Commercial, paid libretro cores possible?

Libretro Cores
#1

Hi all,

Would it be possible to develop a custom core for a custom hardware (like a custom arcade board for a specific game) which I own the rights and publish that core (only the core library file, that is, without the RetroArch frontend and without the libretro library) as a commercial, paid product (just like a commercial, paid VST audio plugin can be created for a VST host) without violating any libretro/RetroArch license terms?

Thankssss.

#2

Well yeah, RetroArch is GPL, but the cores can be licensed differently. After all, a core could run in any libretro player. You might want to read the GPL faq, there is a debate about linking and there is no clear answerd.

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL

But if you were to release just the core there would be no problem whatsoever. If you bundled RetroArch with the core I guess someone could complain. We have plans for a basic libretro player licensed under MiT, that would be perfect for your purposes.

#3

My intention is to release/sell just the core library file alone (compiled for a few different platforms), just like VST plugins are mostly released/sold independently from a DAW host, so I guess there would be no problem. I suppose the GPL applies only to RetroArch and not to the libretro API itself. From the API page (http://www.libretro.com/index.php/api/):

Perhaps best of all: libretro is an open specification that is 100% free to implement, with no licensing fees or hidden strings attached.

Thanks for the info!

#4

Yes you could certainly do that and it would be pretty cool in my opinion.

#5

Thanks. Well, libretro opens the door to many interesting possibilities aside from emulation. The really simple API and delegation of all cumbersome tasks (dynamic rate control, joypad hotplugging, multi-monitor support, configuration, filesystem access, platform-specific dependencies/annoyances/workarounds, etc.) to the player/frontend leaves the developer with the sole task of implementing the core in a true platform-agnostic way and focus all energy/time on making the core as good and as accurate as possible. SDL and other low level APIs, despite being nice products, just take away part of the burden.

There are other exciting applications (games, utilities, even music software) that can be easily implemented as a libretro core. I actually have quite a few interesting in-house retro development tools (graphic editors, music composers, etc.) that I’d like to publish, but the burden of dealing with all the above-mentioned nuances over just a simple SDL layer, plus the associated testing and maintenance on all platforms just threw me back. Now things have changed :wink:

#6

Holy smokes! Aren’t you Jeri Ellsworth who did the C64 DTV and other retro hardware? I thought you were more into FPGA/ASIC reimplementations. I bet you saw how awesome RA/LR is on KMS/DRM and decided to go the emulation route, right? :slight_smile:

#7

It depends. Are you this vanfanel? http://www.msx.org/forum/msx-talk/software-and-gaming/gooniesr-good-enough-keyboard-only