Game development kit

As console generations pass, development kits often get sold through websites like eBay without repercussions.

[1] This, combined with the hobbyist nature of early computer game programming, meant that not many individuals or smaller companies would develop for consoles.

Once most GDKs started becoming bundled with hardware-specific software, hobbyists or anyone not directly affiliated with a console manufacturer would have to write their games without the specialized software to access unique features such as the Xbox One's Kinect or the Wii U GamePad.

Modern game development kits often come bundled with the specialized software, and are much more formalized compared to previous-generation GDKs.

[4] The Super Nintendo Entertainment System used specialized EPROM cartridges for development,[5] as well as various software.

[10] There was also a blue version of the PlayStation made for developers that would read burned discs to allow quick testing of imaged builds of their videogames.

[14] another unofficial alternative to develop games for the N64 was the Doctor V64, made by Bung Enterprises.

While GD-ROM burners were used by some developers, since the Dreamcast was compatible with CDs and since most games didn't take up 1GB of data at the time, GD-ROMs remained uncommon as developers opted to use the more-easily accessible CDs for their disc media.

The dev kit console of the Nintendo GameCube was white and shaped like a tower desktop PC, with the controller ports being where the optical disk drive would normally go.

Access to this program requires good industry references, prior experience in games tools and middleware development, and signing a non-disclosure agreement.

[21] The Wii development kit was a bundle of the "NDEV" hardware – a big black box full of debugging/testing hardware that looks nothing like the slim white Wii consoles sold to consumers – and a disc containing the developer software tools.

[27] As mentioned in the Nintendo Wii U section above, games and applications published through this program are considered "third-party" and do not belong to Nintendo, allowing independent developers to publish their games on multiple different platforms.

The device included support for loading software via USB-C and 10 Gigabit Ethernet to reduce development bottlenecks, programmable exterior buttons for debugging options (e.g., displaying a game's real-time frame rate on-screen), and a built-in LCD screen for displaying diagnostic information.