MSX Revival: YES or NO

MSX has always been an open and free platform. Everybody was allowed to manufacture MSX computers, and everybody was allowed to make software for it. Unlike Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft consoles, where you have to apply to those companies to get your product approved, you could do so freely.

This will not change. So for the amateur MSX community nothing will change. Even if there comes a new computer with 'MSX Zero' on it, everybody can still make games for MSX2, MoonSound, Gfx9000 (yay! ^_^) or whatever they want.

On the subject of copyright; the (illegal) ROMs and diskimages on the internet are NOT their copyright and so they cannot say much about it. But ofcourse they can disallow any person or website to use their logo if it stores illegal material, that is their right.

With the MSX PLAYer being loads better than I expected, I guess it's about on the same level as NLMSX (with the exception of turboR and MSX-AUDIO ofcourse), I can only wholeheartedly say "YES!" to the MSX Association and do my best to positively affect the MSX Revival!

Of the 3 million MSX users that existed in the past, 66% lived in Japan. No wonder ASCII and other companies try their new things there first.

I think ASCII and Nishi being japanese has more to do with it it than the so-called 'installed userbase'

It's common practice to try out new products on home soil, it makes no sense to immediately start working overseas. Doing that is a sure way to failure.

We'll just have to be a bit more patient! Remember we get all the news lightning fast now! Back in the old days we'd have to wait 2 months before the next MSX magazine came out before anybody even had a CLUE of what was going on in japan.

How can you compare those emulators when MSX PLAYer does not allow you to run any ROM or DSK image you want? I'm not surprised MSX PLAYer can handle the software released for it, because if it couldn't, they would not have released that software.

MSXPLAYer doesn't work with ROM and DSK files, but it DOES work with real genuine floppy disks. Working on some emulator comparison tests already

The policy itself is (in Bernard's translation) pretty relaxed, but it worries me that a policy is needed at all.

o.O Would you feel fine about your name showing up on warez (or worse, porn) sites?!

>>Unlike Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft consoles, where you have to apply to those companies to get your product approved, you could do so freely. <<

As far as I know, anyone can create products for those consoles. However, it is very hard to do so.

<CUT>

But it is not illegal. Sony tried to stop Datel from making cheating devices + software, but they were unsuccesfull.

I never said it was illegal. But Nintendo WILL sue, even though they know you're in your rights. And you WILL lose, because you just don't have the money to countersue and pay your lawyers throughout all the appeals.

So-called 'unlicensed' games haven't appeared for years, because of the above mentioned reason.

>>With the MSX PLAYer being loads better than I expected, I guess it's about on the same level as NLMSX (with the exception of turboR and MSX-AUDIO ofcourse)<<

How can you compare those emulators when MSX PLAYer does not allow you to run any ROM or DSK image you want? I'm not surprised MSX PLAYer can handle the software released for it, because if it couldn't, they would not have released that software.

Well my current game doesn't run on most emulators. It runs fine on MSX2 (3.58 or 7 MHz), turboR (Z80 or R800), NLMSX, MSX PLAYer(!). It does not run at all on fMSX-SDL and is flawed on openMSX(!).

As snout said, MSX PLAYer runs disks, but not ROMs or diskimages. Just like it should.

Ok, in our newspost reactions there were many opinions on the MSX Revival. I'd like to quote a few in order to continue the discussion here.

Mark Jelsma wrote:i agree with them in some way... just as i reacted on that post here. It does not mean im Antie MSX A but they should (though they have the right) not be like that. Commercializing something that was abandoned by the commercial companies seems not to be that easy at all!

Jalu wrote:Well, indeed I can imagine the disgruntled reactions of some users, but, on the other hand, all of us knew that there always was a risk that, at some point in the future, these companies would reclaim their copyrights. For instance, I can imagine Konami would *not* be very pleased with a wide-spread English version of Metal Gear:Solid Snake, if or when they would decide to rerelease the game on whatever computer- or console system of today. I do think that if there will be commercial activities concerning MSX in the 21st century, we will just have to learn to live with the fact once again that commercial companies will protect their intellectual property in any possible way. Let's all not forget that it was illegal copying which caused the European death of MSX in the late eighties...

GuyveR800 wrote:We were never 'able to do what we wanted'. MSX and the MSX logo has always been trademarked. All we have been able to do was work without ASCII prosecuting or demanding license fees. Everybody has to realize MSX and the MSX logo has never been 'free'. MSX Association is giving us an official statement saying we can use the MSX logo without paying anything. This is truly extraordinary. And Jorito, companies have sued over a game idea. Konami has ruthlessly, relentlessly and vigorously sued Jaleco, and won, purely for making other music and rithm based games. The MSX scene should consider itself PRIVILEGED. What MSX Association is doing here is ACKNOWLEDGING the existance of an amateur scene that has kept alive MSX for all these years. With this, they are saying "thank you"!!!

mau_rizio wrote:I'm happy After 10 year of oblivion, msx has officially a new life. I dont't know if it will be a real life or just a good-for-a-museum life (now they are doing this), i don't care. I will continue to use msx as i'm doing now just adding the official msx logo if i relase something. What changes for me? Nothing, unitl i learn japanese or msx association translates msxpalyer & games in english. I hope that this will be a real new life for msx and some new great games will be developed by talented softco.

msxall wrote:One important thing: this is not MY movement or MSX-ALL movement. We just offered space on our server and helped on the development of that document. But there are lots of persons who agree with the Manifest... More than disagree! Although, this is not a WAR, its only a Manifest from people who wnat to be listened by the company who decides to back, or, maybe, be more infromed what they have been planning! I have been using MSX for so long, since 1984. I did work in a important brazilian magazine called CPU-MSX and I was business man in a brazilian Marketing market. I saw the MSX starting, growing up and being death by the hands of companies like ASCII and others. I have good friends who works in companies like Microsoft, IBM, Sun and others, and one of these friends is called Mauro Muratorio Not, one of the big guys on the Microsft South America. Why do I have exposing you that? Just for one reason, I met Bill Gates personaly thanks him, almost two times, and I know what he and Nishi had planned that time for the MSX (they didn't wonder that MSX became to be what it is today). So, try to connect this informations with other informations from other sources and pay attention in how ASCII have been working... Because this I really do not have good feeling about this NEW MSX. Probably they will create some chip based on the MSX technology and maybe (just maybe) they produce some machines from the japanese market. Think about: in the actual maket does not have available space for machines like MSX. Do you think that ASCII will create some "dream machine" to make us happy? Of course not! They have other inttentions!!! Other market to supply! But, all our work in cathalog and organize everything about MSX may be called "warez" in few time! Everybody who have been suporting this movement do not care what ASCII will do with his property (MSX), but we want to keep using our MSX machines like we have been doing all this years, without any restriction. We hould like to help too, but they do not care! And, if they create something good, they will have our integral support, but, until now, we do not know nothing about nothing and for all this reasons we do not believe on the good intentions of ASCII and MSX Association. Is ASCII back? They should thanks to us (you, me and everybody. All MSX users)!!! By the way, of course we respect your opinions, but try to respect ours too. Bullshit is stay sited, clapping about something that probably will not be what you want! Anyway, I hope that we are wrong and that we need to say "sorry" to ASCII and MSX Association in the future... Best Regards Julio Marchi MSX-ALL Team Coordinator

GuyveR800 wrote:Basically you are filthy pirates! You say it will become 'warez', but guess what? IT ALREADY IS! There is no such thing as 'abandonware', it's all just an excuse for piracy, because there is nothing legal about it! And you keep talking about what ASCII will do, but they are just publishing MSX Magazine! The new MSX has very little to do with ASCII. And neither them nor MSX Assoc. has copyright of games made by others. And how can you say more people agree than disagree to your so-called manifest? It is full of errors and wrong information, I doubt anyone with a decent IQ will support it... I think you should calm down and start understanding from the beginning.

msxall wrote:I will NOT start a discussion with you about that. Reaction like yours shows that some conversation will be impossible. Sentences like: "I doubt anyone with a decent IQ will support it... " shows that you are arbitrary person. The BIGGEST VOICE! THE ONE! I really sorry for your words and your hard feelings about different opinions and free expression. So, take a look at the following links and observe how many people does not have enough IQ: http://www.fixato.nl/msx-boards/viewthread.php?tid=477 and http://www.fixato.nl/msx-boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=64. I think YOU should calm down, try to be more polite and TRY to understand the manifest from the beginning. You do not need to agree or participate, but shows some respect for the others. Julio Marchi - MSX-ALL Team

snout (hey! that's me!) wrote:msxall: if you read the article on Kazuhiko Nishi's lecture in Tilburg, 2001. You should already have know that Nishi has thanked the MSX users for continuing to use the system and he said he was very sorry to drop MSX. He said "In the early nineties, i dropped MSX. It was a mistake". Also, it is not true that the MSX Association does not want to listen to you. There have been several attempts to get in touch with brazilian MSX hardware developers. So far, these developers did not seem to be very interested to help thinking on the one chip design. As BiFi suggested, this topic is moved to the forum. Lets continue over there.

Mark Jelsma wrote:as we know. guyve and i are totally opposite. I feel that the manifesto describes my thoughts very well. And this does not mean (GUYVE) that i have a low IQ (Never expected u to say such). The line, "The MSX users' and developers' community" is wrong imo.