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Homebrew Community Blends Gamers and Hackers

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the do-it-yourself dept.

MSNBC is running an article on the gaming homebrew community. They examine the 'do it yourself' attitude of the folks that make mods, knockoffs, and emulations possible. From the article: "So lively is the homebrew scene that some PSP fans -- it's impossible to say how many -- say they don't buy or play new games because they don't want to upgrade their gadgets and lose their homebrew software. There's even a circulating joke slogan: 'Friends don't let friends upgrade their PSPs.' Unable to break through recent versions of the Sony software, PSP homebrewers have moved on to another trick: downgrading their PSPs to earlier versions."

13 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Blending Gamers and Hackers: What setting? by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 2, Funny

    Do they set the blender on puree?

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
    1. Re:Blending Gamers and Hackers: What setting? by RsG · · Score: 5, Funny

      For the regular gamers, yes. For the D&D gamers however, they set it to dice :-P

      --
      Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
  2. Not just PSP by Megane · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It should probably be pointed out that PSP is only one of the many systems that can be homebrewed for. There are many other systems, such as the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, with a pretty strong homebrew community, and within the next year or three, the NES and Sega Genesis will probably see a rise in homebrew programming.

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  3. Luminesweeper thread by tepples · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am the author of the Luminesweeper game that the article mentions. If you have any questions about that game, ask away :-)

  4. Why screw around with the PSP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't get PSP "hacking" - if you want to write code for a cool handheld, why not get a GP2X, which is totally open, easy to develop for (using the standard GNU toolchain), runs Linux, and doesn't have a multi-national corporationa attempting to thwart you at every turn?

    Plus, a GP2X is $169 USD, instead of $199, and you'll save a fortune using SD cards over Sony's proprietary (and absurdly expensive) Memory Stick.

    For the record, I own a GP2X, a PSP, and a DS.

  5. Ultimate Handheld Game Device by nodnarb1978 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'd love to have one unified, well-designed, attractive and ergonomic handheld game unit preloaded with a lightweight, unlocked, extendable OS and emulators for every system ever made.

    I'd pay a lot of money for that.

    But that won't happen in my lifetime, because of the approach the game companies take to copyright law and the razor-and-blades marketing approach.

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    1. Re:Ultimate Handheld Game Device by vga_init · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'd love to have one unified, well-designed, attractive and ergonomic handheld game unit preloaded with a lightweight, unlocked, extendable OS and emulators for every system ever made. I'd pay a lot of money for that.

      You're kidding, right? I've had my GP2X since December, and I love it to death. It doesn't have emualtors for EVERY system evermade (a bit of a hyperbole there), and they aren't preloaded, but there are lots and you can download them right onto an SD card, plug, and go.

      The device itself is lovely and capable--dual core ARM, 320x240 LCD, stereo sound, 64mb of RAM + 64MB of internal flash plus SD reader and external serial port. Also has a USB port, but no host controller, I believe. No wifi, but such nicities as onboard MPEG decoder and TV-out. If that's not enough to tickle your fancy, it runs embedded linux and comes (as of firmware 2.0) a handy file browser, ascii viewer, photo viewer, movie and music player (mplayer). Lots of downloadable utilities such as terminal emulator and pdf viewer.

      The device runs for about $180. You can get one from gp32z.com (official US distributor--where I purchased mine) or google around for it. In my opinion, it's kind of cheap for what it is. You'll get better hardware for your buck if you get a PSP or even a DS, but you can't beat the programmability.

  6. Where...? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Homebrew Community Blends Gamers and Hackers

    The newest coffee for all you caffeine junkies is now available at nearby Starbuck, Peet or Trader Joe.

  7. Not just PSP-Modding sticks and stones. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wonderful. Were can I buy these new-fangled machines?

  8. Wrong by maynard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you purchased a PSP, you own it. You did not purchase a license to use, or a license to rent, or a license which limits certain uses of the device. You own it and can do whatever you wish, including throwing it out a window or bricking it with bad homebrew software.

    A EULA may be attached to copyrighted software and functions as a contractual agreement between the author and the user. This agreement may set terms for duplication of the software, limit certain uses of the software, and as well as set different pricing for various categories of users or regular per-use payments. The EULA is thus expressly bound to copyright and contract law, and lives between the boundaries of the two.

    The PSP is not copyrighted (though firmware within it might be). Thus, it should be legal to use or abuse your PSP however you see fit. However, downgrading firmware might constitute a EULA violation since it constitutes duplication and installation of software - which, depending on the contract terms, could be deemed breach of contract and a copyright violation. But installing emacs, cross compiling the source and installing doom/quake/whatever, or even shoving that PSP up one's ass and mailing it back to Sony for service -- all that should be perfectly legal.

    Please note: IANAL, but I do own a PSP - bought at launch. Given Sony's obnoxious and rude behavior to the homebrew scene though, I regret that purchase. It has not lived up to my expectations, both as a gaming machine (the games mostly suck) and as a homebrew platform. I think I would have been much happier with a DS.

    Oh well, Sony seems intent on economic suicide. Good riddance.

    1. Re:Wrong by nacturation · · Score: 4, Informative

      ... or even shoving that PSP up one's ass and mailing it back to Sony for service -- all that should be perfectly legal.

      Actually, it's illegal to send humans through the mail.

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  9. Re:Can you answer my question or not? by despisethesun · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, they've been in compliance with regards to 90% of their GPL obligations for months. The kernel, uboot, all that stuff is available from their subversion repository last time I checked. The MPlayer source was recently released as well, which as far as I know brings them into full compliance.

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  10. Sony take note! by QuantumFTL · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hope Sony notices the significant demand for the missing functionality provided by these homebrew systems. Some people are willing to go through extraordinary lengths to get these additional features - likely many would pay for them if they were offered as a supported add-on that could increase Sony's revenue stream, and start to dust off their so very recently tarnished name.

    Of course Sony doesn't seem to be reasoning rationally as of late, but one can dream...