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Random question, but are there any PlayStation 3 games whose source code is available to the public to view?

I have no experience developing computer games (my experience is in developing websites and web applications) but have always been interested in seeing what goes into a computer game.

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Then what is the point of seeing source code to a platform you will not be able to see the API or documentation for? There are tons of open source PC games if you want a start. – David Young Nov 3 '10 at 15:14
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Sonys SDK is protected by an NDA by the way, so there may be problems releasing any meaningful source code. – Michael Stum Nov 3 '10 at 15:19
See the list of open source games on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-source_video_games – MatthewD Nov 9 '10 at 11:40

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No, but there is little difference between a PS3 game and a game for any other platform. The only thing that defines it as a PS3 game is the use of the PS3 APIs for graphics, IO, etc, all of which would have to be removed since they are under heavy NDA. If you want to look at game code, maybe check out Doom or Quake (both are GPL now).

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Commercial PS3 games? No. But (to my mind) the unique and most interesting part of PS3 development involve the SPUs, and there's public code/info available for the Cell and SPUs in particular.

If you have a PS3 capable of it ("Fat" PS3, pre 3.21 OS version), GNU/Lunix is a great environment to learn Cell programming.

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You used to be able to buy a Cell/BE evaluation board through IBM directly, not sure if they still have them. – coderanger Nov 8 '10 at 22:37
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PS3 games are typically developed with a devkit that costs about $10,000 in C++ using propriatory Playstation APIs, where you optimize your game for its multicore processor. An experienced gamedev once commented that the PS3 is far harder to write for since its multicore pipeline is unusual and requires special efforts to optimize game code.

Another method would be installing a Linux OS on your PS3 and then developing your program for that breed of Unix, either in C++ or any other supported platform. This is quite cheap since you can manage this on any ordinary PS3. (no expensive dev kit needed)

Developing for the Xbox 360 on the other hand is free for students, I recommend you start with XNA for Xbox 360 since there are many open source games and game engines to help you out.

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Linux on the PS3 is no longer available as OtherOS support in the PS3 loader has been disabled. There is litigation pending to try and force Sony to reactivate it. Anyway, OtherOS disabled various hardware on the system to prevent people from writing things that take full advantage of the console without Sony getting their cut. – coderanger Nov 8 '10 at 22:32

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