The underground PSP hacking scene has finally surfaced in the mainstream media, with Fanjita (and the Noobz team), Dark_AleX, and Team C & D getting some overdue exposure on the BBC News website.

The article covers some of the efforts of the above in terms of getting the PSP homebrew capable, regardless of the efforts by Sony to stop (via firmware updates) their attempts.

While its not particularly in depth, and in places slightly out of date, it does highlight the work done by the PSP hackers.

Sony are quoted as saying

“The problem experienced here is not with homebrew applications, but with hackers who pirate commercial titles,” a Sony spokesperson said.

“Piracy is illegal and we strongly oppose any acts which either aide or profit from it.”

which is the first time I’ve Sony openly acknowledge the homebrew scene in the mainstream press. Its good to see that they acknowledge the problem is with piracy, and not with homebrew itself, but the second line stating that “they strongly oppose any acts which aide it” (my interpretation).

This implies, in my mind, that a case could be made against any of the PSP hackers who enable the playing of pirated PSP games, such as the custom firmware versions by Dark_AleX which allow you to play iso versions of PSP games, or even Fanjita and the Noobz team for enabling the PSP to be downgraded easily.

Whether Sony would ever pursue a prosecution of any of these people is unclear, but as David Court (aka Fanjita) states :

Sony have never been in touch with me, so I am confident that what we are doing is legal

Overall, nice to see that the PSP scene is getting some attention from the press.