In a recent interview with Slashdot, Phil Harrison holds forth with his views on homebrew game development.
I fully support the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone.
…
So, if we can make certain aspects of PS3 open to the independent game development community, we will do our industry a service by providing opportunities for the next generation of creative and technical talent.
By, “certain aspects,” Mr. Harrison must mean, “everything but the powerful bits,” as an install of Linux on the PS3 reveals that the GPU is only available to studios and publishers who can afford dev kits. A fact which, according to an online petition of Linux and PS3 users makes the availability of Linux on the PS3 rather a pointless exercise.
Phil Harrison does stress that:
We still have to protect the investment and intellectual property rights of the industry so we will always seek the best ways to secure and protect our devices from piracy and unauthorized hacking that damages the business.
Which sounds much more like Sony’s official line, given their attitudes towards hardware access in the past.
Interview source: Phil Harrison Answers Your Questions
Online Petition: Open PS3’s RSX for other OS
