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Proposed Set-Top MAME Emulation Console

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the wouldnt'-that-be-fun dept.

BRock97 writes "An interesting post over at MAMEWorld discusses the possibility of the folks at HanaHo Games (the creators of the ArcadePC and the HotRod joystick) creating a set-top system that would run the MAME emulator and allow the user to play their collection of ROMS on a TV. From what has been posted, it sounds like the unit would be comparable to an XBox (with x86 inards), run an embedded OS (sounds like it would be Linux), and the company would fully support end user hacking of the unit (i.e. boot a DivX player). They would like to hit a target price of $200-$300 and would bundle as many ROMS as they have the right to. The company is requesting feedback." I tend to think MAME is best played in a cabinet (guess thats why I built one ;) but would love to see a mame set top box, but a custom box seems harder than simply using a dreamcast or x-box to do it. Course if they can do this with permission of the original ROM makers, this could be awesome.

5 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Similar Posting? by webword · · Score: 5, Informative

    All-In-One Arcade Console

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  2. HOW much??? by darylp · · Score: 5, Informative

    $300 is far too much money for something like this. Put it this way, over here in the UK we can buy a console that looks suspiciously like an old N64 controller which plugs straight into the TV. It holds a large amount of NES games on it. (I haven't checked the number, but there's loads.)

    The price? 30 quid. That's roughly $50.

    Sure, some geekier-than-thou types would get a stiffy from being able to plug Linux into their telly, but the average person won't care whether or not they get their Retro gaming fix from the NES or Arcade versions of games.

    1. Re:HOW much??? by DarkZero · · Score: 5, Informative

      Many people use MAME for Neo-Geo games and other such fighting games, which require at least a 400mhz processor and 256MB of RAM. Emulation nowadays is more than just Atari 2600 games and I think Hanaho realizes that. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they made it quite a bit better than that, since a 400mhz processor with 256MB of RAM won't even play Mortal Kombat properly.

  3. Re:ROM rights cost an arm and a leg... by Thedalek · · Score: 5, Informative

    HanaHo is no fledgling company when it comes to the emulation community. They have successfully licensed a number of games in the past, and turned it into a profitable enough business.

    Check out www.hanaho.com.

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  4. Re:MAME doesn't allow distribution of roms by Drachemorder · · Score: 5, Informative
    "They would have to get the permission of the MAME developers as well. If you read the license that comes with MAME, it forbids distribution together with roms."

    I don't think that would be much of a problem if they legally bought the rights to distribute the roms. The MAME developers put that in there as a guard against being accused of copyright violations and piracy. Take away the threat of piracy lawsuits, and I imagine they'd be perfectly willing to allow MAME to be shipped in this sort of system.