Console emulation

[sexyos]

There does not appear to be many new games available for macs. When they do come out they are generally ported by aspyr ( A few months or so after there launch).

If game studio's don't want to make games specifically for Mac's anymore, apple should take action.

An Ideal solution I think, would be for apple to provides Operation System level Console Emulation.

Just imagine if you could just put a PS3, XBox 360, or Wii disc into your super drive and the game just starts up ( No installation hassle). This would be great for mac OSX home market penetration, and of course "Apples digital home Concept". It would be a great feature for ITV.

If this could happen then OS X will have finally put the nails in the Coffin for good old Microsoft Windows, After all gaming is about the only thing Windows does better then OSX.

I would like to hear what other people have to say on these issues.

Cheers

[tyr2]

Reminds me of the Amstrad MegaPC (http://www.uk.playright.dk/raretitel.php?id=13883), and odd ball PC with a Mega Drive built it.

[Sean7512]

I really like the idea, but I don't see it happening for copyright reasons and such. I do think Apple needs an EASY solution for the Direct X -> Open GL, as that is the largest hurdle, especially now since the intel switch!

Edit:
If Apple were to make it easy for to convert the Direct X calls to Open GL, then games may be more plentiful, as I don't see a huge hurdle other than that.

Double Edit:
I need to stop thinking, but this is my last edit, haha...Another problem with just putting in the discs for xbox 360, ps3, and wii is that it would probably require a beast of a Mac and a great video card. At least for the xbox 360 and ps3, it would definitely be limited to the higher models, but I think the wii would be able to be emulated quite nicely on anything except for the GMA 950....

[paintballer]

Its not gonna happen because its not legal and if they did do it they would get sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. And it wouldn't be able to play Wii games anyway since there isn't Wiimotes for Mac.

[sexyos]

Reminds me of the Amstrad MegaPC (http://www.uk.playright.dk/raretitel.php?id=13883), and odd ball PC with a Mega Drive built it.

I think Apple could make it work though. Plus Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can Still make money from game development ( Thats the money spinner for them, they loose billion on consoles), And of course 3rd party hardware accessories e.g. the Ipod. That means they can recuperate revenue lost for consoles sooner.

[sexyos]

Its not gonna happen because its not legal and if they did do it they would get sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. And it wouldn't be able to play Wii games anyway since there isn't Wiimotes for Mac.

Thats why there are solicators. Apple have one or two I think. At the end of the day though Apple would have to pay some royalty or fee to the console manufactures for licencing , which is fair enough to. This is not a new concept, it is done all the time.

I am sure console manufactuors could also make money on USB or Firewire abpater accesories for the mac, so we could use an XBox, Sony, or Wii controller.

[greatdevourer]

Its not gonna happen because its not legal and if they did do it they would get sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. And it wouldn't be able to play Wii games anyway since there isn't Wiimotes for Mac. More importantly, this aint gonna happen because not everyone has a 20-unit Mac Pro cluster :rolleyes: (with the exception of the Wii), these beasts are hard to emulate. They're still having troubles enough with the damn PS2, let alone anything newer...

[GFLPraxis]

I think Apple could make it work though. Plus Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can Still make money from game development ( Thats the money spinner for them, they loose billion on consoles), And of course 3rd party hardware accessories e.g. the Ipod. That means they can recuperate revenue lost for consoles sooner.

Nintendo actually makes a profit off the hardware. Also, it degrades the user experience (only the most powerful of the powerful computers will be able to emulate them...in fact, the PS3 and 360 may not be able to be emulated even by the most powerful computers on the market) because you have to worry about compatability issues.

[sexyos]

Nintendo actually makes a profit off the hardware. Also, it degrades the user experience (only the most powerful of the powerful computers will be able to emulate them...in fact, the PS3 and 360 may not be able to be emulated even by the most powerful computers on the market) because you have to worry about compatability issues.

But you forget, always when a new console comes out they are so cutting edge, that p.c. market is about 6 - 12 months behind before you can pick up equivalent hardware. Sony has come out says the life expectancy of there consoles is about 10 years. So what if we have to wait 12 months before Mac hardware catches up. We would still have 9+ years of gaming joy.

[apfhex]

I'm not sure which is more impossible — creating emulators for those systems that work on something close to current hardware, or Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft allowing this to happen.

Seriously. The PS2 hasn't even been emulated well yet.

[GFLPraxis]

But you forget, always when a new console comes out they are so cutting edge, that p.c. market is about 6 - 12 months behind before you can pick up equivalent hardware. Sony has come out says the life expectancy of there consoles is about 10 years. So what if we have to wait 12 months before Mac hardware catches up. We would still have 9+ years of gaming joy.

Are you kidding me?

Yes, the PC market will have equivilant hardware within months...the problem is that emulation requires a PC to be 5-10 times more powerful than the system it is emulating.

How long will it be until we have Macs 5-10 times more powerful than the PS3 and XBox 360?

We might be able to emulate the Wii...but we can't hook up the sensor bar (without jurry rigging something, or plugging it into an actual Wii), so it'll be useless for most unless Apple were to put a sensor bar port on all new Macs.

And Nintendo would never allow it.

[neonblue2]

I really like the idea, but I don't see it happening for copyright reasons and such. I do think Apple needs an EASY solution for the Direct X -> Open GL, as that is the largest hurdle, especially now since the intel switch!

Edit:
If Apple were to make it easy for to convert the Direct X calls to Open GL, then games may be more plentiful, as I don't see a huge hurdle other than that.


Apple doesn't need to do it because ATI already has.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/11/10/hlsl2glsl/index.php

[Soulstorm]

If Apple were to make it easy for to convert the Direct X calls to Open GL, then games may be more plentiful, as I don't see a huge hurdle other than that.


That's not Apple's job to do. It's the OpenGL consortium's. Apple conforms to the global standards set by OpenGL. Making games easier to port from DirectX to OpenGL would require some major additions to OpenGL's codebase, and that's simply not going to happen.

[2ndPath]

Providing built-in emulation for gaming consoles is probably less of a legal problem than a technical one. For Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo more machines on the market running their Games means more profit. So Apple could probably get a license from them to provide a fully compatible emulator.

The main problem, however, is technical. I recently heard about PS2 emulators getting slowly to the point that they can run games, but nowhere at native speed. And this is for a 6 year old console. The original xbox might be easier, because it uses pretty much standard pc component, but for the current generation of consoles the possibility of a full emulation is probably still half a decade away.

[mad jnr]

Ive got project 64 (self explanetry what type of games im talking bout) and i get roms for it but nothing works because it comes up with this video card thing. I think i have to install some video chip program for it. I dont know how this is done. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO?

[GFLPraxis]

Ive got project 64 (self explanetry what type of games im talking bout) and i get roms for it but nothing works because it comes up with this video card thing. I think i have to install some video chip program for it. I dont know how this is done. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO?

You want us to help walk you through running illegal roms? :rolleyes:

[Spanky Deluxe]

Ive got project 64 (self explanetry what type of games im talking bout) and i get roms for it but nothing works because it comes up with this video card thing. I think i have to install some video chip program for it. I dont know how this is done. CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT TO DO?

I don't think we're allowed to help you here, go over to the relevant forums for Project 64 or 1964 for help on how to get it to work.

[paintballer]

We might be able to emulate the Wii...but we can't hook up the sensor bar (without jurry rigging something, or plugging it into an actual Wii), so it'll be useless for most unless Apple were to put a sensor bar port on all new Macs.

And Nintendo would never allow it.

Well actually the only thing that the Wii does with the sensor bar is gives it power. The sensor bar sends out IR signals that the Wiimote uses to see where you are pointing. So you could just splice the cable into a battery or another thing some people do is use candles instead of the sensor bar. So that would be pretty easy to work around. But of course it won't ever happen, atleast not legally.

[greatdevourer]

Well actually the only thing that the Wii does with the sensor bar is gives it power. The sensor bar sends out IR signals that the Wiimote uses to see where you are pointing. So you could just splice the cable into a battery or another thing some people do is use candles instead of the sensor bar. So that would be pretty easy to work around. But of course it won't ever happen, atleast not legally. If all the Wii did with the bar was just give it power, then that's a complete waste of hardware. It has to send-recieve data from it, as well, otherwise it's useless

[GFLPraxis]

If all the Wii did with the bar was just give it power, then that's a complete waste of hardware. It has to send-recieve data from it, as well, otherwise it's useless

Actually, he's right. All the Wii does is give the sensor bar power. The sensor bar consists of two infrared LEDs.

The Wiimote has an infrared camera that picks up these LEDs and tracks them. It can tell how far it is from the TV based on the distance between the two LEDs.

You can confirm this by going in the Wii's setup menu and choosing Sensitivity...you'll see two blinking lights when you point the Wiimote at the TV.

Some people have built a wireless sensor bar using some LEDs from Radio Shack and some batteries.

[greatdevourer]

Actually, he's right. All the Wii does is give the sensor bar power. The sensor bar consists of two infrared LEDs.

The Wiimote has an infrared camera that picks up these LEDs and tracks them. It can tell how far it is from the TV based on the distance between the two LEDs.

You can confirm this by going in the Wii's setup menu and choosing Sensitivity...you'll see two blinking lights when you point the Wiimote at the TV.

Some people have built a wireless sensor bar using some LEDs from Radio Shack and some batteries. Really? I was always under the impression that it sent-recieved, hence the constant "but the sensor bar wont work" comments. Cool - better idea

[aquanutz]

Its not gonna happen because its not legal and if they did do it they would get sued by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. And it wouldn't be able to play Wii games anyway since there isn't Wiimotes for Mac.

I agree, it won't happen... however, about the Wiimote, it's just a bluetooth device and the movements can be read by any computer that has a bluetooth adapter in it (along with the right software). They have already done this on linux. youtube has a video of it.

[benpatient]

nothing illegal about ROMs if you have the original game.

no difference between that and playing Apple Lossless music files on your macbook.

[GFLPraxis]

nothing illegal about ROMs if you have the original game.

no difference between that and playing Apple Lossless music files on your macbook.

Actually, downloading someone else's backup is illegal under the DCMA in the United States. It's only legal if you ripped your own copy (I rip my own GBA games).

Yes, it sucks. But because of that, we can't talk about it on MacRumors.

It's probably legal elsewhere to download games you own. I wish it was here.

[mad jnr]

You want us to help walk you through running illegal roms? :rolleyes:

I thought all roms and emulations were illegal.