PLAYING GAMES IN PRISON

I

Incarcerated

Guest
My son is in a very punitive Australian prison where prisoners sit around
all day and have no work, or other activities to fill their time. As a
result, levels of violence and drug use are extremely high. To combat this,
there is talk of an incentive scheme that would allow prisoners who behave
to earn the ability to make purchases that ease the pains of their
imprisonment. Games consoles are one of the most common incentives in
prisons around the world but we are having difficulty finding an
appropriate console to approve. The issues are: (a) the console cannot have
wireless internet capability, (b) it cannot have an accessible hard drive.
(c) it must be a console that will be available into the future (older
generation consoles such as the original Xbox or PlayStation 2 are no
longer in production and therefore not able to be reliably sourced).

Initially, this was thought to be simple but some issues have arisen that
are beyond the understanding of my son as he has no way to conduct
research. A number of prisons (such as those in the UK) permit a modified
Xbox One (modification completed by Gema Records) that has had the ports
sealed and hard drive made inaccessible but the information we have is that
games on the Xbox One require downloads and updates, unlike the old days
where a game can just be inserted into the machine.

An alternative approach was the Nintendo Switch lite which we thought would
be perfect if it could be supplied with the wireless/ bluetooth etc
hardware removed but we have since been told that this would prevent the
console from working as the Switch goes through a systems check on startup
and removing hardware would result in the Switch going into Safe Mode and
not being able to be used.

In short, my question is: Does anyone know how a modern console (one that
is still produced) could be made "prison safe" (no wireless, no hard drive
access). Do you have any ideas or suggestions on the best approach for
this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
The patents on the NES/Famicom have expired, so you could argue it is still in production: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Entertainment_System_hardware_clone#Post-patent_Famiclones
("famiclones" have been produced for a very long time, especially in countries where the NES wasn't officially sold, but they weren't technically legal until 2005 when the hardware patents expired. That could've been an issue if you'd like to ship the units to a legal institution, but it seems to be all well now.)

No wireless hardware, no hard disk*, no OS that can cause issues, and over 4000 licensed games plus a pretty large homebrew scene with several newly produced games that can be ordered on actual NES cartridges and ran on real hardware. It might not be state-of-the-art stuff, but it meets all your requirements and it's a tried-and-true system that people still care about 3½ decades after its inception.

Keep in mind that there's a pretty large span between the retro enthusiasts that try to make a genuinely good console and the pirates that churn out lowest-possible-cost plastic crap of dubious quality, so it's important to check that you're buying from a reputable source.

* Many games can't save data, those that do use sticks of EEPROM memory in the cartridge itself. This might be an issue, but since it uses special hardware that you can't easily plug into a modern computer, and it's usually limited to a few kilobytes of data, it's probably not possible to abuse in any meaningful way.
 
Last edited:
You could look into the Nintendo Classic mini console such as the NES Mini Classic, SNES, Famicom. Games are preloaded and if not mistaken there are no wireless connectivity. They were recent reproductions in smaller size than its original version. Or look into buying Chinese made handheld such as this : https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Classical-Connecting-Players1020mAh-Rechargeable/dp/B089DHN5DV, or brand like https://www.anbernic.com/. FYI, I can't recommend any brand since I don't own any. But most should be cheap enough to meet the incentive program budget.

It's also down to the issue of how you define "prison safe", since if you consider carefully, looking at the product itself; these things can be use as weapons against fellow inmates in so many ways, or be use to commit suicide. And you've to consider what might happen if there're sore losers among them if allowed to play video games together. If kids at home could do harm to each other as result of gaming dispute, I'd imagine worst in prison. The incentive program committee will have to consider carefully.
 

Joe Ellis

Member
The playstation classic, I think the wifi can be disabled. It's not like the real ps1, but still has oddworld and rayman 1, so the years should fly by in prison playing those 🤗

A few Q&As':

Question:
Will you be able to buy and download more classic ps1 games onto it, in addition to the 20 already pre-loaded?
Answer:
Unfortunately it looks like Sony have decided not to support this beyond the launch date. 20 titles preloaded (majority Sony owned) and no WiFi or Ethernet means no future support. I wouldnt bother unless your extremely sentimental about the early days of PlayStation

(Sounds promising)


Question:
Will it support original ps1 disks?
Answer:
no it will not play ps1 disks. its just a little box with 20 games built in.

(Means no one can rage quit, pull the cd out the spinner, throw it at the wall and stab the winner to death with a shard of the disc)


Question:
Will I be able to play my PS1 games on this console, or is it limited to the pre- installed games only?
Answer:
You CAN run almost ANY PS1 game on this, though you'll have to download the games from a ps1 rom website (there are many) and then transfer it to a usb flash drive which you'll then plug into the classic to play them.
There are currently thousands to choose from.

(So that seems pretty secure unless there are plenty of flash drives knocking about the spivs of the prison)


Sorry if it seems like I'm making fun of your son being in prison, I'm not, I'm just being as light hearted as possible, cus if I went to prison it would probably help me through it, it must be better than being really serious the whole time, hence why I said playing rayman and oddworld will make the time fly by, with any luck if he manages to play those he'll be out before he knows.

I also think they should probably just get a load of cheap computers for $80 each, maybe less if wholesale and download ps1, snes, sega genesis\megadrive emulators on them, and all the thousands of games you can download, that's what I do, that's why I haven't bought the playstation classic, I guess they probably won't though cus the owners of the prison are probably stupid like most people. Anyway I hope you're son stays safe in there and gets out as soon as you'd hope. I don't even know you or your son but I hope for the best.
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
The irony of suggesting to download ROMs, or to send them a console loaded with them, in a topic about playing games in prison baffles me. Are you trying to get the guy's sentence extended or something?? :p


On topic: How about an NES Classic? That's not the original NES, but a recent remake of the console that's essentially a collection of a specific subset of the original games. From what I can tell, that should be perfectly suitable - assuming you can find one for sale.
 
The irony of suggesting to download ROMs, or to send them a console loaded with them, in a topic about playing games in prison baffles me. Are you trying to get the guy's sentence extended or something?? :p
Yeah, probably shouldn't be recommending doing anything illegal like downloading ROMs 😂
That said, there are plenty of legal ways to get ROMs/ISOs. You can rip PS1 games easily on any PC with a CD drive. SEGA sells a package with about 50 of the best Mega Drive/Genesis games and it comes with the ROM files for them. Other systems are pricier to get the hardware for, but doable.

Assuming you're obtaining them legally...

I would recommend a device specifically made to emulate older systems. I believe the Anbernic RG350 and RG350m fit the bill perfectly. No wireless capabilities built-in, and they also appear to have internal memory, so no need for an exposed external SD card. They can run games up to PS1 near-flawlessly. You can get them on Amazon in the US, no idea if they're available on the Aussie Amazon. You could likely still buy them from somewhere else like AliExpress. Very decently priced as well; might run you about $100 sans shipping.
 
Last edited:

K12gamer

Member
How about a PC with games predownloaded on it...so it doesn't need to be connected to the internet.
I've done set ups like this for daycares.
Oh...and all the games I had installed were educational...no guns or violence.

Examples:
Board games against the computer like chess and checkers.
Puzzle, logic and strategy games.

Would be nice if they had offline job training courses on the PC...covering topics like engineering etc.
 
I

Incarcerated

Guest
The playstation classic, I think the wifi can be disabled. It's not like the real ps1, but still has oddworld and rayman 1, so the years should fly by in prison playing those 🤗

A few Q&As':

Question:
Will you be able to buy and download more classic ps1 games onto it, in addition to the 20 already pre-loaded?
Answer:
Unfortunately it looks like Sony have decided not to support this beyond the launch date. 20 titles preloaded (majority Sony owned) and no WiFi or Ethernet means no future support. I wouldnt bother unless your extremely sentimental about the early days of PlayStation

(Sounds promising)


Question:
Will it support original ps1 disks?
Answer:
no it will not play ps1 disks. its just a little box with 20 games built in.

(Means no one can rage quit, pull the cd out the spinner, throw it at the wall and stab the winner to death with a shard of the disc)


Question:
Will I be able to play my PS1 games on this console, or is it limited to the pre- installed games only?
Answer:
You CAN run almost ANY PS1 game on this, though you'll have to download the games from a ps1 rom website (there are many) and then transfer it to a usb flash drive which you'll then plug into the classic to play them.
There are currently thousands to choose from.

(So that seems pretty secure unless there are plenty of flash drives knocking about the spivs of the prison)


Sorry if it seems like I'm making fun of your son being in prison, I'm not, I'm just being as light hearted as possible, cus if I went to prison it would probably help me through it, it must be better than being really serious the whole time, hence why I said playing rayman and oddworld will make the time fly by, with any luck if he manages to play those he'll be out before he knows.

I also think they should probably just get a load of cheap computers for $80 each, maybe less if wholesale and download ps1, snes, sega genesis\megadrive emulators on them, and all the thousands of games you can download, that's what I do, that's why I haven't bought the playstation classic, I guess they probably won't though cus the owners of the prison are probably stupid like most people. Anyway I hope you're son stays safe in there and gets out as soon as you'd hope. I don't even know you or your son but I hope for the best.
Thank you for your contribution and for your kind words at the end. I did think you were mocking at first. The responses so far mean very little to me but I will copy them all into a document and send it to him. Grateful for all the help.
 
I

Incarcerated

Guest
My son is in a very punitive Australian prison where prisoners sit around
all day and have no work, or other activities to fill their time. As a
result, levels of violence and drug use are extremely high. To combat this,
there is talk of an incentive scheme that would allow prisoners who behave
to earn the ability to make purchases that ease the pains of their
imprisonment. Games consoles are one of the most common incentives in
prisons around the world but we are having difficulty finding an
appropriate console to approve. The issues are: (a) the console cannot have
wireless internet capability, (b) it cannot have an accessible hard drive.
(c) it must be a console that will be available into the future (older
generation consoles such as the original Xbox or PlayStation 2 are no
longer in production and therefore not able to be reliably sourced).

Initially, this was thought to be simple but some issues have arisen that
are beyond the understanding of my son as he has no way to conduct
research. A number of prisons (such as those in the UK) permit a modified
Xbox One (modification completed by Gema Records) that has had the ports
sealed and hard drive made inaccessible but the information we have is that
games on the Xbox One require downloads and updates, unlike the old days
where a game can just be inserted into the machine.

An alternative approach was the Nintendo Switch lite which we thought would
be perfect if it could be supplied with the wireless/ bluetooth etc
hardware removed but we have since been told that this would prevent the
console from working as the Switch goes through a systems check on startup
and removing hardware would result in the Switch going into Safe Mode and
not being able to be used.

In short, my question is: Does anyone know how a modern console (one that
is still produced) could be made "prison safe" (no wireless, no hard drive
access). Do you have any ideas or suggestions on the best approach for
this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the (mostly) helpful feedback. To those who made stupid
suggestions (such as a pho/ne with sna/ke), try not to forget that most
prisoners will be returning to the community so using evidence based
behaviour modification to prevent offending is important. Incentive
programs not only seek to make prison environments safer but help to instil
in prisoners that positive behaviours can yield positive outcomes. This is
a very important lesson, one that "rehabilitation" is based upon.

Please don't be confused if my responses don't match the comments or
suggestions, I was sent the replies from two separate f/orums without
knowing which was which so i'm replying to all of them here. I didn't get
all your user names so consider this a response to all those who wrote:

PS2 and original Xbox would be absolutely perfect to allow prisoners to buy
but the problem is that they are too hard to source in any significant
numbers. We need a console that meets specifications (no wi/fi and no
storage) but is attractive to prisoners (enough of an incentive to modify
behaviour). They also need to be able to be purchased well into the future
and older gen stuff is getting rarer and rarer as time goes on

The UK prison system permits a modified Xbox One and I couldn't work out
how they achieved this in the prison environment due to the requirement for
updates and down/loads. I'm now thinking that it is possible that these
consoles are available due to their reverse compatibility with Xbox and
Xbox 360 games which can just be played from the disc.

So, would it be possible for a supplier to render an Xbox One unable to be
connected to the internet and the hard drive inaccessible if the intention
was for that console to run older gen games only?

In relation to the PS classic, again they would be good and certainly
better than nothing (I had one growing up and loved a bit of Tekken 2 and
Crash Bandicoot after school). Do they still produce the ones that come pre
lo/aded with games? Again, the problem is that there needs to be a
consistent supply well into the future to make this work.

The Nintendo DS and 3DS sound good but are they still made? I was under the
impression some of these had some sort of wi/fi connectivity...possibly
blueto/oth (also not allowed).

The info about the patents on NES and Famicom having expired was
interesting. That explains why I'm hearing of cheap knock off consoles that
have games I thought were exclusive to particular consoles. I'd like to
understand this a bit better. 4000 games sounds great but it's no good if
it falls apart or is glitchy. Does anyone have any suggestions about which
is the best quality unit to purchase? Are there companies or consoles to
avoid? I did see that there were some links to consoles there (thanks) but
I am unable to access the in/ternet (other than pre approved emails) so
cannot use the links.

Just a comment about meeting the incentive program budget, there is no
chance of the prison purchasing recreational items for prisoners! The
prisoners who meet the behavioural criteria will be given the ability to
purchase from their own money that they have earned through working at the
prison.

And in regards to the comments about "prison safe" being attributed to the
ability for a console to be used as a wea/pon: No chance. There are enough
wea/pons lying about without utilising your only form of recreation to do
someone harm. I don't think there will be too many people who will behave
themselves, save for a console, wait weeks or months for it to arrive and
then hit someone with it. Mind you, we are prisoners and aren't here
because of our exemplary decision making capabilities so anything is
possible...

Thanks all
 
I

Incarcerated

Guest
My son is in a very punitive Australian prison where prisoners sit around
all day and have no work, or other activities to fill their time. As a
result, levels of violence and drug use are extremely high. To combat this,
there is talk of an incentive scheme that would allow prisoners who behave
to earn the ability to make purchases that ease the pains of their
imprisonment. Games consoles are one of the most common incentives in
prisons around the world but we are having difficulty finding an
appropriate console to approve. The issues are: (a) the console cannot have
wireless internet capability, (b) it cannot have an accessible hard drive.
(c) it must be a console that will be available into the future (older
generation consoles such as the original Xbox or PlayStation 2 are no
longer in production and therefore not able to be reliably sourced).

Initially, this was thought to be simple but some issues have arisen that
are beyond the understanding of my son as he has no way to conduct
research. A number of prisons (such as those in the UK) permit a modified
Xbox One (modification completed by Gema Records) that has had the ports
sealed and hard drive made inaccessible but the information we have is that
games on the Xbox One require downloads and updates, unlike the old days
where a game can just be inserted into the machine.

An alternative approach was the Nintendo Switch lite which we thought would
be perfect if it could be supplied with the wireless/ bluetooth etc
hardware removed but we have since been told that this would prevent the
console from working as the Switch goes through a systems check on startup
and removing hardware would result in the Switch going into Safe Mode and
not being able to be used.

In short, my question is: Does anyone know how a modern console (one that
is still produced) could be made "prison safe" (no wireless, no hard drive
access). Do you have any ideas or suggestions on the best approach for
this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
the Anbernic RG350 and RG350m sounds interesting, i'll have to get someone
to do some research on that one for me. In regards to downlo/ads,
emula/tors and the such, it sounds a little complicated (remember we're
dealing with prison guar/ds here). what is needed is something that can be
purchased from a store (bricks and mortar or online) with some consistency.

Yes, i agree that there should be training and education available but it's
just not something the prison is receptive to. this proposal (for the
incentives) is only going to have a chance to get off the ground because it
makes the job of prison staff easier. Anything that adds to their workload
(education, training etc) is unlikely to be supported.

anyone who i haven't replied to, i apologise, the email system here has an
automated blocking process triggered by key words and some of the emails my
mother has sent me from the forum have not made it to me. She's going to go
through them and try and remove the words that might have triggered it so
don't think your input has been ignored, it's all helpful.
 

Roa

Member
It's also down to the issue of how you define "prison safe", since if you consider carefully, looking at the product itself; these things can be use as weapons against fellow inmates in so many ways, or be use to commit suicide. And you've to consider what might happen if there're sore losers among them if allowed to play video games together. If kids at home could do harm to each other as result of gaming dispute, I'd imagine worst in prison. The incentive program committee will have to consider carefully.
^^^This^^^

It's really 💩💩💩💩ing stupid how they would disallow wireless when you can choke someone out with a controller cable....which has to be exposed for a user to actually use it...

While I understand wifi can be broadcast super far using augies and 💩💩💩💩 allowing connections in and out pretty easy, they should definitely allow bluetooth for controllers and local play. It has a lot shorter range, must be secure paired, and has measure to rapidly change to safe frequencies so there should be no interference with radio and such.

If you are looking for a safe, cheap option, you can literally solder the wireless chip off a raspberry pi with no adverse effects, still keep the eithernet port or plug a bluetooth dongle and controllers into it. Also, with a little programing help, you can lock them down pretty tight and encrypt the storage beyond use even if someone where to pull out the SD card and try to take things off/put things on. They can just keep them locked in boxes with only access to USB, power, and HDMI, and its so light, you can't really bludgeon anyone with it lol.

The pi 4 is pretty damn fast and as a result, powers through emulations AND its getting more and more popular with native game support.
 
I

Incarcerated

Guest
^^^This^^^

It's really ****ing stupid how they would disallow wireless when you can choke someone out with a controller cable....which has to be exposed for a user to actually use it...

While I understand wifi can be broadcast super far using augies and **** allowing connections in and out pretty easy, they should definitely allow bluetooth for controllers and local play. It has a lot shorter range, must be secure paired, and has measure to rapidly change to safe frequencies so there should be no interference with radio and such.

If you are looking for a safe, cheap option, you can literally solder the wireless chip off a raspberry pi with no adverse effects, still keep the eithernet port or plug a bluetooth dongle and controllers into it. Also, with a little programing help, you can lock them down pretty tight and encrypt the storage beyond use even if someone where to pull out the SD card and try to take things off/put things on. They can just keep them locked in boxes with only access to USB, power, and HDMI, and its so light, you can't really bludgeon anyone with it lol.

The pi 4 is pretty damn fast and as a result, powers through emulations AND its getting more and more popular with native game support.
Thanks for your input, I really appreciate you taking the time. I am going
to have a little think about everything that you've raised here, some
really good ideas...
 
Top