PS Vita Update 3.18 May be Designed to Stop Homebrew Exploits

The PlayStation Vita has been updated with yet another seemingly useless update that claims to improve system stability during the use of some features. As for what features exactly, the patch fails to specify. The update brings the system up to version 3.18. 

Reddit users speculate (via CVG) that the reason for the update was to curb the use of “homebrew” software, which could run on previous versions of the handheld platform through an exploit in the system. Homebrewers could use a PlayStation Portable (PSP) emulator to run copies of pirated PSP games on the platform, thereby circumventing the use of the PlayStation Store. 

The sales of games on the previous-gen PSP were heavily impacted due to exploits in the system that allowed users to install and play pirated games on the device. It goes without saying that the exploit was bad for Sony’s business, and having a repeat of that would certainly doom the device, which hopes to compete with the Nintendo 3DS/2DS.

Regardless, sales of the Vita have been less than encouraging outside of Japan. 

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House said in July: "I certainly think you'll still see Vita as a triple-A machine in Japan where it has a different function with the console dynamic of the marketplace. That for me is a given.

"It's hard to say in terms of the other markets. I think remote play is still in its nascent stages, I think we need to have better understanding. We know a lot of players are embracing it and using it and seem to like the experience a lot, but necessarily that changes the dynamic."