Sega embraces legal console game modding with new Genesis PC emulation hub
For decades now, the only real way to enjoy the many fan-modified versions of classic console games floating around was through the legally questionable method of downloading altered ROM files and running them through a computer emulator (legal cartridge-ripping hardware notwithstanding). Now, Sega is finally lending some official support to what has until now been a very unofficial activity, adding the ability to modify and redistribute certain classic PC-emulated Genesis titles through Valve's Steamworks platform.
The newly announced Sega Mega Drive Classics Hub will serve as a 3D front end for emulated Sega ROMs you already own on Steam, simulating the kind of bedroom a diehard Sega fan may have had in the mid-'90s. The hub comes complete with a virtual CRT TV, graphic enhancement filters, a virtual shelf of cartridge boxes, and a day/night cycle to show you just how much time you're wasting in front of decades-old games.