Two New Handhelds From Korea

Gamepark and Gamepark Holdings are putting out new handhelds very soon, they're the guys who released the GP32 a few years back which was known for it's great homebrew scene.

First up we have the XGP from Gamepark, which boasts a 480x272 screen, 200MHz ARM920T CPU, 64MB RAM, WiFi, TV-out and SD slot. I'm guessing that it'll be open like the GP32 and feature plenty of multimedia options.

Next up is the GPX2 from Gamepark Holdings, it features a 320x240 screen, both ARM920T and ARM940T CPUs, 64MB RAM and an SD slot. It's going the more compact, basic route with more processing power than the XGP. It'll be geared towards the homebrew scene and support all kinds of media. Gamepark Holdings is actually taking design suggestions as we speak and they've already got shots of a prototype.

http://www.gpx2.com/product/img/bgallery5.gif

Both of these handhelds are quite promising and could serve as cheaper alternatives to the PSP for those looking for an emulation/media machine. I don't think either will pose a serious challenge in the mainstream market, but they should prove a nice distraction.

Next up. Game com 2.

Suggestion no.1: lose the shitty d-pad.

Are there any pics of the XGP yet?

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Originally Posted by kedawa

Suggestion no.1: lose the shitty d-pad.

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even it it's microswitched like the NGP?

Gamepark Holdings is still taking suggestions, so if enough people complain about the dpad it may be changed.

I Haven't seen any XGP pics, I think there'll be more info on the 13th, but I don't read Korean so I can't say for sure.

Sounds interesting, but as Kedawa said, lose the shitty d-pad. Even if it is microswitched like the Neo Geo Pocket, nothing bets a real D-Pad like on the SNES or GBA.

they should put a d pad and a stick on it that would be nice...anything out on the prices yet?

I think the GPX2 will be around $150US.

hmmm nice so exactly what does it do...

How good was the emulation on the GP32? There isn't that much info about it on the internet.

If that d-pad is microswitched, then I would definitely not get rid of it, since I'm a huge fan of the NGPC control stick, but otherwise I'd want a cross-pad.

GP32 emulators are generally pretty good, especially for Genesis and 8-bit stuff.
The GPX2 should be able to handle SNES, NeoGeo, and even GBA without any trouble.
It really all depends on how much effort the hobbyist programmers put into it.

I'm not really sure why there are two different systems coming out from what is essentially the same company.

I suppose the XGP is intended as more of an alternative to the PSP, with its 3D capabilities, lithium-ion battery, and wide aspect screen.

The screen in the XGP has the exact same resolution as the PSP, so it should be perfect for UMD rips. :)

I like the screen.

then the xgp it is any idea when its coming out (i dont usually read any links...)

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Originally Posted by Geen

Sounds interesting, but as Kedawa said, lose the shitty d-pad. Even if it is microswitched like the Neo Geo Pocket, nothing bets a real D-Pad like on the SNES or GBA.

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If you'd take a GBA D-pad over a NGPC one, the only shitty thing in this thread is your taste.

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Originally Posted by animegirl

How good was the emulation on the GP32? There isn't that much info about it on the internet.

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Better than the PSP.

I love the little clicks the neogeo pocket color d-pad make. I was playing Neo Turf Masters for close to 14 hours yesterday, as we drove from Bayreuth to Copenhagen.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

If you'd take a GBA D-pad over a NGPC one, the only shitty thing in this thread is your taste.

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I would argue back to that, but I really don't feel like getting into an opinionated arguement over something like D-Pads. :D

So, that version of this that has multi-media capabilities... That should be rad. I was thinking about what some of the home brewers could do with the features it offers and the amount of cool stuff should be incredible. Stuff like media players, emulators, computer remote controls... All that jazz.
Be neat to see if it takes off (Which I doubt it ever will).

The GPX2's stick is digital so I'm thinking it'll be like the NGPC's, Gamepark Holdings is planning on supporting a bunch of media right off the bat including 720x480 XviD files, so you don't have to convert stuff like with the PSP. They're also looking at making some emulators themselves so it's clear that they're trying to push the thing in the same direction as the GP32. There should be commercial games too.

As for the whole Gamepark/Gamepark Holdings thing, if I remember correctly Gamepark Holdings is composed of a lot of the guys behind the original GP32 who split and formed their own company.

Genki, I don't know when the XGP is coming out but the GPX2 is slated for an October release.

I guess nobody here is really following it, but The GPX2 should be available sometime next month for about US$180.
After a pointless naming contest, it has been renamed GP2X in order to avoid a trademark issue with a japanese company that sells a printer called the GPX.

I'm seriously thinking about picking one up.
With shipping and all that, It'll be almost as much as a PSP, but on the bright side it uses SD cards instead of memory sticks, and comes from a company that actually supports the homebrew and emulation scenes.

The XGP, on the other hand, is just...well, see for yourself.
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000850054733/

Well if people are smart enough and the system can do everything for sony's platform (and more), then we'll have the freedom to mod whatever the hell we want.

Can this thing handle MAME? Even beefy roms like Alien vs Predator?

It should be able to handle MAME and NeoGeo emulation far better than PSP, since it has 64MB's of RAM.
The aspect ratio of the screen also makes it better suited to emulation than the PSP, although that's not really that big of an issue.

The word I've been able to gather on the XGP is it will be rather closed. Gamepark doesn't seem to want to push the open source aspect. They want it closed like the PSP and such, but there's still the mention of some sort of "Open-SDK" thing. It should have DRM, as well as fewer codecs as the GP2X (not certain). It will have a 3D chip, and it can handle the Quake 3 engine. There are quite a few unknowns still, though. Gamepark's not said too much about it.

Gamepark Holdings, on the other hand, want the GP2X as open as they can make it. There will be DRM, but only for commercial games. Not much in the way of 3D support - this is a 2D machine. The GP2X is seen as the "real" successor to the GP32.

Specs and general info are here: http://newbie.gp32x.de/

man...that'd be great for home brew pc games. i've been dying to play cave story on the train.

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Originally Posted by Lhadatt

The word I've been able to gather on the XGP is it will be rather closed. Gamepark doesn't seem to want to push the open source aspect. They want it closed like the PSP and such, but there's still the mention of some sort of "Open-SDK" thing. It should have DRM, as well as fewer codecs as the GP2X (not certain). It will have a 3D chip, and it can handle the Quake 3 engine. There are quite a few unknowns still, though. Gamepark's not said too much about it.

Gamepark Holdings, on the other hand, want the GP2X as open as they can make it. There will be DRM, but only for commercial games. Not much in the way of 3D support - this is a 2D machine. The GP2X is seen as the "real" successor to the GP32.

Specs and general info are here: http://newbie.gp32x.de/

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nice can't wait for full screen good speed MAME on a handheld

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Originally Posted by Dylan1CC

Can this thing handle MAME? Even beefy roms like Alien vs Predator?

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Stuff like AvP is better handled by a more specialized emulator than MAME. Something like Kawaks or Final Burn.

Anyway, the GPX2 came out this week and they already got the thing playing NeoGeo, Gameboy, SNES, Commodore 64, Quake, Hexen, and Quake 2, and playing DivX movies nicely without resizing. Even has built in TV output, which I didn't realize. Seems to be delivering on its promise of being a homebrew dream.

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/files/snes1.jpg http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/fi...p_download.jpg
http://archive.gp2x.de/cfiles/screen...gp2x-quake.png

Alot of the stuff is slow or incomplete, but considering they're the result of less than 3 days work, I can forgive them. Most of them aren't taking advantage of both CPUs yet nor any ASM optimization and estimates are that they should get 4-8x faster as they develop.

It's cool that it can run Quake and Quake 2, although the control layout isn't exactly well suited to those games.

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Originally Posted by kedawa

It's cool that it can run Quake and Quake 2, although the control layout isn't exactly well suited to those games.

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movement like goldeneye, shooting and jumping on the triggers. not the greatest but doable.

Without an analog stick, even that setup would be a bit clunky.
Some form of auto-aiming would definitely be welcome.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Anyway, the GPX2 came out this week and they already got the thing playing NeoGeo, Gameboy, SNES, Commodore 64, Quake, Hexen, and Quake 2, and playing DivX movies nicely without resizing. Even has built in TV output, which I didn't realize. Seems to be delivering on its promise of being a homebrew dream.

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It seems likely. It would be nice to have a handheld that is this powerful and flexible, which can play games on either its own color LCD screen or on a TV. The price seems reasonable for all of the features it has.

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Originally Posted by kedawa

It's cool that it can run Quake and Quake 2, although the control layout isn't exactly well suited to those games.

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quake was designed for Doom-style controls, with auto-vertical-aiming. It'd work just fine. Doom-style movement with the dpad, triggers to strafe.

sweet
anyone going to buy one

The thing I'm worried about is the battery life. It runs on AAs which doesn't seem like a good idea for a system with a huge screen and some real processor muscle. .

that's like 2 hours worth of gameplay with brightness set to 20% and the volume off.

I don't mind that it uses them, but it probably means that there won't be a charging circuit of any kind, and the batteries will have to be taken out to be charged.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

quake was designed for Doom-style controls, with auto-vertical-aiming. It'd work just fine. Doom-style movement with the dpad, triggers to strafe.

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I have never seen a more incorrect statement about Quake in my life.

In Quake 1, vertical auto-aiming would ruin the rocket launcher, which is what high-level play revolved aronud. It's even worse in Q2, as now the auto-aim feature makes the railgun even dumber.

(Okay, so would it be playable in some sense? Yes. Would it be Quake? No way in hell -- that's like adding mouselook to Doom. It changes too much.)

-Dippy

Yeah but would you be playing Quake DM on this thing anyway? I still see your point, obviously.

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Originally Posted by Dipstick

I have never seen a more incorrect statement about Quake in my life.

In Quake 1, vertical auto-aiming would ruin the rocket launcher, which is what high-level play revolved aronud.

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But that wasn't how it was set up by default. In fact, now that I think about it, you had to hold down the right mouse button to even do a mouselook. By default it would make you walk forward. It was Doom controls, like I said. Sure, later sourse ports and such did it right, but the original version of Quake 1? Nah.

That's how Quake was originally conceived. This was before WASD and Mouselook were the standard. I don't want to hear anything else. I know it's not the best way to play but don't tell me it doesn't work, because it was the only way you could play it in the original. And you can do a Rocket-jump fine that way. I did it all the time.

So yeah, before you guage the most incorrect statement you've heard in your life, fire the game up for once in the last 5 years.

Why should we care about these portables when they will likely never see a release here?

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Originally Posted by EvilMog

Why should we care about these portables when they will likely never see a release here?

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Because they're based entirely around homebrew support and thus things like region or retail are completely irrelevant concepts?

somebody is selling a gp32 on another board. basically mint for $80. it's the non-backlit one. is it a good deal or just pay the extra cash for one of these?

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

But that wasn't how it was set up by default. In fact, now that I think about it, you had to hold down the right mouse button to even do a mouselook. By default it would make you walk forward. It was Doom controls, like I said. Sure, later sourse ports and such did it right, but the original version of Quake 1? Nah.

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That's true, that's the way it was set up by default.

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That's how Quake was originally conceived. This was before WASD and Mouselook were the standard. I don't want to hear anything else. I know it's not the best way to play but don't tell me it doesn't work, because it was the only way you could play it in the original. And you can do a Rocket-jump fine that way. I did it all the time.

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Actually, you could set up the controls for WASD and mouselook, but you had to either add '+mlook' to the autoexec.cfg, or type it in the console. It wasn't in the options anywhere.
Anyway, that's how I've always played it.

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Originally Posted by Dragonmaster Dyne

somebody is selling a gp32 on another board. basically mint for $80. it's the non-backlit one. is it a good deal or just pay the extra cash for one of these?

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I would say hold out for the GP2X, but if you really want a GP32, that's a fair price.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Stuff like AvP is better handled by a more specialized emulator than MAME. Something like Kawaks or Final Burn.

Anyway, the GPX2 came out this week and they already got the thing playing NeoGeo, Gameboy, SNES, Commodore 64, Quake, Hexen, and Quake 2, and playing DivX movies nicely without resizing. Even has built in TV output, which I didn't realize. Seems to be delivering on its promise of being a homebrew dream.

http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/files/snes1.jpg http://gp2x-emulation.dcemu.co.uk/fi...p_download.jpg
http://archive.gp2x.de/cfiles/screen...gp2x-quake.png

Alot of the stuff is slow or incomplete, but considering they're the result of less than 3 days work, I can forgive them. Most of them aren't taking advantage of both CPUs yet nor any ASM optimization and estimates are that they should get 4-8x faster as they develop.

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Dang, that looks nice! Thanks for the update, Frog. And as you said, it'll be amazing to see updates. If'n we never get a decent MAME for PSP, this might be the first Korean handheld I buy....

I think MAME is going to diappoint. MAME is retarded demanding. MAME is a documentation project. It's about extreme anal accuracy and attention to detail, so it needs all the CPU juice it can get. I mean there are games in MAME that can't crack 10fps even on the best CPUs on the market today. It makes no sense to port it to a handheld when there's faster arcade emulators that might play less compared to MAME on a top of the line system but will certainly play more on a weak one.

^^^

Interesting take on MAME, makes sense though. What CPS2 games have u tried on your GP?

I don't have one. Not yet anyway. And that's not my take, it's the official stance of the MAME team. They've said it's about preserving games and accurately documenting how they work, more than playing them. From the front page of MAME's site:

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Even though MAME allows people to enjoy the long-lost arcade games and even some newer ones, the main purpose of the project is to document the hardware (and software) of the arcade games. There are already many dead arcade boards, whose function has been brought to life in MAME. Being able to play the games is just a nice side-effect.

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It sounds strange, but they take that philosophy very seriously, which is why MAME will never support graphical enhancements, speed hacks, etc, and also why it's the most accurate emulator for almost every system it supports.

It does use output filters, though.

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Originally Posted by kedawa

It does use output filters, though.

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Actually, that's a feature of MAME32, not the MAME base. There's ports that do all kinds of neat stuff not endorsed by the MAME team.

This will seem like a stupid question but... were can I get one? And how much is it?

thx

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Originally Posted by MajinRyu

This will seem like a stupid question but... were can I get one? And how much is it?

thx

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Lik-Sang should have them in stock around the end of the month, and they're US$180.

EDIT: Guess not. It looks like they sold through all their preorders for the first shipment, and are now taking preorders for a second shipment arriving in the new year. I'll check a few other sites, but I wouldn't count on getting one this year.
This place might have them, and Play-Asia is apparently accepting preorders.