15 Years Later: How Sony’s Net Yaroze Kickstarted Indie Console Development

Gamasutra: In March 1997, Sony launched the Net Yaroze project, which put the power of the original PlayStation in the hands of amateur developers. For well under $1000, hobbyists could get a special PlayStation unit which hooked to PCs and allowed them to develop their own games. This look back at the system includes interviews with developers who got their start on the system, as well as academics who used it in some of the earliest hands-on game development programs in the world.