This section encompasses topics related to game development, distribution and services.
Development ecosystem
As this console amalgamates technology from various companies, including products already commercialised in other markets (i.e. Nvidia's GeForce7 GPU line for PCs), developers were drowned with many different tools to develop their software. Note that this doesn't imply development was easy, but it's something to appreciate compared to the assembly days.
To program Cell, IBM and Sony shipped separate development suites, IBM ones targeted non-restrictive environments like Linux (and OtherOS), while Sony's tools explicitly targeted the PS3's GameOS as the only execution environment.
Having said that, IBM distributed the IBM Cell SDK package for free . It includes the GCC toolchain modified to generate PPU and SPU binaries, allowing development in C, C++, Fortran and assembly. It's also cross-platform, enabling to compile code from other equipment (like an x86 PC). The SDK also included low-level libraries to facilitate SIMD mathematical operations and SPU-PPU management. Finally, it bundled a fork of Eclipse IDE.
To ease the complexity of Cell development, IBM also developed another short-lived compiler called XLCL that compiles OpenCL code (C/C++ variant for parallelised computations) for the PPU and SPU. Though this was only distributed through IBM's Alphawork's channel, meaning it remained experimental.
Now, what about Sony? Well, similarly to their PSP SDK, they shipped hardware devkits (many variants with different sizes and enhancements) and a software package made of compilers, libraries and debuggers that used Visual Studio 2008 (and later 2010) as an IDE . Since they only supported the PS3, their SDK included the same GCC toolchains but complemented with tons of libraries to assist in graphics tasks, audio and I/O. In the case of graphics/RSX, Sony provided GCM to build raw commands and psGL, built on top of GCM, to provide an OpenGL ES API. To write shaders, Nvidia provided Cg, a shader compiler that parses a language similar to HLSL (the shader language defined by Microsoft).
License-free development
With the advent of native Homebrew (running on GameOS, not OtherOS), new open-source SDKs were created to bypass the dependency of Sony's copyrighted libraries and therefore prevent copyright litigation. One example is PSL1GHT, an SDK used in conjunction with ps3toolchain , to provide a full development suite ready for developing legal Homebrew (though this requires a modified/hacked console with signature checks disabled).
Back in 2018, I built my own suite based on ps3toolchain but distributed in the form of a Docker container , so developers wouldn't need to compile ps3toolchain and instead download my pre-compiled setup (saving many hours of compilation time). The container also bundled many tools like Nvidia's Cg shader to mitigate dependency problems that I found while experimenting with PSL1GHT-based project. In the end, it was a fun experiment that helped me learn more about the development environment.
Outsourcing development
It's worth pointing out that a peculiar business-to-business model raised in popularity during that time: Game Engines. Instead of spending time and money developing a game from the ground up, why not buy the codebase of other companies and build the game on top of that? This is what game studios like Epic Games envisioned . Apart from selling popular game titles such as Unreal Tournament 3, the studio licensed a stripped-down version (without the assets) to other developers. This was packaged and named 'Unreal Engine 3'. In a nutshell, game engines take care of all the fundamental areas (physics, lighting, etc) so developers only have to add their custom content (scripts, textures, models, sounds, etc.).
Game engine licensing is not a new business model, but due to the challenging environment of the PS3, they eventually became another attractive option for development.
Storage Medium
Now that we've finished talking about game development, it's time for distribution. So, here I describe the official distribution mechanisms available for PS3 games.
Blu-ray Discs
Example of retail game.
New generation = new medium. As the advantages of DVD start to wear down and its limitations, expressed by the game industry (space limit) and the film industry (480i format) , become apparent, it's a matter of time before Sony unveils another standard to replace their new appliances. For this new console, the Blu-Ray disc was chosen.
The Blu-ray, as the name indicates, is a new optical disc format that delivered higher storage density thanks to the use of blue light diodes , as opposed to red diodes used with DVDs. Since blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light, more information (pits and lands) can be squashed together in the same space . As a result, Blu-ray discs provide a surprisingly large capacity (between 25 GB and 50 GB!) using the same plastic disc with the same dimensions as the CD/DVD.
The Blu-ray data format responds to many needs by different industries: high definition film, digital rights management (DRM), region locking, a new file system and even a runtime environment for Java programs . In the case of the video game industry, retail games for PlayStation 3 were distributed in 25 GB or 50 GB Blu-ray discs with copy protection. These are read by a 2x drive reaching speeds of up to 8.58 MB/sec , though the PS3's laser can also read DVDs (at 8x speed) and CDs (at 24x speed) to play old games and movies.
While launch titles execute from the disc, later games copied part of their assets to the Hard Drive to increase reading speeds. Nevertheless, the game disc is always needed to kickstart the game.
Online Store
The PS Store app in XMB.
Games catalogue shown upon opening the store.
The search interface (which bypasses XMB's native keyboard, by the way).
Example of game entry (accompanied by suggestions that only work on other consoles...).
At the same time of the console's release, Sony launched its proprietary distribution channel called PlayStation Store, allowing game studios to sell their games digitally and users to purchase new content without leaving their sofa. These don't require any physical medium to work (apart from space in the hard drive) but the digital product's ownership is tied to an online account, something that became a concern for users in March 2021, when Sony announced (and later retracted ) the closure of this store.
Within their digital store, Sony also took the opportunity to sell digitalised versions of PS1, PS2 and PSP games called PlayStation Classics. These are also downloaded and installed in the same way, but use the bundled emulators to work. In fact, PS2 classics invoke the same unaccelerated software emulator independently whether the PS3 models contain the PS2 chipset ! I guess this is the closing chapter for hardware-based emulation in the PS3.
Behind the scenes, the PS Store is just a website only accessible through the PS Store app in XMB. Throughout its lifecycle, its user interface has been revamped a few times to reflect what I suppose was a global demand for more fancy user interfaces.
Network service
Apart from the online store, there were many more online solutions added to the platform, including the debuting PlayStation Network, a free online service competing directly with Microsoft's paid-for Xbox Live.
PlayStation Network enabled users to create a personal account and assign an avatar, then use that new digital persona to do multiplayer gaming, message and other social interactions. Users can also earn trophies if they complete a certain event in a game, and these then show up in the online profile (as in some form of medal of honour) to intimidate rivals and gain the respect of friends, I think.
Games offer an achievement catalogue to challenge their users. The intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Friends list. (Names are redacted for obvious reasons).
After doing some online gaming for a bit, random people started sending me messages.
Last but not least, just like having an updatable operating system, games are updated too. Hence, upon launching a game, XMB may suggest downloading game updates (in the form of 'packages') that patch glitches and/or add new content. Updates install in the hard drive and work similarly to a layered file system.