Hackers Get Pokémon Running On A PS4

Hackers Get Pokémon Running On A PS4

Ever wanted to play Pokémon on your PlayStation 4? You can’t. But at least you can watch someone else do it?

Using an exploit involving the PS4’s web browser, the fail0verflow hacking team figured out how to crack open Sony’s console and install a full version of Linux, which they demonstrated this week by using it to run a modified version of a Pokémon GBA ROM.

The bad news for aspiring PS4 hackers: 1) this is only doable in an older version of the PS4 firmware (specifically 1.76); 2) the folks behind fail0verflow haven’t made these tools public. They did, however, show off what they can do:

This is a remarkable achievement, as the PlayStation 4 is a closed system — although the console’s guts are similar to a personal computer, Sony doesn’t want you cracking it open and modifying the operating system at all. It’s not clear exactly how the fail0verflow group managed to install Linux on the machine, but this could open up all sorts of doors for homebrew software in the future, especially if they figure out how to get this thing running on PS4s with updated firmware.


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