As consumer gamers, we often don’t get to see what goes on behind the scenes when making a video game. We launch the game, complain if it sucks and move on to the next one as fast as possible. However, beyond our living rooms, there’s a whole world of intense game development going on that is all powered by software and hardware we don’t ever interact with. Often, this takes the form of a dev kit. Back in 2006, Sony’s original PS3 dev kit was rumoured to be large and expensive setting devs back around $50,000 at a time. Everything we heard was true because Linus got his hands on an original PS3 dev kit and it is a sight to behold.
Linus Tech Tips has uploaded a video with the PS3 dev kit and does a great job breaking things down and even taking us through the various ports and components found on the device. It is strange to see such a massive piece of tech exist out there. Sony also went all-out with it and included a massive array of ports. We are talking about eight USB ports, four audio jacks, two ethernet ports, various HDD slots and more.
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Linus claims that the PS3 dev kit is that large due to the enhanced tech and various boards needed to operate the PS3’s original developer software. There’s an entire compartment on the hardware strictly for debugging and the airflow system is huge in comparison to that found in the retail version of the PS3.
The PS3 dev kit also comes with a 1000W power supply. That alone should be a good indication of all the internals inside this hardware and the number of components Sony included in the device.
When it comes to the software, this PS3 dev kit is still fully workable and comes with a special developer version of the original OS we all used back in the day. However, the software is open-ended meaning it comes with all the tweaks and settings you’ll need to make a game. This includes various resolution tweaks and region faking.
The device is also filled with developer builds of certain games including LittleBigPlanet. There’s even a developer build of Gears of War 3… Yes, Gears of War on PlayStation. The video is definitely worth a watch if you’re into all this cool-looking tech. Check it out below:
