How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026 • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#211

Post by jackb4040 » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:49 PM UTC

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.

Agree. There is a wall coming for "retro" video game nostalgia once we reach the end of the purpose-specific hardware era. Like, you can build an emulator for WiiWare games, but what does it mean to release a "new" WiiWare game when they're just built using an API like OpenGL which is still being used in new games today? What does following the constraints of an older system like that result in besides just another, lower, quality setting? What does "retro" Fortnite look like in 10 years besides just worse shaders?

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#212

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:49 PM UTC

applfanboysbgon wrote: post #210

Keyframe wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AWS (and many others) is also then war profiteering company with JWCC, C2E, WildandStormy, not to mention all the other defense contractors that rely on their computer power to design and operate mass surveillance and killing of people. Is your agenda selectively blind?

Why are you presenting your unfounded assumption as a gotcha? Do you have any basis whatsoever to believe GP supports AWS?

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Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#213

Post by TulliusCicero » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 7:54 PM UTC

eltondegeneres wrote: post #87

[flagged]

> which makes human-killing robots

I mean, that's just defense companies in general now. Would you rather have your own soldiers dying in a war, rather than robots? Ukraine is using AI in their targeting, is that something you condemn?

This is no different from the invention of machine guns or artillery. Yes, it's sad that these things will be used in war to kill (more) people. But intentionally avoiding that technology means you're just handicapping your own military and sacrificing others' lives for your principles.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#214

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:03 PM UTC

dabluecaboose wrote: post #209

spankibalt wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's ironic, in another world HN commenters would be lauding Luckey and ModRetro for all these virtues. Lot's of HN (and "social" media) commenters in this world evidently are; nothing ironic about it. It's just many people have a radically different set of ethics which, once they become principles, can't be easily, or at all, compromised on. And just to be fair, it's not just the what , but the how (which extends…

> Lot's of HN (and "social" media) commenters in this world evidently are; nothing ironic about it. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that it's ironic that the one guy providing these consumer-friendly features is considered anathema by many of the people clamoring for those features. You, yourself even mention downthread that you'd otherwise be interested in the M64 Pro controller, but won't consider it. I was jus…

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Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#215

Post by stronglikedan » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:04 PM UTC

jackb4040 wrote: post #185

eltondegeneres wrote: post #87

[flagged]

[flagged]

It common to reply to silly comments with more silliness. It's a obvious virtue signal, which rightfully draws ridicule. Some people use mocking as ridicule, and it says nothing about the person doing the mocking, since they're likely saying it as a joke.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#216

Post by esikich » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:13 PM UTC

eltondegeneres wrote: post #87

[flagged]

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Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#217

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:18 PM UTC

wombat-man wrote: post #206

eltondegeneres wrote: post #87

[flagged]

I have mixed feelings about it. I don't agree with how my country often ends up using these technologies, but defense tech and weaponry still seems pretty necessary. The US is not the only one doing this. Should they wait for their adversaries to have the upper hand? I don't think it's such a bad thing, as long as they can put the right people in charge. That's a whole other problem.

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Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#218

Post by inigyou » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:35 PM UTC

cubefox wrote: post #187

monocasa wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main pirating route at the time (a device (oh which there were several) that sat under the N64 and had either an Iomega Zip drive or a CD drive for holding ROMs), had a port for inserting a real cartridge to use its lockout chip.

Yeah, though piracy is not the same as publishing unlicensed original games (bootlegs) like Xibalba 64.

As far as Nintendo's concerned, it is. Their method of piracy prevention at this point was putting a lockout chip on every cartridge, and attaching their license fee to the lockout chip. Your homebrew cartridge needs one too.

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#219

Post by virissimo » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:35 PM UTC

fourside wrote: post #169

dabluecaboose wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comparing a run-of-the-mill defense contractor to a serial rapist and murderer is certainly up there in the most unhinged justifications that I've seen on HN.

I don’t think the parent comment was trying to equate the two, but rather pushing the argument to its logical extreme to test show that the reasoning doesn’t hold consistently across cases. Whether they made a convincing argument is separate.

Taking it to a logical extreme is good practice for thinking from first principles, but always pair it up with going to the logical extreme in the other direction. That might look something like: "would you really eat at a restaurant owned by a habitual jaywalker?".

Re: How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026

#220

Post by jackb4040 » Thu, Aug 06, 2026, 8:42 PM UTC

stronglikedan wrote: post #215

jackb4040 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It common to reply to silly comments with more silliness. It's a obvious virtue signal, which rightfully draws ridicule. Some people use mocking as ridicule, and it says nothing about the person doing the mocking, since they're likely saying it as a joke.

It's not a good or acceptable thing for the level of discourse on this website to be a bunch of 8th-grade boys on Xbox Live. You can disagree with OP or be conservative or whatever, but saying you want to support a drone manufacturer for no self-interested reason but because you like drone warfare is not a proportionate response to someone saying something "silly".