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I built http://start9.io http://start9.io three years ago - the idea was to somehow manage to show video game publishers that a 'professional' vintage gaming pl

I built http://start9.io http://start9.io three years ago - the idea was to somehow manage to show video game publishers that a 'professional' vintage gaming platform was something that could attract users. I wanted it to be the Netflix of the retrogaming. Unfortunately, I never managed to find cofounders that were as much motivated as I was - each one I worked with was working on it as a hobby more than anything else, and I usually had to tell them what to do, which was exhausting considering I was the only developer to develop such a big beast. Adding marketing on top of that was just too much. We still applied to Y Combinator with the last cofounder I worked with, but he wasn't really ready to move to another continent for the project and quickly started looking for excuses to drop it. He got one when we ended up not being selected :) We're still friends, but I learned that it's hard finding people to build things. I'm still extremely proud of this project, tho. Both technically and humanly, I learnt so many things! And the project is still running without needing much maintenance, so I guess it's still a success in some way. Plus, it helped me to find jobs, since people are usually a bit impressed when you can explain to them in interview how gameboys work under the hood ... :)

hartator 9y ago
Makes sense. What kind of help you are looking for in a cofounder? Technical or business?
- arcatek 9y ago
  I was mainly looking for a business cofounder that could contact the older development studio owners to suggest them a deal so that we could start offering a kind of "All-Access" plan (à-la Google Music, Spotify, etc) to be able to play games without having to physically own them. Advertisement was also a track I was exploring, as you can see with the side menu that shows news from Polygon. I figured that with a big enough userbase, online magazines would be interested in being showcased in a proeminent place, while still adding value to our proposition (users of such a platform would probably be very interested by those articles).
darksh1re 9y ago
This idea is awesome. What language(s) did you use? And it saves your games and can be played from anywhere with an internet connection?
- arcatek 9y ago
  Yup! Languages and frameworks: Angular (1.2.X) for the client-side code, Node with a custom framework for the server-side code, and C/C++ for the emulators (then compiled to asm.js). The initial emulators were handmade in Javascript, but the asm.js-compiled ones ended up much faster in practice.
BleachNut 9y ago
This is beautiful. What exactly is preventing you from monetizing through ads? Also, did you post the site on r/gaming and /v/?
- arcatek 9y ago
  There was three issues that prevented monetization: - The userbase cannot grow enough without publisher, because the requirement of asking people to upload their rom is too much complex for most people. - With no publisher by my side, I fear advertisers will not invest in a platform that is on the grey side of the legality (Start9 is legal, since we clearly state everywhere that only people uploading their own roms can use the service, but some might see this differently). Especially for the low amount of user (cf issue #1). Everything comes down to publishers ... The bitter part of this is that some people put together shitty implementations of this concept, but without any vision, any regard for the legality of the project, or even the future of the platform. They just make an html page with a flash emulator, add a bunch of porn and/or blackjack ads on the thing, and call it a day. They certainly bring more money than Start9, and they'll never get shut down by Nintendo ... go figure.
wyldfire 9y ago
FYI, PICO-8 [1] is a similar commercial project AFAICT. Maybe you're right that there is a market there. [1] https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
- roryisok 9y ago
  PICO8 was my first thought too
- arcatek 9y ago
  I'm sure there is! Sega announced last month that it would be releasing its catalogue online[1], and let's not forget the success of the SNES Mini, released last year. I was just on the market too soon, and especially without any connection to the people that could make the dream come true (hence why we applied to Y Combinator - more than the money, the network would have helped us). Oh well. :( [1] https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/21/15846752/sega-forever-netflix-of-retro-classic-gaming-ios-android https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/21/15846752/sega-forever-net...
  - Nexxxeh 9y ago
    To clarify, NES Mini was last year, SNES Mini is this year's sequel.

hartator 9y ago

Makes sense. What kind of help you are looking for in a cofounder? Technical or business?

arcatek 9y ago
I was mainly looking for a business cofounder that could contact the older development studio owners to suggest them a deal so that we could start offering a kind of "All-Access" plan (à-la Google Music, Spotify, etc) to be able to play games without having to physically own them. Advertisement was also a track I was exploring, as you can see with the side menu that shows news from Polygon. I figured that with a big enough userbase, online magazines would be interested in being showcased in a proeminent place, while still adding value to our proposition (users of such a platform would probably be very interested by those articles).

darksh1re 9y ago

This idea is awesome. What language(s) did you use? And it saves your games and can be played from anywhere with an internet connection?

arcatek 9y ago
Yup! Languages and frameworks: Angular (1.2.X) for the client-side code, Node with a custom framework for the server-side code, and C/C++ for the emulators (then compiled to asm.js). The initial emulators were handmade in Javascript, but the asm.js-compiled ones ended up much faster in practice.

BleachNut 9y ago

This is beautiful. What exactly is preventing you from monetizing through ads? Also, did you post the site on r/gaming and /v/?

arcatek 9y ago
There was three issues that prevented monetization: - The userbase cannot grow enough without publisher, because the requirement of asking people to upload their rom is too much complex for most people. - With no publisher by my side, I fear advertisers will not invest in a platform that is on the grey side of the legality (Start9 is legal, since we clearly state everywhere that only people uploading their own roms can use the service, but some might see this differently). Especially for the low amount of user (cf issue #1). Everything comes down to publishers ... The bitter part of this is that some people put together shitty implementations of this concept, but without any vision, any regard for the legality of the project, or even the future of the platform. They just make an html page with a flash emulator, add a bunch of porn and/or blackjack ads on the thing, and call it a day. They certainly bring more money than Start9, and they'll never get shut down by Nintendo ... go figure.

wyldfire 9y ago

FYI, PICO-8 [1] is a similar commercial project AFAICT. Maybe you're right that there is a market there. [1] https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php

roryisok 9y ago
PICO8 was my first thought too
arcatek 9y ago
I'm sure there is! Sega announced last month that it would be releasing its catalogue online[1], and let's not forget the success of the SNES Mini, released last year. I was just on the market too soon, and especially without any connection to the people that could make the dream come true (hence why we applied to Y Combinator - more than the money, the network would have helped us). Oh well. :( [1] https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/21/15846752/sega-forever-netflix-of-retro-classic-gaming-ios-android https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/21/15846752/sega-forever-net...
- Nexxxeh 9y ago
  To clarify, NES Mini was last year, SNES Mini is this year's sequel.