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Vale
@vale.rocks

Browsers on video game consoles have long been a majorly underdocumented topic. That changes today with my latest article, which I can confidently say is the most comprehensive game console browser coverage on the entire web. I'd love for you to give it a read: vale.rocks/posts/game-c...

vale.rocksWeb Browsers on Video Game ConsolesA comprehensive history of web browsers on video game consoles. From the CD-i to modern systems, exploring the evolution of the web on consoles in detail. Covering bespoke iterations, releases by PlanetWeb and NetFront, contemporary engines across Sega, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox platforms, and other details.

81 reposts199 likes

megadrivers
@megadrivers.coolpics.biz

Dreamcast PlanetWeb browsers also served as very basic IRC clients. and the captive portal DreamKey zones in some games could actually let the user break out with a URL entry via undocumented shortcut codes. also DK supported midi playback lol

asie
@asie.pl

It might be worth pointing out that (a) the monochrome WonderSwan, which the MobileWonderGate supports, has only 16 KiB of RAM; (b) to compensate, the cartridge comes with an eye-watering 512 KiB (!) of RAM onboard.

asie
@asie.pl

Another tidbit: At least one of the developers of the WonderGate software was a company called 有限会社ゴールデン・ウィーズ・プロジェクト, today known as SurgeSpace. Full relation to the Japanese demoscene group "Golden Weeds Project", it was the same guy.

Vale
@vale.rocks

Thank you! Unfortunately it gets a tad cramped with lots of close headings (like in this article). The narrow viewport version is better in this regard, but I need to figure out a fix for the sidebar version. Some implementation deets here: vale.rocks/posts/the-im...

Tommy Palmer
@tommyp.org

FWIR there used to be public dashboards for GOV.UK browser usage segmented by service. Some had console browser spikes after midnight and we theorised it was the only browser users had access too, using it when they could. Like carer's allowance when the person they cared for had went to bed.

Vale
@vale.rocks

I did find remnants of console usage data, though I think link rot has claimed some data. technology.blog.gov.uk/2016/10/21/g... I also linked to @edent.tel's The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Simple HTML, which has an anecdote of someone using a PSP to access GOV.UK. shkspr.mobi/blog/2021/01...

technology.blog.gov.ukGaining understanding of the browsers people useGOV.UK gets a lot of visits from people in the UK and further afield. We keep a record of all visits and use this data to support as many users as possible. Deciding which browsers to test We’ll try t...
Vale
@vale.rocks

Undoubtedly game consoles represented the only gateway to the web for a lot of people for a long time. I think today, though, a cheap smartphone would be much more likely. There aren't many game consoles that are likely to be a person's only option and still have functioning browsers.

Vale
@vale.rocks

This article is part of a larger effort on my part to comprehensively cover interface/web design for television and virtual reality, which is something I've wanted to do for ages. This represents a major part of the background research for that.

Tracy King
@tracyking.bsky.social

Will have a look at your backlist of pieces, am v interested in the same subjects in part because I’m the only person I know who had the Amiga CD32 AND the beleaguered CDTV. And also because I yell at my TV’s awful Android interface every single day.