News via http://blackbird.usask.ca/wordpress/?p=277

Since I did a similar post for the Xbox 360 XDK a while back and since this is intended to be mostly a developer-oriented blog, I thought it would be in keeping with that spirit to let people have a general idea of what to expect from a debug PS3 – which recently arrived.

Profiling/debugging
There are some limitations as to what you can do with regards to profiling – even on a Debugging Station. Code instrumentation through gcov is entirely possible, but this was not very appealing to me anymore given that we have been able to do this more or less even on Retail with Themaister’s net-stdio implementation. Gprof seems to have been made unavailable as Sony started moving more and more away from the open source GNU toolchain they originally based their development environment on. What’s left is a proprietary profiler that will not work on Debugging Stations but requires a Reference Tool instead – it has 256MB extra main RAM, bumping up the main system RAM in total to 512MB (plus 256MB RAM for the RSX) – which, together with the unit’s Communication Processor, gives it the extra horsepower it needs to do real-time profiling on-the-fly amongst some other things like realtime video capturing and graphical analysis through GPAD – which I’ll touch on in a moment.

LibGCM HUD

A very nice feature which seems to be only available on debug PS3s is the ability to run code with an RSX profiling tool called ‘GCM HUD’. As the name would imply, this is a Heads-Up Display overlaid on top of the application you’re running that neatly provides you with a point-and-click interface giving you access to features such as as:

•Fragment/Vertex program debugger (with the ability to set breakpoints and step through the code line by line from the console itself – with no PC having to be involved or connected to the PS3.
•RSX Performance Counters (telling you how effectively you’re utilizing the RSX).
•RSX Command Buffer log (showing you the workload of the RSX in real-time)
The whole interface is mouse-driven – so to interact with it, you have to hook up an USB mouse to be able to control it. This is not where the usefulness of this tool ends, however – GPAD (Graphics Performance Analyzer and Debugger) allows you to interface your PC with this HUD and dump all the performance data to your PC. However, again, some options – such as live video capturing – can only be done with the Reference Tool.

GPAD on a Windows PC interfacing with a debug PS3 running GCM HUD


Samples
A brief rundown of the samples that struck my eye -

Deferred shading
Deferred shading lends itself well to the architecture of the PS3 where you have a comparatively humble GPU (RSX) and up to 6 SPEs each running at 3.2GHz – the idea is to essentially subdivide the result of a shading algorithm into multiple parts that can be spread across different render targets/CPUs only to combine them at the end into one composite whole. Using this approach, the RSX can simply offload a lot of the vertex and fragment computations that are done in shaders to the SPEs which in turn crunch through the calculations (the original shader algorithm having been subdivided into parts for each SPE to chew through) only for the RSX to combine all these separate parts and render the picture.

Commercial game developers like DICE have started using this approach for games like Battlefield 3 to achieve graphical results and performance which normally would have been unattainable if all that was available to them was the RSX alone. A link to a slideshow presentation is available here.

Deferred shading sample pics



Yes, the FPS count starts to drop heavily once you start adding extra spot lights.

PSGL samples
At one point, Sony was asking developers whether they would be interested in having PSGL conform to the OpenGL ES 2.0 specs (link here). This has unfortunately never happened however, as developers seem to have mostly preferred to go with libGCM as their main graphics API of choice on PS3. This has meant that the development environment has started becoming more libGCM-centric over the years with PSGL eventually becoming a second-class citizen – in fact, new features like 3D stereo mode is not even possible unless you are using libGCM directly.

However, this has not deterred them from still making available a couple of nice samples that illustrate what PSGL is capable of in conjunction with Cg shaders (which is mostly what we use with the homebrew emulators up until now). Some nice examples show Cg being applied to render hair, skin mapping, normal mapping, parallax mapping, and sophisticated water effects (the latter ones definitely being a cut above our own water.cg shader – made by Themaister).

Conclusion
What the debug PS3 will allow us to do is to finally start getting rid of bugs – memory leaks that were simply impossible to flush out with a retail box because of the inherent ...

Glasses-free stereoscopic 3D has "inherent limitations", Sony has said.

Responding to complaints about having to wear glasses to view games and movies in stereoscopic 3D, the PlayStation 3 manufacturer explained why it's the best solution – and will be for a good while.

"There are already glasses-free TVs, big screens and small screens out there," Mick Hocking, Sony's 3D gaming boss, told Eurogamer at the Develop conference this week.

"The problem with glasses-free, or auto-stereoscopic as it's called, is that it has inherent limitations.

"With stereoscopic 3D, however you do it, you've got to get one image to the left eye and one image to the right eye to produce the stereoscopic effect. So with all these screens they typically have a sweet spot for where you need to put your head in distance and in angle, and if you move your head relative to it, you break the 3D effect until you get into the next pair of images, and you see artefacts going across the screen.

"We've also seen with mobile devices, if it's a mobile device you move relative to your head and it's got a 3D screen, that will break the 3D effect. It won't work very well.

"There's lots and lots of work going on on auto-stereoscopic screens because people wearing glasses is something extra for them to do to enjoy the content. We've been saying over the last 12 months, if the content is good enough and compelling enough, the only way at the moment to enjoy full high definition 3D is on TVs with the glasses."

In March Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung doubted glasses-free 3DTVs would be released within the next 10 years.

"Considering our current technology, we can make glasses-free 3DTV in R&D level, however it can be viewed from only a few viewing spots," Samsung said.

"To make naturally viewed glasses-free 3DTV, for instance in a living room where several people can watch TV from various angles, it needs at least 32 viewing spots.

"We believe that creating a prototype for lab-grade glasses-free 3DTV, broadcasting system and display will take about five years.

"For mass commercialisation to become possible manufacturing costs must come down and TV broadcasters will have to upgrade infrastructure, which includes securing transmission band.

"Attempts to put glasses-free 3DTV to market within the next 10 years will be difficult."

Sony has of course bet big on stereoscopic 3D, investing heavily in the tech for its TVs, movies and gaming on the PlayStation 3.

But for many, having to wear active-shutter glasses to see 3D visuals turns them off to the tech.

In October last year a study suggested 80 per cent of gamers were willing to wear 3D glasses to play video games, and Hocking told us the glasses are getting better.

"The glasses are getting cheaper and lighter all the time, and less invasive in the process," he said.

"With the way it's going, you could see a point in the future where someone will come up with a way of doing glasses-free technology without any of the restrictions.

"At the moment, if you want to sit there and watch a film or play a game, if you keep your head still you could do it on a glasses free. It would be OK. Then if your family or friends want to sit and watch it with you they can't share that experience with you at the moment.

"So it's not an easy problem to solve. Certainly in the short term, HD 3D is best enjoyed on an active shutter glass solution and big screen TV, and that's what we've been focusing on."

According to latest statistics, about 2.5 per cent of HDTVs in the UK are now 3D, and data suggests by 2015 nearly 40 per cent of all new TVs sold will be 3D-enabled.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...ses-complaints ...

PlayStation players have donated more than 129.7 million yen (over £1.01m) to Sony's Japanese earthquake appeal.

Thousands of gamers answered Sony's call for support following the devastating natural disaster in Japan earlier this year.

North American PSN users raised £260,955, those in Europe and PAL territories stumped up £538,122, while Asian countries other than Japan coughed up £16,673. Japanese gamers themselves put down £181,751.

The money is being donated to organisations in each region already supporting relief and recovery efforts in earthquake and tsunami hit areas. Beneficiaries include the American Red Cross, the British Red Cross for Europe and the Red Feather Community Chest Movement for Japan and Asia.

PSN users who donated have now been given several unique PS3 themes as a reward for their efforts.

Sony itself initially donated 300m yen (£2.34m), a figure matched by Nintendo. Sega, Namco Bandai and Tecmo Koei were among other companies to make sizable contributions.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...quake-donation ...

If pre-orders are anything to go by EA's on the right track with Battlefield 3 ahead of the game's release this October.

According to Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz, channel checks "indicate that pre-orders are roughly comparable to those of Call of Duty: Black Ops last year, which has gone on to sell over 20 million units".

Creutz expects EA's game to be a "major hit" and has upped his first year sales forecast from eight to eleven million units, although he added that Modern Warfare 3 pre-orders are tracking ahead of both BF3 and Black Ops, confirming reports from retailers GAME and GameStop.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...k-ops-analyst/ ...

One of Sony's major insurers has sued in a New York court to seek protection from any liabilities arising from cases centred on the PSN data breach, asking judges to rule that it will be exempt from any claims "asserted in the class-action lawsuits, miscellaneous claims, or potential future actions instituted by any state attorney general."

The basis of the case is that Zurich American believes that general cover insurance such as that which it sold Sony doesn't cover costs arising from cyber-warfare and digital attacks, claiming that the policy only covers "bodily injury, property damage or personal and advertising injury."

The insurer is also suing a number of other Sony insurers to try and establish shared responsibility should the court deny the exemption.

"Zurich doesn't think there's coverage, but to the extent there may be a duty to defend it wants to make sure all of the insurers with a potential duty to defend are contributing," attorney Richard Bortnick told Reuters.

55 cases have been brought against Sony in the US as a result of the attacks, some of which have resulted in claims on Zurich's policy by the platform holder.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...-non-liability ...

A PS3 dev has spoken out against one PS3 hacking site:
http://blackbird.usask.ca/wordpress/?p=267 ...

Phil Harrison, former head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has offered his thoughts on the next generation of consoles - and foresees a business model that breaks away from the one that's served the industry for the past 30 years.

Speaking at this week's Develop in Brighton, Harrison saw consoles moving towards a service-based model over the retail one that's previously defined the industry.

"I think the era of the console where hardware companies spend $3-4 billion to build a chipset and then it's supported on a tax on the software - that's the business model of the last 25-30 years - that's over," said Harrison.

"The new business model is going to become a combination of retail and services, and it's going to be an interesting decision for the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, is the next console race about chips and CPU, clock speed and graphics, or is it about business models and monetization and discovery, and I think it's probably going to be about the latter."

While Nintendo has already announced its next console - the Wii U, complete with its innovative controller - Microsoft and Sony are being coy on their plans, although some picture of what they'll be technically capable of has recently started to emerge.

But could the rise of streaming services such as OnLive and Gaikai spell the end of traditional consoles? "I don't think this means PlayStation the brand goes away or Xbox the brand goes away, but it just manifests itself in a different way."

"The technology to stream high-quality games directly to your living room or computer or TV is not some kind of science-fiction fantasy - it works, and it'll only get better over time. I think that's clearly going to be a future for our industry."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-new-xbox-ps4 ...

Sony is determined to push 3D graphics into the realm of gaming, but the company seems to be aware that quality, not quantity, is what can win over gamers. They've been telling game developers to take the plunge only if it makes for a better gaming experience, and not just to take advantage of an industry buzz word. Sony's Mick Hocking said,
"We need to, and we're trying to encourage everyone to learn about 3D properly and come and talk to us so we'll support them when they convert the games. But only deliver the best quality 3D. As we've seen in some other industries, if you make great quality 3D, in film you could say Avatar – it's the most successful film of all time, it's the highest grossing film of all time – but since then that hasn't been followed up with the same degree of success. ... If people see great quality 3D it does enhance the experience. It's a great feature for a game. But if they see poor quality 3D it can put them off. Unfortunately some people are producing poor quality 3D, in all mediums. Over the last 12 months we've seen TV, film, some games, where the quality hasn't been there. It's just a case of people need to understand how to work with 3D, how to make it technically correct and then how to use it creatively. Only add 3D where it makes a difference to the gameplay experience. It must add something. Don't just add depth for the sake of it."

http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/0...Sake-Says-Sony ...

The 3DS is back on top of Japan's hardware chart, with sales of the handheld more than doubling over last week.

As detailed on NeoGAF, Nintendo's portable sold 46,637 units, up from 22,943 to take the number one spot. The PSP dropped to second with 26,565 sales, a negligible increase from 26,407 last week.

The 3DS's increase can largely be attributed to the release of a new colour – Fire Red, though the launch of Star Fox 64 3D will no doubt have helped out too.

Here's the full hardware top 10:

3DS: 46,637 (Last week: 22,943)
PSP: 26,565 (26,407)
PlayStation 3: 23,322 (22,900)
Wii: 14,237 (13,068)
DS: 9208 (9592)
Xbox 360: 1734 (2016)
PlayStation 2: 1405 (1309)
Konami baseball effort Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2011 topped the software chart, selling 117,759 on PlayStation 3.

New entries included a new Taiko no Tatsujin title at two, footie RPG Inazuma Eleven Strikers at three and Star Fox 64 3D down at six.

Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2011 (PS3, Konami): 117,759 (NEW)
Taiko no Tatsujin Portable DX (PSP, Bandai Namco): 80.215 (NEW)
Inazuma Eleven Strikers (Wii, Level 5): 74,227 (NEW)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2011 (PSP, Konami): 73,247 (NEW)
Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary (DS, Sega): 34,903 (NEW)
Star Fox 64 3D (3DS, Nintendo): 32,475 (NEW)
UnchainBlades ReXX (PSP, FuRyu):18,256 (NEW)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS, Nintendo): 15.636 (Life to date: 256,374)
Wii Sports Resort with Remote Plus (Wii, Nintendo): 14,725 (402,799)
Danball Senki (PSP, Level 5): 12,085 (256.875)
Pokemon Black / White (DS, Nintendo): 10,951 (5,238,287)
Wii Play: Motion (Wii, Nintendo): 10,522 (27,531)
L.A. Noire (PS3, Rockstar): 10,036 (68,473)
Steins;Gate (PSP, Kadokawa Shoten): 9928 (109,016)
GoldenEye 007 (Wii, Nintendo): 9473 (58,863)
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (PS3, Capcom): 9336 (74,772)
inFamous 2 (PS3, SCE): 8324 (41,798)
To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers (PSP, Aquaplus): 8082 (54,799)
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (PS3, D3 Publisher): 7864 (38,053)
UnchainBlades ReXX (3DS, FuRyu): 5592 (NEW)

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-sales-double ...