The truth is that there is a good N64 emulator out there. It's called 1964 and the guys that developed it have done a very good job. The problem is that it is a little on the slow side. If we put it up now there would be many computers (my home computer being one of them) that would not run 1964 well. What I am trying to decide is whether the demand is so great as to excuse this limitation.
Nothing is perfect, I know that. Often it is better to get something out there as soon as it is usable then to work toward perfection. Many people would disagree with me, but look at Console Classix current track record. We started with roughly one hundred NES games. Our server app was a small application written to use an Access database. It locked up around three times a week and was desperately slow. We put it out there anyway and people began to play. They liked the idea enough to look past all the problems. They believed in what we were doing enough to invest their money in it. Now we have thousands of games and the service is much better. We were able to reach this point because we launched an unfinished product.
In point of fact, Console Classix is still “unfinished” and will be for a long time to come. I will consider it complete when we have every game ever offered for every system ever sold up to what is out at the moment. (We won't offer games for systems that are currently on the shelves. The companies that developed them need to realize the profits from all their work. We're here to preserve the past at a low cost, not hurt other companies financially.) So we offered a unfinished product, we are offering an unfinished product and we will continue to offer an unfinished product for a long time to come. So, what's the holdup on the N64?
The thing is that even though our service isn't “finished” it's still good. All the systems we offer are playable and enjoyable. I'm afraid to launch a system that only twenty percent of the current PCs will run right now. I don't want to tell people they can play the N64 for the low cost of $5.99 a month, oh, and the cost of a new PC. This is my dilemma!
We're a small company and we listen to our fans. So... What do you guys think?
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I think you've pretty much got the right idea here, Aaron.
ReplyDeleteNot to pry, but since you used your home computer as an example of one that wouldn't run 1964 well, what are the specs on it, and how exactly do you mean "not run well?" Not run well as in slow, or crashing, or something else? I'm just trying to get an idea of what kind of system could capably run the emulator.
I don't know that it has to be a "finished" product in order to introduce it, per se. Stable for a majority of systems, yes. But, finished, no.
Too bad this wasn't up and running awhile back. I used to have a few N64 cartridges I would have been happy to send you--good titles, too. Sold most of them in the end--except for two that I can't seem to even give away!
I actually may have underestimated 1964. We've been playing around with it a little and we've improved results just by tweaking the settings. I am actually working on getting it setup as a client so we can test it fully. So, we may know more next week.
ReplyDeleteI canceled my subscription due to the lack of N64 support. I would seriously consider reinstating it for the pleasure of even a few N64 games...
ReplyDeleteI'll certainly keep you guys posted. We may have a beta test period. If you are interested just shoot me an e-mail at webmaster@consoleclassix.com with beta-tester as the subject.
ReplyDeletei like it n64 on console classix i want it i like it i will subsciption it
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