Its now March 2009 and time for a new State of the Homebrew Scene for 2009.
Because we are the only dedicated homebrew Network on the web covering just about all scenes, I feel its a good time to give a low down on each scene and some pointers about where they are going from my point of view.
First off though lets remind all that homebrew is not the same as warez.
Also I would like to point out that each scene owes its life to the many hardware and software hackers who discover the exploits we come to enjoy so much today, they are then followed by the many worldwide coders who make the homebrew scene a free and enjoyable place to hang out and make friends etc.
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Lets take a look at each scene.
Xbox360
The Xbox360 has been the Next gen console that's been out the longest and while there has been advances we still have not seen any homebrew breakthroughs for this System apart from an
Hello World and a
Linux Bootloader, Microsofts XNA platform is at the moment the only "Homebrew" for Xbox360 with many games and the odd emulator such as a
Spectrum emulator and a port of
ScummVM, the only downer with XNA is that its not free at all. If the 360 is ever fully cracked then Nintendo64, Playstation 2, Xbox and Dreamcast Emulation should be very doable in time.
related xbox360 links -
DCEmu Xbox 360 News
Xbox Scene
XNA Developer Centre
PS3
The most powerful console of the next generation is a console that you can install Linux on but for most Linux is too complicated, for a short time there was quite a few
BD-J Homebrew releases which used a exploit in the java on the PS3 to release games and some
emulators on the PS3, this was killed off by Sony when they released a new firmware. As of this time there has been some unconfirmed reports of exploits working on the PS3 but nothing set in stone so for now the only homebrew for the PS3 is the Linux you can install. Via the PSN Store you can pay for and download PS1 games and for those who love the older releases at least its a way to play something other than PS3. The PS3 when cracked (Lets hope we get a custom firmware like the PSP) should be capable of PS2, Dreamcast, N64 and Xbox Emulators at full speed.
related PS3 links -
DCEmu PS3 Evolution
Gizmodos Linux on PS3 Tutorial
Yellow Dog Linux
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo`s Wii console is already an emulation fans dream, via the Virtual Console you have the ability to play N64, Snes, Nes, Gamecube, Megadrive, PC Engine, Neogeo, MSX and recently Commodore 64 games make the console a great place for fans of retro gaming albeit at a price for each game.
However the Homebrew Community has thrived over the last year and as long as your willing to install the
Twilight Hack, which requires you to have a copy of Zelda for the Wii and an SD Card, youll soon be enjoying homebrew on the Wii via the
Homebrew Channel. There is a potential risk of bricking but as always ask first. The amount of emulators, games and applications on the Wii grows every day and the 16bit generation ie the Snes, NeoGeo and Megadrive are all emulated very well. Out of all the next gen consoles this is by far the best for emulation and homebrew, the only downer is that Nintendo are releasing updates to thwart the homebrew scene and mainly those who pirate. The Wii should be capable of full speed PSX and N64 emulation in the long run and at this time both consoles are being worked on. The long term future should be great for fans of homebrew on this console.
related Nintendo Wii links -
DCEmu Wii News
GC Linux
HackMii Team
WiiBrew
Sony Playstation Portable
The PSP Homebrew scene although not quite as popular as it was a year or so ago is still the biggest homebrew scene in the world, the releases of
Games, Emulators and
applications are in their hundreds with most of the consoles emulated on the PSP with a
N64 emulator being top of the pile. The Custom Firmwares (which enable full speed playstation emulation) made by Dark Alex and the Pandora Battery have made homebrew accessible to all but the owners of PSP3000 (apart from a small exploit) consoles. The PSP scene has slowed of late but the console has a future like no other with a very powerful system that for emulators beats all handhelds at this time.
related PSP links -
DCEmu PSP News
PS2 Dev Forums
ZX81 Dev
The Nintendo DS
The worlds biggest selling handheld console at this time but surprisingly still not the most popular for homebrew fans. A
Flash Cart is all you need for homebrew on the DS.
Once you have the hardware above then the DS with its touch screen has
several hundred homebrew releases for it but with the touch screen, microphone and rumble addon you have an excellent base for games and more, not to mention the wifi mode.
As with the commercial games the DS cant match the PSP for pure power but it can easily bypass it in the innovation dept just like the commercial scene. With the DS you can also play the many hundreds of excellent
GBA Homebrew Releases.
DS Homebrew has seen many releases such as Quake, Duke Nukem 3D and the recent coding competitions from the likes of Neoflash have added many more to a great homebrew scene. The Long term future of this console looks to be very assured, it will never win any contests for emulation but for gaming and applications its in a niche of its own. The release of the DSI should bring more interest for homebrew developers but will Nintendo let any amateur release for their system, who knows.
related Nintendo DS links -
DCEmu Nintendo DS News
GPF Dev
GBA Dev
DevFR
Nintendomax
Pandora
The Pandora which should be available sometime in April (at this time) looks like a DS but comes with a keyboard, dual analogue and is considered to be the ultimate handheld, this console cum pocket pc hybrid is the most powerful to hit the market and already we have seen many emulators released. The console when released should shake the
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