Sony Considering PS3 Homebrew

Sony acknowledges the benefits the Homebrew community could bring to the PS3 and the wider gaming industry, but is concerned as ever about the potential risk of hacking and piracy. In an interview with Slashdot, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios Phil Harrison discusses the increasing reduced openness of the gaming industry, and accepts how this is hampering the future of the industry by stifling talent.

"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."

And on piracy, "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."

Up until now, there has been little to distinguish the PS3 from its main rival the Xbox 360, particularly as Microsoft have already provided developers support for games development via its XNA tools package, but establishing a Homebrew footing would give Sony a significant edge in the console battle, when considering the PS3's powerful capabilities.

"I fully support the notion of game development at home using powerful tools available to anyone," Harrison said in an interview with Slashdot. "We were one of the first companies to recognise this in 1996 with Net Yaroze on PS1. It's a vital, crucial aspect of the future growth of our industry and links well to the subtext of my earlier answers."