The State of Homebrew on 6th Generation Consoles
Well, maybe 2 months ago, I wrote an article about the State of Homebrew on 7th Generation Consoles. Well, I decided to do an update on the State of Homebrew on the 6th Generation consoles.
Lets begin:
Microsoft Xbox:
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Lately, the Xbox hasnt gotten many homebrew releases at all. Still, it does once in a while.
Since 2007, there's been:
- Many updates to ZSNEXBOX, which now features near-perfect SNES emulation,
- A CPS3 emulator was released (CPX3) that plays CPS3 arcade games (like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Street Fighter III) near-fullspeed with some skipping here and there,
- An update to the excellent N64 emulator, Surreal64XXX
- Updates to all of the XPort emulators (that includes SNES9Xbox, NeoGenesis, MedafenX NES, and PCSXBOX).
- Several updates to Xbox Media Center.
Right now, there are two methods of running unsigned code on the Xbox:
Method #1 - A hardmod (taking apart the Xbox and installing a modchip, be it a soldered or solderless install). Some Xboxes have the holes where modchips are installed filled in, but there's tutorials on how to get around that online.
Method #2 - A softmod through game exploits. This is done by using an Xbox Memory Card/Flash Drive and XBox Male-USB Female cable along with an copy of either Splinter Cell, Mechassault, or 007: Agent Under Fire.
Xbox is currently the best homebrew console, and very tantalizing when you can get one for so cheap ;). Xbox can also perform (N64, MAME, and CPS3) even better if you install more ram.
The only downside to Xbox Homebrew is that the vast majority of it is made with a leaked Microsoft SDK, which makes it illegal to distribute, so it's more complicated to get a hold of homebrew for it.
Nintendo Gamecube
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The Gamecube homebrew scene started out very slow, but has now really picked up the pace thanks to sharing a similar architecture with the Wii.
In just a mere year, we've gotten so many emulators and updates (much better SNES, Genesis, NES, Neo-Geo CD, Sega CD [apparently coming soon], and even N64 emulation).
I think it's pretty funny that the homebrew GC scene didnt really get going until after it's commercial scene was dead.
As of now there are three methods of running unsigned code on the Cube:
Method #1 - Hardmod it. Remember that taking apart the Gamecube is difficult at first. and even the modchips are small (XenoGC is the size of a quarter).
Method #2 - Buy SD Media Launcher. It's pretty much the same price as a modchip, but a lot easier to work with. Just put the SD Media launcher disc in, put the SD Card in the SD Memory Card Adapter (which then goes in your GC's Memory card slot), and boot applications off of an SD card.
Method #3 - Use the Phantasy Star Online Exploit (requires a BBA and an original copy of Phantasy Star Online for GC). The oldest method of booting homebrew on the Gamecube. You pretty much exploit the game and stream homebrew to it through the BBA.
Gamecube has some great games that you can pick up for a mere $5/£3. If you want to play some SNES and Revenge of Shinobi along with those games, then I'd recommend following one of these methods.
Nintendo Gameboy Advance:
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Before the PSP, before the DS, GBA was running homebrew, and was actually doing a very good at that. GBA has a fullspeed NES emulator, a decent TG-16 emulator, and even a SNES emulator! You can also watch videos, listen to music, and run other decent and unique apps on the GBA.
All you have to play homebrew on GBA is buy a GBA homebrew cart. It's very simple and worth it ;).
The GBA doesnt get that much attention as it's overshadowed by the DS, PSP, and other homebrew consoles, still, it has a decent homebrew library, and if you have a spare GBA laying around, I'd recommend getting a flash cart!
Sega Dreamcast
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What can someone say about the Dreamcast?
Was it underrated? Yes. Did it have an amazing library of unique and innovative games? Yes.
Well, you could also say that it was the first voyeur into the homebrew scene for many people (including myself). Many forums were created to discuss and release DC applications, emulators, and other homebrew (such as DCEmu.co.uk, DCEmulation.org, b00b!, Screamcast, and SegaKatana, DCEvolutionary, etc). Dreamcast has several emulators, such as: NesterDCSE, DreamSNES, GenesisPlus, GENS4ALL, Neo4ALL, AES4ALL, NeoDC, MAME4ALL, CrabEmu, and even PS1, Saturn, and N64 emulation (the latter two more or less being fancy tech demos). There's also a DivX player, MP3 CD players, and Web Browsers (which some CURRENT gen consoles dont include :rolleyes).
Running homebrew on the Dreamcast is very simple.
You simply burn the homebrew to a CD-R and play (unless it's a Revision 2 Dreamcast, which was ridden of Mil-CD support).
The Dreamcast homebrew scene is still doing alright (still not half as strong as it used to be). With newer and more powerful consoles overshadowing it, more developers seem to program away from the DC. You really have to thank the Dreamcast scene, I myself couldnt imagine where the homebrew scene would be without it.
Sony Playstation 2:
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While Playstation 2 was definitely the best-selling console of the last gen with what most say is the best collection of games of that gen, it never really had a big homebrew scene. While it has a smaller scene then the rest of the consoles of last-gen, it still has a good selection of emulators: NES, SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo CD, and GBC/GBA emulators.
Now, I actually think it's picking up the pace a little bit and now has a PS1 emulator in development.
There are several methods of running homebrew on PS2:
Method #1 - Once more, a hardmod. You can get modchips for pretty cheap these days, and you can also get solderless modchips for a little more if you're not so good at soldering yourself ;).
Method #2 - Swap Magic with a Slider Card and custom faceplate or additional modchip. While it is more difficult to boot homebrew/backups, it is probably the cheapest method of running homebrew on PS2.
Method #3 - The Independence Exploit. This involves modding files on a PS1 memory card, which crashes it somehow and allows you to boot unsigned code.
Method #4 - Memor32. This is simply a memory card that you can hook up to your PC via USB. There is a modding tool called memento that modifies the memory cards firmware and pretty much is a plug-in modchip. It's rather pricy, but probably the easiest method of booting unsigned code on PS2.
Method #5 - HDLoader with PS2 Network Adapter and compatible HD. That allows you to boot anything off a Hard Drive, including Linux.
Once again, PS2 has never had a huge scene like many other consoles did, but I still think it's worth modding if you have a spare one laying around.
There might be a lot more to happen on the PS2 eventually. It's powerful, popular, and could probably handle a lot more homebrew that what it currently has.
Well, that concludes my article. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Written By: Eviltaco64
