Gameboy Advance Clone Superemulator 416
Aluminum Tuesday writes "During a raging internal debate over whether to fork out for the new Gameboy Advance SP, I came across the Korean GP32, a handheld console that looks superior to the GBA in every way. It's capable of emulating the GBA, Super Nintendo, Commodore 64, etc. plus there's a SCUMMVM engine for Monkey Island games and a Java VM. Seems to have a huge online following. It runs its own OS, and there are programs capable of playing divx/mp3 files, though there's also a Linux port on the way. Not too expensive either. (99UKP / 149USD) That's a UK supplier; they ship worldwide, though I found this more expensive American supplier too. (179USD)" Gotta catch 'em all!
One thing not mentioned in the submission... (Score:4, Informative)
The article's also wrong about GBA emulation. (Score:5, Informative)
Catch ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Catch ? (Score:2)
Not illeagle... (Score:4, Funny)
Honest to goodness, that's good to hear...I mean, we had a parakeet when I was a kid, and it got sick once and it was pretty bad the mess it made.
But a sick eagle?!! THEY ARE HUGE! And with their diet, you would have mice carcasses and such everywhere, it would be a bloody disgusting mess, honest to god
*grin*
Re:Catch ? (Score:2)
Catch ! (Score:2)
I give this thing 1 week... (Score:3, Interesting)
Get 'em while you can!
specs (Score:5, Informative)
screen 3.5" tft
rom 512 kbyte
media smc(smart media card)
sdram 8mb
communication usb port
sound 16bit stereo sound
4 channel wav mixing
resolution 320 x 240 pixel
power supply 2 batteries aa
display colors 65536 colors
Re:Lighting (Score:3, Interesting)
The GP32 has a much bigger screen. It is clearer and brighter. Maybe as much as twice as bright.
The afterburner style light for the GP32 due out this month will be nice, but not needed nearly as bad as the GBA needs one.
BUT (Score:2, Interesting)
This thing has 4 buttons (Score:2)
RonB
Its still 2 Short (Score:3, Informative)
Re:BUT (Score:2)
but that's just me (Score:3, Funny)
Emulation and DMCA (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm also curious if Nintendo is going to try to kill this thing. Although I'm sure Nintendo is making a profit off of GameBoys, I'm also sure they make most of their profits from the games themselves, so logically they'd have a reason to look the other way if this encouraged more people to buy gameboy games. However since when has logic ever raised it's head in legal/piracy issues?
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
Right? Or is that just FUD?
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
Even the ones with special chips are supported by ZSNES (Capcom has a special chip, superFX chips, others?)
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:5, Informative)
Zsnes [zsnes.com]
and of course the sourceforge [sourceforge.net] page for it.
Ok ok granted there are like three SNES games it does not fully emulate.
So freakin what.
But for portability you REALLY want snes9x [snes9x.com]
Unfortunately their provider is complaining to them about bandwidth usage, doh!
Luckily you can still download the latest binaries and source from Zophar's Domain [zophar.net]
So, yah, the SNES has pretty much been owned by the EMU community.
I know the minimum requirements for most simpler SNES emulation are about a Pentium II 266mhz with 64 megs of RAM, the FPU seems to be rather important as I have heard of users with far faster K6-2s and K6-3s not being able to run very many games full speed.
Of course platform specific optimizations should take those requirements down even further, and obviously it was a fairly long time ago when I was using those system specs, so all the additional speed encasements that have made their way into both SNES9x and ZSNES may have brought the requirements down a tad bit more.
Reading around a bit [gamefaqs.com] seems to indicate that there ARE problems getting the SNES emulation on the GP32 up to full speed, and IIRC the GP32 does not have a dedicated graphics unit, making it unlikely to be able to ever accomplish all the nifty real time effects of the GBA or even the SNES.
Then again, it does have that rather fast main CPU.
One must also take media costs into account though, Memory Cards are expensive!
Then again, at least with the GP32 you have the CHOICE of being able to play MP3s and everything, with the GBA you end up having to buy third party accessories [gbax.com] to get those same types of options.
I am so tied to my desktop now days that (and this is a bit of a surprise given how much I used my original Game Boy and my Game Boy color 'back in the day') I do not even own a 'modern' portable gaming system. ^_^
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
It'll be easier for the GP32, they won't have to do an expensive resizing operation because the display's only 320 by 240.
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
http://www.snes9x.com/ [snes9x.com]
http://www.zsnes.com/ [zsnes.com]
Re:Emulation and DMCA (Score:2)
Short of that, everything plays now. DSP and SuperFX emulation have been solid for awhile, but SuperFX requires some hefty CPU time, I doubt Super Mario RPG or Yoshi's Island plays very
Excellent game titles (Score:5, Funny)
Little Wizzrd
Dyhard Infinity
Kimchi-Man
Astonishia Story R
Her Knights - "Forcing break-out"
Hany Party Game
Tails of windyland
Especially "Kimchi-Man". Is he really made of pickled cabbage?
Re:Excellent game titles (Score:3, Funny)
It also isn't what you probably think of when you think "pickled." It is traditionally coated with a pepper paste, sealed in masonry jars, buried, and allowed to ferment.
It is really just this side of rotten.
The bigger treat than eating kimchee is riding on a bus with thirty people who eat kimchee daily.
But then, they insist that westerners smell like warm milk.
-Peter
New on Slashdot! (Score:5, Insightful)
The next time this makes the
Re:New on Slashdot! (Score:2)
Why bother? Most people who are into roms pirates them anyway. Oh sure there's a tiny part who only emulates games they own, but let's not insult people's intelligence. The vast majority pirate them.
That's like talking about how great MP3's and P2P is while at the same time trying to lamely claim your one of
Good news about abandonware legality? (Score:3, Interesting)
In fact, abandonware may have a distant shot at being legal, through an interpretation of two of the four factors distinguishing copyright infringement from fair use [cornell.edu].
First of all, a fair user can justify "the purpose and character of the use" by, for example, including the abandonware titles as specimens to be criticized in a work about the art of game design, establishing an "educational" nature.
Another factor is "the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."
Excuse me? (Score:5, Informative)
So, seeing as how it does not actually support GBA games, I don't find it superior to my GBA, which *does* play GBA games.
Re:Excuse me? (Score:2)
Re:Excuse me? (Score:4, Insightful)
But, I could find no hard specs or architecture to back this up, so it is admittedly conjecture
Re:Excuse me? (Score:2)
If it emulates the SNES, I think the performance specs of the GBA is about as powerful as a SNES,
[/quote]
Actually, the GBA is more powerful than the SNES. A buddy of mine is a GBA developer, and he's constantly amazed by what the little guy can do.
Re:Excuse me? (Score:4, Informative)
Will it also wash my dishes? (Score:2)
meh
Always beautiful translated manual copy (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Always beautiful translated manual copy (Score:2)
The quote in question can be found at http://www.gamepark.co.kr/tmp_english/GP32/func.a
It definately looks like a super happy mega game playing type device to me.
Whoo Hoo!! (Score:4, Funny)
Slap a cell phone into this thing and I'm ready to sign up!
I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:5, Insightful)
A perfectly legitimate use for this unit would be consolidation. Say I own a Game Boy and a NES. I could get the ROMs for all of my carts, and put them on this thing, so I'd only have to carry around the one unit, but still play all of my games that I legally purchased.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2, Troll)
The company has to take some responsiblity knowing that 99.9% of the people that buy this our going to do illegal things with it. If I stand out on the corner in south-central LA and give away hunting rifles, I'm DEFINATELY contributing to murders. No way in hell "but hunting isn't illegal!" is flying with anyone.
Not a flawed argument. (Score:2)
Los Angeles Gun Club Indoor Pistol,1375 E 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90021. Phone: (213)612-0931.
listed on
http://www.webcom.com/gun_guy/rangesca.htm [webcom.com]
Determining intent in a purchase is extremely difficult, and generally doesn't get you anywhere. The "if guns are illegal, only criminals will have guns" argument is at least plausible. Making emulators illegal will guarantee that only criminals have emulators, obvi
Re:Not a flawed argument. (Score:2)
Re:Not a flawed argument. (Score:2)
The primary purpose of CD rippers is to pirate music as well, so by your argument, these too should be illegal. There isn't any difference.
Many products are primarily used illegally, but the cost of the chilling effect on the economy of making those things illegal is too great. That's why selling VHS filters is legal, selling copied tapes isn't.
One could argue that a multimedia PC with a large harddrive with a DVD player and hi
Re:Not a flawed argument. (Score:2)
This is the flaw of your argument. In the court of law, you cannot say "I know what you think" unless you ACTUALLY have provable psychic abilities.
> EVERYONE knows
I don't think this has a leg to stand on, either.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
A similar argument could be made further up the ladder -- that the government allows you to buy guns, but doesn't let anyone have their own atom bomb. I mean, what gives? They both kill people.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
Doubtful.
1.) Rifles are easier to get than handguns. For example, you can purchase one at 16 vs. 21 for handguns. Despite that, there aren't very many murders by hunting rifles.
2.) People aren't stupid. They don't buy guns then run around shooting other people. There are lots of people with guns that aren't murdering people.
3.) The manufacturer of a gun involved in a murder cannot
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
My computer is a device that can be mostly used for piracy!!! How could you possibly sell computers! You insensitive bastage!
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
And what exactly is their responsibility? Especially if that 0.1% really appreciates the legal uses? Perhaps many emulator users are just interested in piracy, but I'm happy that I can again play old Lucasarts games [scummvm.org] that I've purchased over the years. I love my Dreamcast, but I know that it will eventually wear out and I'm glad that I'll be able to use emulators to continue e
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
You are correct. I bet there is some legalesse that states it is illegal to use that ROM on anything but the intended system though. Owning a ROM then d/ling it to your computer would be legal. Playing it with an emulator on your computer would then be illegal.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
Slightly OT, but consolidation's the reason a friend of mine has downloaded a huge collection of MP3s. He got sick of messing around with his 100-disc changer. Pity the RIAA would rather inconvenience the people that enjoy their music the most.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
Probably because with Kazaa you can just fire in the band names and highlight + click the songs you want to come down, as opposed to getting all the CD's out, ripping them, then loading them back in.
At least that's my guess, I never asked him. I haven't talked to him in over a year.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
No, backup copies are legal. (Score:2)
In fact, the US Code (17 USC 117 (a) (2)) has specific exemptions for backup copies. Check it out. Backup copies are legal!
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/117.html [cornell.edu]
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:3, Informative)
bzzzzt. [cornell.edu]
The sole acceptable purpose for a backup of software is so that the original can be restored if it becomes corrupted.
bzzzzt. [cornell.edu]
You know, your arguments would be more credible if you were actually familiar with any of the law you're attempting to interpret.
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:2)
the thing is that gp32 is way much more (amateur) developer friendly than what gba is, thus lot's of different(emu&other) projects are underway. as i see it you don't need anything 'extra' to get into developing for it, where as you need to have a flash-cart and flasher for gba, and lots of patience(it's being done anyways.. primitive 3d and all).
emula
Re:I'll pass. It really flimsy and stinks. (Score:3, Informative)
Mine is better built than my son's GBA. The games rock. My son prefers the GP32 to his GBA. He's nine and a hard core gamer, so his opinion matters.
2 Buttons? (Score:2)
A portable NES emulator is still pretty cool, though. It'd be nice to be able to crank up Mike Tyson's Punch Out to alleviate a little bit of aggression when sitting in a traffic jam.
Re:2 Buttons? (Score:2)
Re:2 Buttons? (Score:2)
Now, if only it had 6 buttons, which is how many the SNES controllers really have (A,B,X,Y,L,R), 8 if you include select and start, which many games make active use of too.
Re:2 Buttons? (Score:2)
So it does. I should have RTFA'd a little closer. My point still stands, though, as the SNES controller has 6 buttons. I suppose you could map the L&R buttons to the other 2 buttons on the front of the SNES controller (I think they were X&Y, but I'm not positive), but that would make for a really awkward layout for most games. Also, you still wouldn't have the L&R buttons on the SNES cont
Re:2 Buttons? (Score:2)
Which is still too few, as the SNES controller has 6 buttons counting the L and R, 8 buttons if you count Start and Select, 9 if you include the direction pad, 12 if you list each major direction separately, and 19 if you throw in several buttons that it doesn't actually have.
Re:2 Buttons, NES emulation (Score:2)
SMR and such (Score:2)
Re:SMR and such (Score:2)
This is temporary Website (Score:2)
Why not use an iPAQ? (Score:2)
But, ok it's a bit more expensive.
Ciryon
Re:Why not use an iPAQ? (Score:2)
Re:Why not use an iPAQ? (Score:2)
OK, this i actually find unethical. (Score:2, Interesting)
Alternately, yeah, people use, say, playstation emulators as a method of not having to buy a playstation and being able to pirate games, even though playstation is still on the market, and that seems a bit more like a moral
Re:OK, this i actually find unethical. (Score:4, Insightful)
Emulation isn't a gray area at all, IMO, if you only emulate games you legitimately own. For example, in the case of the Playstation, if you run an emulator on your PC and use actual game discs, you are not hurting Sony at all. Consoles are typically sold at a loss, and this loss is recouped through game sales. So if you emulate, they're actually making more money.
Of course, the companies probably don't see it quite this way. First of all there's a loss of control involved. If you only emulate legitimately, they're not harmed, but of course this isn't the reality of the situation. The other issue is that they don't want people to play their old games. They want people to go out and buy new games. Consoles tend to break eventually, but with emulation there'll always be hardware to run the old games, and if you've already got plenty of old games you're less likely to go out and buy whatever's being released now.
Re:OK, this i actually find unethical. (Score:4, Interesting)
Try reading the article (Score:5, Insightful)
This thing cannot, repeat CANNOT emulate the GBA. Check the site, there's no mention of this. Even trying it would be stupid - go ahead, run a working GBA emulator on this sort of hardware. Have fun with your 2 frames per second.
This isn't hurting Nintendo's current revenue stream at all, save for the fraction of a percent of original GameBoy games still being sold.
Yikes, several dozen other posts have already pointed this out, yet it gets both posted and modded up.
Oh, and for the record, Playstation emulators were popular years ago (everyone had Connetix's for a while), back when Sony WAS making hordes of money off the platform. And because the emulator didn't care what media you put in it, everyone used pirated copies of the games. So don't give me this horseshit that somehow PSX emulators are 'ok', when a system that doesn't emulate any currently sold system isn't.
Supremeulator? (Score:2)
Gosh! (Score:2)
There are emulators available, BUT (Score:2, Informative)
I doubt very highly that GBA emulation works well at all on the GP32. GBA emus are just barely playable on an 800mhz P3. Eventually it'd get better, but even the best emulator is never the same as the real thing.
All in all its a cool little toy, bu
Re:There are emulators available, BUT (Score:2)
It's all a matter of coding. I had some very nice emu's for the playstation. They're still working on them in fact... and one does very much appreciate the "instant save" "instant load" features that many EMUs have. Not to mention that many of the 3d graphics look 10x better on my PC video card... though the scaled 2d sometimes isn't wonderful. If they could get all the FX, then games such as RPG's etc (FF9 played through on an emu
No Backlight. (Score:2)
Re:No Backlight. (Score:2)
Afterburner (Score:2)
It doesn't take any really advanced solidering skills, but patience and a steady hand will go a long way. I did get some dust on the screen, but it's not the end of the world. I considered the "bathroom as a clean room" idea, but I didn't have anywhere to work with it in there =)
The only difficult part I had was in laying down the AR film, as it was nearly impossible to
C64 emulation?? (Score:2)
Mmmmm.... Portable M.U.L.E.....
Superiority? (Score:2)
One of the things that grabbed me about the GBA-SP was it's smallish design and the clamshell design, allowing you to easily put it in your pocket and keep the screen protected.
For the love of god... (Score:5, Insightful)
If you must order a unit, then order one through lik-sang.com. At least, that's what http://www.devrs.com says.
For those wondering (Score:2)
That site mentions several SNES emulators as well as GB (no GBA, yet) and NES. Plus the site lists a few of the game ports for GP such as Doom, Descent, Wolfenstein 3D and some others. Worth a look for people who are interested in what these things can do.
one other advantage over *any* nintendo product... (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.devrs.com/gp32/
http://devkitadv.so
http://groups.yahoo.com/
i'm thinking of picking one up explicitly for this purpose. anyone have any experience coding for one of these?
Divx! (Score:3, Informative)
Using VirtualDub, videos have good color, good sound and fair to good motion.
The Matrix would be a blur, but most TV shows look good.
The Simpsons look great on the GP32!
Re:Cool emulator (Score:5, Funny)
tech specs (Score:4, Informative)
Display 3.5" Reflective TFT LCD(65,536 concurrent colors)
Resolution 320 X 240 pixel
CPU 32-bit RISC CPU(ARM9)
RAM 8MB SDRAM
ROM 512K
Sound 44.1Khz 16 bit Stereo Sound / 4 Channel Wav Mixing, 16Poly S/W MIDI Support / Earphone Port / 2 Speakers
External Storage Medium Smart Media Card (SMC)
Wireless Multiplayer Gaming 4-Channel RF Module PC Connection USB Port Connection
Power Supply 2AA batteries (12 hours use time between charges) / DC 3V Adapter
Option Rechargeable Battery
Controls 8-way directional pad (joystick) + Durable 6 key button
MP3 Capability MPEG ( , )
Audio Support Other Add-on Applications
Image Viewer, Text Viewer, Media Player, E-Book Viewer
RF Module 2.4GHz ISM Band
Re:tech specs (Score:2)
Re:tech specs (Score:3, Informative)
Re:tech specs (Score:2)
Re:uh... (Score:2)
Emulation != warez. As a matter of fact, emulation is a valuable tool when developing games for something like the GBA. Or did you think they used a GBA with an on-screen keyboard to program?
Re:Woot (Score:2)
Re:Ogg (Score:2)
Re:Not worth it. (Score:2)
Re:DRM/DMCA/Profit? (Score:3, Informative)
It's not a Gameboy though. It's an entirely different platform, one which GB emulation software has been ported to.
As for "better" product, let's drop this and an official Gameboy from 4ft up and see which one still works afterward...
DRM in the GBA games will surely be here soon to force only a real GBA handheld can play the games.
The original Gameboy hardware (and possibly later
Nobody mentioned... (Score:3, Funny)
Does it play Ogg?