Homebrew Make Or Break

[GREATFLASH]

I was just thinking about what makes a console (be it handheld or not).... Homebrew..

I just puchased a Gizmondo, nice machine with tons of potential..... 400mhz processor, and a graphics chip that could put the PSP to shame... And what am I doing with it you may ask... ? Well.. the novelty of the gps has worn off, the demo game (trailblazer) has lost it's impact, the text and camera where nice for a while... But, what am i left with.. A hunk of nicely made plastic and nothing to play...
A machine like that could run c64, atari, nes, gb, pce, most of mame, and amiga/st a bloody dream - but no-chance... there will never be a homebrew scene for the little beauty - a real shame... They have seen fit to make it so damn awkward to develop for (i tried to get infomation), and made it too hard to customise for personal tastes. shame shame shame...

Take the GP32 and PSP, the gp32 wins because of a big fan base (how it got it I will never know - don't get me wrong, I own a blu and love it - just, a little unknown machine with a great following). The psp HAD to be cracked because it's SONY.. everyone wanted to be the first to release good homebrew, and boy! have they... (wish 2 gig duos were cheaper)..

I will get to the point soon... (Honest)

I also bought a Tapwave Zodiac (stop swearing). Some good emus but very slow in support...

Why does the PSP deserve such support... More quality apps/software were released in the first few weeks than the consoles mentioned above...

I want the same qual for my gp32 and my new Gizmondo... (trust me i is a POWERFUL machine)

So... My point is, the make or break of a machine is its homebrew... the psp would be nothing without it, and the same goes for the GP32... the poor old Gizmondo & Zodiac are dead-in-the-water because of the lack of! Would you still think the same if the GP32 was limited ro comercial releases - and more to the point, would the GP32 still exist...???

And.... I will tell you what else GRINDS MY GEARS

I want a gig memory card for my GP, 128 is <<NOT>> emough!!!

 

[pea]

Hi GF,

Iagree, 128MB is way not enough, just wait for the gpx2

I have only read about the Gizmondo and looked around for info on the net about it, as it seems to only be a UK thing at the mo? It looks really cool - it would be my handheld of choice - it has so much potential! So many goodies on board - IF it were homebrew it would be the biz. There seem to be lots of problems with sim card support at the moment? I have even read multiple posts on Gizmondo forums about the console actually killing itself with incorrect sim card usage!!

The GP32 when It was first released was also NOT open source. I think GP realised how stupid this was early on and released a cut-down version of the SDK for homebrew dev. The new spin-off, GPH, are clued on though, and are making the console completely open from the get-go. Good on them.

If a computer or console can be developed for, it will last much longer, and have broader appeal. Just look at the C64 - it still has an active (albeit small) development scene to this day! It also won't stop people buying commercial titles, because hoembrew developers don't have the grunt of the mainstream dev houses, and so the titles they produce are so vastly different. Homebrew titles are usually short, novel, fun games with so-so graphics )) - commercial are usually big, involved, detailed games.

I will get to the point soon... (honest)

Basically, I agree

 

[DaveC]

Gizmondo? yeah powerful but the screen is too damn small.

PSP would be nothing w/o homebrew? I think the commercial games are decent for it.

128 MB too small? that is easy just buy a couple of cards and dedicate 1 whole card to each emu etc. 128M SMCs are cheap. It would be nicer if they were bigger but it is no show stopper, at least for me.

 

[Squidge]

Ah yeah, meet DaveC, the person that has something negative to say about every console in existance

I think the Gizmondo will be hacked in time, they've already found some software that allows you to remotely run any signed (yes, signed, not unsigned) software. This means they can run most standard Windows stuff, like open webpages, control panel, regedit, etc. So the first piece of armour has already fallen off - locking people to only be able to run a single executable from an SD with no response whatsoever if anything was wrong. At least people can get error messages now, and mess around with the registry, etc.

Once people got to this stage with the available SmartPhones, it wasn't long until they were able to run unsigned software.

 

[pea]

So the Gizmondo runs some version of windows :blink: windows CE?

DaveC? yeah many ideas but the mouth is too damn big

 

[menion]

If there would be some emulators and stuff availble to the console (..running in great speed with sound) I would order a giz in this very moment. Love to try new "toys" out. ;>

Does anyone know how the giz screen deal with ordinary bright daylight? (using the unit outside Is it as dark as the gp32 blu / psp or can u actually see what u doin at the screen using it outside ?

Squidge: read in some thread at the bord that u got a giz. Would be nice if you wrote a small review and shared your thoughts, pro's and con's, with us :] If u got the time and aint to busy with ur gp32 or somethin ;>

 

[skeezix]

Heres the industry view..

What makes a console is Madden. Once it has Madden, it has a shot at succeeding publicly (ie: makes money, and lots of games.. so companies + public are happy.)

What makes the hardcore fan happy is homebrew. But hb terrifies the industry, since it means piracy.

Easy

jeff

 

[pea]

How does HB mean piracy?
I mean, how do you equate HB on the GP32 to piracy? I don't see the link...

 

[tattooman]

The Gizmondo sounds like some type of Mexican dish, LMAO just had to say it as I the name it's self does not attract me to that product. Forget having to get a digital signature that's as bad as hvaing to update the firmware on the PSP.

 

[White Demon]

How does HB mean piracy?
I mean, how do you equate HB on the GP32 to piracy? I don't see the link...

​

Well of course that doesn't make any sense when applied to the GP32. After all, the commerical scene is extremely thin on the ground for our beloved little machine.

Then look at a successful mahcine like the PSP. The ability to run homebrew means the ability to run unsigned code, which in turn means that you can obtain a pirate copy of any commerical game and run it without having to worry about whether the code has been signed or not.

That's why the industry is terrfied by homebrew and why Sony is hell bent on stopping it on the PSP through forced firmware updates and so forth.

Oh and Skeezix, I think what makes a console from the industry view is being supported by EA, not just Madden. EA never supported the Dreamcast, and look what happened there.

 

[pea]

Since I don't own a commercial console of any kind, I am not too familiar with the concept of 'signed' software. I have never had to deal with it for my GP either.

How does signed software differ?

Couldn't there be a signing process for homebrew, so instead of running unsigned commercial games, you could run signed homebrew? I guess if you did this, people would release commercially pirated games with a homebrew sig...

I take it its like a special encrypted serial that matches one in the firmware?

 

[Alpha2]

I assume it means the systems is told "don't run anything that dosent have this code" so if you get permission from say Sony, you get the code to place in your applications thus making the program run without a hack.

This isnt going to happen with sony unless you're a REAL developer like EA or Capcom. Sony is psychotic about DRM and they dont care for anything being run on their hardware without their permission, I think even the Yaroze home dev program for the PSone and the Linux OS for the PS2 were done with the smallest possible community they could possibly have Once they got to a certain size or started doing things they didn't like they seemed to be virtually abandoned.

Sony isn't going to allow an uncontrolled homebrew community on the PSP because they know the first thing someone will do is make a copyright infringing emulator.

 

[GREATFLASH]

Gizmondo? yeah powerful but the screen is too damn small.

PSP would be nothing w/o homebrew? I think the commercial games are decent for it.

128 MB too small? that is easy just buy a couple of cards and dedicate 1 whole card to each emu etc. 128M SMCs are cheap. It would be nicer if they were bigger but it is no show stopper, at least for me.

​

you miss my point (easy to do). The PSP has flown on the back of homebrew.. Yes, the commercial games are all very nice to look at and some play ok.. But the emu's are great.. Rin is in my opinion the best GB emu I have used (totally slick and smooth at all times). But the amount of post on PSP udates is increasing all the time..

The gizmondo has a nice screen... it does not look small unless compared to a PSP. it is the power of the handheld that i was describing - and that is the point.. I tell you now that it does give the PSP a damn good run in the graphics and sound stakes... and it takes a SD card - 1gig plus..

128 is TOO small... Yes, you can piss about with multi cards and the such... but I want a gig card and be done with it.. This will Never happen

Oh well... Poor old flash is off to work...

 

[Mr_Munk]

Then look at a successful mahcine like the PSP. The ability to run homebrew means the ability to run unsigned code, which in turn means that you can obtain a pirate copy of any commerical game and run it without having to worry about whether the code has been signed or not.

That's why the industry is terrfied by homebrew and why Sony is hell bent on stopping it on the PSP through forced firmware updates and so forth.

​

This is true and it's also the fact that a lot of gamers want something for nothing, and as such 'cracked' commercial games will become the number one commodity that make Companies so protective.

 

[White Demon]

you miss my point (easy to do). The PSP has flown on the back of homebrew.. Yes, the commercial games are all very nice to look at and some play ok.. But the emu's are great.. Rin is in my opinion the best GB emu I have used (totally slick and smooth at all times). But the amount of post on PSP udates is increasing all the time..

​

OK, yes the PSP has taken off with the homebrew scene but it's not them alone that has made the console a success, not by a long shot. Let's pretend for a minute that there is no homebrew available for the PSP and never will be. Do you really think the PSP is gonna fail? Of course it won't, sony's promoting the arse out of it, and the developers are lining up to produce games for it. Add to that the fact that it can play music and movies anywhere, anytime..... it's a machine that will appeal to the masses.

Sony were smart when the made the PSP. They were onto a winner and they knew it. Homebrew, although nice and well, is really only a speck on the PSP radar.