11. Promotional considerations
Have you ever wondered how magazines and websites publish crystal-clear screenshots of your favorite game, even before the game is out? They have a “development” console that allows them to do so. The whole purpose of a hacked console is to have the ability to run software that would normally be locked out… such as taking a screenshot.
Additionally, once your console is hacked you can browse the file system of the disc or folder the game is in. Since the discs are generally unreadable by PC drives, many developers don’t bother placing copy protection on the audio files, and many of them are just MP3s or some other standard format. If you have a favorite game and want the soundtrack (for use in a walkthrough video, etc), then you have access to it. The same holds true for many video files… you can copy the file over and watch it on any PC… which could include spoilers.
12. Improved capabilities
In the end, it’s all about enjoying your games, and that’s what it’s all about. Game companies have a right to make a living, but they also have a responsibility to the gamers that helped them make all of that money. Taking your ball and going home is not going to win you any friends.
Industry analysts would say that PC games are some of the most pirated in the gaming community, but the PC game makers are the ones that contribute to the community the most. Once a game reaches “legacy” status, sometimes the source code is made available, which encourages education and promotion of their artform.
Take back your gaming heritage, and play the games you love.
4 comments
I have this thing I do with all my consoles. I either hard or soft mod them to play games from the drive, then load all my games onto the drive. I've done it with my original Xbox, my PS2, my Xbox 360… If it were possible, I would have my Gamecube and my N64 playing from hard drives. Having a room full of game discs and cartridges is impressive, but sheesh…
I thought of another reason…. the physical space that all of these consoles would take up. Instead of having 23 pinball machines in a room you can play a virtual table. I knew someone that had every physical console ever made in one room, and it took up too much space, and he had to have special switches and stuff just to get them hooked up to his tv.
Yeah, when I worked at Nintendo we got a few really angry calls from people when we didn't have any parts to fix their old Nintendo 64s or NES systems. I would love to have pointed them to this article. There are a ton of emulators out there for these systems… and you can easily get the ROMs and then own the entire Nintendo catalogue… not just the few cartridges you have in a box.
Yeah, it's weird how Sony used to practically condone piracy when they were new and selling cassette recorders and VCR's. Now they would arrest you if they could if you even have a thought of downloading an MP3 without giving them money.
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