14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation 3 hackers that have recently been the target of Sony's legal efforts have replied to the accusations of the Japanese company, saying that they only tampered with the home console in order to get the Other OS function back.
Sony, after seeing its PlayStation 3 console being opened up to the likes of homebrew and piracy, has decided to take action against the hackers, confiscating their equipment and accusing them of circumventing the protection measures set in place by the company against piracy.
Now, the hackers in question, the fail0verflow team, which found the decryption master key, and George "GeoHot" Hotz, who produced the first custom firmware that allowed homebrew applications, have defended their actions.
According to fail0verflow, the only reason for their actions is the fact that they wanted the Other OS function brought back, after Sony deleted the feature through a firmware update many months ago.
"Our motivation was Sony's removal of Other OS. Our exclusive goal was, is, and always has been to get Other OS back."
The group added that it had never "condoned, supported, approved of, or encouraged videogame [sic] piracy."
GeoHot also shared his views on Sony's behavior, saying that, "I am a firm believer in digital rights. I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony's current action."
He added, "I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony's action against me doesn't have any basis."
While some may classify this as the hackers trying to defend their behavior, you shouldn't forget that the efforts of both fail0verflow and GeoHot were aimed at the homebrew scene, and games piracy wasn't yet enabled by their tools.
Sony will continue to protect its console, though, so this isn't the end of its anti-piracy crusade.