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How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

phoboslab.org

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Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#41

Post by rowanG077 »

Flashtoo wrote: post #7
stewx wrote: post #5

I am in the process of using Claude Opus 5 to build an N64 game, and it really works. I've written no code and it is able to build a fully functional game. I got it to write a skill for driving the Ares emulator via GDB Remote Serial Protocol and it uses that for its feedback loop.

What do you get out of that? The utility of having the end product (a generated game for an obsolete console) seems pretty small, and personally I would think the fun is in learning about the inner workings of the time capsule that is 90s hardware. Would you mind explaining?

If your game fits in the bounds of N64 hardware it makes perfect sense IMO. You basically get virtually all modern platforms for free. Much easier than wrestling with all the modern API that are "platform independent" but not really.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#42

Post by 101008 »

FlavioMacedo wrote: post #40

Great work! I didn't even know it was still possible to publish new games for old consoles like the N64.

It may be counterintuitive at first, but why wouldn't be possible? It's one of the perks of "offline" hardware without subscriptions or DRM. You build a piece of hardware (cartridge) that attaches to another one (console) and it works. As long as the console works, there shouldn't be a problem.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#43

Post by wsc981 »

shoobiedoo wrote: post #21
boricj wrote: post #3

I'm tinkering with a PlayStation homebrew (voxel space renderer) and development for fifth generation consoles has never been easier. Modern toolchains, programming languages, dev cartridges and libraries from the community makes all the difference. Outside of some niceties like ICE (gotta write that GDB stub for target hardware at some point), it's not that different from what you'd experience with modern embedded w…

There is something so charming about the N64/PS1 era. They were so unique in their own right and you could tell at a passing glance which system was displaying on the screen even if you didn't know what game it was. Two radically different systems at the dawning of 3D console games. I bought a MiSTer for me and my son and we played the heck out of Mario Kart 64 and Mario Golf. I think he picked up my "gaming is dead…

I'm a bit of an old-timer now (almost 45), but I enjoy a lot of the classics on GOG. And at a price that can't be beat. Totally no interest in playing modern games.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#44

Post by 3form »

shoobiedoo wrote: post #21
boricj wrote: post #3

I'm tinkering with a PlayStation homebrew (voxel space renderer) and development for fifth generation consoles has never been easier. Modern toolchains, programming languages, dev cartridges and libraries from the community makes all the difference. Outside of some niceties like ICE (gotta write that GDB stub for target hardware at some point), it's not that different from what you'd experience with modern embedded w…

There is something so charming about the N64/PS1 era. They were so unique in their own right and you could tell at a passing glance which system was displaying on the screen even if you didn't know what game it was. Two radically different systems at the dawning of 3D console games. I bought a MiSTer for me and my son and we played the heck out of Mario Kart 64 and Mario Golf. I think he picked up my "gaming is dead…

>I think he picked up my "gaming is dead now" outlook since he doesn't really have any interest in new systems or games anymore

This is interesting, as I was about to say that gaming has never been more alive than it is now - but it's true that at least the developments in hardware are not nearly as exciting as they used to be in the past. Maybe that's what he's feeling?

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#45

Post by coryadams »

"Modretro customer service address and, to my surprise, heard back from the head of publishing within a day."

This makes me want to jump in. But also, I wonder how many people will ever buy and play your game.

Does Modretro's target market buy this type of stuff? Or are they the type to just download and emulator and ROM.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#47

Post by newswasboring »

3form wrote: post #44
shoobiedoo wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is something so charming about the N64/PS1 era. They were so unique in their own right and you could tell at a passing glance which system was displaying on the screen even if you didn't know what game it was. Two radically different systems at the dawning of 3D console games. I bought a MiSTer for me and my son and we played the heck out of Mario Kart 64 and Mario Golf. I think he picked up my "gaming is dead…

>I think he picked up my "gaming is dead now" outlook since he doesn't really have any interest in new systems or games anymore This is interesting, as I was about to say that gaming has never been more alive than it is now - but it's true that at least the developments in hardware are not nearly as exciting as they used to be in the past. Maybe that's what he's feeling?

The hardware thing is a yes and no type of deal. Yes next gen hardware is largely boring but retro gaming hardware is amazing right now. I recently acquired a r36s which is an amazing system and apparently can also run things like Undertale or Stardew valley (yet to try out this part). I'm having a blast playing the Pokemon games.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#49

Post by cubefox »

101008 wrote: post #42
FlavioMacedo wrote: post #40

Great work! I didn't even know it was still possible to publish new games for old consoles like the N64.

It may be counterintuitive at first, but why wouldn't be possible? It's one of the perks of "offline" hardware without subscriptions or DRM. You build a piece of hardware (cartridge) that attaches to another one (console) and it works. As long as the console works, there shouldn't be a problem.

> It may be counterintuitive at first, but why wouldn't be possible?

For the same reason it wasn't possible at the time for a third-party to make N64 cartridges themselves to avoid Nintendo's fees. But I assume these lockout chips are replicated or circumvented by now.

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