Some programmers took this as a personal challenge, and thus homebrew software was born.
What Is Homebrew?
The actual homebrew can be anything.
How Does Homebrew Work?
Video game consoles, on the other hand, are closed systems.
Only software sanctioned by the console maker can be run on the hardware.
The main reason for this is to prevent piracy.
For some consoles, this meant installing a physical modification to circumvent copy protection.
For others, it might be a software modification or loading custom firmware.
Sydney Louw Butler / How-To Geek / MidJourney
Different consoles have needed different approaches over the years.
Opening a console up to run any code you want is only the first step.
Actually developing software for that system can be tricky.
ALDECA studio/Shutterstock.com
In many cases, you need a developer kit.
These are special versions of the console that game developers have to purchase at great expense.
These “dev kits” let you write and test code on the original console hardware.
seeshooteatrepeat / Shutterstock.com
This is important, since many consoles have unique architectures that have to be catered to by developers.
Some apps many people use today, such asKodi, are direct descendants of homebrew.
Likewise, homebrew was how many software and game developers got their start in the business.
