Back in the 90's if you wanted to make backups of your Super Nintendo cartridges, you'd need a game backup device, also known as a SNES disc copier. These devices would allow you to dump almost every SNES cartridge to one or more floppy discs, but they were also a tool for pirates to copy discs completely removing the need for an original cartridge. In today's episode we take a closer look at one such SNES back up device known as the Pro Fighter X Turbo.
2024-03-25 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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A deep dive into the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak - an addon device that added force feedback vibration to the player. in 1997 this was the very first rumble device introduced into video games. In today's episode we look closely at the Rumble Pak and even build a homebrew application to test its features.
2024-03-18 11:46:00 +0000 UTC
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A closer look at one of the more interesting peripherals for the Nintendo 64 - the Expansion Pak. Released in 1998 With Donkey Kong 64, it expanded the N64 System RAM from 4MB to 8MB and was also said to improve visual quality, framerates and more. It was rumored to be used to fix a memory crash with DK64 and over 60 games supported the Expansion Pak with 2 games requiring it. But did you miss out if you didn't own one? In this episode we deep dive and discuss the myths and the realities of the N64 Expansion Pak.
2024-02-27 12:46:00 +0000 UTC
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The Wii U was a system that Nintendo would rather forget. But for modders, it's nearly the perfect console which can play the (almost) entire back catalog of Nintendo games that game before it - and many other emulators and homebrew. While modding the Wii U isn't anything new - in today's video we take a look at the most up to date homebrew environment known as Aroma that not only makes the Wii U easier to hack, but it also makes it the experience so much better. Let's check it out.
2024-02-19 12:46:00 +0000 UTC
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The Nintendo 64 launched in 1996 is a powerful piece of hardware that's capable of many impressive things. One of those is playing old retro games via emulation. The N64 is capable of emulating the NES, Super NES, Game Boy Color and much more. In today's video we take a closer look at retro emulation running on the N64. For a system that launched in 1996 the results here may surprise you
2024-02-10 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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If you're running a 3.00-4.51 Firmware PlayStation PS5, you can easily jailbreak and enable it for homebrew thanks to the amazing efforts from the community. In todays episode we take a closer look at what you can do with a hacked/jailbroken PS5 and why im excited for the future of this particular scene.
2024-01-27 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Half-Life is a 1998 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. In November 2001 Gearbox Software would port Half-Life to the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2). This port was not just a standard port, it featured many enhancements over the original and in today's episode we take a deep dive at the PS2 version and talk about why its an impressive package with many unique and interesting features.
2024-01-24 12:46:00 +0000 UTC
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My Sony PlayStation 3 Slim hasn't had much use in recent years, so let's Jailbreak it with a Custom Firmware (CFW). With a 4.90 CFW we can not only play homebrew games and emulators but with a back manager like Multiman we can preserve our entire library of PS3, PS2 and PS1 games on the internal hard drive or via external USB devices. In this video I show off how to Jailbreak a PS3 Slim and how to preserve your library of PlayStation 1, 2 and 3 games. Please Enjoy!
2024-01-16 12:46:00 +0000 UTC
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4 years after the release of the Pi4, here comes the all-new Raspberry PI 5. This new iteration of the Raspberry Pi promises more power in a size that's as compact as ever, while still keeping the price affordable. Powered by a quad-core Broadcom ARMV8 Cortex A76 processor clocked at 2.4 GHz, the Pi5 is claimed to be 250% faster than a Pi 4. In todays episode we take a closer look at the performance of the Pi 5 with modern emulators including Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast and more!
2024-01-10 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Alien Resurrection on the Sony PlayStation PS1 has a secret cheat code that has never been discovered - until now. It enables you to play backup discs without any additional mod chip or soft mod. It doesn't even need a memory card. Let's take a closer look at what it does and how it works!
2023-12-19 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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One of the more interesting ports to the Original Xbox is Half Life 2 released in 2005. It was handled internally by Valve as their first but important step to bring the Source Engine to consoles for the very first time. In today's episode we take a closer look at the port and understand how it was achieved on the OG Xbox with a 733Mhz CPU and just 64Mb of RAM.
2023-12-11 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Video game emulation in 2023 has gone from strength to strength and in today's episode we discuss the Best Emulators that I've been using in 2023 and showing off their features. These all run on PC but many of them also run on Linux, MacOS and some on Android. You may or may not agree with this list, but please let me know what you've been using in 2023. Have a wonderful day!
2023-12-09 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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The RetroTINK-4K is the latest evolution of the RetroTINK line of video line doublers and upscalers - and it's a gamechanger. It comes bundled with so many different options and it will handle just about everything you throw at it. But it doesn't come cheap at $750 USD. I've spent the past week testing one out and I wanted to share my thoughts in this comprehensive deep dive with many different systems tested.
2023-11-29 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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This is the story of how I inadvertently became a software pirate in the 80's starting with the Commodore 64 and then to the Commodore Amiga where one program would change everything, X-Copy Pro. Please Enjoy!
2023-11-13 12:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Microsoft recently announced the Xbox 360 Store closure for all digital purchases in July 2024. And in today's episode we take an all-new look at a hacked Xbox 360 and how it's still an amazing system makes it possible to preserve and play the entire Xbox 360 game library.
2023-11-06 12:46:00 +0000 UTC
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Quake II on the original Sony PlayStation 1 is a port that really shouldn't have been possible, yet the team at Hammerhead Studios, skilled with their experience building 3D Worlds on the PlayStation make it possible with a very impressive port that takes full advantage of PS1 hardware. The result? A wonderfully executed game that is arguably the best FPS on the PS1. In today's episode we deep dive as to what make the game so great. Please enjoy.
2023-10-30 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Earlier this year FPGA developer Robert Peip started work on the "impossible" implementation of a Nintendo 64 FPGA core for the DE-10 Nano used in the MiSTer open-source project. Many thought it to be unattainable. In today's episode we take a look at the core and how fast things have progressed. The core is in a very advanced state and is very impressive overall. If you're a fan of the Retro Gaming, the N64 and/or FPGA then please enjoy.
2023-10-23 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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In 1990, Nintendo both developed and published StarTropics a fun tropical action game adventure game. StarTropics came packaged with a physical letter, which set up the story and was used within the game's plot. During gameplay, the player is prompted to dip this physical letter in water to reveal a hidden code (747), which is required to progress in the game. But Is this letter considered Anti-Piracy or just a fun gimmick to break the fourth wall? In today's episode, we take a closer look at the Anti-Piracy measure's of both StarTropics and StarTropics II Zodas Revenge for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
2023-10-16 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Recently on an old OG Xbox development kit Hard Drive, I uncovered some prototype and unreleased games, but I wasn't finished. A mystery third game that would end up being a previously unreleased game 'Crash vs Spyro Racing', developed by Argonaut Software subsidiary - LT Studios in 2004 - was also preserved. In today's episode, we deep dive into this discovery. Please enjoy!
2023-09-25 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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With the recent Gamescom report that new next generation Nintendo hardware was shown running a tech demo of Breath of the Wild at 4k @ 60FPS, in today's episode I break out the modded Mariko revision OLED Nintendo Switch and see what clock speeds we need to hit 60fps on current generation Nintendo Switch hardware.
2023-09-18 11:46:59 +0000 UTC
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A fan reached out and asked if I could help dump an old hard drive that came from an Original Xbox Development Kit. Of course, I said yes - and was able to preserve 2 games including one that was never before released! In this episode I walk through the process and the games. There is more to come but for now, please enjoy.
2023-09-04 11:46:59 +0000 UTC
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Ever wanted to run Bloodborne at 60fps on your PS5? Well now you can! We take a closer look at libhijacker - a new homebrew tool that works in conjunction with an exploitable PlayStation PS5 (running firmware 4.03) to enable 60FPS patches for games. In today's episode we test it all out.
2023-08-28 11:47:00 +0000 UTC
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Red Dead Redemption on the Nintendo Switch is a very good port, and with some homebrew utilities, a modded Switch, and some overclocking it can run much better - up to 60fps. In this episode we take a closer look at how this can be achieved.
2023-08-21 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Development of the Nintendo 64 began in 1993 in partnership with Silicon Graphics, using the codename Project Reality, then a test model and arcade platform called Ultra 64, but was its final design specifications anything close to what we were promised? Did Nintendo lie to us about the hardware? In this episode we take a closer look at one of the most interesting stories of game console development.
2023-08-07 11:46:00 +0000 UTC
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The Sony PlayStation Portable or PSP was launched in 2004 and was a very popular and powerful handheld. But in 2023 is it still worth the trouble to use one? In today's episode, for around $50 we can pimp out any PSP-1000 with a new battery, larger storage and a new IPS Panel and turn it into an emulation machine that also plays native PSP games. Please enjoy!
2023-07-31 11:46:01 +0000 UTC
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Doom 3 on the original OG Xbox is a port of the original PC game from 2004. However, just exactly how do you port a game from the PC that demanded lots of memory and a fast CPU and GPU, to an OG Xbox with a 733Mhz CPU and just 64Mb of RAM. In today's episode, I talk to an ex-Vicarious Visions developer who lets me know how it was done, and how Doom 3 on the OG Xbox could be a candidate for an impossible port. Please enjoy!
2023-07-17 11:46:59 +0000 UTC
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In 2010 Ubisoft unveiled a brand-new form of DRM for Windows PC Gaming that would require single player games to connect to an authentication server to check for the existence of an internet connection. This DRM was known as Ubisoft DRM, these days is commonly known as "Always Online DRM". In today's episode we take a closer look at the origins of Ubisoft DRM, its customer reaction, how it was easily defeated by scene cracking groups, and the legacy that it left behind in the video game industry.
2023-06-26 11:47:00 +0000 UTC
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Vita3K is the world's first functional experimental open-source PlayStation Vita emulator for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android. It's starting to achieve a good level of compatibility - so it's time we took a closer look. In this episode we install and test Vita3k on a Windows PC and Valve Steam Deck.
2023-06-19 11:46:59 +0000 UTC
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RPCS3 is a PlayStation 3 emulator for Windows, Linux and Mac. In this episode we take a look at the V0.0.28 update, its advancements this emulator has seen in the past year with some impressive results.
2023-06-05 11:46:00 +0000 UTC
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Cubic Ninja was the most important Nintendo 3DS game ever created thanks to its QR Code entry point into the world of unsigned code and homebrew on the 3DS. It's where it all began, and in today's episode we take a closer look!
2023-05-22 11:47:00 +0000 UTC
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