RetroArch announced back in February 2021 their plans for the Open-Hardware project. This was to bring an easy way for you to play your legally owned physical games directly in emulators and they have an update on their plans.
The idea is a sound one. Giving you open source hardware to plug in various cartridges from retro consoles, with great integration with RetroArch directly. You would no longer need to rely on various hard to come by proprietary solutions. In the new blog post though, plans have changed - and sounds like it's for the better.
Instead of it purely being for the DIY market of tinkerers, they're now partnering with a hardware manufacturer for a proper commercial release, which should enable many more people to get it. They made it clear the "free and open DIY route" will still be a thing though for people to make it themselves. As a result, the hardware will be more modular. There will be a base unit that you connect with various addon modules, each of these additional bits supporting different older console hardware. Although the initial release still targets the Nintendo 64.
The good news is that it sounds like it's going well, with plans to enter production in mid 2022 for release by the end of the year. That is, unless they also come up against supply chain issues.
RetroArch's team has asked that people sign up to their Newsletter and fill out a Survey so they can get more info from people who are interested.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: elmapulA lawyer would interpret it how he was paid to.Quoting: TrainDocQuoting: elmapulQuoting: TrainDocQuoting: PhlebiacManufacturing compatible hardware seems like opening the door to lawsuits; Nintendo in particular likes to lawyer up.
While I agree, Nintendo isn't making NES, SNES, N64 or Gamecube consoles anymore. And since this is hardware that depends on physical media (cartridges/discs etc) Nintendo has no legal standing to prevent them unless RetroArch screw up and copy BIOS code etc which I don't see them doing.
they made nes mini and snes mini recently, and put an n64 emulator on switch...
Do they take their respective cartridges?
no, but it affect their business model, not sure on how an lawyer would interpret that
The question is more what interpretation a judge could be persuaded to buy.
Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: elmapulA lawyer would interpret it how he was paid to.Quoting: TrainDocQuoting: elmapulQuoting: TrainDocQuoting: PhlebiacManufacturing compatible hardware seems like opening the door to lawsuits; Nintendo in particular likes to lawyer up.
While I agree, Nintendo isn't making NES, SNES, N64 or Gamecube consoles anymore. And since this is hardware that depends on physical media (cartridges/discs etc) Nintendo has no legal standing to prevent them unless RetroArch screw up and copy BIOS code etc which I don't see them doing.
they made nes mini and snes mini recently, and put an n64 emulator on switch...
Do they take their respective cartridges?
no, but it affect their business model, not sure on how an lawyer would interpret that
The question is more what interpretation a judge could be persuaded to buy.
an lawyer need arguments to convince the judge, but in any case i used the wrong word, i mean judge.
Quoting: elmapulQuoting: TrainDocQuoting: elmapulQuoting: TrainDocQuoting: PhlebiacManufacturing compatible hardware seems like opening the door to lawsuits; Nintendo in particular likes to lawyer up.
While I agree, Nintendo isn't making NES, SNES, N64 or Gamecube consoles anymore. And since this is hardware that depends on physical media (cartridges/discs etc) Nintendo has no legal standing to prevent them unless RetroArch screw up and copy BIOS code etc which I don't see them doing.
they made nes mini and snes mini recently, and put an n64 emulator on switch...
Do they take their respective cartridges?
no, but it affect their business model, not sure on how an lawyer would interpret that
Yes, but also: is Nintendo making the discs and cartridges necessary to make these games in their original format? These are questions you would ask a jury etc. These are important details that reflect the purpose of this hardware.
Quoting: CyborgZetaThis is very cool, although I own few N64 games now compared to back when I was a kid. Being able to play my Conker's Bad Fur Day and Majora's Mask cartridges again would be neat though, I suppose.
Personally, I'd love to see something like this for PlayStation 2 some day. I have such a huge PS2 library, and with PS2 emulation still being far from perfect, being able to fall back on discs would be quite welcome. My PS2 I got back in 2005 still works; heck, I played .hack on it as recently as 2020...but I'd like to leave it retired. These days, I generally prefer using emulators whenever possible, although I have been playing on a Dreamcast I acquired recently.
You can do that already in PCSX2, it lets you either rip the ROM from the disc or boot the actual game off the disc
But for real, the first and second Saint's Row? Fucking Genius.
Last edited by Nanobang on 21 January 2022 at 6:03 pm UTC
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me