Sony's Net Yaroze homebrew PS1 development community shutting down

by JC Fletcher { Jun 29th 2009 at 8:00PM }

If you've been feverishly coding away on a PlayStation 1 game for the past, say, eleven years in the hope of becoming the next Devil Dice, you should go ahead and shelve the project. Next month, Sony will finally shut down the European server for the Net Yaroze project.

The Net Yaroze is a special black PlayStation console that allowed homebrew developers to run their own code on the system, interfacing with a computer via a serial connection. The mail-order-only system also included development software. Sony's servers allowed Yaroze users to discuss PlayStation development and even share their creations.

"We plan to make a copy of the site available for our original members," said SCEE's Paul Holman, who also said that some kind of get-together would be held for the Yaroze development community, all of whom are now left with nothing but extremely rare PlayStations.

Tags: homebrew, net-yaroze, scee

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

InFaMoUs1- @ Jun 29th 2009 8:10PM

That's a badass PS1

sony boy @ Jun 29th 2009 8:13PM

if it only had that glossy finish that the ps3 has.

Riley @ Jun 29th 2009 8:19PM

matte black>glossy

Surfaced @ Jun 29th 2009 9:30PM

in the case of the old, blocky PS1, I'd much prefer a matte finish. High gloss looks to look classier on curves.

skyzbig @ Jun 29th 2009 8:13PM

Why are dev kits better looking than the actual ones??

If Sony had sold that PS1, and MS sold that Blue 360 dev kit, they'd probably be selling even more!

lawlersauce @ Jun 29th 2009 8:24PM

And then you'd be like "whyz are dey not selling teh white onez?!1?!?!11one?!1?1"

Damned if you do, damned if you don't - pick your battles. Console color isn't that big of a deal

Hydrophobicfish @ Jun 29th 2009 8:29PM

Console colours aren't that important, sure... but, I personally think providing 5-10 different colour options isn't that bad an idea. Granted, it gets kinda sketchy, with having a bunch of different products sitting on the shelf, especially with the PS3/Xbox and how they have two/three different models...

But I'm sure there are ways to circumvent that. Such as selling Xboxes without Hard Drives, and you just pick up your hard drive of choice. The Playstation's a bit more tough... but who knows, I'm just throwing out ideas here!

Jimmyjimjim @ Jun 29th 2009 8:38PM

Because dev kits cost like 10x the price of a regular console. For that they BETTER be nicer looking...

although for whatever reason 360 dev kits look the same, except for a large, boxy additional protrusion on the top where the HDD is. PS3 devy looks exactly the same.

buddyleer @ Jun 29th 2009 8:16PM

I remember Net Yaroze. There were a lot of good games that would still hold up today as far as gameplay goes. Much like the PSN and XBLA today, it was a way for small developers to make great games.

Hyams @ Jun 29th 2009 8:30PM

I remember I had a disc that contained a bunch of these games. It was awesome.

Hyams @ Jun 29th 2009 8:36PM

The game Rocks'n'Gems was awesome. So was Terra Incognita. Oh, and Clone.

Ah, nostalgia. =)

Danny @ Jun 30th 2009 8:17PM

Didn't they put these games on demo discs every month in the official playstation magazine?

Shmil @ Jun 29th 2009 8:20PM

Sony here's what you do. Take that development software and make it available for 5 dollars on the PSN. Allow everyone to share their creativity for free but require them to have the software. ??? Profit!

Jimmyjimjim @ Jun 29th 2009 8:38PM

And how do they run the development software without the dev kit? Seriously doubt Sony will willingly let their hardware be freely hacked.

Otherwise, great idea!

Shmil @ Jun 29th 2009 8:49PM

Good point, I'm not a computer whiz so I don't know these things. But if Sony were able to do something like this that would be great. I guess it would be their own Kodu.

ducttapeBigSexy @ Jun 29th 2009 10:12PM

If you're interested in running your own code on the PS3, don't forget that you can always run Linux on it.

pibs @ Jun 30th 2009 4:49AM

They should make these HB PS1 games available through the PSN kinda like how Microsoft has they're XNA program.

Allow them to compile them into Eboots and now you can also sell them on PSP.
Hmm that gives me an idea, wonder if HBpsx games will work on my ofwPSP?
Only one way to find out!

Feba @ Jun 30th 2009 9:12PM

Screw the development software, just go up to the people that have the most popular and quality titles on the service and say "Hey, you see this sack of cash? It is a big sack isn't it. How about you give us the rights to your game, and we sell it on PSN. You get fame and riches, people get games, we get monies. Everybody wins."

Could be a nice boon for PSN games.

Gradoman @ Jun 29th 2009 8:33PM

I always wanted a Net Yaroze...

They're bloody expensive though and back then, well, I had zero programming skills, lol!

BigD145 @ Jun 29th 2009 8:37PM

If that's a 15 year cycle then the PS2 will get shut down in 5 years.

c.Lake @ Jun 29th 2009 8:41PM

Why would you do that? Wow, I just can't believe how Sony throws away money. I also can believe how they don't see profit in this?

Leroy_Octopus @ Jun 29th 2009 8:51PM

Seriously? You don't see how they're losing money making expensive dev kits for a dead console?

Ashitaka @ Jun 29th 2009 9:07PM

lol, are you serious? Do you really think the PS1 still isn't outdated?

c.Lake @ Jun 29th 2009 9:31PM

No... I guess I don't. Because what "I" see, is a perfect opportunity to sell "homebrew game legitimately. To bring the "homebrew community" into the fold. Welcoming them, and having them work with you -- instead of having a bunch of intelligent, pissed-off programmers, with time on their hands to take-apart your NEW SYSTEM, and figure out how to steal shit off that.

Duh.

I mean, the PSP-go is come-in out in Oct, right? PSP make them money, right! Wouldn't you pay $5 bucks to support independent programmers, who are working WITH Sony, to make a bunch of on the go mini games? How easy is it to place some guys Linux version of "Bubble Bobble" on the PSN.

Look, Microsoft is doing the same thing with their "community games", and it's a very good idea. The only difference being that the Xbox doesn't have a handheld, in which you could download the software to. Putting Sony is in the lead with this. But instead, they're making another foolish decision without weighing the options and moving with the times.

Leroy_Octopus @ Jun 29th 2009 11:09PM

Did you even read the article? It was a PSone homebrew community. Not a PS3 or PSP one. So how are they gaining money from people making games for a system no one owns? Please inform me.

BigD145 @ Jun 29th 2009 11:24PM

The PSP runs PS1 games. Yes. Yes it does.

Ibere @ Jun 30th 2009 9:33AM

It's Ridge Racer! Riiiiiiiiidge Racer!

usagi704 @ Jun 29th 2009 8:43PM

Wow, I had no idea that Net Yaroze was still active!

russtophiles @ Jun 29th 2009 9:05PM

Seriously! I remember wanting one of those kits so bad but they were so prohibitively expensive (for a teenager) and I had absolutely no concept of game development at the time. All I ever saw from the project aside from Devil Dice was the little demo games that would come on those quarterly Playstation Underground discs.

deanb @ Jun 29th 2009 8:56PM

People may scoff at Sonys 'Ten Year Plan' but you gotta admit they got a history of long lived n supported consoles to back it up.
You hear that Mister 4 year old Xbox?

Ignatius @ Jun 29th 2009 8:59PM

I don't know, the PS2 got shoved aside pretty quickly once the PS3 came out. No backwards compatibility is a total fail. Even the 360 has some...

Sly @ Jun 29th 2009 9:01PM

the xbox was around for 4 years?! i only knew one person who had one. microsoft didn't hit a sweet spot with the original, but they really shaped up the 360.

deanb @ Jun 29th 2009 9:05PM

We shoved the PS2 aside pretty quick, but I know my mum still uses hers for Singstar n the likes. And even if the amount of titles out are drying up its still on sale unlike the GC n Xbox.
No BC is kinda sucky, but most folks still have a PS2, they had to have something to play their PS2 games on, but you eventually find yourself not playing much PS2 games after a while anyway. Same with Xbox games, I think Halo n Fable got a bit of a palythorugh, but then you spend most your times on Halo 3 n Fable 2.

Reuben @ Jun 29th 2009 9:15PM

Sony couldn't possibly fully support both the PS2 and the PS3. PS2 games still come out, and you can still buy a new one at Best Buy. I think that says more than enough about it's staying power.

Leroy_Octopus @ Jun 29th 2009 9:18PM

I'm actually watching my older brother play Persona 4 on PS2 right now, so yeah it is a 10 year lifespan.

aristokrat @ Jun 29th 2009 9:35PM

I've got a slim PS2 installed in my car. Last gen is the way to go for in-car installs, because the HD boxes take way too much wattage and scoff at dirty power anyways. The PS2 has a car adapter, so it's works great hiding away in my glove compartment hooked up to my in-dash monitor. And I prefer having the PS2 controllers for Amplitude (the only game I play in my car) because the PS3 shoulders buttons suck for the fast-paced action.

bunnyhero @ Jun 29th 2009 10:13PM

i have a yaroze! i believe the US servers were shut down a long time ago. alas, somewhere along the way i lost the cable that connects the yaroze to the PC, so i can't load any of my old work... it's basically just a region-unlocked PS1 now.

j.howlett @ Jun 29th 2009 11:45PM

i wanted one of these so bad. i wanted to learn how to make games.

yoyoyo @ Jun 30th 2009 12:31AM

why am i just hearing of this NOW?

Coops @ Jun 30th 2009 5:24AM

I remember Net Yaroze, wanted one of them when I was about 7 just because they looked cool :S
But I also remember that there was something like it on the PS2. It came on one of the official demo discs, but I don't know if it had much else with it. I remember you could enter code to make games and stuff, just like Net Yaroze, but I can't remeber what it was called.