Sega Supports Emulation 120
rapett0 writes "Sega of Japan has decided to take a much welcomed step and support downloading and playing of Genesis/Mega Drive and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games on the Dreamcast via a service called DreamLibrary. Apparently they will cost $1.50 per download/per day and you lose the game after you turn off your system, but can redownload if you still have rental time left on the game that day. The same article makes mention that Bleem! might be released for Dreamcast as well. " Granted, this is only for Japan right now - but it's a cool step.
Re:the price of convenience (Score:2)
Re:... (Score:1)
"spare the lachrymosity when the fulminations have inveighed"
Duh. Disk swap. (Score:2)
Though I dunno if we're totally understanding this Bleem/DC concept. It'd be *cool* to be able to play PSX games on the Dreamcast with Bleem, but I think it's more likely that Bleem are doing a DC emulator of their own, a la Bleem PSX.
Still, if we do get Bleem for the DC (instead of Bleem *of* the DC), that'd give me more console space in my game system - I could sell the PSX, keep the PSX CD's for use with Bleem on my DC while I wait to add a PSX2 in the meantime.
It'd be great to see this sort of 'cooperation' between console giants, heh heh
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:1)
But Bleem^TM for the Dreamcast console? Is it even fast enough to run PSX games at full speed? I'd think only PSX 2 has enough juice for that (binary compatibility is one of PSX 2's selling points).
Probably it is fast enough. The reason that bleem! on a Pentium II 233 sucks and psx games on the 4x33mhz run fine is timing. Your cpu has to pretend to be four seperate processors all at the same time. The DC would be able to do it, but it would be a LOT of work.
Sega is setting themselves up for disaster (Score:1)
Re:The Next Step... (Score:1)
Sega doesn't have to support it. Nintendo is still saying that emulators are illegal. Of course, when the courts have already ruled it legal, it would be a good idea for Sega to try to make money from it, rather than fighting it.
Re:I'm really torn on this. (Score:2)
You mean like the price of CD's and VHS tapes went down with time?
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Why can't I own it? (Score:4)
I'll accept that this is an interesting development, and perhaps even a good one, but in truth, it really scares me.
Perhaps I'm being old-fashioned here or even a classic trained-monkey consumer, but ... I really want to own it, rather than rent it.
Our economy today seems to be moving more and more away from individual ownership to centralized ownership where our rights to use an item or a service are doled out on a per-item basis. Consider the fact that almost no one leased a car twenty years ago; it was something of a right of passage to own one. ...but these days, it's far more likely that one of us will lease rather than buy. ...and consider the new "hot area" of the Internet: ASP (application service providers, that is) and thin clients. Will I be able to buy my proprietary software in the future, or will I have to rent a timeshare in a server?
I think this is certainly a cool development, but every time I think about the possibility of not actually owning something that is a significant part of my life, I get chills. Am I alone here, folks?
Re:Duh. Disk swap. (Score:1)
Does a PC have enough power to emulate a Dreamcast? It usually takes about 5 years before PCs are able to emulate consoles. IIRC, the PSX has only a 33 MHz processor. The DC is a lot more advanced, in terms of processor speed, graphics hardware, etc. But it may be possible to emulate a DC on a PS2 or Nintendo Dolphin system (or a PS2 on a DC, etc.).
Combine this with Sega.Com (Score:1)
Wiwi
"I trust in my abilities,
not sure about this (Score:1)
Not to sound like one of those people...but... (Score:1)
so my question is
is it possible/economical?
djsw
Nothing New (Score:2)
As far as emulation goes, this too is nothing new, emulators for Sega's systems have existed for free since console emulation took off in 1996. Nor is the fact that a large gaming company decided to no longer ignore its collection of old games really innovative. The PSX has seen many old SNES games being re-released on an emulator.
The only way this could be considered significant is if Sega will allow this to operate for a long time. One important aspect of emulation is the preservation of classic games and this could help Sega's classics to survive in legality....
Sega even did this in USA. (Score:1)
Re:Duh. Disk swap. (Score:1)
Re:The Next Step... (Score:2)
What is almost impossible to do however is obtain a development license. You must build a fairly reputable software company and demonstrate your ability to provide high-quality game releases (read: profit potential) before they will even read your app.
Then there's all kinds of exclusivity rights and things that cost you extra $$$ to get taken out of your contract (e.g. if you want to produce the same game for both the Dreamcast and the PlayStation)
On one hand, this leads to very good (or at least 99% bug free) games for any console. Imagine if Microsoft licensed windows application developers this way -- it probably would never crash.
On the other hand it makes it almost impossible for a small company to afford to develop console games and games notwithstanding, developing software for said system that is NOT A GAME is almost unheard of. Look at what happened to the "Game Genie" people that made the first "game enhancer" product for the NES - Nintendo threw them for broke with lawsuits. Luckily the GameShark guys handled development through the console manufacturers so they aren't out of business.
As far as I am concerned, software that is not games needs to make it down to consoles; and soon. The Dreamcast has been a very good step in this direction with Sega embracing applications other than games.
~GoRK
Re:the price of convenience (Score:2)
If they were ever to make this service available here in the US, I think that we'd see more reasonalbe rates probably
~GoRK
I would remind everyone.... (Score:2)
Nintendo developed and released their "super gameboy" product that allowed you to play GameBoy games on your SNES probably 5 or 6 years ago.
~GoRK
Re:the price of convenience (Score:1)
Re:I would remind everyone.... (Score:1)
When the pack animals stampede, it's time to soak the ground with blood to save the world. We fight, we die, we break our cursed bonds.
Re:Gameline (Score:1)
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/9260/
A bit of trivia: The company that made the service, Control Video Corporation, became AOL.
Re:Yvs and Military Maddness (Score:1)
Re:cool step (Score:1)
In what format? If you mean selling a burned roms for use in a actual Genesis, I doubt they could do it for $10 a game. The cost of making roms is rather steep, and making a small batch of games that only a few people will buy will drive up the cost. If you remember the NeoGeo system, one of the reasons the games cost so much was that the games needed alot of space (about 10 Megs in some cases) that had to be burned into roms. Sega has none of these games in stock any more, and new copies would have to be made.
If you mean downloaded roms, where would you store them? The dreamcast has no hard drive. And having to download the same rom that you bought over and over would be rather annoying, unless you had good bandwidth.
Re:Dreamcast + LAN + This Service = Free (Score:1)
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:1)
The reason so few emulators manage that is because consoles have excellent graphical and sound subsystems (ie, self-contained, very little overhead, etc.). Computers on the other hand are very centralized. ('cept maybe for the Miggy, I don't know much about that.) We're starting to see a bit of an attempt at a paradigm switch over to the console system in several areas (Some sound cards, such as the GUS, and some video cards with GPUs rather than just your typical 3dfx chipset or whatever), some of which don't do so well.
The DreamCast, on the other hand, is a rather extensive, well-thought-out video game console. It adheres to the typical decentralized paradigm, and as such, could probably easily handle PSX games. I don't know a lot about either system, but I assume that both are rather similar when it comes down to it, except that the DC is much more advanced.
What I'm saying is, hell yeah, the DC can handle it blindfolded, IMO.
-=Canar=-
Re:Why can't I own it? (Score:1)
The major reason that application service providers might be more successful in this area is much lower costs. At the moment, selling individual packages means actually getting them produced, distributed, manning technical helpdesks, etc. ASPs, though, can both capture some of the revenue which at the moment goes to distributors, and provide a smoother environment and automatic upgrades to the software.
If leasing software worked out to be cheaper and just as (if not more) reliable for the average consumer than going out and buying the package, you can see leasing really growing in popularity. People actually selling a whole package wouldn't be able to compete and would have to stop producing the software and/or start leasing it online...
I don't see a big problem here. After all, I use electricity every day but I don't feel the need to go and buy a generator just in case the power company doesn't want to give me any.
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:1)
tangent - art and creation are a higher purpose
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:2)
Probably. The DC uses a 200Mhz Hitachi SuperH processor and has a much more advanced graphics system than the PSX. The original PSX used a 33Mhz MIPS R3000 variant processor and a very simple 3D chip.
So basically the DC would have 6 clock cycles to emulate each of the PSX's clock cycles... Is this possible? I think so. Probably not by doing simple interpretive emulation... probably techniques like dynamic recompilation and just-in-time compiling would be necessary for full speed.
Using the more advanced graphics system of the DC, they could also add graphics features to the rendering of old PSX games (e.g. perspective correct textures).
This.. (Score:1)
Re:Seriously, how bad would a preboot CD be? (Score:1)
Old News (Score:2)
Yvs and Military Maddness (Score:1)
FYI: I still have my TG-16 with CD drive and the system is still way rad.
Re:the price of convenience (Score:1)
I would probably use it if it were a $1.50 to use it forever type license. But of course, that's not what they're suggesting.
Re:$1.50 a day?!?!?!?!??!!? (Score:1)
Keep in mind though that it would be stupid to go there with $100 just to get every game for the system. Not every game on these systems are classics (in fact, there's only about 20 or so). But sure, if you dont already have one of the old systems, this route is much better. I'd much rather have a peice of hardware sitting next to my TV than the right to access some bits on my VMU.
Re:ermmm... $1.50? (Score:1)
-Dusty Hodges
So what? (Score:1)
I think it's a waste of time...
When the pack animals stampede, it's time to soak the ground with blood to save the world. We fight, we die, we break our cursed bonds.
Re:Archie Bunker, eh? (Score:1)
Re:Good for game developers (Score:1)
And of course, we'd have to make sure that they were only collecting the gameplay data in aggregate...
Walt
Re:Actually they *licensed* KGen (Score:2)
AFAIK, the MP3.com ruling said it was illegal for MP3.com to rip the CDs onto their servers, but it didn't address existing ownership.
Re:I'm really torn on this. (Score:1)
EXACTLY like that. Remember old great movies like "The Terminator"? Remember how the ONLY way you could ever enjoy then was to either rent them or pay the $70 or so price that the rental store had to pay for it? Now, $13 will get you a copy.
And if you add inflation to the original cost... wow... VHS has truly changed.
If the same would happen to CDs.
doesn't seem to fit the console business model (Score:1)
so what i don't get is why the hell sega would want a psx emulator on their platform. if people buy a dc and bleem, they can buy psx games and play them on their dc. the money for the psx games lines sony's pockets, not sega's. sega winds up losing money on the dc, and never recouping it on the software sales because people are buying psx games.
this doesn't make a whole lot of sense...
a $1500 a day (Score:1)
the old /. thread was a hoax, and it even says so. (Score:1)
read the story before you quote it.
Re:Why can't I own it? (Score:2)
Maybe you are in a minority -- at the end of the day, the market will decide. If a sufficient number of people like you want a box and a physical medium and an instruction booklet, and are prepared to pay for them, then someone will be there to sell you those things, and make a profit.
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Re:The Next Step... (Score:1)
ermm.. no. sega doesn't have to license anything it doesn't want to. to make a dreamcast game, you need to get a license to create the game. this is true of the psx, the n64, etc. this is one of the primary reasons the dc used the GD-ROM format. you can't get a GD-ROM without going through sega. so if sega doesn't want a particular game on their console, they just don't license it, plain and simple. the court ruling said sony can't stop bleem! from being produced to run on other systems (like the PC or mac), which is a very different thing.
Re:I would remind everyone.... (Score:2)
Likewise, the PSX versions of some SNES games mentioned by another poster are likely to be ports, as opposed to being the original ROMs running emulators.
Whether this is relevant or not, I don't know
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Re:the old /. thread was a hoax, and it even says (Score:1)
But what if... (Score:1)
side note: i remember when i got my Turbo-CD and my friends all excitedly informed me that i could play Japanese games on it. Me: "Well, a CD is a CD, right? Why wouldn't you be able to?" Siiigh. =(
Schweet! (Score:1)
Re:$1.50 a day?!?!?!?!??!!? (Score:1)
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:1)
Re:I would remind everyone.... (Score:1)
When the pack animals stampede, it's time to soak the ground with blood to save the world. We fight, we die, we break our cursed bonds.
Re:Two thoughts (Score:1)
That, and you don't have to have owned them in the first place. Like, if you rented it, liked it, never bought it... now you can rent it again. From home.
this should take about 30 seconds to get cracked. (Score:1)
unless they really thought this out. it'll be cracked by some japanese kid by morning.
-Jon
Re:Neato! (Score:1)
---
script-fu: hash bang slash bin bash
Neato! (Score:1)
--
Go with it (Score:1)
Sounds kewl (Score:1)
$1.50 / day ?!?!?! (Score:2)
Anyway, it'd be fun having a half-dozen consoles, ranging from 8 to 64 bit, sitting near your TV. (Though personally I prefer Nintendo's games anyway, so an N64 and an SNES are all I need).
Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:2)
Cool! I can play Sonic the Hedgehog on the Dreamcast console. But there should be a "purchase" option or a "rent to own" option that after 20 rentals ($30) licenses the game to a user permanently.
But Bleem^TM for the Dreamcast console? Is it even fast enough to run PSX games at full speed? I'd think only PSX 2 has enough juice for that (binary compatibility is one of PSX 2's selling points).
$1.50 a day?!?!?!?!??!!? (Score:3)
Good for game developers (Score:3)
A secondary benefit, of course, is that they can provide bug fixes in internet time (provided they set it up right.
In the long term, I think playing against "artificial intelligence" will always be less interesting then playing against flesh and blood other players. Obviously if you got connectivity for online game rentals, you've got connectivity to multiplayer servers. Now if we could just do something about those network latencies...
Anyone remember "Snapshot" for the C64? (Score:1)
Do the same with the dreamcast!
$1.50? (Score:2)
It would be *much* more attractive if it was, say, $0.50 per day.
I'm really torn on this. (Score:1)
Still, if they've got on-console emu support, maybe collection CD's of 50+ old games will come out. That I might be more interested in. Or the old "Order a custom-made CD" thing, but with roms, at ooh, say $4 each. Idunno.
Doesn't matter anyways, I'm still going PSX2, not Dreamcast. Sony is evil, yah, I know, but I still want Armored Core II.
Sega has always supported emulation (Score:2)
Re:$1.50 / day ?!?!?! (Score:1)
Ah, you have a point there. Didn't think of that.
The notslgia is definately great, but a day is about all I could tolerate of about 95% of those games... Of course, given the extreme numbers of them, there are some really exceptional games for "obsolete" systems, which except for the graphics are better than games today!
Oh, definitely. Shadowrun for SNES is probably the best console game I've ever played (though Zelda: The Ocarina of Time comes fairly close). I tend to only get games I'm really likely to want (or, for older systems, ones that I already played and liked a lot). Otherwise I'd be spending too much money (not to mention time).
(-1, Troll) Oh man, is Sony going to be pissed... (Score:1)
But the idea of the Dreamcast running Bleem! had me laughing out loud. I can hear Sony's people gnashing their teeth from here...
--
Re:... (Score:1)
Electronic rentals, as a medium, has been slow to catch on...interesting, considering we now trust the internet with our communications, stocks, credit card numbers, CDs, grocery shopping, etc. But when it comes to movies, people seem to want to be able to touch it, feel it, chew it, swallow it, and pass it through their lower intestine. I guess some technologies are still a long ways away from being accepted...
Gameline (Score:1)
Now all they need is a game as fun and addicting as Kaboom! [newbreedsoftware.com] to download. ;)
crap (Score:1)
The Next Step... (Score:2)
Of course, you can still buy a CD of some of the great old Sega games (for Windows, I haven't been able to get it to run properly in Wine though I suspect it can be done) that'll be it.
Sega has to support Bleem! because it was ruled a legal application by the courts. Of course, Bleem! faces Digital Millenium, and may lose the next round.
Y'know, I remember a time when, if I bought a game I could put it on my hard drive. These days, it seems like few of my games will run unless I actually have the CD-Rom disk in the drive.
Prediction, one of the first events following Sega's "generous" offer will be someone hacks a way to keep the game on their machine as long as they want... and, of course, Sega goes after them with a bunch of nasty lawyers.
I've been thinking of getting a Dreamcast (I still may) but I will not support this form of emulation because it is a threat to having games released in ownable format.
The companies can sell me their content, but if I can't own it, free and clear, I don't want it!
Re:Actually they *licensed* KGen (Score:2)
Game developers can use the dumped ROM legally, simply as the "reverse-engineering" way (how did this game accomplish X, Y, and Z?). This dumped ROM for game developers satisfies "intermediate medium" criteria, which is how Bleem! and Virtual Game Station managed to get rulings overturned (of use of the Sony BIOS - the intermediate file analysis of a dump of the BIOS is allowed to write the program).
Which, unfortunately, means all ROM sites are illegal. But, unlike Nintendo (which does not want to license old game ROMs at ALL), at least Sega is attempting to right that wrong by letting people legally use their ROMs.
Reference: http://www.emuhq.com/emufaq/mod2_pt2.htm (the parent to this file is an excellent source of legality information)
U.S.C. 17 Section 117 (Limitations on exclusive rights: Computer programs)
well yeah (Score:1)
atari 2600 gameline (Score:2)
Sega brought this service to market (unlikely)
it would probably not be popular, and almost
certainly not profitable.
The atari 2600 had a similar service available...
the "Gameline" was a combination modem/storage
device that let you download a game over your
phone line. You could play it until the machine
was either turned off or the reset button was hit
six (?) times. IIRC, the service, like so many
atari accessories, was canned.
Of course, the atari 2600 didn't have a built-in
modem (you had to buy extra hardware), so the DC
has at least *that* advantage. I still don't see
this being a profitable venture for Sega. With
the gameline, at least you were getting "modern"
atari games... games that would otherwise cost you
$40-50 for the cart. Mastersystem/Genesis games
are not modern, and are practically free nowadays.
Oh well.
Re:Duh. Disk swap. (Score:1)
I doubt this. It takes a minimum p2 233 w/ mmx to run Bleem PSX. This is to emulate a console that runs on a 33 mhz processor with what, 4 mb of ram? The DC has a 200 mhz processor as well as a 3d chip, and it has much more ram than the psx. Even if team Bleem had managed to make an emu for the DC this quickly (and remeber, the DC is a more complicated system in many ways... modem, vmus etc...) there is only an install base of 2 million or so users compared to the PSX's 70 million+. Why bother making a new product to emulate the DC? Especially if only the highest end PCs could run it? It make more sense they would simply port their existing product over. Especially since this would probably severely piss off their nemesis, Sony. Backwards-compatibilty is a big deal for Sony, and it would hurt them a little, just in terms of PR, if the DC was the first console to be backwards compatible with the PSX.
Personally, I think it would be cool if Bleem came out for the DC. I don't think it'll hurt ps2 sales much, though...
Josh Sisk
Re:Warez (Score:1)
Why? This is for the DC, not your PC. What will the warez groups be able to do to/with it? If you mean somehow extracting the roms for use on the PC, aren't there already dozens of sites with all the roms you could ever want?
Josh Sisk
Dreamcast + LAN + This Service = Free (Score:2)
I had one of those! :) (Score:2)
Also built into that cart was a live memory hex editor, disk hex editor, sprite catcher/saver, sid catcher (you could scan the c64's memory for sound files of various types, and save the associated area of memory to floppy) as well as a few other options... I remember spending like 80$ for that thing, best $$ ever spent on the c64
I guess my favorite use for it tho was to get around the copy protection for games like Druid, Mission Impossible, Raid on Bungling Bay (very cool one) and Airwolf.... all of which had really nasty floppy based copy protections, AND completely loading the base code in ram... (they had associated data disks with the other levels on them, w/o the crazy copy protection....)
man i miss those days
Re:Two thoughts (Score:1)
Not really. If they were, they'd be making the DC backwards compatible with the Saturn. I think this is more like they're trying to milk the Japanese market, which is very different from our own. The Japanese consumer will pay those prices to play the games... If this makes it to the USA, expect it to be a feature of the Sega.com internet provider... Either free with subscription or an extra charge monthly to access all games. If they try to bring this system over without price drops or a major change, it will fail.
I don't think they ever will. If Sega can put Bleem onto Dreamcast, Sony can certainly put some Master System emulator onto PS2!
There is no way they could make the PS2 a Master System emulator. I think it'd be really hard to fit the cartidges in the cd-tray. They could emulate the Master System, sure, but Sega owns the game library. And thats what this is about. They have a huge library of games, doing nothing for them, so they are trying to put it to use, make a little spare change and add one more attractive feature to their online aspect and their console as a whole.
Josh Sisk
Re:The Next Step... (Score:1)
And they would fight it why? Anything that harms Sony helps Sega, and an emulator which removes the only remaining reason to buy a Playstation (great library of old games) helps Sega enormously. One of the PSX2's big selling points will be that it can play PSX games. If the Dreamcast can do the same it will be a major coup for Sega.
Anyone remember "Play Cable"? (Score:1)
Back in my youth you could get a service called "Play Cable" from Cablevision (at least on Long Island). You got an Intellivision with a cartridge that plugged into your cable TV line, and had a menu of maybe 10 games you could choose to play. As far as I recall they were full versions of the games (of course, back then a full game was probably 8k).
Don't remember what it cost, and it wasn't around for too long, but I still think it was a great idea.
Re:doesn't seem to fit the console business model (Score:2)
How many people, once they own a next gen system, will buy last gen's games? very few.
If it is true, thsi is a ploy to try and get some of the PSX owners to move up to Sega instead of PS2. One of the big selling points of PS2 is that you can still play your old games. If You can play the old games on the DC as well, for half the price, the PS2 suddenly looks less appealing. This, of course, only applies to mass market consumers, not hardcore gamers.
Once those mass market gamers get a DC, they will buy DC games, because those games are new, and are prettier than the PSX games they already have. It's all about gaining market share.
Josh Sisk
Re:cool step (Score:1)
Re:Anyone remember "Snapshot" for the C64? (Score:1)
Sigh....I kinda miss those days too. Games were lame as heck most of the time, but there were also a bunch of very original games. Even the crappy ones were at least usually original in concept.
Anyway, I just recenty got a copy of Elite 2 for the PC from a guy in England....YAY!! It is sooooooooo fun. It's ancient, as far as PC games go...but it is easily my fave at the moment. ^_^ It brings back such fond memories too....I just wish it didn't have that lame MIDI music....lol
OK...I feel like I'm wandering off-topic...but it was fun to remember those days.
<> Kat ^_^
Re:I would remind everyone.... (Score:1)
_______
Scott Jones
Newscast Director / ABC19 WKPT
Commodore 64 Democoder
PS2 Emulation? (Score:1)
"There must be something on this thing for that thing!" -Homer J. Simpson
Re:Neato! (Score:1)
The PC thing is from the old NEC PC Engine console. Sega apparently acquired the rights to the games for it.
They're cool about emulation, as long as it's on their systems and you pay a bit much for it.
I don't get it (Score:1)
__________________________________________________ ___
... (Score:1)
remind anyone of divx?
I don't think this'll last long...
Does "Metallica v. Napster" mean anything to u? (Score:2)
Re:Is the DC console fast enough? (Score:1)
Good idea, but I think $30 is a bit steep for a Genesis game nowadays. Maybe something in the $5 to $10 range would be more appropriate, considering that 1) Genesis games wouldn't go for that much in stores anyway, and 2) you wouldn't be paying for packaging, manuals, etc.; you'd just be paying the license fees.
=================================
A good thing (Score:2)
Somebody needs to get the contact information for Sega, and send it to the RIAA.
More! More! (Score:2)
And while we're on the topic, why can't Sega release a public SDK for the Dreamcast so public domain stuff can be ported? There's a pretty decent effort going to port the Linux kernel to SH [embedded.cl]. It'd be really cool to see it on Dreamcast. No need to release the GD-ROM info to prevent pirates...all I want is to hook a hard drive/ethernet to it so I can roll my own Dreamcast software.
Yeah, but your attention span doesn't suck... (Score:2)
(I'm not saying your attention span doesn't suck, btw. It probably just doesn't suck as much as Generation X2.0, though...)
Sega will probably make, on average, about $10 per game, per user on this system, and it won't be coming from rational, attention-span-of-an-old-gnat types like you or I
Two thoughts (Score:2)
Secondly, this seems not much different to what Sony is doing with PSX2 - except Sony don't expect the owners of original PSX games to pay the extra to play them on their new console. Would I get a rebate for owning an original cartridge of Space Harrier for the Master System, or would I still have to pay?
Seems to me that Sega are desperately trying to catch up with all the cool features of PS2. I don't think they ever will. If Sega can put Bleem onto Dreamcast, Sony can certainly put some Master System emulator onto PS2!
Actually they *licensed* KGen (Score:2)
Contrast this with Sony and Nintendo's shrill claims that emulation itself is illegal. Sega does act to shut down ROM sites, but regardless of how you try and weasel around it those sites are 100% illegal (moreso actually if you apply the MP3.com ruling - now the "it's legal to download if you own the cart" argument is gone).
Of course, I'm damn biased - I write console games for a living, and my continued ability to buy cool geek gear depends on piracy being shut down
Re:Old News (Score:2)
Try this [colostate.edu] one for size:
Gameline was a service offered by Control Video Corporation that admitted the downloading of games to the the 2600 over regular phone lines. The Gameline used a variable 800-2000 baud modem, according to Kevin Horton's Gameline Page. The Gameline Master Module originally sold for $49.95 and there was a one-time membership fee of $15. Charges were about $.10 a game or $1 for up to an hour of play. Contest games were $1 and there was a $.50 charge to enter a score. On your birthday, not only were you given free play for a day, but you also received a Happy Birthday screen, complete with cake, candles and music. Atari 2600 trumps... well... anything else you can throw at it. It's the oldest, man!
Re:$1.50 / day ?!?!?! (Score:2)
Of course, this is japan, which has a much higher standard of living. Is this 1.50 a simple conversion from yen to dollars, or are they taking this into account?
BTW, I do have over a half-dozen consoles near my tv, from the know stuff like NES and a pair of SNES's to the obscure stuff like turbo-grafix and 3do, and it's quite a pain keeping it organized
Of course, given the extreme numbers of them, there are some really exceptional games for "obsolete" systems, which except for the graphics are better than games today!
a modest proposal (Score:4)
ROMs are small. Emul [emulation.net]ators aren't large. CDs are huge. you could probably fit every worthwhile N.E.S. game ever made into fifty megabytes. You could probably fit most of the worthwhile SNES and Genesis games into the 600 megs or so you'd have left.
I don't know how public the Dreamcast development process is, if you have to buy some expensive liscence or just grab a compiler or what, but if some *cough* third party could put together a couple emulators for the dreamcast.. just port the emus already out there, maybe throw in some debuggerish or game genie cheat modes..
well..
that would be one kickass CD-R, is all i have to say.
Too bad that the closed-minded game developers will never, ever allow such a cd to be published legitimately at any price, despite the fact they haven't made new copies of these games for years are no longer getting any money off them. Their loss.
Such a shame that copyright law is going to continue being extended until those games never reach the public domain..