Its Official! The PS3 will support Linux and Homebrew! |
Well, this bit of news will surely excite all the PS3 fans. Kawanishi, Network system development manager at SCE, revealed at E3 in an interview that the PS3 will be supporting Linux! Although it has been known before, this interview just confirms the fact.
English Translation:
The PS3 will come standard with a functional Linux Operating System as well as compilers and other tools. This will give a vast playground to all the programmers on the PS3. This means that the PS3 will support all USB drives. Even back in the PlayStation generation, there were a lot of creations by homebrew developers. On the PS3, this will be much more.
If you think of the PS3 as an ecosystem, the game studios will still follow the current routine, to treat the PS3 as a game console, and develop games while paying the license fee. However, in which form can the individual developers participate best in the software development for the PS3?
"To request license fee from the individual developers is a little hard (laughing). When a game studio buys a license to develop for the PS3, SCE side must supply the studio with necessary tools and SDK libraries, as well as all kinds of technical support. Since the PS3 is using Linux, the license fee will not be required for developing on it."
Won't this be a challenge to all the programmers since they won't have any knowledge technical knowledge of the hardware?
"Based on Linux, it is the OS-side hardware layer which is managing the Cell processor related issues, which makes the SPE also opened to the developers. However, I don't think that the PS3 as a game platform business, and the PS3 in the Linux world, will be merged into one."
So, what does this mean for the average PS3 user who doesn't understand jack about Linux? Well, for starters, this is as good as an official announcement that Sony and PS3 will not block homebrew in any way, unlike the PSP. And the fact that homebrew developers will be welcomed with open arms and not boxing gloves, like on the PSP.
Seeing the PSP community, it's quite obvious that Sony would've learned a lot. A lot of homebrew on the PSP is stuff which Sony should have taken care of in the first place. And if they couldn't, they shouldn't have blocked it.
I'll skip the "Linux for Dummies" explanation. I assume all of our readers have at least heard of it sometime in their lives. And many of you must've tried it too. Linux on any platform is a dream. You can do so much with it. For programmers, this means that they won't have to code on the PC and transfer to the PS3. For the average user, Linux will open a world unimaginable before. Almost everything you can do on a PC, you will be able to do here. Media Centers (MythTV anyone?), Cool Desktop environments (KDE, Gnome), Browsers (Firefox, Mozilla, Opera), and lots more.
I just hope that they don't tie it down and cripple it. The PS2 Linux 'project' wasn't as successful because of the same reason.
No other details were revealed. So we still don't know if they will be using a popular distro or make one of their own (possibly deriving from another distro?). Plus, we don't know if the PS3's actual OS will be Linux itself, or whether it will be a dualboot environment. I'd guess that it's the latter.
Using Linux as the PS3's OS would mean a lot of headaches for them, as well as the GNU/GPL guys. Plus, using Linux as the main OS would mean possibly crippling it, so that it doesn't run code which they don't want. I'd rather not get into speculation mode, seeing how big companies have a knack of letting us down.
This bit of news finally brings something positive from the PS3 side on the table. Sony had been getting a lot of flak lately. Hopefully, this bit of news will help the PS3 redeem itself.
Click here to read the original interview (In Japanese)
I'd like to thank our resident blogger and translator, Jeff Chen, for translating the relevant part. I owe you one man :)
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Comments [refresh]
yay homebrew now we can ahve all types of ***** like gba emus n63 emus probably and all sorts of ***** thanks sony now there using there heads
ps3 pwntz you all!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
I'll have to wait and see..
As I've had my heart broken by that deadly sony mistress before, promising all sorts of fantasy treats.
(Refund for PSP please..)
yeahhhhhhhh
ps3 won the next gen
I have said this before and I'll say it again:
The PS3 just keeps getting better and better!
i vaugely remember them saying this about the ps2...right? im not sure how u get linux to run on the ps2 (special hardware?) but don't u think that maybe it would be the same on the ps3 as they handled it for ps2?
@ToN the problem Linux for the PS2 didn't do so well was because it was an addon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ps2_linux
this will make modding the ps3 much easier and requiire no mod chips. huzzah.
Is this some good news coming from Sony? It has been awhile, but now I am much more relieved. As for emulators...Sony still feels strongly against piracy so expect updates to limit things like this (similar to the PSP).
he said in a proper interview it will be limited homebrew wise.
thanks umm jesus..
This is fantastic news!!!!
HD-PS3!!! Homebrew-Definition PS3!!!
HOMEBREW!!!
Finaly sony doing somethingon their own that may lead the other two to copy them, altho it's still a 'wait and see' for me
Portable homebrew/emulation is better (why not just use a PC at home?), but still good news. GP2X > PSP
Homebrew baby! The Ps3 just won the console war!!
*Starts saving his hard earned cash right now*
Maybe when the PS3 comes out a new firmware will be released and linux could be used on the PSP as well....Would it be lovely?
lol ppl will be running ps3 games of the hd with in week of it hitting the shops fools.its really a good think but Linux is going to be use to hack the ps3 bios and the flash in the blue ray :)
would this mean that homebrewers of the PSP can port their stuff to the PS3? and I wouldn't be getting to happy because the latest PS3 menu screenshots and videos show the is a network update option. Sony is going to have some great updates if they dont want people running homebrew.
One of Wii main power is full support for all games to nintendo. Of course at a cost over the web i guess. But with ps3 homebrew we can now use all sorts of emulators. Free.
Btw. This would be a good chance for linux to take over the world and stab windows a couple of times in the chest.
PS3 goes havoc.
Of course I hope this turns out great, but I'll first have to see how they do it. What I imagine is that they will run Linux as an option, where you'll also be able to do your proper web-browsing and such. There are two big advantages - one, you can classify the PS3 as a proper PC, which gives a tax benefit in Europe, and two you have ensured yourself of an up-to-date, fully functional webbrowser. After all, if your PS3 and TV support a 1080p TV, then webbrowsing on the PS3 and your TV is going to be a pretty darn awesome experience. Added benefit is that content providers don't have to do a whole lot of extra stuff - napster like services, www.hollywood.com, all those sites will be available without needing additional development.
But how this pans out exactly we'll still have to wait and see. The network update feature could do two things - it could help add core functions to the firmware, and it could help download dashboard software to the harddrive. The firmware could contain the full dashboard, or it could contain just the main OS functionality, with the dashboard installed on the HDD. Either could be updated through the network update functions.
Likely, proper games will be able to run without Linux loaded and only the basic firmware in place. Also you have to remember that if this is the way it is going to be, ps3 doesn't block homebrew, but welcoming them with open arms is an overstatement. After all, they said that the homebrew devs will not get the full SDKs (software development kits), and will have to figure everything out themselves. That's a lot of work - some stuff on the PSP has still not been figured out. Fortunately the Cell won't be too big a problem, and I figure that uncovering the RSX will be easier thanks to it being developed by Nvidia, for which I'm sure a decent bit of groundwork will have been done already in the current Linux community.
But we'll still have to wait and see. I hope they do it, like I hope they'll allow keyboard and mouse in FPS games on the PS3 (will be interesting to see how a newly configured new PS3 controller with motion sensing can hold up against that, I have a good feeling about it if the controller is indeed as precise as it seems to be). Probably a good idea for game devs is to allow game hosters to limit games to certain control types if so desired, though a usb mouse and keyboard are ridiculously cheap anyway, so if it is still better, than all fanatical fps gamers will probably get one anyway.
are we just getting the kernel for the cell... or can we add our own programs, like kde or gnome. and will we have to download and build our packages individually, or will sony host prebuilt and pre-optimized packages, for a quick install?
if sony allowed X11 and a Desktop environment to be installed, and maybe even stablised Xgl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xgl) they could make a first true rival to microsofts windows and even Apple Macs.
If they are opening up PS3 to homebrew, will this mean they will allow PSP to run homebrew soon aswell?
Or maybe the PS3 will do the digital signature for your coding and so give PSP programmers a way to get PSP homebrew working properly allowing us PSP homebrewers to upgrade and play homebrew? Please?
Linux as an OS will be good. Think XP, then make it faster and you are there. It can be a bit difficult to get used to, but give it a couple of days and you will be laughing at your PC!
The one thing I want to know is: Will it be dualboot or like a menu that takes you to the Linux desktop, because we already saw the PS3 environment revealed at E3!
I think they will make a distribution, derived from one of the others, like Ubuntu or Slackware.
Any game made by Id (e.g. Quake IV) and the recent UT games can be installed on Linux. Linux doesn't take up many resources compared to XP so you will get better graphics on a Linux install. FOr this reason, the power of the PS3 coupled with an efficient OS means that this is going to be one sweet bit of kit.
PS3 all the wayt! :D:D:D:D
Scuse the long post
wait i have a question people please answer.. i didnt know linux could run commercial agmes from stores such as quake 4 and stuff so would it be able to run counter strike source??
Wine can play windows games too.
http://winehq.com/
lots of homebrew is illegal so it wont all be fully supported with open arms
you know, the PSP has had homebrew from the beganing and it aint winning the handheld war. this is good news for me because im pretty sure there should be a way in the future to get some MAJOR homebrew like a ps2 emu that plays burned games and mabe even xbox emu?
i think it will be the #1 reason why i'll buy a ps3
Only some games can. Most games use DirectX to work and this is a M$ technology. However those that use OpenGL coding (all that use the Id engine such as Quake IV and UT games) can be installed and run under Linux. For UT check your last disc (if it's the CD) or look on the DVD for the file you need. Id games, you buy it in store, then download the file of their website. Google around if you can't find it.
#28 They won't have an Xbox Emu on it as they would have to license the software to use the technology. Homebrew can be illegal as #27 says, however there is plenty of stuff that is legal.
It will be good though
I think Quake and other GL games run fine on Linux without any emulation though.
why make up rumours about microsoft when sony can simply strike at them with linux... linux has always been a thorn in the paw of the microsoft lion, and sony joining the battle will prove v.interesting.
also, maybe they are saying 'do what you liek on linux' as you're allowed to do waht you like on pc's without any regulation, i mean microsoft aren't liable for any windows based emulators or illegal homebrew, so why should sony be? they're putting in linux for a good reason, and if it happens to incorporate illegal uses then that's the user's fault not sony's.... at least i'd like to believe it was that simple.
this woudl also work very nicely against the 'virtual console' which nintendo have planned. you won't be allowed to play perfect dark 64 on wii, or goldeneye... what else have rare managed? so what's the point?
does this mean the ps3 will be able to play emulators and such like the psp
I reckon they're 'allowing' homebrew for the mean time...
On the PSP, homebrew was running fine until everyone started using UMD emulators and such.
As the PS3 is online constantly, I reckon they'll have an auto-update check and load the newest update. If people start making ISO loaders and other stuff to work around the PS3, Sony will probably block the majority of homebrew...
They better share this same sudden embrace of homebrew with the PSP
PS3 JUST COPIED THE NINTENDO WII AGAIN. THEY HAD ONLINE EMULATOR FOR NES AND STUFF AND NOW PS3 IS HAVING HOMEBREW!!! SO WHAT IF IT CAME OUT ON THE PSP FIRST, NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO.
(i expect to hear this quite alot from nintendo fanboys)
I found the nonsense rambling of the name Nintendo three times funny.
'Kay... Something no-one seems to have caught on about is that the PS3 doesn't use an Intel Chip. This means that *all* Linux software you want to run will need to be compiled for PS3!
So no Windows software will run out of the box even if you use Wine. The binaries are simply incompatible!
Now much Linux software comes with source code, and so should compile for PS3 with little to no problems (here is hoping we at least can do OpenGL w/ shader extensions), but if you don't have the source code, it's *not* going to run.
That is it won't unless someone wrote an 80x86 emulator for the PS3 (or a PC emulator).
Up with homebrew!
Down with piracy!
Does this mean that I can play an N64 Emulator, in HD? AWSOME!
SOME PEOPLE ARE SO MEAN
the only reason they dont allow homebrew on psp is because they know there will be iso loaders. blu ray security is gonna be tight. they know all the tricks now and im 100% sure nobody is gonna be able to rip a game off blu ray
#42, you are right there.
But, as there is a BluRay compatible Laptop, people can just hit the copy button for game copies. All you need is a blank BluRay disc (not cheap).
What I think:
Homebrew isn't piracy. Sony saw this and began working on a way to run piracy free homebrew. They brought this to the PS3 in the form of Linux.
Now, Sony might create a new no-piracy homebrew system and add it to the PSP. (3.00 update comes to mind)
yeah i noticed that with that complex of a cell, you will have a very very very hard time getting anything to work. look at amd 64 users, hardly any thing works right, you have to compile everything, and then you have to get a new kernel. dont even get me started with amd 64 X2 users.... you have to set up your own kernel to use it, or else it will just use one core. trying to do all of this with SEVEN cores is just insane.... and dont expect it to be fast. sony will block off its main system to protect it self from iso's. which means you wont get very good performance if any.
wii
^
*****
this going to sound stupid but, is it possible that someone can copy xbox360 games and make it playable whith homebrew and linux. Can someone clear this up for me?
^#47. your answer is no and yes that is a very stupid question
homebrew on ps3 is not as bad as on psp cause if u can play gba or other games on the psp it could easily be close to or better than official psp games but on ps3 no homebrew stuff can be better than the full ps3 games
ok, if Sony doesn't want us to have hombrew on our PSPs then why the f!@# is it ok on PS3? i'm sure some retard will make some kind of ISO runner on ps3 just like on psp. WTF are they thinking?
...letting homebrew on PSPs now? This is a great step in the right direction, but if Sony really wants to be respected, they better let homebrew be run on PSPs without the use of exploits. If the PS3 will support homebrew, wouldn't it seem natural for the PSP to allow it too? Here's to praying for homebrew in 3.X.
What do you mean you can’t get to the source code. People will be releasing the binaries for PS3 all over the internet once it's out in no time. PS2 Linux didn’t have a similar success story because the Hard Drive was not successful but now that everyone will have one it will be a no brainer.
To the person who wrote about the 8 cores being hard to program to: This doesn’t matter for all purpose programming. Non multithreaded code runs on one core at a time and in Intel machines even threaded apps still run only on one core at a time (there is only one there). One of the PS3 SPUs could easily handle any PC application (so long as you can compile it on linux, java applications will be a breeze), of course if you want to take advantage of the multi-core features then you will need to use threads and have libraries that manage your threads accordingly. For example This thread does Sounds which runs on a separate SPU from this thread which runs Physics.. etc etc etc.
If you can get the proper libraries to access these resources it should be easy to make full use of the hardware. For example, Threading libraries for multi processors. "Compilers and other tools" is all you will need. In other words don't sweat it, it will happen faster than you think and Just Emulators here we come!
As for Piracy, well Sony is worried about running PS software you haven’t paid for. Currently on the PSP they weren’t successful so they blocked all the wholes. It people wouldn’t have come out with loaders Sony would have never release all those blocking firmware updates. It seems with the PS3 the system will run differently when run on Linux meaning it won’t run signed PS3 software. Saying that however, you can probably build a PS3 Emulator in top of the PS3 Linux distribution without the locking the software but that might be extremely hard and they might disallow some major security function needed to run actual PS3 games. Also, this emulator will run games slower because the OS is also running in the background taking up cycles and resources.
Im tired of everyone here blaming UMD emulators for the reasons that Sony is releasing updates. First of all, the number of people that visit websites like these and mod their psps is a very low percentage of the total number of psp owners. Therefore, the profits loss caused by loaders is actually quite low. Second, while is homebrew still being blocked on 2.01 plus? I believe its simply because having security holes in your product is generally considered a bad thing.
As far as the PS3... Im not gonna get excited about homebrew on it until I found out more. Sony can easily block whatever homebrew they want since all the new game systems are, in theory, constantly connected to the internet. I just cant imagine Sony endorsing people loading PSone roms, N64 roms, etc on the new ps3.
"homebrew on ps3 is not as bad as on psp cause if u can play gba or other games on the psp it could easily be close to or better than official psp games but on ps3 no homebrew stuff can be better than the full ps3 games"
you know the psp has more raw power than a ps2 right? only cause of laziness of developers...
Why not just use a PC for all that?
"Hopefully, this bit of news will help the PS3 redeem itself."
heh..sounds like something Joystiq would post
"Why not just use a PC for all that?"
Because you can easily take a PSP with you anywhere, therefore you can play homebrew anywhere
So...you guys are telling me you are getting a PS3 for the homebrew reasons and Linux reasons...I pretty sure a computer can do this. I want to get Heavenly Sword and MGS4. Homebrew and Linux I don't need. And as for people saying this will ruin the Wii...I highly doubt it.
I hope there will be a n64 made for the ps3. Mario64 here I am possibly comming.
"First of all, the number of people that visit websites like these and mod their psps is a very low percentage of the total number of psp owners"
go to any torrent site or psp irc channel.
You guys are hillarious. You guys sound like this is revolutionary. The PS3 is starting to sound like a PC for your TV. PC's can tell the PS3 "been there, done that, doing it now, and doing it tomorrow"
If OS of Ps3 will be Linux, that would be mean, that I will be able to run a virtual machine(like virtualpc) and install there windows. The high top hardware configuration will give a good perfomance for emulating of x86 processor :-). And this give us the compability of running the pc games and emulators for other platforms.
So all we need is some virtual machine and a mod for connecting a monitor. And we got the best computer for 500$ :-))
This will just rock. heh instead of buying the "Ps3" version of UT 2007 I'll just install my PC version!!! lol. Perhaps someone can port the source engine to Ps3 LINUX! Then people can play Half Life 2 and CounterStrike:S ource on there Ps3 LOL. If this takes off more gamers could be playing PC games. All the devs have to do is write a Linux version with source code and then BANG! someone can just recompile the game and it will work on Ps3. An x86 emulator would ROCK too that means people can start running Windows- based games on Ps3. I can't wait for the Ps3!!! I'm already excited.
Lol, I wonder how many viruses will be released by random people??? PS3 + viruses + $500 = noooooo waaaaay
IBM has already submited "Cell" support to Linus and it is already in the current kernel! They also wrote a compiler that is being used by PS3 developers called the "Octopiler" (Open Source and may be included in PS3 Linux! if not just download it).
This tool is making an imposible task, FAST. The devs love it! This is why so many games will surpass even the graphics and performance of the fastest Dual Core chip out there in any gaming computer and why PS3 can boast 1.8 tflops performance over the 1.0 tflops of the Xbox 360's tri-core!
Want to be really blowin away? Go to Novell's XGL and Compise site. Check out a Desktop that'll make MS Vista look like it's standing still. Then check out Sun's Java Desktop running with "Looking Glass"! It will blow your mind if you think linux is boring! Next there is a New Set of Controlling Features called "GoMonkey"!
You control your computer and eventually games with mime body movements! NO controller, No keyboard, No mouse, just your hands and body like in "Minority Report"! Imagine FPS and Sword Fighting! imagine sneaking in MGS4!
With a game running on big screen in 1080P! Add some 3-D Glasses (cheap these days) and Buttkickers Bass Transducers for a true Hallowdeck experience! Hey Star Trek here I come that'll be an E-Ticket in any Amusement Park! Be sure and clear your furniture before trying this at home! hehe ;D
Hay, Now, we can emulate Xbox games, LIKE HALO!!!
'PC's can tell the PS3 "been there, done that, doing it now, and doing it tomorrow"'
When was the last time you used a 3.2Ghz PPC chip with 7 vector processing cores, and a graphics chip that can slaughter all but the highest end SLI systems right now?
The fact is a computer system that can beat this currently would cost about $2000 at least. Not to mention that Cell based workstations are not even available yet.
Yes, I will buy one for playing games (like Assasin's Creed), but I will also buy it to get my hand on a nice Cell development machine. Hey, I may even buy two...
It would not be easy to pirate BluRay media, for one, the only BluRay burning speed is 1x, and that is very slow, especially for the 20Gb media that is going to be on them. Also, to run it on the PS3, it would probably have the same protection as the PS2, which you can't just burn a PS2 game to a DVD and run it on your PS2, you would have to have a mod chip to (which probably won't be on the PS3 for quite some time). So I don't think Sony is too worried about piracy of PS3 games.