Has CFW, Homebrew and Other Hacks Made You Buy A System You Were Never Interested In?

As you read about on the internet, people will say "I hope the system gets hacked, I'll buy it then!" this does seems rather true. Systems sales increase (for obvious reasons) with introductions of CFWs, or hacks, but personally has it really made you interested in a system you never really cared about beforehand?

A short story about how CFW made me want a PSP.
Back in the day when the PSP was first introduced with Custom Firmware, I started to search around for one. My friend bricked his PSP (I was in school at the time, how times fly!) another friend had a pandora battery and was telling me about all the hacks that were around. This made me want a PSP rather badly. Same story with the XBOX as well, homebrew was interesting for that system and it's what made me collect for it today.

Share your stories.

 

I would say I'm a Wii fanboy because of its hackability. I didn't really care for a PS3 for so long because I was enjoying my Wii so much that it was only this year I got to play the Batman games, Sleeping Dogs, etc.

The PSP? I don't really like the homebrew too much though I respect the community. I have trouble playing Turbo Grafx and SNES games because of the constant need to tweak the settings. I do feel that if I have to do too much work with the software, it's not that worth it.

 

I got an Xbox almost exclusively for Halo. Once I saw the modding capabilities, I fell in love with it.

 

The only reason i ever purchased an Xbox Classic was because of XBMC, it was the cheapest and by far the best way to play Divx / Xvid on a TV back then. I ended up getting in to Halo 2 on Xlink Kai, it was great having mates over and been able to have mini lan party's with 4 people playing on the internet with a single Xbox.

I only purchased the Xbox 360 thinking it would be hacked within the first year and i would have an XBMC HD device (how wrong i was) however i ended up loving what Microsoft did with the 360 and ended up switching from been a PC gamer to a console gamer. I loved the whole achievements idea, arcade games, universal friends list, cross game chat, everything "just worked" with the 360 and it was the first time i had ever been able to play on-line with with less tech savy friends.

 

I got an xbox 360 because it got hacked or else I would never get one.

 

Xbox original.

XBMC hacks are really cool, and after watching a DVD on a friend's hacked Xbox, I had to get my own. The upscaling that the Xbox does (default -> 1080i), in combination with the TV (1080i -> 1080p) makes my old DVDs look like blu-rays.

 

I know a lot of people that have bought Original XBOXes and PSPs because of hacks and CF. As for me personally, I usually buy a console because I want it for a particular game(s) and then tinker with them once they're discontinued to get more use out of them.

 

The only reason I bought a Wii was so I could hack it, remove the DVD drive, and fit it into a portable case. With the Xbox 360 I originally purchased one in 2007 because I had just begun my gaming phase. A while later, I had learned of the first exploit of the console, the King King Shader Hack, which allowed the running of unsigned code. Because I was then (as I am now) looking towards a future career in game development or something in the field of computer programming, I had wanted to start off making some code on the Xbox. I had looked into a true development kit, which I learned would require a licenced Dev studio as well as a massive payment to Microsoft in order to get one legally, and those that were on sale in the modding scene were just popping up, some for over $8,000! The King Kong exploit wasn't necessarily a practical hack, but rather, a gateway into a generation of creative exploits that shape the modern console's modding scene with the JTAG hack. With its popularity rising, the price of a JTAG console was rather expensive for me, so I, being a tech-savvy person, decided to start making my own hacked consoles, which began a few years of business on forums and Craigslist which made me quite a sum of money. Not only did hacking consoles cause profit, but the console's infamous Red Ring of Death raked in even more. I had purchased the equipment needed to professionally repair the consoles, including a rework station. With the console's massive failure rate (especially with first and second generation consoles) there was plenty of demand. Sadly with the new generation of consoles, demand has plummeted. Hacked consoles still go for a decent chunk of change, and the few Devkits I have left will probably catch me pretty penny later down the line when I finally sell them, but retail consoles simply do not sell. I do not plan on purchasing an Xbox One, both due to its massive price-tag, and its tight-security.

 

yes PSP, yes wii but i already wanted one anyway.

was initially interested in the ps3 for its otheros but quickly lost interest n never bought one.

 

My Wii wouldn't get as much use as it does if not for HBC. I didn't originally buy it for that though, I wanted NSMB Wii badly at the time. (I have a limited edition red Mario 25th anniversary model)

I later bought a Dreamcast not knowing it could run/boot any disc. I got DreamSNES just because I wanted to see what homebrew nullDC could run. Then I thought, why not stick it in the DC just for laughs. Turns out it booted the disc, then I thought wow so this is why is has so much homebrew support, the other being because it's a Windows OS and portability is easier.

Later I got my PS2 FMCB'ed using the AR MAX/packed_fceu.elf method. Then a few months later bought an R4i Gold for my DS.

Actually, most of my consoles would barely be used unless they were homebrew-capable.

I have a 360 that's never been modded and it sits in the living room where my dad can play it. It's a 2008 model and never had an RROD. It would get more use out of me if I ever decided to get it RGH'ed. Homebrew exploits make consoles more like a PC as in how free they are to run whatever code you throw at 'em.

 

Wii. I had zero interest in it. When I got mine in the summer of 2010, the first thing I did was softmod it. Needless to say, when I got the Wii U, the first thing I did was throw whatever Wii custom stuff they got working on the U right on it.

 

There are definitely some consoles where it's been a factor. I did buy an import PSP on launch, but have since bought them purely because they can run CFW and I could play PS1 games and SNES ROMs on them.

When I was unemployed I sold my PS3 and bought an Xbox 360 with the intention of JTAGing it, knowing I could sell off my PS3 games, not have to buy replacements and pocket the money.

And the Wii. I would never have considered it if it couldn't be modded.

I am now waiting on the Vita and Wii U to be hacked before I would entertain buying them. I don't have any current gen stuff at the moment, but I may obviously be swayed depending on whether they can be hacked.

 

i never wanted a wii but then seeing how easy it was to soft mod and wii where so cheap i decided to get one and now its is one of the only consoles i really love

 

Honestly at this point, there is little value in a hacked console for me. Cheap media and emulation devices are available, so no need to use a dedicated gaming device that has to be hacked. For the Xbox-era, there was less options really.

 

Sega, original Xbox, and some Nintendo stuff.

Sega because I grew up with a Genesis. Have several modified consoles and an Everdrive MD.

Original Xbox because I always wanted one as a kid then found out about all the mods it has. Then I got in to it HEAVILY. Spent way too much on it...

Nintendo because I don't really know. Mainly messed with DS and onward stuff. I don't anymore after getting upset with my 3DS.

 

Most of the time buy a console foe the games they have, I bought a Wii before they release the softmod, I bought the psp for a few games when the console drop to 50 bucks then put the cfw. I got an xbox 360 it was hacked and I return the drive to the stock firmware, that one dies and got an elite in his normal state not hack. The Wii is softmoded right now for the emulators and the ability to run games from the hdd that one is great. Also got a not working original xbox install a chip and replace the hdd and install the custom dashboards with the xbmc. So most of the time I just boy a console for games then if it good I do a hack or mod to make it better.

 

Nope.
When I buy a console, it's to play professionally produced titles for that platform only.

I have very limited time to play games. Last thing I need is to play some amateur crap

 

One thing I've always wondered in that HACK vs Buy dilemma is that sometimes companies loose money with their consoles.
And I hope you guys don't mind me tacking a little detour on this thread subject.

They release a much powerful system for much less than the actual manufactured cost while they aim at getting their money from game sales.


The question is: would you hurt the company if you buy just the console and don't buy any game at all?


I'm taking past gen and current gen consoles only into consideration here.

While the PS4 can be used with Netflix, Amazon video and a few more services, the Xbox One won't even let you use YouTube if you're not a Xbox Live Gold member.
Actually the Xbox One is pretty useless without XBLA Gold or games while the PS3 and PS4 are functional as media players, at least for some kind of content.

I'm playing the devil's advocate here since I do believe hacking improves consoles sales, specially on poor countries but I sometimes get myself thinking if this rationalization of the dilemma isn't just a fallacy.

 

This is why I've always preferred the PS3 to the 360 regarding video playback. I actually had a Live Gold membership for a while, and I was using it for a while, but then I got bored of online gaming and I wasn't using it anymore. So I cancelled it. Then I realized that you have to have a Gold membership to watch Netflix. That's absolutely idiotic, I think. They're making you pay twice for a service you're already paying for. The PS3, on the other hand, lets you use any of their video services for free. This is one of the main reasons why, if I decide to get a next-gen console, it'll probably be a PS4. I actually ended up using the PS3 as a media player more than I used either console for gaming. They are gaming machines after all, but they can serve other functions too - if the companies behind them don't fuck things up.

 

And this is why I stick to retro. Online gaming doesn't interest me so Having live accounts doesn't matter. I also like to wait for the console prices to come down. Hense Why I stick with the original Xbox. Fairly easy to mod, no more Live, and it falls within my rules for being retro.