[jtruk]

> Why do console manufacturers put so much effort into preventing unvetted code from running on their hardware?

Piracy is the most enduring reason.

Second, regular players should expect a level field when playing online multiplayer - so no risk of battling against someone with modded software.

Beyond that, supporting software and hardware failures is easier if you can assume everyone is running on a stock platform.

[sli]

That second point can be mitigated by not allowing unsigned code to run in parallel with a game, and generally sequestering games and unsigned code so they cannot mix. I'd consider that a fair tradeoff.

I mean, it may open up another vector for attack running unsigned code without any protections by the console, but... well, those already exist right now. The Switch, for <=3.0, is already broken (rohan[0], which is not yet publicly available).

[0]: https://reswitched.tech/rohan

[EpicEng]

Or they could just lock down the system and prevent all of these problems with less effort... which is what they did.