PS3 hacker George Hotz aka Geohot had a "respectful" meeting with Sony last year, following the settlement of their legal battle.

As reported by The New Yorker, Hotz met with Sony in May 2011, shortly after settling with the Japanese corporation out of court.

The hacker says that the meeting was courteous and largely focused on the means by which he hacked the PS3.

"If there were going to be lawyers there I was going to be the biggest asshole ever," he said.

Sony's view is that it was necessary to meet Hotz in order to learn how he bested their systems.

"We are always interested in exploring all avenues to better safeguard our systems and protect consumers," said Jim Kennedy, senior vice-president of strategic communications at Sony Corporation of America.

The New Yorker piece also reveals that Hotz worked for Facebook for eight months, but then left to visit Panama. He has since returned to Palo Alto in California.