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The State of the Homebrew Games Scene In 2009

Posted by Soulskill on from the more-the-merrier dept.

Craig writes "DCEmu has released an article detailing the current state of the homebrew scene on all game consoles, from the Sega Dreamcast to the Nintendo DS to the Nintendo Wii. It even covers unreleased consoles such as Pandora and GP2xWiz. The article explains what is needed to run emulators and games, and whether or not it's worth bothering for each console."

14 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. I have a whole library by spacefiddle · · Score: 4, Funny

    of Phantom ports i'd like to share...

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    That which does not kill us makes us... st
    1. Re:I have a whole library by SIR_Taco · · Score: 2, Funny

      Phantom -noun :
      (1)an appearance or illusion without material substance, as a dream image, mirage, or optical illusion. (2)A person or thing of merely illusory power, status, efficacy, etc.

      One things for sure, they should get an A+ for naming it appropriately.

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      I say don't drink and drive, you might spill your drink. Before you get behind the wheel just stop and think.
  2. Hardware Needed by nurb432 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One FPGA.

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    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  3. Sega Genesis? by Hatta · · Score: 4, Informative

    There was no mention of the Genesis, which has been getting some impressive indie games. There's a brand new RPG being released this spring, and there was one released last December.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  4. All??? by SpiceWare · · Score: 4, Informative
    Hardly all consoles when they leave out the Atari VCS/2600...

    From the AtariAge Homebrew forum I see Ballblazer, K.O. Cruiser, KITE!, Jack and the Beanstalk and others in progress.

    The AtariAge Store currently has 61 homebrews available for purchase in cartridge form so you can play them on a real console.

  5. Re:I don't understand TFA by omeomi · · Score: 3, Funny

    One reason I don't understand TFA is that the punctuation is all over the place... What the hell is up with this sentence:

    "The most powerful console of the next generation is a console that you can install Linux on but for most Linux is too complicated, for a short time there was quite a few BD-J Homebrew releases which used a exploit in the java on the PS3 to release games and some emulators on the PS3, this was killed off by Sony when they released a new firmware.

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    ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
  6. Why I still use PC for games by syousef · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's no home brew better than PC home brew

    - I can legally run software others wrote, even contribute to a commerical game (which I have done as a content author though not as a programmer). The mods for PC games are much more extensive and varied.

    - No semi-legal or legally grey mod chips or other workarounds. Game playing is not worth even a tiny risk of going to jail for some sort of copyright infringement

    - The most accurate true to life simulation - eg. flight simulation - compared to arcade games on most consoles

    - I can take my laptop complete with 17" screen and mobile Nvida 8800GT, and it's not just good for games and media. I can develop code, run scientific apps...the sky's the limit

    Pity new games releases for the PC are dying off. Fortunately there are still lots of games released in the last 15 years that I haven't explored. I dread "upgrading" to Vista though because I know that will kill off some of the games I now enjoy using.

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    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    1. Re:Why I still use PC for games by tepples · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's no home brew better than PC home brew

      PC homebrew can't easily run on a big screen. The PC and TV need to be in the same room, and either the TV needs to be an HDTV or there needs to be a $50 scan converter between the PC's VGA out and the SDTV's composite in. This difficulty is why your 17" laptop doesn't have a lot of party-style games (like Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart Wii, etc.) for it, even though PC operating systems support four gamepads through a USB hub.

      The most accurate true to life simulation - eg. flight simulation - compared to arcade games on most consoles

      But some people want arcade-style games. If I want to develop party games, and my business isn't yet big enough to have a detached office, which platform should I be on?

    2. Re:Why I still use PC for games by BenoitRen · · Score: 2, Insightful

      $300 TV is cheaper than a game console? I beg to differ. The Nintendo Wii is $250, the XBox 360 Arcade is less than $200, the Nintendo DS is $130, and the PSP is somewhere below $200.

    3. Re:Why I still use PC for games by syousef · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think I covered most things. Honestly I've watched the PC gaming market spelled out for freaking years now. It's gotten to the point that I wonder if people understand the difference between change and death.

      I tell you what I do understand. I understand going to my local games shop and seeing one shelf of PC games instead of 8. I understand almost all the games advertised on TV being for consoles. I understand newer operating systems being less developer friendly and a lot more work to code for, not to mention not running older titles. PC gaming isn't just changing. A significant portion of the industry has shifted away from the PC. It'll only get worse as the DRM gets more draconian and it's less and less likely that the game you buy for PC will run without big headaches. I also understand newer titles costing double what old titles use to cost when they were new. Inflation over the last 7-10 years isn't 50%.

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  7. PlayStation 3 by HalAtWork · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm surprised that all people care about running on PS3 is Linux. Sure, you can load up apps within Linux, but nobody has created software from the ground up to run specifically on the hardware using the "Other OS" function, such as a game or something. The GPU is locked out, but you can still display something. Surely someone out there must be tinkering with something you can just install and run on the PS3's bare metal.

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    Twinstiq, game news
  8. Re:I don't understand TFA by MrNaz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Seems pretty easily understandable to me. Not everyone speaks English as a first language, you know. Some people are Mexican.

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    I hate printers.
  9. Article needs proof-reading by BenoitRen · · Score: 2, Informative

    While the article is good information, the article is poorly written. There are a lot of run-on sentences, and multiple typos in every paragraph. The most glaring example is that each time the author means "you're", he writes "your" without fail.

  10. Re:I don't understand TFA by gauauu · · Score: 4, Informative

    I agree, I was hoping for a list of quality games. Here's some of my favorites for GBA and DS:

    GBA:

    DS:

    Now I just need to see if I can find my list of quality homebrew NES and Dreamcast games....