NVIDIA announced in a press release today that it has signed an agreement which will allow registered PS3 developers free access to the binary version of the NVIDIA PhysX software development kit (SDK). The kit will allow developers to create games (more likely to be modifications to existing games to begin with) which will feature the same physics-based effects that PC gamers have had recently (for a limited number of games).
"Games developed for the PLAYSTATION 3 using PhysX technology offer a more realistic and lifelike interaction between the games characters and other objects within the game. We look forward to the new games that will redefine reality for a new generation of gamers," said Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at NVIDIA.
There have been no announcements of the first PS3 games featuring PhysX technology, and it is not clear if support for existing games will be made available later on.
Support for PhysX has still been surprisingly low, even since NVIDIA took over. However, by opening it up to PS3s as well as PCs, the technology might become more popular. The technology has only been used for small, insignificant parts of the games it has been implemented into, typically only being used for the "tear" effect, or breaking glass effects (as it was in Mirrors Edge), as of yet. However, hopefully, as it gains popularity, it will play larger parts in games, offering more realistic gaming.