It was recently announced that it is now possible to hack the PS3 via a USB exploit that will allow you to play "homebrew" games and backup your existing games to the hard drive so that they can be played without using the physical game disc. With this being a bit of a hot topic, I thought now would be a good time to discuss the ethics around console hacking.
The PS3 is not alone. Despite the fact that many game developers have turned from PCs to consoles to minimize piracy of their games, most consoles can be hacked to play pirated games. There are devices like the R4 for the Nintendo DS, both the PS2 and the original Xbox had "mod chips" that could be purchased to hack the console, there was an exploit with Zelda Twilight Princess on the Wii, and there was just recently a hack found for the Xbox 360 slim. I'm not trying to tell you how you can hack your console, I'm just trying to establish that persistent individuals will always find a way to do what they want with their hardware.
I've established that it's possible to hack consoles, so the next question would be whether or not you should. Ethically, it comes down to why you want to hack the console and what you intend to do with your newfound freedom. I would argue that if all you plan on doing is to play non-licensed and non-pirated games as well as create backups of games you payed for (and you don't sell the games after backing them up), that ethically you are in the clear.
The legality is a bit more murky. With laws like the DMCA that establish that the act of breaking encryption is illegal, it's very possible that just hacking your console is technically illegal. However, the legal precedent of fair use is often pointed to as it has been established that making a copy of a VHS movie for personal backup purposes was not illegal. Unfortunately, this precedent has not been tested in court with media that requires breaking encryption to make the backup (like with DVDs and video games).
Unfortunately, our legal system does not follow the rules of ethics. For example, let's say you have an Xbox and one of your games gets scratched by the console (something that has been known to happen). In order to get around this problem, you borrow your friend's copy of the game, install the game to your hard drive, and then continue to use your scratched disc in the console to verify you have the game. So far, I don't think we've broken any laws, and we are still ethically sound. However, what if we take it a step further and hack the console so that the disc isn't required. Now, have we broken the law? I don't think we broke any copy protection, and we paid for the game so we're ethically clear. The game disc is unusable, and unsellable. I'm not a lawyer so I can't speak on whether this is actually legal or not, but I don't see why this act should be illegal.
I don't feel that the act of hacking a console should be illegal. Playing a game that wasn't paid for that was downloaded over the internet is the illegal action. The fact that you own a hacked console doesn't make you a criminal any more than owning a gun. Sure, you can use a hacked console to play pirated games, but you can kill a person with a gun. We don't throw people in jail for owning guns, just as we shouldn't penalize a person for owning a hacked console.
Yet another gray area that I've already mentioned, that is ethically sound but technically illegal, is backing up your own games. I have a Nintendo DS and enjoy the games very much. I own at least 15 games for the device and when I travel, carrying all these cartridges is a pain the butt.
There are devices I could purchase that would allow me to store the files for these games on a single cartridge, however the act of doing this is illegal. In fact, all the sites I've seen that sell these devices are based out of China. These cartridges also allow a user to play homebrew games. Once again, I argue that if the only use you have for this device is to play homebrew games and backup copies of games you already own, this activity should be legal. If the industry wants to penalize pirates they are free to, but they shouldn't also attempt to penalize people who have the tools to pirate but haven't fallen to the temptation.
My stance in summary is that I have no issue with hacking consoles and feel that this act should not be illegal. I do agree that people should not pirate games, after all I want the developers to be paid so that I can continue to enjoy games like Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, and Starcraft II. However, I don't feel that having the tools makes a person a pirate until they actually perform the act.
