The method exploits an error in the PlayStation TV’s e-mail app that allows users to write files to the system memory by including them as fake images in a message. Players can unlock the ability by using this method and a specially built “whitelist” file, to play many (but not all) previously incompatible Vita games and apps on their PlayStation TV, including Netflix. All you need to do is only send PlayStation TV a message from your email app with the writer.eml file attached (a download link can be found on the source’s website) and rename it as #0 without an extension. The message’s subject should be the path you want the file to go to. Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Gravity Rush that are specific PlayStation Vita games that could not be played on the PlayStation TV earlier will apparently work now as well. This is not the first time the PlayStation Vita has been hacked. Users in the past too have exploited security loopholes in certain PlayStation Portable (PSP) digital games that are playable on the PS Vita, which made Sony pull these games from the PlayStation Network (PSN) until they were fixed. Using a DualShock controller, the users of the PlayStation TV can simulate the touchscreen and rear touchpad. Therefore, occasional touch-based mini-games shouldn’t be a big concern. When a number of Vita titles are run on the PlayStation TV through the hack, they seem to crash immediately. So, maybe other “blacklisted” titles in the past too will eventually glitch or crash when running on the more limited PlayStation TV hardware.
Whatever be the case, thanks to the efforts of the hacking community, it is good to see that PlayStation TV owners now have more control over their own hardware and a bigger library of potential games to play.
