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Sony pulls the plug on PS1 home dev Net Yaroze community photo

Do you remember that cool matte black PlayStation that launched in Japan and Europe for programming geeks to be able to code their own games? That was Net Yaroze, a special debug system that could be connected to a PC to create PS1 games. We're talking consumer-level dev kits here. Great idea, right? The community has gone on strong for the last twelve years, but now it finally looks to be winding down.

Joystiq reports that the European server for Net Yaroze will be shut down next month. SCEE's Paul Holman said that they plan to make a copy of the site available for its original members, and that some kind of get-together would be held for the community. 

I've got an idea: why doesn't Sony stick this group on some kind of similar PSP kit?


Continue: More Sony stories





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20 comments | showing # 1 to 20

Chronic Logic's Avatar
Chronic Logic at 06/30/2009 09:02
Consumer dev kits? How much do they cost? Or are they free? I find it hard to believe that this community has been making their own games for 12 years.
jellydoodle's Avatar
jellydoodle at 06/30/2009 09:18
I got one :D even though I've never used it to develop anything. It's just a sexy Region Free PS1 for me.
xenon's Avatar
xenon at 06/30/2009 09:22
iirc, it cost a lot, but not the kind of lot that took it out of a consumer's reach. A bit like a PS3. :P No, 1-2K $ maybe? My question, though, would be: what's the impact of the server shutdown on the actual development of games? Does the Yaroze need validation or access to online resources just to work?
atastysammich's Avatar
atastysammich at 06/30/2009 09:29
...Huh! That would be a great idea for the PSP! Lord knows the Playstation Store can always use some love, and more homemade retail releases could be just the ticket!
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 06/30/2009 09:30
So it's kind of like Source SDK for PS1?
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 06/30/2009 09:31
*premature comment*
That sounds awesome. But since most of us have never heard of it before, it must not have been too popular, does anyone really care that this is being shut down.
KaL YoshiKa's Avatar
KaL YoshiKa at 06/30/2009 09:33
It can only run programs in the ram (that is to say it loads into the ram and that's all the data the games produced can use) if I remember correctly. Kind of a gip but I have an ancient PSone demo CD with a selection of Net Yaroze games.
Elsa's Avatar
Elsa at 06/30/2009 09:34
Wow... nice that they supported this for 12 years!
Takeshi's Avatar
Takeshi at 06/30/2009 10:19
Oh man, I've looking for that console for years now. Boxed and complete that is. And without spending a shitload of money. Yeah, dream on Takeshi...

If anyone wants to get rid of it because of that shutdown. You know where to find me.
Adam's Avatar
Adam at 06/30/2009 11:23
Can anyone else remember if there were any other consumer games that came out of Yaroze development other than Devil Dice?
Reginald's Avatar
Reginald at 06/30/2009 11:27
good ol' net yaroze.... you'll always be the dream.
Cowboy TTop's Avatar
Cowboy TTop at 06/30/2009 12:11
Once again, it just goes to show how lame Sony are. This was one of their greatest moves on PS1.

Why on earth did they not upgrade it for PS2 and PSP?
Stupid crap, which proves the cast of Ape Escape are running their company.
DinnertimeNinja's Avatar
DinnertimeNinja at 06/30/2009 13:10
Good thinking, Dale!

Though the only game of mention that I can remember ever coming from this thing is Devil Dice.

It IS one of the best puzzle games ever made though (I still have Bombastic on PS2), so that's something to be proud of.
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 06/30/2009 13:18
Any notable titles?
Justice's Avatar
Justice at 06/30/2009 14:02
I remember OPSM used to come with Yaroze tutorials. You will be missed, just not by me!
Narishma's Avatar
Narishma at 06/30/2009 14:03
@The-Excel: There were a lot of games but they were the kind of mini-games you find on XNA community on the 360, so nothing that great. Some gaming magazines used to put them on their demo CDs.

@Cowboy TTop: Ignorant much? Except on the PSP for some reason, Sony has always provided light dev kits for consumers for their consoles. The PS2 had the "Linux for PS2" which turns the PS2 into a computer so you can make your own applications or games. On the PS3 you don't even need to buy anything as it's supported out of the box. They even tell you how to install Linux on it on the manual.
AgentMOO's Avatar
AgentMOO at 06/30/2009 14:04
It would be amazing if Sony would come up with a consumer SDK like Microsoft's XNA.
Jon B's Avatar
Jon B at 06/30/2009 15:25
Wait, they ONLY JUST killed this off?

Impressive Sony. I admire your dedication to old platforms.
Johnny Justice's Avatar
Johnny Justice at 06/30/2009 15:52
I remember Net Yaroze games being released on the Official PlayStation Magazine demo discs. Some of them where really good. One that comes to mind was this top-down shooter, similar to Alien Breed but with zombies.
Ace Flibble's Avatar
Ace Flibble at 07/01/2009 05:49
I've got one of these sitting in my attic. I couldn't make games worth a damn though, at best I made this crappy maze which was like Pac Man but without ghosts following you, much slower, and no detection so you could just walk through every wall.

Them were the days.
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