NESbag 2 | Distribute your NES game as standalone app (or on Steam) for Windows, Linux and macOS
A downloadable tool
NESbag 2 will be released on February 24, 2025.
WHAT IS NESBAG?
NESbag 2 is a play on the words NES (yep, that old 1980s gaming console by Nintendo) and backpack. It's like a backpack (in the form of a standalone Windows, Linux or macOS program) in which you pack your self-developed NES game and then distribute this complete package as a standalone application.
The player only has to double-click on a single file to use it, just as they are used to.
NESbag 2 supports custom input configurations and game controllers. NESbag 2 includes various display shaders, for pixel-perfect or typical retro-looking image output. NESbag 2 is open-source.
https://www.eastpixel.de/nesbag
DOWNLOAD
Downloads will be published on February 24, 2025.
Requirements:
The offered Windows version requires Windows 10/11.
The offered macOS version requires Apple Silicon (M1 and later).
For Linux and macOS, SDL2 must be installed.
PRE-DEFINED KEYBOARD LAYOUT
If you start NESbag 2 out of the box, you'll find a pre-defined button layout:
You can configure your keyboard or gamepad directly via Settings > Controls menu.
CONTROLLER AND KEYBOARD SUPPORT
You can configure your keyboard or gamepad directly via the Settings > Controls menu.
WHAT YOU GET
You will receive a .zip file containing all the necessary NESbag 2 files.
FAQ
1. How to use NESbag 2?
a) Download the release version of NESbag 2 and unzip.
b) Copy your NES game as a ROM file with the name “game.nes” into the “game” directory.
c) Play your game or share the complete files and folders as you like.
2. Are there any technical dependencies in order to use NESbag 2?
The offered Windows version requires Windows 10/11.
For Linux and macOS, SDL2 must be installed.
3. Is the source-code available?
Yes. Please visit this link: [will follow].
You can use, modify and distribute the source code and compile your own program versions. Please always respect the GPL V3 license.
4. Can I publish my game on Steam with NESbag 2?
Yes, of course. There are no restrictions.
LICENSE
NESbag 2 is available under the GPL V3 license. Full text here: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html
NESbag 2 is based on the awesome gamesystem emulator system Mesen. Copyright (C) Mesen 2014-2024 Sour
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
QUESTIONS?
If there are any questions or issues surrounding this tool, please get in touch with Christian @ EASTPIXEL via Discord or the Contact page of this website.
Comments
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Any way to encrypt your NES ROM to make unlicensed reproductions a little bit harder?
Hey, it would be cool if you come around on discord (Link on www.eastpixel.de) to discuss this in person. I have some ideas to implement such a thing but as the code of this is opensource I am not able to make such secure-the-ROM code public because anyone could read about how it would be done.