Tag Archives: Virtual Console

I lack innovation within the gaming industry. Game development have become a very long and very very expensive process, this holds even more true when it comes to the console market where just the license (if you even can get one) costs several thousand dollars. With the current state of the gaming industry only very popular titles are being developed, often based on winning concepts like “first person shooter”, “real time strategy” or lately “massive multiplayer on-line”. Rarely do we get to see innovative projects, but sometimes it happens, like Spore which is due for release in September.

As a programmer I would love to give game programming a try, even for just some silly never to be used games. The leap to try it is a huge one though, especially if anything near the latest technology is to be used.

What I would love to see, as the topic indicates, is an Open Source Virtual Console (OSVC, VC) with a Service Development Kit (SDK). This VC could then be adapted to be used in whichever system you wanted to play the game. If we take the Allegro project for example, this is an excellent base to use but the “problem” is it only works on Linux and Windows.  What if this base could be used on the Virtual Console of Nintendo Wii for example! Or if you could program your own cartridges for the DS. Now all the major developers would resist such a development because they want the monopoly to sell the games on their machines. Further complications are that this virual machine could be programmed to host pirated games like for example all the NES ROMs floating about on the Internet.

While on the topic of ROMs, these are what I’d want the OSVCs games to be compiled into. The reason being security and portability. If you download and run them you know that they are run within a virtual environment that will be the same everywhere and also that it will not directly access your own system and possible do harm to it. Games that saves data could easily be solved using virtual memory spaces, as to not effect the current system and provide an interface to whatever memory options are available (hard discs, usb, internal flash of consoles etc).

The development of Open Source in “business programming” was first rejected and frowned upon as an impossible business model. Today we see many major companies supporting open source and the free exchange of ideas. The same development in the gaming industry has yet to happen, here more of the opposite is happening namely companies selling dedicated hardware with exclusive software which of course you have to buy both. Again, what if there where an open source alternative as game console? Or even better what if the current consoles supported open source software?

I believe if such a change did happen we would see alot more innovation in the gaming industry.

Do not misstake the virutal console I’m talking about with Wii’s Virtual Console for old games, while sharing similarities I want a open source alternative with mutliple vendor support.

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