Programmer ports Super Mario 64 to Microsoft’s Zune HD media player
A fan port of Nintendo’s Super Mario 64 runs natively on Microsoft’s 2009 Zune HD media player, with touch controls and saves.
The Nintendo 64 game, Super Mario 64, has been ported to Microsoft's Zune HD media player, according to Hackaday. This port runs natively on the Zune HD's hardware using the unofficial OpenZDK kit, as described in the repository's README. A touchscreen controller overlay is drawn over the game's video, allowing for touch controls, while the game plays at full speed with sound and saves.
However, no ROM is included, and one must be dumped from a cartridge. The Zune HD, a 2009 media player, features Nvidia Tegra hardware and runs on a Windows CE-based operating system. The port leverages an OpenGL ES 2 renderer and workarounds to make the game work on the device's limited hardware capabilities. The port has been tested on firmware 4.5 and requires a Super Mario 64 decompilation effort, which was completed by fans in 2019.
Despite initial legal action from Nintendo targeting ports of their games, the project demonstrates what could have been on the Zune HD had Microsoft been more open to development. Ports of games have been growing in number recently, potentially due to the availability of powerful AI tools.
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