Cygnus, The PlayStation2 and Linux

An anonymous reader linked us to a forbes article about the linux/playstation devel stuff that has been mentioned here like 9 times before. We've got some official word from DJ Delorie @Cygnus who confirms this stuff- Update: 03/26 09:38 by CT : I've got a full blurb from DJ attached below: Worth reading. DJ Delorie writes "There's been a lot of rumors about Sony and Linux lately, but on Monday Cygnus will add fact to rumors by announcing that they've developed the next generation Playstation development tools that Sony will be distributing to game developers. Here's the basics: it includes gcc and gdb, runs on Linux, includes a GPL'd NG Playstation simulator, and will be available as part of the NG Playstation developer's kit.

The compiler targets Toshiba's new 128-bit CPU, and includes extensions to program the custom graphics chips in the next generation Playstation.

The simulator simulates most of the NG Playstation console, but you can't quite use it to play games on it - its CPU outperforms even a Pentium III. However, the simulator lets game designers debug things that would be impossible with hardware, and since it's GPL'd, they can modify it as needed to help them debug.

The tools will be available through Sony's usual developer channels as part of their hardware development systems, and yes, they'll be GPL (the compiler and simulator, at least) for those people who buy them. Cygnus will sell support contracts to game developers.

Eventually, of course, the changes to gcc, gdb, and other FSF programs will get rolled into the public releases.

You will be able to read the press releases on Monday.

Let the games begin! "

Comments

Why restrict the developers?

[The Mayor]

Sony does not make money on selling the playstation. In fact, they lose money. They make money by collecting a fee for each game sold for their platform. The fee is not insignificant, either (I believe it's on the order of $10 per copy per game). This is how they can build a machine that has the graphics performance of a $50,000 SGI, yet sell it for $200.

If Sony were to release their tools, people would probably start releasing games outside this setup. They have absolutely no vested interest in giving their development kit away for free, as their development kit allows them to retain control over their developers.

That said, however, I could see a day when they allow their developer to sell programs for a PC Playstation (a linux box with a nice video card). Porting ought to be pretty easy. As long as they retain their $10 fee, they won't care. In fact, seeing as though they won't have to eat the costs of building, distributing, and selling the Playstation itself, I think Sony might even prefer this setup. Time will tell...

tools are GPL? well, pretty sure the emu won't be

[dj.delorie]

The simulator is part of of gdb, so it must be GPL. In fact, the GPL on the sim is very important to developers - if they have a thorny debug problem, they can always edit the simulator to trigger a breakpoint under bizarre conditions. Try doing that with a proprietary simulator!