Net Yaroze
The Net Yaroze (ネットやろうぜ, Netto Yarōze) is a
Conceived by PlayStation creator
The Net Yaroze was neither the first nor only official consumer console development kit. The PC-Engine Develo predates it, and the
Contents
Requirements | ||
---|---|---|
PC | ||
Operating system | IBM PC compatible or Macintosh | |
CPU | 66Mhz | |
Memory | 4MB | |
Free space | 10MB | |
Graphics hardware | SVGA monitor compatible | |
Sound hardware | None | |
Network | 28.8kb/s |
The Net Yaroze kit contains the following items:[5]
- The Net Yaroze PlayStation console, which is identical to a standard PlayStation console except that it has different boot ROMs, lacks a regional lockout, uses a different encryption scheme, and is black.
- 2 PlayStation controllers (black matte texture)
- The Net Yaroze key disc, required to boot programs which were loaded from a PC.
- The Access Card, a dongle which must be placed in memory card port 1 in order to boot programs which were loaded from a PC.
- A CD-ROM containing development tools. The tools included vary according to version, but invariably include a C compiler, a compiler assembler, a linker, a debugger, tools for converting graphic and sound files to PlayStation format, and programming libraries.
- The Communications Cable, a special serial cable used to link the console and the computer.
- "Start Up Guide", "Library Reference", and "User's Guide" manuals. These document the programming libraries and PlayStation-specific development, but do not give instructions on how to program; the Net Yaroze kit assumes the user has basic programming knowledge.
Versions
Though it lacked regional lockout, the Net Yaroze console exists in three variations: one for Japan, one for North America and one for Europe and Australia. The Europe/Australia version boots in PAL mode, while the others boot in NTSC mode. There are further differences between the Japanese kit and the others; the manuals are in Japanese, the software for Japanese PCs is included, and the discs and access card sticker have different printing. The Japanese version is sometimes unofficially referred to as DTL-3000 rather than DTL-H3000.
The Net Yaroze was only available for purchase by mail order; but Sony also provided it to universities in the UK, France (
Additionally, a version of CodeWarrior for PlayStation was released for both Windows and Macintosh in October 1996.[5] LightWave 3D was another consumer-level PlayStation development tool.
The Net Yaroze lacks many of the features the official PlayStation Software Developers Kit provided, such as advanced hardware debugging, special software, certain libraries, and Sony's extensive technical support (including BBS and live telephone support). Dedicated Usenet groups, with access restricted to Net Yaroze members, were maintained by Sony; homepage hosting was also provided. The access was restricted according to the kit's region of origin, which made collaboration between users in different territories impractical.
The Yaroze's primary RAM was the same as the consumer's model (2 megabytes). Game code, graphics, audio samples and run-time libraries were limited to fit in the 2 MB of primary RAM, 1 MB of VRAM, and 0.5 MB of sound RAM, since the Net Yaroze will not play user-burned CDs, a necessary restriction in order to prevent piracy and ensure that the Yaroze program would not compete with the PlayStation's professional software development kit.[5] This however, was not a problem for licensed developers who owned the official SDK. There are many commercial PlayStation titles (such as Devil Dice, long mistaken as a Net Yaroze game[7]) that can be entirely RAM-resident, and have been developed with the Net Yaroze, while using the CD strictly to spool Red Book audio (CD-DA).
Games produced
Sony set up an
Some of these games were based on arcade classics such as
References
- ^ a b "Tidbits". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 88. Ziff Davis. November 1996. p. 22.
- Imagine Media. November 1997. p. 218.
Sony's Net Yaroze was in fact released earlier this year, amid much apparent public interest but little official fanfare from Sony.
- Imagine Media. February 1997. p. 19.
- ^ Sony. "Net Yaroze". Absolute PlayStation International. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016.
- ^ Imagine Media. January 1997. pp. 40–49.
- ^ a b IGN UK, "Net Yaroze", "Net Yaroze - PSX - IGN". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-06-15.
- ^ John Szczepaniak. "PS1 Puzzler Devil Dice Was Never A 'Net Yaroze' Title, So Why Does The Internet Think It Was?". Time Extension. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
- ^ Sanz, Juan Carlos (April 1998). "Aprende a programar Playstation con Net Yaroze - Japon Siempre En Cabeza". Superjuegos (in Spanish). No. 72. Grupo Zeta. pp. 122–123.
- ^ "Smudged Cat Games - Timeslip". Smudgedcat.com. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- Gamasutra. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 2, 2021). "Long-forgotten PS1 Net Yaroze game Magic Castle comes out over 20 years later". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-02-07.