Thousands of Nigerian gamers turn to jailbroken PlayStations, costing Sony billions in lost revenue while consoles stay offline.
In December 1994, the gaming world witnessed a significant change. That was when Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. began marketing “PlayStation”, its gaming console. The console launched in Japan, but in 1995, sales began in other regions.
According to Sony, the PlayStation is now sold in over 120 countries worldwide. As technology continues to evolve, the console connects people from different parts of the world, both young and old.
However, while Sony continues to record strong sales, users around the world have found ways to jailbreak these consoles to enjoy a variety of games that would have otherwise been purchased online or on official CDs.
Jailbreaking a PlayStation console means that the console’s software and firmware are illegally modified, and the user can install as many games as possible for free. However, such a user will be unable to use the console to go online to install new games, update the software or play with other online users.
For Joseph Igboanua, a student at the University of Abuja and an ardent gamer, purchasing a jailbroken PlayStation console was far cheaper than a brand-new one. Mr Igboanua also claims that his console performs better.
He discovered he could buy a jailbroken PlayStation console from a friend and install multiple games for free or at a lower price than the official fee, without the hassle of buying them.
“Back then, people already knew. Someone told me there were cracked PlayStation consoles with about 16 games already installed. You just buy it and start playing. No need to buy games separately,” he said.
This is the case for many Nigerian gamers. Although this is not common only in Nigeria, but also globally, several factors would affect why Nigerians prefer to hack their consoles or purchase a hacked one.
In PREMIUM TIMES’ interviews with many Nigerian gamers, one question kept popping up. Did Sony consider the Nigerian market?
“I don’t feel any remorse. There’s no reason to. The consoles and games are too expensive.” Favour Chiemere, another student who also enjoys his cracked console, said. This is largely because these consoles and their games are expensive for Nigerians, he said.
On the official PlayStation website, a PlayStation 5 Pro Console with 2 terabytes of storage costs approximately N1,000,000. For a 1-terabyte console, it would cost about $549, or approximately N743,000. This does not factor in shipping costs to Nigeria.
On the streets of Lagos, the PlayStation 5 Pro is sold for about N1,300,000. A PlayStation Slim costs N920,000, while a PlayStation Fat costs N820,000 (which basically means one console is slimmer than the other). These consoles come with one gaming pad and no games, so you must purchase one.
FIFA 25 & 26, two of the most popular games played in Nigeria, are sold for N70,000 and N80,000, respectively. Another two, Mortal Kombat and Call of Duty Black Ops, are sold for N40,000 and N120,000, respectively.
When you consider Nigeria’s minimum wage at N70,000, and the exchange rate, purchasing a brand-new PlayStation or its games remains a luxury for many.
There are several reasons why Mr Igboanua, Mr Chiemere and several others would rather stick to a jailbroken PlayStation. For them, the only advantage to owning an original console that hasn’t been cracked is the ability to go online, which then allows them to compete against other online users.
Mr Chiemere explained that once a cracked console comes online, it may stop functioning. “Yes. Most cracked consoles can’t connect to the internet. Once you connect them, they can stop working,” Mr Chiemere said.
On the other hand, games can be installed from one cracked console to another, just as with file sharing. “Yes, you can transfer games from a cracked PlayStation to another cracked PlayStation for free,” Mr Igboanua told PREMIUM TIMES.
Henry Aloysius, a computer engineer well-versed in jailbreaking these consoles, confirmed that gamers are willing to forfeit online access just to have as many games as possible installed on their consoles.
“Once a console is jailbroken, the major trade-off is that it cannot go online. That’s the biggest downside. Jailbroken consoles are strictly offline.
PlayStation requires consoles to stay updated to access online services, and once you jailbreak, you cannot safely update anymore. “So you lose online multiplayer and downloads, but many players are willing to accept that,” Mr Aloysius said.
Another ardent game lover, Bill Willie, said he jailbroke his console in November 2025. According to him, his drive was simply to get more games at a lower price. When we checked his gaming console, Mr Willie had over 14 games installed, including the latest FIFA 26, which costs about N80,000 in physical or online stores.
“Each game costs about ₦5,000, aside from the initial jailbreaking fee. Right now, I have about 14 games on my console, recent and high-end games.
“In total, everything cost me around ₦120,000, including the jailbreaking and some maintenance work on the console,” he said. He would have spent almost a million naira if he wanted to acquire the original versions of the 14 games he now has in his console.
He said his gaming experience has changed ever since the jailbreak. According to him, he used to worry about the cost of buying games, but no longer does.
“Before now, I always worried about how much I’d spend to play new games. But now, I don’t think about cost as much. If a new game comes out, I just go back to the vendor and have it installed. It has made gaming more enjoyable for me.”
Mr Obase-Ota said it took him about 3 hours to complete the process.
When asked what he felt Sony could do better to avert such losses, he suggested that they cut prices on their games and make some of them free. “I’m sure they already make a lot from selling the consoles themselves, so lowering game prices could help,” he said.
For as low as ₦20,000 to ₦40,000, a PlayStation console can be jailbroken. Mr Aloysius said the real value is the cost-effectiveness of owning such a console.
“This is where the real value comes in. Back in 2014–2017, a brand-new PlayStation 4 game sold for about ₦15,000. FIFA was the most expensive at the time.
“Today, a new PlayStation game sells for ₦70,000 to ₦80,000. But the dollar price hasn’t really changed; the exchange rate has. Games still sell for about $40–$60 internationally. The difference is what Nigerians pay after currency conversion.”
