Taking a cue from Microsoft’s XNA Game Studios, Sony’s Phil Harrison recently said in an interview that Sony would be willing to open up the PS3 to independent developers. (Yes, we know, the Net Yaroze did this years ago, but nobody cared back then. Plus, the homebrew community today is able to produce software that’s better than what a lot of commercial entities come up with.)

Harrison said such development will be a “crucial” aspect of the video game industry from here on out and that Sony wants to be a part of that. This can only be a good move for Sony if it actually goes through with it. Who knows how many young, aspiring coders have the next Katamari on their hands?

Harrison hints at PlayStation 3 homebrew plans [GameIndustry.biz]