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Software and Cables for PS1 'Yaroze' System?
Huxley_Dunsany asks: "Yesterday, while attending the (super-duper cool and fun) Classic Game Expo here in Las Vegas, I was lucky enough to trade some old game stuff (Intelivision II, ZX-Spectrum, some Neo-Geo Pocket games) for a really neato black Sony Playstation 'Net Yaroze' edition. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, back in '97, Sony came out with a (very) limited edition of the plain old Playstation. Back in the day, the 'Yaroze' PSX ('Yaroze' supposedly means 'Lets do it together') came with some special cables and software for PC/Mac, and, given enough time and effort and programming talent, you too could create your own Playstation games! Unfortunately, the Yaroze I got yesterday came with nothing but the main CPU - no software, and none of the special PSX-to-PC/Mac serial cables. This morning, I hooked it up and hit the power button, and it fired right up with no problems! So, I'm just wondering if any of you have ever used this seemingly rare dev system, and if you could pass along any good ideas or advice. It seems that Sony has long since discontinued this program (and then recently started it again with the PS2 Linux kit), so I'm not sure where to turn for help if I actually wanted to use this thing to make some games, let alone finding/creating the cables and software."
A quick google search turns up all sorts of stuff:
U TF -8&q=Yaroze
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=
If you read this page, you might find some interesting info:
Ms Ewen said Sony hoped to recreate the strong community that sprung up when the company released Net Yaroze six years ago.
Net Yaroze was a specialised version of the original PlayStation that allowed amateur programming.
The Net Yaroze software ran on a standard PC where the programmer would compile the code and a serial cable connected the PC to the Net Yaroze console.
"It was more limited because it did not access all the capabilities of the machine and there were non-disclosure agreements involved," she said.
There were 6000 Net Yaroze consoles sold across the PAL territories, mainly in the UK and Australia." Sony had developed the Linux Kit for PS2 in response to demand in Japan. The company sold 7000 beta copies in Japan last year but the full version was only released there in late April. "
Since most of the Net Yaroze consoles sold across the PAL territories, mainly in the UK and Australia, you might wanna look for websites in these countries...
Also check out the forums on this website
-- Sig
REJECTED STORY:
Making real money from virtually nothing on Online games
BBC has an interesting article about people making a real living buying and selling goods which only exist in the virtual world of an online fantasy game. A player says that he will declare to the US Internal Revenue Service in April 2004 that his main source of income is the sale of imaginary goods.
I found a schematic here. You'll have to make a PCB and gather a few simple components, then you'll be able to use any standard null modem cable. I just searched google for "playstation serial cable schematic" and it was like the 15th site listed.