Ever since Sony removed OtherOS from systems which were previously capable of running it, hacking attempts to restore the original functionality have increased dramatically. Last week the good folks over at StreetskaterFU were able to run a custom script loaded from a USB drive.

Although the script is confined to a restricted area of the PS3, many are excited just to get a foot in the door in order to poke around and learn more. This is but a small step in the progress needed, but Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.

This article is the beginning of our commitment to keep you informed on any significant progress to restore OtherOS functionality to the PS3. When a comprehensive solution becomes available, we will publish a complete tutorial on how it’s done.

It’s ironic that by removing OtherOS under the false pretenses of preventing piracy, Sony has sent hordes of legitimate linux hackers into the realm of PS3 security – something they had no interest in doing before. Seems clear to me this line of interest will lead to a fully compromised PS3 – the exact thing Sony wishes to prevent. Sony should restore OtherOS functionality ASAP and put and end to this nonsense before Pandora’s Box is opened for good.

Ever since the PS3 slim announcement last week.. I’ve been fascinated by Sony’s decision to remove 3rd party OS support from the system. On one hand it makes sense since it doesn’t promote game sales but then again why include it in the first place? I’m guessing is has to do with the Hypervisor, but what could it be? A little sleuthing around revealed the following nuggets (see bottom links for sources):

I’m sorry that you are frustrated by the lack of comment specifically regarding the withdrawal of support for OtherOS on the new PS3 slim.

The reasons are simple: The PS3 Slim is a major cost reduction involving many changes to hardware components in the PS3 design. In order to offer the OtherOS install, SCE would need to continue to maintain the OtherOS hypervisor drivers for any significant hardware changes – this costs SCE. One of our key objectives with the new model is to pass on cost savings to the consumer with a lower retail price. Unfortunately in this case the cost of OtherOS install did not fit with the wider objective to offer a lower cost PS3.

This makes perfect sense for Sony. Most people are aware by now that linux support on the PS3 was not so much a way for end users to run alternative applications, but for programmers wanting to experiment with the radical design of the Cell Broadband Processor. Anyone following Sony’s history with Linux knows they have internal personalities fighting for control with their on-again, off-again support. Perhaps Sony can collaborate with open-source developers to do the work?

Many view this news as evidence that support for OtherOS on ‘phat’ PS3s will be dropped when a new software update is installed. However, another Sony representative had this to say to quell everyone’s concerns:

Please be assured that SCE is committed to continue
the support for previously sold models that have the
“Install Other OS” feature and that this feature will
not be disabled in future firmware releases.

-Geoff

So there you have it. 3rd party OS support will continue for ‘phat’ PS3s, but Slims are left in the hands of the hackers.

Some observed the amount of static RAM has steadily declined with each iteration of PS3 hardware; Beginning with 256MB for the original 60GB model and now only 64MB in the slim. Could this contribute to the limited OS support? I’ll wait for ArsTechnica.com’s excellent analysis since they always have the skinny on hardware.

I’m still holding high hopes that Backwards Compatibility will be announced for a future update on all PS3 Slim models. Keeping my fingers crossed since the PS3 is by far the best PS2 ever made. It’s one of the things the PS3 does best with its graphical smoothing, 1080 scaling and memory card management. In fact, the most excited I ever was owning a PS3 was when a rumor circulated that you could install PS2 games to the hard drive. What can I say, I love them classic PS2 games!

The good news for wannabe Cell Broadband Engine programmers; All the PS3s after the 60GB model but before the Slim ought to be had at bargain prices. The next few months is the opportune time to snag these up as development machines.

Sony Rep 1, Sony Rep 2

The NeoGAF forums are buzzing with sightings of PS3 price drops and deep discounts on PS3 games. It’s seemingly bargains galore in the UK, Belgium & Netherlands.

The picture above shows the PS3 + bluray movie 300 + extra bluray remote for 299£.

With no official word from Sony, we can only speculate on what all this means.. so here are some more first hand accounts from the forums:

Amazon in the UK lists new PS3s bundled with Little Big Planet for £279.99.

Game.co.uk bundles the PS3 with Little Big Planet + Motorstorm 2 + Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty for £298.49.

Media Markt in Poland has the PS3 + Motorstorm 2 or PS3 + Resistance 2 for 1299pln (316euro).

399€ packs include a PS3 + 2 DS3 controllers + bluray remote + bluray movie + Little Big Planet + MotorStorm 2 + Resistance 2 at Game Plaza in Belgium and Bart Smit stores in the Netherlands and Belgium

Gamestop in Italy has the PS3 + Little Big Planet for 299€ when trading in your old PS2 + memory card & 5 PS2 games.

Here are the game deals at Amazon.co.uk:

€17 LittleBigPlanet
€20 Far Cry 2
€20 Tomb Raider Underworld
€20 Midnight Club Los Angeles
€25 MotorStorm Pacific Rift
€25 BioShock
€25 Mirror’s Edge
€25 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

And at ShopTo.net:

€15 The Orange Box
€18 Tom Clancy’s EndWar
€20 Resistance 2
€20 MotorStorm Pacific Rift
€20 LittleBigPlanet
€20 FIFA 09
€23 WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009
€25 Fallout 3
€25 Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe

For those in the US curious about the conversion rate in US dollars, 15 euros is roughly equivalent to $21. Original rumor published on N4G.

Sony announced plans to expand their beta program for the much anticipated PSN property: Home. To become eligible, you must log into the PSN network and download the latest Theme: Home Beta Test. Once downloaded go to your Theme Settings and enable it. That’s all you need to do to submit your account for inclusion in the next round of Home Beta Testing. Read more details from Sony’s Blog.

This year’s E3 was a far cry from a few years ago when hordes of gamers wrapped around the L.A. Colosseum waiting for their chance to swing the new Wii remote for the first time. While not as much flash as we had hoped, and I can’t hide my disappointment of no new DS, the second half of 2008 is slowly gathering into quite the Winter storm. Check out some of the highlights:

Nintendo:

Good thing I didn’t bet on a refreshed DS since it would have been a real loser. They did however announce a few new games and revealed some more details on the MotionPlus accessory:

MotionPlus: Designed to detect not only the acceleration of the controller but also its exact position in space in realtime. It comes bundled with the new “Wii Sports: Resort” game.

Wii Sports: Resort: Essentially Wii Sports 2 for the MotionPlus accessory. Comes with a sword fighting game which looks utterly fantastic, Frisbee throwing (use your wrist strap please!), and jet skis among others to make around 10 new mini-games. Iwata, Nintendo’s CEO, was overheard commenting on the features of the new MotionPlus saying it prints money just like all their other Wii accessories.

Star Wars Clone Wars: The game we always wanted on the wii. They should keep working on the controls and take some hints from Wii Sports: Resort.

Girl Gamers: according to Nintendo 48% of new DS sales are designated for female hands. Ubisoft also emphasized their girl-gamer focus and 2K Sports announced they are rolling out a girl sports brand. You can already see the heavy influence of the opposite sex on the DS library. Could 2009 be the year of the girl gamer?

Wii Music: Rhythm/music type game for the Wii. My hope is for these music games to become more realistic to the point where real instruments, like the drums today, are used so real musicians are created. This is not the direction Wii Music is going.

GTA: Chinatown Wars: Probably the biggest announcement for the DS this conference. Scheduled for release this holiday season, this has a good chance to break all sales records on the DS.

Sim Animals: Cute animal sandbox game. DS and Wii.

Sony

God of War 3: Brief trailer. It’s coming!

Home: Sony says it’s mostly ready sans all the content that still needs to be created. Hopefully this will encourage more cooperative online play, especially for Warhawk.

Little Big Planet: Coming this October.

Flower: New PSN game. Looks like a really nice flow-type game.

Gran Turismo TV: Top Gear episodes, real racing content. Looks good.

New PS3 SKU: Sony announced a new 80GB PS3 which replaces the existing 40GB model. The new 80GB PS3 does not play PS2 games (no backwards compatibility) but the price remains the same $399 price.

MAG: Short for Massive Action Game this new title by Sony/Zipper Interactive puts up to 256 players online in the same game for all your fragging pleasure.

Microsoft

Microsoft stole the show this year with so many announcements they had to cut some major news items from their presentation just to squeeze it down to under 100 minutes.

Dashboard Update: Avatars for everyone. Play games from your hard drive.

Primetime: Participate in live quiz shows and other online games. This looks really exciting.. can’t wait to see what they do in this space.

Xbox Live Community: Coming this Fall. This has been available for developers but it’s about to be released to the Live Community. Very exciting news for independent developers.

Price Cut: $299 price cut for 20gb 360.

FF XIII: Coming to 360! While this generation has seen multi-platform become the rule rather than the exception, it’s still somehow shocking to see one of Sony’s sacred cows moving to the dark side.

Netflix: Watch and share your play-now Netflix movies for existing Netflix and Live Gold customers. Looks like it’s limited to movies already in your queue but still a nice feature for existing customers.

Fallout 3: I’m sure this is a good game but after watching the demo it looks like they’ve created the ultimate dumbed-down FPS where you pause the game, highlight the player you want to shoot, then unpause to watch the kill animation.

New Geometry Wars: Coming next month!

GTA IV: Downloadable content coming later this year.

Lips: Karaoke type game but where you can use your own music via. connected iPod.

EA

Sim Animals: Cute animal sandbox game.

Spore: Release this September.

Ubisoft

Prince of Persia: Nice looking action game with visuals reminiscent of ICO. They put fourth an interesting concept that dying is no longer needed in games in order to give gamers a sense of accomplishment or as Ben, the speaker puts it “make them feel bad for dying.” It will be interesting to see if the sense of accomplishment is zapped out of Prince of Persia when it’s released this winter.