Emulator Card Enables Gamesharing on PlayStation Vita
Team Cobra comes with the Cobra Black Fin Emulator card for the PlayStation Vita. This makes it possible to play game isos stored on micro-SD cards on both the Vita and the Vita Slim. The card will probably be released at the end of December.
Team Cobra was already known for its optical drive emulator for the PlayStation 3, but has now also managed to make an emulator for the PlayStation Vita. This has been announced on the website for the Cobra Black Fin Emulator card.
Different about the new map is the way the games are emulated on the Vita. Team Cobra says that the Vita has a very secure authentication method, which has not yet been broken. As a result, the entire method of the Cobra Black Fin cannot take place locally. Instead, the card will connect to the Black Fin servers via 3g or wifi. On these servers, the iso of the micro-sd is linked to the original game, which is connected to a PC elsewhere via a Cobra Black Fin Reader. In combination with a dongle, the original games are then available for authentication from the servers.
Herein lies a problem of the chosen emulation method, namely a dependency on the users. When the games are done in the Reader, they will be made available to all users of the Cobra Black Fin Emulator card. However, if no one makes their games available, the emulator loses its value. So it is most effective for a user to both make games available and use them. The more games available, the more interest there will be in the Cobra Black Fin Emulator sets, which in turn offers opportunities to make even more games playable.
It is unclear how legal this solution is. On the one hand, games are distributed for free in this way, but on the other hand, using a legal copy for authentication is a kind of extensive game lending in a community. In practice, the set can also be used to play all self-purchased games from one card instead of having to switch all cards.
The set that Team Cobra will sell will consist of one Cobra Black Fin Emulator card for the PlayStation Vita, one Cobra Black Fin Reader for the PC with cable and one Black Fin USB dongle. The price for the set has not yet been announced.