While the mainstream consumer may not use extended console functionality, you are selling short its value, claiming that you are better off doing the same things on a PC. I disagree wholeheartedly. Even if extended functionality is removed and fought against on the grounds of it making piracy easier, that hardly renders the thing itself immoral.

Perhaps the fact that I am a former Linux server administrator has something to do with it, but the bottom line is that I am a power user who wants to be able to have full control over my technology. These lockdowns shut out my legitimate uses for extended functionality.

You say "you don't need it," but who are you to decide that, and how is it even relevant? Nobody needs a PS3, but here we have them anyway.

See, if I pay for hardware, I should be able to do what I want with it. If someone engages in piracy, then go after the pirates. To give it a historical comparison, doing what console manufacturers have done is like outlawing the selling of ships to noncommercial parties because pirates would use them to the detriment of businessmen, but this comes at the cost of making ship ownership inaccessible to law-abiding private citizens.

The pirates are the issue. It's aggravating that console manufacturers can make it exceedingly hard for legitimate users to gain fuller hardware functionality without turning to shadier means because they throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Good piece.

Here's the thing: I feel quite strongly that if I've bought something, I can do what I want with it. Sony/MS/Apple etc can in many cases legitimately claim I've invalidated the warranty, they can withhold updates, or stop my multiplayer access if I'm cheating on a games -- but they shouldn't have any legal right to stop me turning a slick PS3 into something that resembles a poorly-performing 486 PC, if that's my choice.

Now, I'm not denying the link with piracy, but modding something doesn't mean the owner *will* pirate games. For those caught playing pirated games, by all means go and slap them round the head with a big book of copyright regulations. But don't forget the people denied the opportunity to do what they want with their own property on the grounds of presumed naughtiness. 

Modding is a wonderful, warm and fuzzy kind of innovation -- even if a lot of it is pointless. But even so, I'm sure loads of new technologies have come about as a result of people learning by modding existing tech. For example, isn't there some story about how Steve Jobs started out by supergluing an old-school calculator watch to a speak-and-spell?*

Ben

* This is what happens when I don't Google my facts.

You both make good points, but I'm still of the opinion that a large majority of people who want to mod their console want to do it to pirate games, and not to do all of these other amazing things that I agree are possible to do. 

The problem is that going after individual pirates is an incredibly inefficient way to do things. The amount of money a company like Sony would have to spend going after a single software pirate would simply not be worth it. It's thus much more cost effective for them to go for the source. Yes legitimate users get caught in the crossfire but it's a small price to pay when piracy can essentially kill a console - just look at the PSP for proof of this.

The irony here is that back in the 80s, movie studios sued Sony over the VCR because of possible copyright infringement by users. Luckily for us consumers (and Sony), U.S. courts agreed that the device is legal if it has other uses besides infringement.

I have two minds on this. On the one hand, I believe companies like Sony deserve to make every dime they could and people who prevent them from doing that are only hurting the industry. On the other hand, we bought this product with our hard earned money and no one should be allowed to tell us what we can and can not do with OUR product.

I can see both sides here. And it is hard to tell who is right and who isn't. Also, a lot of games on the PS3, especially the good ones, can't be found on the PC so using the argument that the PC is better anyway is sort of dead.

Its true, most people don't read the TOS included in the documentation of "their" new game console..

Just because you paid for it, doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with it. By using it, you have agreed to the terms and limitations of the document. And going against it, then complaining about actions taken against your decision, leaves you looking like the tool.

Point in case, modding is for piracy, any other way and its just a silly attempt to justify your criminal act. Want to develop? Get a degree, buy a dev kit, or get a job in the industry. Just because you can dump a game to your hard drive, doesn't make you a "homebrew developer" you're still a pirate. And you stink.