Developers had to code this handoff themselves, creating a multi-step process that resulted in a steep learning curve for programming on the PlayStation 3. Harnessing the PS3’s potential – back then and in the present day – wasn’t easy in large part because the process described above wasn’t automatic. Sony flirted with the concept in the PlayStation 2, but boosted the power in the PS3 with a floating speed that was forty times faster than its predecessor. Those SPUs could handle parallel mathematical calculations, which made them perfect for intricate physical simulations, like collisions, clothing, and particles. The processor’s setup allowed the central power processing element (PPE) to offload complex code to the extra cores. The PlayStation 3 utilized a unique structure that differed from the relatively simpler Xbox 360 and PC architectures at the time that Sony called 'Cell.' The PS3 console’s CPU was comparable to the Xbox 360, running at 3.2GHz, but Sony aimed to bolster the CPU’s capabilities by including seven floating co-processors, aka the PS3’s synergistic processing units (SPUs), which were infamously complex for developers. The primary roadblock to proper, official PS3 emulation could be that, well, the console was built differently.
