Slashdot Mirror
MAME Changing License To Fully Libre One
jones_supa writes: The source code of MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) has long been freely available, but it's never been completely libre. Instead, it's been available under a modified BSD license that prohibits, among other things, commercial use of the code. MAME engineer Miodrag Milanovic explains that such a license was put in place to deter "misuse of MAME in illegal ways," but it also kept legitimate commercial entities doing business with the software. Examples of such could be museums that charge entry fees from using MAME in their exhibits, or copyright holders rereleasing vintage games encapsulated inside MAME. Now the project wants to go fully open. Milanovic continues: "Our aim is to help legal license owners in distributing their games based on MAME platform, and to make MAME become a learning tool for developers working on development boards." As of yet, there are no specific details about the new license.
It's not the wood or the TV. It's that home consoles are so good that arcade games are not superior to them. That was what finally killed the arcade.
That's why most surviving arcade games are sit-down driving and racing games, DDR clones, or other types of games with big pieces of hardware that you probably won't have at home. You're also not going to have ticket games at home.