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copied!<p>Although I have no experience developing applications on the 360 or the PS3, I have done a lot of research into the various merits of the two platforms. I have used C++ for a long time now, and even though I've built several MFC and BeOS applications with it, I've build a number of UNIX server applications with it, and still the console game environment is significantly different.</p> <p>The PS3's Cell chip is really quite a beast to tame, as others have said here, and takes a Carmack-level of talent to properly utilize. That being said, there's nothing wrong with attending a course if it's free, especially if you get to meet people that have developed games before and could give you some advice.</p> <p>If you want to develop games for a console, the best bet for someone with only a rudimentary knowledge of C++ is to use the C#-based XNA kit for the Xbox 360. If you're familiar with the way C++ works, C# isn't that hard to pick up. In fact, I'd argue it's a much smaller learning curve than to make the jump to multi-core, multi-thread Cell-based programming. If you've never developed kernel-level applications before, you should steer clear of that sort of thing until you're ready. Two months is not enough time.</p> <p>There are a number of points that make the XNA platform very compelling for aspiring console developers, not the least of which is the relative safety of C# vs. C++, and the fact that XNA games can be sold through the Microsoft marketplace.</p> <p>I don't know of many PS3 games that have been developed single-handedly, but there are a few examples on the 360 such as Braid that are pretty much solo efforts. The XNA examples are also quite interesting and educational.</p>

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