PlayStation 3 to support Mac OS X Tiger

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
The processor in Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console can potentially support Apple's Mac OS X Tiger operating system according to a recent posting to Sony's UK website.



The highly anticipated successor to the PlayStation 2 is expected to hit the streets in 2006, shortly after Microsoft releases its rival XBox 360 system.



"Sony is expected to offer optional hard drives for the PlayStation 3 with potential memory capacity of 80 or 120 GB. It remains to be decided whether the standard version of the PS3 will come complete with a hard drive," reads a company statement.



"The operating system has also yet to be clarified. The integrated Cell processor will be able to support a variety of operating systems (such as Linux or Apple's Tiger)."



It's unclear at the moment exactly what this will mean for Mac or PlayStation 3 users. Sony's Cell processor is a derivative of IBM's PowerPC chip used by Apple in its personal computers.



Previous mumblings had presented the possibility that Apple was looking to form a partnership with Sony on the PlayStation 3 that would make some of the console's games compatible with the Mac OS X operating system. With Apple's announced switch to Intel processors, this now seems less likely.



Analysts at Wedbush Morgan Securities recently said that Sony may delay the release of the PlayStation 3 until 2007 if the Microsoft's Xbox 360 launch is less than stellar.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 86
    Why? How? I'm confused...
  • Reply 2 of 86
    Does this mean that Apple needs 3 version of Tiger? Intel, PowerPC, and the Cell processor?
  • Reply 3 of 86
    technotechno Posts: 737member
    What is the signifigance of this?
  • Reply 4 of 86
    slugheadslughead Posts: 1,169member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by AppleInsider

    Previous mumblings had presented the possibility that Apple was looking to form a partnership with Sony on the PlayStation 3 that would make some of the console's games compatible with the Mac OS X operating system. With Apple's announced switch to Intel processors, this now seems less likely.



    How is this less likely?



    There's a version of Tiger that runs on PS3, therefore if sony chooses Tiger as the PS3's default OS, Tiger on Intel would be a few clicks and some minor code changes away from running any game originally written for PS3.. period.



    However, you might be saying that if Apple stops supporting OS X on PPC, maybe sony would choose a different OS.. I think this is possible, but you have to remember that usually consoles are shipped with the same version of the same OS for years, so if there's a working PPC version now (and there is), then there's no reason not to use it (unless tiger's just not very good for games, which is probably true).



    Moreover, if the PS3 ships say a million units, and each one has OS X.. I'm sure Apple would be more than happy to support it.. after all, the OS is supposed to be platform independent.



    When will people learn: instruction sets don't matter much if the OS is the same!
  • Reply 5 of 86
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Whaaaaaaaa?



    Sounds to me like they were looking for PPC-capable OS names to toss into a PR piece. Weird.



    It *could* be something else, but... wacky.
  • Reply 6 of 86
    Yeah I don't think this is gonna happen. It just makes no sense at all.
  • Reply 7 of 86
    websnapwebsnap Posts: 224member
    actually, it sounds to me that if you were to wipe the internal drive, or trick the console into booting from an external drive, it would be able to run tiger if it were accessible. No more, no less. In it's self though, that is kinda cool, have osx on you TV, like a DVR/MediaCenter device.



    If a deal was to be struck between Sony and Apple from a software standpoint, which I feel is enormously unlikely, it would have been purely due to to the fact that both would have been written for the same processor. The games being designed will push the limits of the hardware. Having a graphics intensive OS like Tiger under that while it's running would hinder game play quality, something I doubt Sony and the respective game developers would go for. It wont happen.
  • Reply 8 of 86
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Firmware...no firmware==little chance of OSX without a shitload of hacking...by the time you hack your ~$400 PS3, you will have wasted more than enough time (assuming you value your time) than the price differance to get a mini...and after extencive hacking, the PS3 software may crap out.
  • Reply 9 of 86
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by a_greer

    Firmware...no firmware==little chance of OSX without a shitload of hacking...by the time you hack your ~$400 PS3, you will have wasted more than enough time (assuming you value your time) than the price differance to get a mini...and after extencive hacking, the PS3 software may crap out.



    If the PS3 can be hacked to run Linux, I bet it wouldn't be terribly hard to hack the PS3 to run a Darwin variant. Darwin has some big advantages over typical Linux packages, and there's potential to add various services on top of Darwin that aren't necessarily Apple products.
  • Reply 10 of 86
    onyxonyx Posts: 10member
    There's a huge difference between what was actually said with "will be able to support" and the leap it takes to say "Playstation 3 to support Mac OS X Tiger".
  • Reply 11 of 86
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Not only that, but they were talking about the Cell chip, not the entire unit, IMO. It'd be easy for a non-techie writer to think that since Cell is derived from the PowerPC line that all PPC OSs should run on it.
  • Reply 12 of 86
    n9ytyn9yty Posts: 2member
    What do I know, but I think this is highly unlikely.



    Read the reports around the time when the Intel announcement was made. It was quite clear that for Apple to have considered the Cell processor as a replacement/alternative to the PowerPC/Intel direction would have taken MORE work than the Intel move was. Strange, but true. "Dirived from PowerPC" does not make it a PowerPC chip. So there is technical reasons why it is unlikely, outside of all the political/economical issues. :-)



    Also, "could support" or "OS such as" is pie in the sky. It could support UnixWare too, if SCO would port a version for it. It could support DOS, Windows, OS/2, AmigaOS, QNX, OS/400, etc... It *COULD* support anything if the company would support it. I just don't think you'll likely see many or any of the above running on it, including OSX. But, what do I know?
  • Reply 13 of 86
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Wha? This is a weird one. It may well be just a PR hack's pen slip but it could also hint at something significant. I've no doubt we will see Apple and the new 'humble' Sony trying to work closer together; but OS X on PS3? One way of licensing the OS without killing your hardware user base? Strange....
  • Reply 14 of 86
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    Quote:

    Darwin has some big advantages over typical Linux packages



    Such as?
  • Reply 15 of 86
    macslutmacslut Posts: 514member
    I'm so numb from the whole <$500 Mac, Intel, and the Mighty Mouse...I give up. Throw whatever rumor you want at me. I'm ready to believe.
  • Reply 16 of 86
    Quote:

    Originally posted by macslut

    I'm so numb from the whole <$500 Mac, Intel, and the Mighty Mouse...I give up. Throw whatever rumor you want at me. I'm ready to believe.



    i agree apple hae been confusing me a lot lately ps3 ppl seem to really like the idea http://ps3forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=5289
  • Reply 17 of 86
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by macslut

    I'm so numb from the whole <$500 Mac, Intel, and the Mighty Mouse...I give up. Throw whatever rumor you want at me. I'm ready to believe.



    The same here... Intel, Mini mac, Mighty Mouse, PS3. We are entering MOSR zone here...
  • Reply 18 of 86
    Well... I remember a keynote where Steve Jobs said that Sony and Apple where working together... but this would be too far out...



    Now... for sony, having a virus-free OS is by itself enough reason to do this.. And i think the cell processor is powerfull enough to achieve good results with gaming over Tiger.



    Apple in the other hand, would also benefit by having hundreds of games written for the OSX



    This is the link apple was missing... Go for it Apple!
  • Reply 19 of 86
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    oh come on, from their statement, this is about as earth-shattering as "mac os x to run on xbox." well, yes, it CAN, and people have proven as much. but it doesn't mean you'll grab one off the store shelf or have it on a handy-dandy "PS3 installer disc."
  • Reply 20 of 86
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Hmmm. I don't think this has any validity whatsoever.



    At *most*...



    1) Sony uses a stripped-down Darwin as the basis. No GPL to mess with, just a corporate partner.



    2) *IF* they opted to use a more complete MacOS X (GUI, etc), the question would be... why?



    2a) Didn't Sony just shut down their online music store? iTunes? Naw, would require Sony players to support AAC. Although...



    2b) iTunes + iPhoto + QuickTime = media center bundle?



    3) Using Cell as a general purpose CPU for a Mac, however, wasn't and still isn't, a good idea. Cell is geared towards a one-app-at-a-time model. So why would this be any different?



    3a) Limited multiple apps. You're looking at *either* a game, *or* a jukebox, *or* a photo album... never really more than one. This makes Cell doable.



    Hmmm. And here I was going to list why this was bogus.



    Naw, still think it is.
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