So far hackers have only been able to swap its CPU with that of a PSP Slim, but haven't been able to exploit the hardware in the same way as previous models.
Dark Alex, one of the most popular PSP sites for the hacking and homebrew community, has been unable to find a work around to hack the hand-held and the community as a whole appear to be stumped as to whether it will even be possible.
If it can't be hacked then Sony will have finally won its long battle against piracy and the homebrew community. Throughout the life cycle of the PSP, Sony has tried to thwart hackers by releasing firmware updates to improve security, but every time it's still managed to be hacked.
Fanjita, a member of the hacker group "N00bz!", stated,
"Everyone has the right to do what they want with their own hardware. Piracy does upset me, and because what we are doing opens the way to piracy it's harder to justify it morally. But our stance on piracy is clear, and we hope to be role models. Sony have never been in touch with me, so I am confident that what we are doing is legal."
However. some people believe that by stopping hackers from exploiting the hardware, Sony is actually doing itself no favours.
Phillip Torrone from Make Magazine recently stated:
"I think the really smart companies should release their products to the alpha geeks for six months and let the alpha geeks play around with them. It seems to me they'd save a lot of money on R&D, and they'd come out with much more solid products."
The PSP 3000 is obviously going to be tough nut to crack, but there lies the challenge - something that the hacking community will relish.
