PlayStation 2, which sold over 100 million units, had the potential as a supercomputer
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Introduced in 2000, ' PlayStation 2 ' is a super popular game hardware that has sold a total of 155 million units by 2012. An experiment using such PlayStation 2 as a supercomputer was conducted by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in the United States.
NCSA 30 | NCSA creates Sony PlayStation2 cluster
https://ncsa30.ncsa.illinois.edu/2003/05/ncsa-creates-sony-playstation2-cluster/
PlayStation 2 has been known to be a 'game console developed using Linux' from the beginning, and many people have been calling for the release of Linux that can run on PlayStation 2. In response to this situation, Sony released the Linux distribution 'PS2 Linux ' that can run on PlayStation 2 in May 2001. This makes it possible to use PlayStation 2 for computing purposes.
by Colin Keigher
With the advent of PS2 Linux, NCSA researchers are also paying attention to PlayStation 2. Researchers then conclude that running multiple PlayStation 2 proprietary processors optimized for gaming applications at the same time could help in scientific computing. Then, in 2003, researchers clustered 70 PlayStation 2s and conducted an experiment to use them as supercomputers. The New York Times, which reported on the PlayStation 2 clustering, said, 'The most impressive thing about this project was that all the work required for clustering was to deploy 70 game consoles and connect them with a high-speed HP network switch. That's it. '
According to NCSA, useful scientific calculations were performed on the PlayStation 2 for a short period of time, but the impact was significant. 'Given the economics and computing power of gaming platforms, this is a long-term market and computing trend,' NCSA director Dan Reed told the Times interview. It is a predictor of the modern computing market where processors (GPUs) optimized for scientific computing are being actively used for scientific computing.
The PlayStation 3 released in 2006 was also used as a supercomputer, and was used for practical purposes such as being used for the drone system of the US military. The history of PlayStation 3 being used as a supercomputer is explained in detail in the following articles.
History of PlayStation 3 playing an active part in the research field as a 'supercomputer' --GIGAZINE
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