Is it off-topic to ask about developing game consoles here?

Question

I've asked this question on Arqade and this was one of the sites I was directed to, so I'm seriously hoping I can find a place where I can ask this.

Anyway, here's a bit of context: my friend and I opened a technology company (Opportunity Computing) and we've decided to build a game console made for custom ordering. One day, I was sitting in my office and my friend proceeded to walk in and dump some parts on the desk. He told me to throw something together. I'm clueless as to what to do. I need to find an SE site that can help me out.

question: can I ask questions about development of a game console.

Answer 1

For the construction of the actual hardware and physical interface (controller, buttons, housing, connection ports), you'd probably want to go to other StackExchange sites including:

• Retrocomputing (if this console is meant to evoke the style/workings of old hardware)
• Electronics / Electrical Engineering
• UX (User Experience - has an active industrial design tag)

What we can help you with is the interface between the console and the game developer, things like...

• Software development environment and practices for developing games for the console.

• API design for how games communicate with the hardware for things like input, audio/video/haptic output, file loading & saving, user profile management, networking, etc.

• Certification processes for vetting that games run correctly on the console / comply with quality standards.

• Developing demo apps to test and prove the hardware, or educate developers about how to work with it.

Questions about these areas should generally be on-topic here, as long as they follow other guidelines in the on-topic and off-topic help pages. (i.e. questions should not be about how to get started, be overly broad or ask for open-ended lists of resources / links, be primarily discussion or opinion-based, etc.)