FTP Server, Toolbox Settings, my PS4 has none of them!
• The PSVita gets new Homebrew Releases nearly everyday, why not the PS4?
• My PS3 is still useful for several Homebrew Tasks, I don't need my PS4!
• Conclusion

Homebrew in General Linux on PS4 Media Center Homebrew (Part 1) Media Center Homebrew (Part 2) Other Useful Homebrews PSVita has Homebrew PS3 has Homebrew as well

• 
  
  Why there is no Homebrew in General for the PS4?
  Well, the answer is simple: "There is no need to have any Homebrew on the PS4 today!" But what I mean with this argument? Let me explain.
  
  Back in the PS3 era, when the first hacks and Custom Firmwares appeared in the wild, there was still the majority who cared about Piracy only, no question. But while Sony tried from the beginning to market their PS3 as a "supercomputer" instead of a Gaming Console only, a lot of Developers recognized that the PS3 can do a lot of stuff, but it wasn't perfect for their tasks they needed (especially not after Sony removed several Features like installing "OtherOS" from System Firmware 3.21 and above). So the Developer's goal was both to add even more useful features for your PS3 and to bring back older features on newer System Firmwares which Sony removed before. I will explain the details on the other points to keep this point short but as a summary, you have to imagine that when the first hack appeared on the PS3, we were at the time around 2009 / 2010 (I let you decide when we speak about the first hack). So we used our PS3's in a different way Sony imagined. And in that era, not everyone had a super fast Internet Connection where everyone can download huge Games in a few minutes or where everyone streams their movies through Netflix or Amazon Prime Video instead of going to a video rental store or actually buying a movie (yeah that's still a possibility in 2018). In spite of that, Developers needed to find "loopholes" in the System Firmware in a different way as they do today for the PS4 to get your "Backups" running. While for the PS3, a lot of Games were running from the Disc and a Installation on the Harddrive was only additional and not always forced, today's Games for the PS4 needs to be copied completely to your Harddrive even when you obtain them legally and when you are on the newest System Firmware. So instead of having Features like "Peek&Poke" to get more access on your PS3, you do most things on your PC to get your Backups running on your PS4 since you need to create a single .pkg-File to get the Game fully installed on your PS4's Harddrive. Even Sony needs to do this and every Game Disc contains the full Game in a single .pkg-File only which get's installed on-the-fly.​
• 
  
  I installed Linux on my PS4, but what should I do with it?
  Well, actually you can't do much. I know this sounds harsh but let's being honest.
  
  The PS3's OtherOS-Feature was already limited, even when you activated the RSX to get full GPU support while running a Linux distribution. But even the official solution from Sony was complicated to install and to get running. So the "experience" for running a "full-fledged computer" wasn't perfect. Interestingly enough the PS4 is way easier compared to the PS3 to get Linux fully running and even to do something useful. But even here we have the bad side-effect of Piracy when Developers tries to get SteamOS running on your PS4 through Emulation. Sure it's interesting to see that this is getting supported by the PS4 but it is as well against the "Terms and Conditions" when you are running Games on a platform which aren't developed for this device. It's the same as when you run older Games from the 80s through Emulation. But why there is no interest to develop and to run any Homebrew even on a PS4 with Linux installed? The PS3 had even a few releases for OtherOS, why the PS4 haven't? Actually the reason is simple to explain as well. Back in PS3 era, having a device running with a Linux Distribution was only interesting for those People who didn't wanted to go "mainstream" and who was really needed for their job for example to run Linux instead of Windows. Compared to 2018, the market share didn't changed much and Windows is still used by over 90% of all users world wide. But the huge difference is that today, getting a Device running with Linux is way more easier to obtain and the best thing is, it's extremely cheap. Maybe you are already recognizing what I'm talking about. Yes, it is way more easier to obtain those "small single-board computers" like the very-known Raspberry Pi for example. Even when installing Linux on the PS4 is easier compared to the PS3, a Raspberry Pi is still "handier" and probably even more powerful compared to Linux running on PS4. And with getting "pre-installed Kits" for those "small computers", there is actually no need to run Linux on your PS4.​
• 
  
  Where is my Media Center Homebrew for my PS4?
  You got it, same as above. There is really no need to have a Media Center on your PS4.
  
  The PS3 was - I mean still is - a strong console with huge possibilities. This was also one of Sony's goals to mark the PS3 not only as a Gaming Console, but also as they called it, a "Super Computer". And still in it's 12th year since the release, you can still do a lot of things with your PS3. You can view your Photo Albums from your last vacation, listen to your own music collection or even to online radio stations and you can use your PS3 as a Video Player for both offline and online, the latter with many Online Services which are still up to date and used by millions of users worldwide. But same as mentioned above for the Games, back in 2009 / 2010 - or even earlier during the release of the PS3 itself - not everyone had a high speed Internet Connection. And due to convenience, a lot of those people (including me) wanted to enjoy their backups of their movies saved at one device only, which was the Harddrive from the PS3 or using a USB-Device to get the best quality in 1080p High Definition while staying offline. And with having bigger and bigger Filesizes for High Definitiion Content, a neat feature was to save your movies with a strong compression method but keeping the quality on a high level. Saving your movies with the .mkv-Extension was such a neat future, where the Playback for this File Format was supported by many devices, but not for the PS3. This is mainly one of the reasons why such a great Homebrew like "Showtime Media Player" - or as it called later "Movian" - was developed. A moment later, you was able to enjoy your .mkv-Files "like a charm" on your PS3, even when Sony didn't supported it officially. I can speak from myself that our PS3's were more often used for enjoying movies through Showtime instead of playing Video Games. This is what I meant in the beginning that Homebrew Developers brings you better and more useful solutions for your consoles compared to Sony.​
• 
  
  

  
  Main Menu from "Movian" (formely "Showtime Media Center")
  
  But the PS4 has even two problems. First, Sony recognized and learned about this behavior from those users how they enjoy their movies offline. So they decided to add the .mkv-Fileformat to the PS4's Operating System from the beginning of the PS4's Lifecycle and it's already supporting the Codecs to enjoy your movies. But this isn't the only Problem.
  
  Let's be honest, when you visited a cinema the last time or when you rented a video at a rental store for the last time? Quite tricky to answer right? The same applies for me and I actually can't remember when it was the last time I did such things. Again due to such conveniences and better/faster Online Connections, it is way more easier today to "stream a movie" through several movie content providers compared to the PS3 era. Sure, the PS3 supports them as well today but back in 2009 / 2010, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the other vendors weren't available for everyone, either due to slower Online Connections or due to License limitations for several Countries. During that time, Netflix was only available in the US until September 2010 before they started their expansion to other countries. Especially the expansion in Europe was very slow and I live in Germany, where Netflix wasn't started before September 2014. So you can imagine how difficult it was to stream a movie even when you had a good Online Connection and why such a Homebrew Application was really necessary back in the PS3 era. But time has changed and today, nearly everyone in the world can enjoy such "Online Movie Vendors" for a good price. This is why buying a physical copy of a movie on DVD/Blu-ray gets more rare in the future. Even Microsoft saw this and plans to offer a service kinda like Netflix, but for Video Games, where you can enjoy many Games as you want for a fixed price. And when I look into my living room, I recognize that I can stream movies from 8 Devices in total. This is also a problem for Sony that not only the PS3/PS4 supports Netflix. My TV is enough to enjoy the content and to "Netflix and Chill." And when the day comes that even my washing machine supports Netflix, then you shouldn't wonder anymore why there is no need for a Media Center Homebrew on PS4.​
• 
  
  File Manager, FTP Server, Toolbox Settings, my PS4 has none of them!
  Now we have to talk and to compare about the technical specifications, not only from the PS3/PS4 itself, but also their methods how their "hacks and exploits" works.
  
  Yes, both Consoles shares the same that Piracy is a thing when they gets hacked and most users want to enjoy their Games for free. But how each of those both consoles achieves this. First let us look for the PS3. I know the following comparison is "quite a stretch" but while Apple uses a "closed system" with iOS as a Operating System for their iPhones, you have way more freedom when you use a Smartphone running Google's Android platform. From a "hacking perspective", you could compare that the PS3 is way more "closer" compared to the PS4. How do I mean this? Well, to get any Homebrew running on the PS3, you had to break down a lot of barriers. You needed the right keys to obtain several Features like "Peek&Poke" and with those Features and Keys, you needed to create a new Custom Firmware. Then you needed to install it or maybe even downgrading from a higher Firmware and so on. You see this wasn't such easy. What I mean is, you was able to develop a File Manager or a FTP Server for example but due to the Hypervisor and a lot of other security features, you was forced to add additional features behind the Operating System itself, so your Homebrew is even possible to use. Best Example: Without "Peek&Poke", your Backup Manager was useless when you wanted to copy Games from the Game Disc onto your Harddrive. But the PS4 is easier, which is Sony's own fault. As I described in the beginning, Piracy is way more easier to obtain for the PS4. Today you need to search for "Kernel Exploits" or as you maybe heard of it, "Kexploits". And with such a "Kexploit" found, there is no need anymore to have "full access" to the System since you do most of the preparation on your PC. Since the PS4 needs all Files from a Game installed on the internal Harddrive anyway, there is no need for such Homebrew Applications like a File Manager or a FTP Server. You dump a Game, making a new .pkg-File where the full Game is included and where the PS4 doesn't ask for any license, then you install it on your PS4 and et voilà. There is no need to copy any Game Files on the PS4 itself. Just dump and install and you have Piracy. And since there is no need for any "Peek&Poke" to play your Backups, the question for a "Toolbox" where you can switch several setting inside the Operating System itself is getting obsolete. Quite Sad isn't it?​
• 
  
  The PSVita gets new Homebrew Releases nearly everyday, why not the PS4?
  But wait Roxanne, how you can tell all this when my PSVita is getting new Homebrew Released daily?
  Hold on, the reason for that is very simple as well. "The PSVita has no Games!"
  
  "What are you talking about?" - you might thought. But yes, the PSVita was technically a failure for the "Western market" and a lot of Game Developers are afraid to develop any single byte for that platform. The sales numbers speaks for themselves. So what you can do with a PSVita today? You can do Homebrew! Piracy is still a thing on the PSVita as well but since there aren't much AAA titles available for that platform, the users automatically asks for Homebrew such as Emulators for older Video Game platforms. But the PSVita had also another huge advantage compared to the PS4. Since Sony wanted that you can enjoy your older PSP Games as well on your PSVita, they needed to ensure that PSP Games will run as well through Emulation. And when PSP Games runs fine on the PSVita, it's a question of time when older PSP Homebrew will run as well. This is was also happened at the beginning of hacking the PSVita. From a simple "Hello World" Application into several Emulators build originally for the PSP, the PSVita runs it as well. But Sony's PS4 is extremely successfull as you probably already know and there is even a high chance that it will be the most successfull console for them ever made. This means that you had a lot of Game Titles to play so you even don't have any time for any Homebrew. Besides the fact that Portable Consoles had always a high demand of getting Homebrew as fast as possible - especially when we talk about Emulation of older Video Games, there is actually no suprise that the PSVita has a lot of them. The same applies for the Nintendo Switch as well and it's even newer than the PS4. Sad that the PS4 doesn't support emulating PS3 Games.​
• 
  
  My PS3 is still useful for several Homebrew Tasks, I don't need my PS4!
  Yes, that's a reason as well why the PS4 has no Homebrew. There are actually two reasons.
  
  First is that with the newest achievements in hacking the PS3 by finding a Kernel Exploit as well, the PS3 was pushed to the foreground for a little bit of the time. This year showed that the newest System Firmware is vulnerable and the funny thing is, it seems that Sony doesn't care anymore about fixing it. Since the newest Exploits for the PS3, the System Firmware 4.82 is still the actual one and there was no new update from Sony to avoid such exploits. With that result, you have the best of both worlds. It is possible to downgrade your PS3 to a lower Firmware without using any additional Hardware like those Hardware Flashers for example. Compared to the older hacks, this is again very simple when there is only software used like for the PS4. But this is what the PS3 was always tried to achieve. And since this new method is so simple and since a lot of people was still interested in downgrading their PS3, there is no surprise that the PS3 got such highlights in the past months. And with getting best of both worlds, now you can enjoy your backups and using your Homebrew on the newest System Firmware together. That and the fact that this 12 year old console still supports useful Features like Video Streaming through Netflix or Amazon Prime Video - as explained before - is again a reason why your PS3 is still enough for you to have Homebrew. In fact, a lot of from those Applications gets re-written for Homebrew users to use them with their legal accounts but without being forced to stay connected to the PlayStation Network. Maybe you saw this already with those "NoPSN" releases from official Sony Applications.​

"multiMAN" was also a very popular "Backup Manager" for the PS3

Conclusion
Let's sum up. Both the time and our user behaviors have changed through the years which explains why the PS4 has such a difficult burden when we talk about Homebrew. Piracy is getting easier compared to it's predecessors but getting Homebrew is more difficult. Maybe one reason is that Sony made is easier for us to have Piracy on the PS4 as explained above but this can't be used as a excuse. It is the fact that today's users lost the interest in getting some Homebrew for their consoles due to comfort reasons that they have everything to enjoy whatever they want outside of Gaming. Listen to music and/or watching Pictures and Movies is easier compared to five years ago where even your "toaster" can stream your favorite radio stations all day long. And when other manufacturers gives you an platform, where you can run free pre-installed Operating Systems with "Open Software" in a kind of a "modular concept", then there is technically no chance for any future home consoles to get any useful Homebrew. Even Sony recognized this, which is probably one of their reasons why they concentrated more about Gaming for the PS4 compared to the Development of the PS3. But the end result of the day is, when their Console allows Gaming only, then there is only Piracy available which has to be achieved for many users and which will make Piracy getting stronger. That is very sad. It is Sony's task to avoid this and only the future will see how they plan to avoid this. But with our user behavior, it is our own fault that the PS4 has practically no Homebrew, which is a true fact! What makes it even more sad that there are enough platforms available for developing Homebrew for the PS4, such as open SDK's or "The Mira Project" looks promising. But so long the end user has no interest to get any Homebrew, there won't be any in the future.

So what went wrong not to have any Homebrew for the PS4? Was it really only the fact that both the time and our user behaviors have changed? You are welcome to discuss this with the community down below. Maybe some Developers feels addressed as well and can discuss this with the end-users together.​

Thanks for reading - Roxanne.

 

If you truly feel this way, the best advice is to give your paperweight to a less fortunate family that could appreciate it. Goodwill, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army are all viable options if you so choose to take this endeavor.

Dude, take it easy.. i was just kidding

 

that rule is meant to protect the site and its users. if you've noticed, a lot of warez sites are being shutdown due to lawsuits. Nintendo, for example, is even going after rom sites for nes/snes games. a lot of devs have offered their time free of charge when they could've been gaming themselves. the ps4 hack is meant for backups, but in reality, what people do with it is on them. no one is deluding themselves here. "backups" are whatever you make them to be.

Is internet piracy a bad thing? I think it depends..but it general cases it is.

Come on, guys. Look at me and tell me that you NEVER used pirated software, its the same.

"the ps4 hack is meant for backups, but in reality, what people do with it is on them. no one is deluding themselves here. "backups" are whatever you make them to be" Exactly. In my opinión games are very much popular among children at age of 15 or below (they are still kids),probably they can't afford them and that's where piracy takes place.

Nowadays, most popular games have multiplayer so many kids want to play with their friends and they will buy the game.

 

well,, on this site talk of piracy is prohibited. whether people pirated is moot.

 

Have you ever used pirated software? Torrenting? Are you REALLY against piracy? Double standards suck

Piracy is not a good thing overall and we cannot promote it. That's obvious. Additionally, the scene is not the same as warez-scene. Personally I have my standards and I don't chase everyone who downloading pirate copies of films, games and music, leaving this to their wealth feel and conscience. Especially when I living in a country where consoles cost half of month average salary and in time of '90 and earlier I have only pirated copies (because original games wasn't in stores and they was ridiculous costly).

Still, I don't understand Your point. Article is about homebrew and why we don't see to many (yet I hope).

 

Piracy is not a good thing overall and we cannot promote it. That's obvious. Additionally, the scene is not the same as warez-scene. Personally I have my standards and I don't chase everyone who downloading pirate copies of films, games and music, leaving this to their wealth feel and conscience. Especially when I living in a country where consoles cost half of month average salary and in time of '90 and earlier I have only pirated copies (because original games wasn't in stores and they was ridiculous costly).

Still, I don't understand Your point. Article is about homebrew and why we don't see to many (yet I hope).

In some way or another this article is talking about piracy and i 've seen a few comments referring to "pirates"..that's why i made my own comment .
All people have their own thoughts about this topic and it's fine.
PS4 scene deserves more homebrews because there are very talented and skilled developers behind!!

 

As an ex-PS4 owner, this was a good read.
I previously rented a PS4 a few years ago from Rent-A-Center. For what I got out of the console, it wasn't worth the overpriced-price tag. (Nearly $700 US dollars once paid off.)
I kept the console for a little over a month before I let it go. It really depressed me the direction S0ny decided to go with the PS4. I understand from a market standpoint the decisions they made in restricting the console, however they really left out the consumer.

The PS3 in my opinion was the beginning of something great. You have an all-in-one decked out media center that included games! Something that at the time could only be achieved with a PC.
On the PS4, you have to stream everything, internet connection to properly use the console. I had purchased a few digital games, but was unable to play them when I had no internet connection after so long. This drew the line for me.

Consoles these days EXPECT EVERYONE TO BE MIDDLE CLASS OR HIGHER, and is leaving out those that are considered lower-class or impoverished. In any given month, I may have to decide to ditch my internet service provider in order to pay other bills that are more important in order to live in this day and age.
I'll not be tied down and forced to prioritize internet over other priorities. I'd much rather live in retro-land than follow the current flow of game consoles.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do love some of the games that are coming out only on current-gen consoles. The games themselves aren't necessarily the problem, except certain games that are meant to be primarily a single-player experience that still requires internet access to play.
(I do understand that certain functions in certain games require internet access to run properly, however this shouldn't become the norm. There are plenty games that have done just fine relying on local AI as opposed to cloud AI.)

Console and game developers just need to come back down to Earth. If you're going to release a product, make it as inclusive as possible. I know I'm not the only one that lives this way, and is also a hardcore gamer. I consider myself an amateur game developer, more on the artistic side and starting to delve into the world of programming. I don't have any serious plans on hitting it big, but in the event I ever did finish an indie game that was worthy of releasing, I will definitely remember where I came from, and keep that in mind during development.

The bigger corporations get, the less they think of the lower end of the spectrum of their base.
I apologize for this rant that may be slightly off-topic, but I just wanted to provide my opinion on the PS4.
I will always be a Playstation fan(Actually, just a fan of Video Games in general, no matter the platform.), but I can't help but feel concerned about the future of Gaming with the decisions current-gen game consoles are half-halfheartedly going with.

Video Games, in my experience, is meant to be an escape from reality. It's just as valid an art form as a painting, music, movie, or a good book. It's helped shape me into the person I am today, and I couldn't imagine myself growing up without them in my life.

And on a last note with homebrew, while the PS4 may not have as much to offer on its platform as the PS3 for developers, maybe this also reflects my anxieties towards current-gen consoles. I believe there will always be developers itching to develop home-brew for newer consoles. Their unique perspective is what I believe helps drive innovation in relation to what game consoles could officially be one day.

 

Hrmmm... There is a lot of apathy in all of the communities, this is a major factor.

Back in 2012-2013 the scene was huge, now its literally dead.

People just don't care about jailbreaking, homebrew, piracy, anything.

Makes me think my return to the PlayStation was fruitless.

People literally buy the PS4 nowadays just to play Fortnite...

Why would somebody like that care about anything that we talk about on this forum.

Also, where's my MAME for PS4?


Oh and why do I have a PS4? To play maybe 2 games... I play maybe 2 hrs a week.. Would more homebrew change this? Unlikely....

I use my PS3 as a media server seeing as I have to jailbreak my PS4 just to be able to open the media player app.. disgusting.

 

@BwE , I agree. I only have four retail games total. I was seriously disappointed with tales of zestiria and star ocean 5. I like them, but they're no where the quality of abyss (beat on the 3ds) or star ocean 3, both series went downhill at some point. I've been gaming on the switch - best gaming purchase I've ever made.

 

@Zazenora , I also hate how you can't really use your ps4 to its fullest extent unless you sign in. that's essentially put my gaming on hold considering I'm account banned. I don't want to be, so I'm waiting 'til the scene progresses some more. does anyone know if reformatting the hdd on the console reverts the profile/user id to 10000000?

 

I couldn't agree with both of you @BwE & @pinky more. I can't really say that with my previous time with the PS4 that I got to play anything great. Metal Gear Solid V - Ground Zeroes was free that month on Plus, so I definitely grabbed it.
Star Ocean 5 is the probably the most anticipated game I could name that I still want to play. It received a PS3 release in Japanese-only, Zestiria, I was lucky it came out when it did, any later and it probably wouldn't have seen an english release.

There are still a few games I think would be worth buying the PS4 just to get to play, (Fortnite NOT being one of them.) but the Switch is looking like the better console at this point.
I've had to keep myself in the dark on most games that I am looking forward to playing all this time just to keep from spoiling them when I do finally get a chance to play them.

I'm closely watching the PS4 scene now to see what develops. I do think we'll eventually see some good homebrew come to the console when the PS3 becomes less relevant. IF it does lol.
The PSP had some amazing homebrew back in the day, such as being able to use it as a Universal Remote Control. The fun I had pranking teachers back in highschool as they tried to figure out why their TV's were acting up xD. (This was back around 2008-2009 mind you.)

The PS3 is probably the best console to play Playstation backups on at this point, but the Wii is still amazing in my opinion. It's easily soft-modded and has plenty of homebrew and emulators. As long as you have one with the gamecube ports, you have all you need for a sweet retro-gaming console all the way up to Wii titles.

I may just be getting older, but my anxiousness for playing alot of newer titles is going down alot. I'll always be looking at the next Final Fantasy, but with games like Fortnite, I just have no interest in. It's games like that, that will likely change the majority of new-generation gamers. Instead of playing games for the story they tell, or as an escape (Which honestly, will always be a factor no matter the times I believe.), I see more and more younger people losing interest in stuff like this, and make it all about the multiplayer, competitiveness, which is fine I guess.

I just don't want to see the gaming environment shift to something turning it into a majority e-Sport. Those games have their place in the wider gaming world, but in no way should become the main experience. Give me a good single-player RPG any day.

Edit - Also, the digital trend while it is good to have it as an alternative, I'd much rather have a good hard physical copy anyday. Digital games are convieniant, however they're not really meant to be permanent. 20 years from now I don't see a digital copy being retrievable, and the question is would it even still be playable on a PS4 with its current restrictions. At the end of the PS4's online lifetime, they definitely need to open up those restrictions a bit, or else they may end up with alot more angry customers that can't access their digital collection. I still forsee this as a huge problem that current-gen game consoles will be facing later on.

I just don't believe that console developers have really thought this one through. They are setting their games up to be less and less permanent with the decisions they are making. Problems like this will eventually have to be addressed, or else suffer a massive blow to the overall gaming community. Don't get me wrong, I am always interested in seeing what the future is going to bring, but more oversight is needed before they go through with changing how to deliver their products.

At this point, the Switch does look pretty good. Nintendo has finally went through with shutting down the Wii's store, no longer being able to purchase points. Haven't been on it in the past few months but the last time I did, they had notices up about beginning the process.

As these older consoles are beginning to go through their online deaths, I do look for homebrew developers and firmware modders to address certain issues. Without them, these console development choices would have complete control over how and when our consoles will be rendered useless in the coming generations.

This could be applied to anything of course, it seems more and more like products are becoming more and more temporary, and less about standing the test of time. Again, I could just also be getting older as I'm starting to sound like people way older than me lol.

 

@Zazenora , if you like rpgs, you might want to try Octopath Traveler, Ys VIII, or Xenoblade Chronicles 2. two of those can only be played on the switch. I'm about 35 hours in in xenoblade chronicles 2, 25 or so in in octopath traveler, and I beat ys viii at 77 hours. there's a ps4 and psv release for that one.

yeah, I hate multiplayer only games as much as I hate reality, trash tv. I did buy splatoon 2 and mk 8 though. I've gotten up to the mirror cup in mk8 on the wii u. I still can't get three stars on 150+cc. I haven't tried it yet on the switch. and, I haven't played splaoon 2 yet either. I did buy splatoon 1 on the wii u though. I bought a lot of games for that console that I've never played. that's when I was working.

I think a lot of devs have moved on to the ps4, so there's noticeable slow down when it comes to future developments on the ps3. even though I own a ps4 and sorta understand what I'm doing (lol), I can't say I've looked much into modding beyond the app meta which I've done on the vita. I've decided that the ps4 scene will be my last, and I'm not even that involved with it. I've done minimal reading, just some tests here and there, so I'm far, far from an expert at any of that stuff. I did a lot of reading and testing with the ps3, but I never gamed. it made being a part of a scene not enjoyable. there's that and the fact that you get to see just how toxic a scene can be. I've seen this happening with the switch scene (stolen code; telling Nintendo about exploits as part of their hacking program). I neither want nor need that sort of drama.

I agree about digital only. I just read that bloodstained has been cancelled on the vita due to sony not allowing a physical release. I feel bad for those people who updated to 3.68 just for that game. yeah, once I remove my banned account from the ps4, I'll lose all digital purchases. there aren't many (only 9). I did create a dump of each of them though with a 0'd out keystone to retain my saves. I'm not sure if the saves will work if I resign them after a format of the hdd. I lost my dlc for star ocean 5. if you try to create a digital copy of a game that's been recorded to the home menu or vice-versa, the system will delete the copy that's already on there, so all dlc, updates, and the game are deleted. it's a pita when you can't access psn especially with updates which may or may not work and require the actual disc to dump.

 

Xenoblade Chronicles is a great Wii title. The second is definitely on my to-play list.
I'd say alot of people like myself, are really just waiting for the right time to go for console modding a current-gen game console. I've seen that it's better (Like right now on the PS3) to wait until later in a consoles lifetime before you decide to cross the line. As you said detection is getting better, which forces one to decide what route they want to take.
If developers continue to move to current and new-gen consoles, I think the focus should shift on finding ways to make the consoles less online-dependant.

As with the HAN exploit on the PS3, I was excited to see that the effort was put in place to provide users with an offline/local option for activating the exploit. I think hosting local servers to use certain mods/exploits may eventually break ground. Maybe a local emulated environment that would allow a PS4 to function as if it were legit connected to PSN.
I think this would be something worth investigating, and maybe already has been looked at.
With the core functions on consoles relying so much on servers to keep the console operational,
this may be something worth considering when creating new exploits on newer consoles.

Something like private servers that can be ran from a PC, and have a way to connect the PS4 to it like PKG Linker allows with the HAN exploit on PS3. I know it would be a tremendous amount of work to create an emulated PSN environment for the PS4 to be able to function properly without actually being on the legit PSN, but I think this would be something worth looking at especially if consoles keep following this trend.

 

yeah, ftping to the ps4 is a pita. I'm using 5GHz on my new laptop while I'm using 2.4GHz on the ps4. since I'm using a phat system, 2.4GHz is all that it can handle. come on, sony. my 10 year old laptop can do both! for some reason, I can't seem to make a connection on my new laptop if I change to 2.4GHz. my old laptop - it's using 5GHz, and changing it to 2.4GHz allows ftp to work. I tested a few things, and the problem is the proxy. the proxy works perfectly fine on the old laptop though, so I don't know if it's windows 10 that's causing the problem or what. what's really weird is that my ps4 has somehow recorded two wpa-2 keys, so I can seamlessly change between my router and my sandisk connect. it doesn't make any sense. in fact, my ps4 started downloading the latest update before I was even finished with the network settings and could enable the proxy. it failed thankfully due to the update blocker payload, but I have to go through that frustration every single time I ftp. ...so what I'd really like is a file manager that isn't ftp based. I just learned today that the ps4 hdd has 15 partitions after doing some reading on psdevwiki. that's how minimal the reading I've done.

it would be nice to go without psn. I can't really progress in any of my games atm. I'm not sure if you have an exploitable ps4 or not, but there doesn't appear to be an option to install pkgs over the network. it seems to be designed to install them from a root drive. what makes it really frustrating is that games come as app.pkg, one file, so modding any file, like I did with the 0'd out keystone, seems to be impossible without reinstalling the pkg.

I played a bit of xenoblade on the wii. I own it for the 3ds. it's one of the games for that system to require the new 3ds. I'm not sure how I feel about that one. I felt that you got too strong too quickly if you did all the side quests. it made the game seem easy. xenoblade chronicles 2 is brutal. you die constantly especially if you venture into the wrong areas or even stray from your path. there's a level 80 enemy in this giant field where your level is in single digits. octopath traveler - I'm at the second character's chapter 2, and the enemies have gotten brutal. I got nearly wiped out by a boss that hit me with a spell that took out over 1,000 to everyone. I ended up dying, but I defeated him after buying some equipment. I think the equipment in that game is priced too high. I mean 19,000 when you only get 750 from a battle? ys viii can be pretty brutal too. the last boss is hard af.

 

On the PS4, you have to stream everything, internet connection to properly use the console. I had purchased a few digital games, but was unable to play them when I had no internet connection after so long. This drew the line for me.

I don't know what are You talking about. None of the games on PS4 (on disc or digital) need internet connection to run... I'm playing single player games and after downloading patches, I remove the cable and everything works.

Maybe You have in mind something different like PlayStation Plus "free" titles which they will work only with subscription and maybe, they need also the internet. Maybe You have in mind microtransactions inside games or DLCs - but who cares about this junk? It is not obligatory and it's quality is almost always extremely low. Maybe You have in mind social junks like peoples activities etc. but still all those things have nothing to do with permanent internet connection needing to run games. I would never buy such console.

 

@Berion - It may have changed since then, it's been about 3 years or longer since I last had a PS4. I had a couple of the Plus games that got offered monthly, the ones I remember were Guacamelee and Metal Gear Solid V - Ground Zeroes. I also had the digital version of Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto V. I could play them just fine with internet access, and up to I think 24 hours after losing internet access.

When I would try to load them, it would say something about needing to connect to the internet to verify DRM. I can't remember the exact wording, but I assure you it wouldn't let me play them after so long without internet.
Now, disc-based games were probably not the case in most instances, but I never owned any discs during my time on the PS4, strictly digital titles. My Playstation Plus was still good for a few months after I let the console go back to rent-a-center, and I know that you can't play games obtained for free from Plus without the subscription, but simply not having internet access after a certain amount of time did in fact prevent me from playing any digital games I own.

That was the whole reason I let it go back, or else I'd have finished paying it off and kept it.

 

It seems I wasn't alone with this issue.
According to the PSN community, there is a periodic license check that must be performed, as well as not having the PS4 set as Primary may affect digital games.

 

maybe you're thinking about ps plus, but then again, you have to have signed in at least once in order to do certain things on the ps4 including export/import of saves. that isn't much of an issue since we can ftp on exploitable systems, but in my case, it's a pita for the reasons I mentioned.

I was a ps plus subscriber as well, and I'd download any games for the ps4 and the vita, not the ps3 though. it was mostly suckage especially on the ps3 which is why I never bothered with that system. I just wish Nintendo would do something like that, but with "good" games. I can't really continue on with the ps plus considering I have no space on the vita, my ps4 system is on 5.05, and my ps3 is banned. lol

 

Well, the Plus games that I obtained for free, I can understand to some extent. But games I purchased legit on PSN with cash such as Minecraft and GTAV wouldn't work either.
I didn't know to try some of the suggestions mentioned in the link on my last post, so that may have helped back then, but I'm almost positive my console was Primary, since it was the only PS4 I'd ever signed my account in to and had to convert my PSN account to a PS4 account when I first logged in.
I'm not too worried about it now, everythings already said and done lol. I could very well be complaining about something that could easily have been fixed, but the periodic license check still bothers me. Once it's verified it should always be verified UNLESS something changes.

I will probably go for a Switch before I get another PS4. There's alot more games that my girlfriend is into on that console. Everything I own on the PS3, she can't focus on it more than an afternoon or so. One game we both love though is Super Smash Bros. Still have yet to play the latest one.

I'm terribly behind the times with any current-gen games. What few I got to play on the PS4, is also on the PS3 lol, so it's not like I really made a big leap when I did own one.

 

there's a way to bypass that on the vita.

I hadn't played a new game for several years. I own ssmb on the wii u along with all dlc but the last pack. I never played the game though. I just bought, bought, bought, but never played any new games.

you can check your systems on sony's official website. it will show what's activated. I believe you can deactivate systems on there as well. what sucks is that the last time I checked you could only activate four systems at a time.

 

So You saying about PlayStation Plus and "free" games. PS+ is renting service so it is not to strange that they delete temporary licenses.

If You buy game, it's license stay until You delete game.