EVO Linux Gaming Console Opens Pre-Orders 247
Engadget is reporting that Envizions, maker of the EVO Linux game console, has finally announced final specs and opened the doors to pre-orders. All bets are off until users actually see the hardware, but it will be nice to see a new player in the market. Of course, this assumes they put some time into a little polish that is usually expected from the gaming community (that website, yikes) and some effort into a killer game library. "Envizions say that the console will run a modified, quick-boot distro of Fedora called Mirrors (which can be upgraded to a beefier build named Mirrors Evolution X), and will feature a "cloud" service stacked with Amiga (!) games and an Akimbo-based video service. Beyond that, proper titles will be sold online and on SD cards for around $20." I'm sure they won't forget to send Slashdot a beta review copy with a couple of games.
I"ll wait. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I"ll wait. (Score:5, Funny)
does it run windows?
Re:I"ll wait. (Score:5, Informative)
The Linux version is cheaper and lacks the SD reader, Wireless networking hardware and it isn't supported by their NVE Movie Service and Say2Play (wtf that is).
They have a game store [evosmartconsole.com] up already and it looks like its all Windows games.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I'm very interested. Seriously. Does anyone remember the game for the Apple II called (I could be a little off) Trans-Canada Trucking. You drive a truck across Canada, picking up stuff and what not. It was all text based - Kind of went like this: Welcome! You are in Calgary, you need to drive to Edmonton to pick up some product.
> Drive to Edmonton
Your truck is not on.
> Turn on truck
Truck is on.
> Drive to Edmonton
Your lights are off. It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue, eh.
> Turn on lights
Your lights are on.
> Drive to Edmonton
It is raining; your wipers are off.
> Turn on wipers
Your wipers are on.
> Drive to Edmonton
You arrive in Edmonton and pick up your load. You need to deliver it to Toronto... and so on.
Anyways, this Garbage Truck driver still sounds better than quite a few of the new games. I would prefer this to the new 50 cent game.
Fixed that for you. eh.
Re: (Score:2)
Looks all right (Score:2)
Re:Looks all right (Score:5, Insightful)
No it's not. It a very bad sign. See, every so often a company comes along and sees how profitable the gaming industry is. They then think to themselves, "well, that's EASY! I should get a piece of the pie!" Then they spare no imagination (literally, none at all) in creating the most generic "game console" known to mankind. Without fail, they always copy the PS2 controller design. (Which isn't even that great to begin with.)
Then when they stroll into the market thinking they're going to pick up a few dozen studio partnerships and get about the business of selling this generic piece of plastic. Except, shock and horror! None of the game studios are taking them seriously! Why oh why?!? Don't they see how awesome and moneyful* this venture will be?!?!
Eventually, the company runs out of money and hangs their heads in shame. Those stupid game studios. It's all their fault.
Cases in Point (Note the controllers):
Indrema [wikipedia.org]
Mattel Hyperscan [mydigitallife.info]
Phantom Game Console [bbc.co.uk]
If you ever see a game console that uses a rip-off PS2 controller, run the other way. FAST.
* Hey, it's a perfectly cromulent word!
Re:Looks all right (Score:5, Funny)
"If you ever see a game console that uses a rip-off PS2 controller, run the other way. FAST."
You mean like the PS3?
Re: (Score:2)
You mean like the PS3?
Yes, exactly.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Well PS controller hasn't changed much since the original Playstation.
Let's look at the major competitors.
XBox - Buttons in approximately the same locations/quantities + the white and black buttons.
XBox 360 - Same thing as XBox except that black/white have been moved/removed (can't remember which).
Nintendo 64 - No where close to PS controller design.
Gamecube - Similar feel to PS controller, except that the right side buttons are arranged in a different format.
Wii- Totally different.
Re:Looks all right (Score:5, Insightful)
XBox - Buttons in approximately the same locations/quantities + the white and black buttons.
The important difference is the location of the left analog stick.
Every game controller outside of the Dual Shock -- including the original PSX controller -- is designed so that the primary inputs on both sides are directly under the relaxed thumb. Thus you get the face buttons on the right where they are in every controller, and the left analog stick where they are on everything that isn't a Dual Shock. On the original PSX controller and other pre-analog controllers, the D-Pad was in the primary position on the left. For the Dual Shock, they just added the two analog controllers to the existing PSX controller without changing the primary input locations 1) in case analog didn't take off on PSX and 2) to not mess with playing older games. The analog stick was intentionally placed in a sub-optimal place. It stayed that way on the PS2 and PS3 because of brand recognition.
When a new game company starting from scratch with no history or anything decides to emulate the Dual Shock and not fall back on basic principles, this is indicative of a deep problem with that company.
So... what will it play? (Score:5, Insightful)
What, exactly, does "proper titles" encompass?
Will it run PC Games?
Maybe ANY games from any other console?
Will developers need to write games specifically for this? Why would they do so?
Or are we simply going to be limited to the vast selection of Linux Games on the market?
Re:So... what will it play? (Score:5, Informative)
Oh, hey! I forgot about these guys. EVO acts as sort of a clearing house for indie games. Except that their website is horrible and there has never been anything there worth buying. So I've always gone directly to the studios themselves.
If this is the same EVO, I wouldn't put too much stock in their success.
Especially if you think about what they're offering. Operating Systems are quite possibly the least important part of a game console. At least to the user. Developers only care about APIs and ease of development. While Linux may alleviate the latter issue, what is truly gained by advertising a console based on Linux? Because you'll be able to... to... um... recompile the kernel! No, that's not it. Port TuxRacer! Um... hmm... Run you Linux applications on it! Yeah, that's it. Run your--
Wait. Why would you want to do that? Isn't the point to play games?
SDL + OpenGL (Score:2)
While Linux may alleviate the latter issue, what is truly gained by advertising a console based on Linux?
Precisely because it alleviates the latter issue. Indie game developers are already familiar with the SDL + OpenGL stack and the AllegroGL stack, both of which are ported to GNU/Linux.
Re: (Score:2)
The SDL stack works, but it's hardly a standard of the industry. OpenGL is better, but it only proves basic competency. There's nothing to differentiate this console to developers. Meanwhile, the other console manufacturers try to supply developers with anything and everything they could possibly need to develop their games in addition to cutting edge technology and a ready-made market.
If you were a game studio looking to make money, which would you choose?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
It seems like all FS2 Open and Vega Strike will need is some interface work. FS2 Open might not even need that, I think you can run it without a mouse already. That's two spaceflight sims, one with support for persistent multiplayer worlds (and the other one with an extremely high level of polish.) There's three or four car racing games which I think are sufficiently polished to put out a halfway decent product. Linux means HID means USB KB+Mouse and 2GB memory and dual-core means that you can run Wine and
Re: (Score:2)
Looks like they are looking for developers [evosmartconsole.com] but I don't know how open it is going to be.
The requirement of a "full and incorporated business name" is reminiscent of Nintendo's long-standing requirement of a leased office.
$280-350 (Score:2)
But then again, why not hook your old computer to your tv and run this distro and just buy the games and use the Evo controller or gamepad?
The video is less than old ATI 9800 series (Score:2)
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Radeon-HD-3200.9591.0.html [notebookcheck.net]
Basically on part with Nvida 8400 series mobility cards.
I assume they underclock the CPU to reduce heat? I don't see why otherwise.
Re: (Score:2)
That's still going to beat the living shit out of, say, Xbox video. Which means it's more than enough to put out credible graphics. Nintendo decided that last year's graphics were good enough when the Wii came out; the lack of HD looks positively dated right now (though it rarely interferes with enjoyment in any way.) I don't see why it wouldn't be good enough here.
Re:The video is less than old ATI 9800 series (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
If it has bluetooth (or USB, whence bluetooth) then you can hook a Wiimote up to it. Linux on the PS3 does not permit the use of the graphics accelerator and as such is bread and circuses for stupid Romans.
Re: (Score:2)
If it has bluetooth (or USB, whence bluetooth) then you can hook a Wiimote up to it.
But if it lacks Bluetooth, and the console maker neither sells a USB Bluetooth adapter nor provides a properly signed driver for third-party Bluetooth adapters, you can't connect your Wii Remote. Besides, a game that requires an extra controller usually won't sell except when bundled with said extra controller.
Tivoization (Score:2)
Dude. It runs Linux.
So do TiVo DVRs. The GPLv2 license of Linux lacks the GPLv3's restriction against requiring digitally signed binaries and not giving the end user the signing key.
Re: (Score:2)
They also made up for it by going after the party games market. People who just want a fun time, and might only want to spend 20-30 minutes on a gmae.
That seems to ahve worked for them.
I really enjoy our Wii, far more then I would Xbox or PS3.
They age demographic of my kids make sit a better choice as well.
I don't need HD with my games, I need fun.
Nobody knew PlayStation or Xbox (Score:2)
Nobody knows who "EVO" is.
Nobody knew "Nintendo" when ColecoVision was out and Atari 7800 was announced. Nobody knew "PlayStation" or "Sony Computer Entertainment" when Sega Saturn was out and Nintendo 64 was announced. Nobody knew "Xbox" or "Microsoft Entertainment and Devices" when PlayStation 2 was out and Nintendo GameCube was announced. Yet they both had strong showings in their first two iterations.
Nintendo has well known game franchises and developers.
If EVO were to drop its requirement for a corporate name, this console could use mods as a selling point: "the YouTube of games".
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
YHBT. Nintendo was well-known in gaming when they got into consoles, because they made arcade games. Before that they made playing cards, which are game-related. Microsoft was well-known in gaming when the Xbox came out, the Xbox's name is really the DirectXbox (look it up) and Microsoft had already been publishing games for many years. IIRC Sony, too, had been involved with publishing video games for years by that point (they are currently the fifth-largest publisher [wikipedia.org] -- I'm having a hard time finding cites
Re:Nobody knew PlayStation or Xbox (Score:5, Insightful)
Nintendo wasn't a huge multinational company when they entered the video game market.
But they were also not a no-name company. They were a 90 year old company when they moved into the electronic gaming market. Before then they were well-known company in Japan who made card games and all sorts of toys. So while not a multinational company like Sony or Microsoft they weren't a no-name like EVO. Secondly, by the time they had come out with their first gaming console, they had built up a reputation in arcade games both in Japan and America. So unlike this company, Nintendo actually had it's name out their long before they released the Famicom/NES.
Re: (Score:2)
But then again, why not hook your old computer to your tv
HDMI, 1080p, noise, and power consumption.
This device would make a perfect MythTV frontend/backend machine. If it's for real, I want one just for a HD frontend.
$380... (Score:5, Interesting)
This thing is going to retail for $380. For $19 more I can buy a PS3, install their linux distro, play all of the games this system can play, all of the games PS3 can play, and also play blu-ray movies.
I'd really like to know, who is their target audience?
Re:$380... (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
That's true, not sure if sony is going to open it up in the future or not.
Also that yellow dog ppc distro that's officially supported has a long way to go. They don't pack the current release with an mp3 decoder or flash support (which is turning away a lot of people that try it), but at least it ships with gcc.
Re: (Score:2)
They don't pack the current release with an mp3 decoder or flash support (which is turning away a lot of people that try it)
How is that Sony's fault? It's Thomson's and Adobe's.
Re: (Score:2)
Didn't Sony already license mp3 support for the PS3 software so that the PS3 could play mp3s? Flash support I understand.
MP3 in XMB != MP3 in Linux (Score:2)
Didn't Sony already license mp3 support for the PS3 software so that the PS3 could play mp3s?
The terms of the MPEG audio decoding license likely were limited to media playback within the XMB interface, not media playback within GNU/Linux or any Other OS.
Re:$380... (Score:4, Informative)
Linux on the PS3 has access to 6 of the 7 SPUs. It does not have direct access to the GPU, only a frame buffer.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The Sony Hypervisor runs on one of the SPU's, Linux is given access to 7 of the 8 SPU's and the PowerPC core.
The hypervisor forbids access to the graphics accelerator (RSX), so you only get frame buffer graphics.
Re:$380... (Score:5, Insightful)
Idiots.
Re:$380... (Score:5, Informative)
For $180 less you can get a PC with the better specs than this thing that also runs Linux.
Re:$380... (Score:4, Funny)
But it's not a console! It's a PC! Its chassis is big and ugly!
SDTV output (Score:2)
For $180 less you can get a PC with the better specs than this thing that also runs Linux.
Does a $200 PC have composite or S-Video output? No; that's a $50 extra [sewelldirect.com].
Re: (Score:2)
There's plenty of cheap graphics cards (including integrated) out there with S-video out. You can also find composite out and HDMI. DVI-to-HDMI + optical audio is available.
Re: (Score:2)
There's plenty of cheap graphics cards (including integrated) out there with S-video out.
I looked in Best Buy and Office Depot, and I didn't see a single desktop PC with integrated S-Video. Less-technical end users (the market for consoles) don't build their PCs from parts. In what store that is well known to the general public should I be looking for PCs that can output S-Video without a converter box?
Re: (Score:2)
I predict... (Score:5, Insightful)
That this will become a hackers toy, rather than a gamers toy. They're targeting a pretty small market if they feel the need to advertise their Amiga library. Maybe they want to go for the nostalgic and hacker audiences, but unless this brings something to the table that the Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can't patch into their current consoles I just don't see it gaining any steam.
Re: (Score:2)
If it's fairly quiet I think I might put one under my TV, install MythTV on it, load it with emulators+games and Stepmania, and have a good damn time for $380.
Set up some NFS drives on a remote fileserver and it'll be good for playing movies/TV shows, too.
Re: (Score:2)
They're targeting a pretty small market if they feel the need to advertise their Amiga library.
The fact that they are introducing a new gaming console in an oversaturated market means they have no idea what their market is. Amiga support just makes it a little more obvious.
This is typical geek entrepeneurship. The product is based on what they think is cool rather than what there's a likely market for.
Of course, sometimes geek entrepeneurship succeeds in spite of itself. Woz thought the target audience for the Apple was fellow geeks, which is why he invented the idea of an plug-in bus with documented
Re:I predict... (Score:4, Funny)
Fool me upteenth time (Score:4, Informative)
Lemme see here...
Many of the vaporware game consoles and PDAs over the years have convinced Linux users to plunk down pre-order cash before a product existed. Of course, the product often never materializes.
I wouldn't put too much credibility into anything offering pre-orders until they are vetted as a reliable company with actual hardware in the mail.
Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again. :-P
Re: (Score:2)
SpeedBall? (Score:2)
"...will feature a "cloud" service stacked with Amiga (!) games"
I'd buy this console if I could just play SpeedBall one last time with a joystick that would leave those painful blisters right in the center of my palm as I crushed and smashed my spiked fisted way to the goal and scored to the cheers of the corporate crowds.
Sigh.
Sold at a profit? Wildly successful. (Score:4, Insightful)
Subject says it all: if they are able to sell the system at a profit then they will be wildly successful. Why? Because the machine has excellent specifications for the price (love that footprint) and if it is at all reliable then it's going to be a moneymaker. I'll buy one to replace my Xbox as the system which runs XBMC, since I now have an HDTV and the Xbox can't really handle drawing the XBMC interface fluidly at 1080i (and doesn't have 1080p at all.) I've bought two (ooh, two) Xbox games at full retail; while you might laugh about the $10 in licensing fees that netted Microsoft, I bought the console used so they definitely didn't eat anything there. If these guys can make a profit (any profit) on the hardware and then make a few bucks per owner on games, they're in the money.
Re: (Score:2)
Hell, I've been planning to build a MythTV box some time this year, but if this thing goes a couple months past release without a large number of users seeing hardware failures and such, I may just get this instead. Doubt I'll buy a single game for it (though I will certainly put some on there--mmm, emulators) but the machine itself looks perfect for my needs (desires, rather).
Re: (Score:2)
I will be surprised if it is quite.
Re: (Score:2)
LOLWUT? Compared to equivalently priced consoles, this machine is lacking.
If you mean as a generic linux PC, maybe you're onto something... except you can get better hardware for the same price. As you mention, it has a nice footprint, but in all ot
Re: (Score:2)
Um.... dont. my XBMC live box I have at home has a dualcore 3.0ghz processor and it CANT play 1080p high motion content well. This gaming platform might not have the guts to play 720p.
Honestly, you can build a XBMC live box for less than $200.00 that can playback 720 all day long and that includes a media center case with a VFD display.
Re: (Score:2)
Um.... dont. my XBMC live box I have at home has a dualcore 3.0ghz processor and it CANT play 1080p high motion content well. This gaming platform might not have the guts to play 720p.
Uh, what? A T2600 is enough to do it, I did it on mine. I did have a decently-supported nvidia video card, though.
Honestly, you can build a XBMC live box for less than $200.00 that can playback 720 all day long and that includes a media center case with a VFD display.
The VFD is a gimmick. I'm looking at the screen, I don't need another screen. I could use one on my laptop though, for when it's closed... like my cellphone. Anyway, 720p is not enough.
Awesome! (Score:2)
With a craptastic website worse than a 9th-grader's MySpace page and a /. story with a solitary link to !@#$ing Engadget, the actual product is sure to be chock full of quality.
lol (Score:2)
> All bets are off till users actually see the hardware, but it would be nice to see a new player in the market. Of course this assumes they put some time into a little
> polish that is usually expected from the gaming community (that website, yikes) and some effort into a killer game library.
But apart from the mystery spec, shit website and lack of games, it's a killer console. I'm sure Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are holding crisis talks.
Re: (Score:2)
But apart from the mystery spec, shit website and lack of games, it's a killer console. I'm sure Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are holding crisis talks.
Sony obviously sees Linux console gaming as a major threat, because now they've given us two generations of game console which both run linux, while on neither one do they permit access to the graphics hardware beyond a framebuffer.
Yay (Score:2, Insightful)
Price of an XBox... (Score:3, Insightful)
So for the price of an XBox 360, I can buy a console that doesn't have -any- video games that were written this decade yet, and future games will cost $20.
Newsflash: Game developers want to charge more than $20 for games. They aren't going to bother making games for this thing when they could make them for 360 or PS3 and sell them for more.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Newsflash: Game developers want to charge more than $20 for games. They aren't going to bother making games for this thing when they could make them for 360 or PS3 and sell them for more.
You might be right about current game developers - but isn't there a huge start-up cost to break into that industry? An open console like this might provide a new opportunity (or reduce barriers) for new players to enter the market. Perhaps we'll actually see something new and innovative come out of it.
Re: (Score:2)
Game developers want to charge more than $20 for games.
Then explain all the games showing up in my WiiWare list for 1500 points or less.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, it's almost the price of TWO 360's.
Re: (Score:2)
Well I guess it could technically be considered from this decade, but only just barely. It doesn't quite reach the level of a PS2 launch title in terms of polish, but its putting out graphics that probably couldn't be done on the PS1. Can't tell much about gameplay from just screenshots, but it looks woefully generic.
Not a game a lot of people would be interested in playing. Let me know if there's any games that can reach current-generation (at least Wii level) polish, or an innovative concept that can e
$380 is outrageous (Score:2)
I like the hardware. I like the fact that it runs Linux, and uses SD cards for games. The whole design philosophy behind the console is great.
But $380? Are they out of their fucking MINDS? The hardware is WEAK compared to a 360, PS3, or even a Wii.
This thing could be successful if they sold it for $200. But at $380, there is NO WAY anyone is going to buy it.
That's the problem with getting into the console business- you have to be able to produce/sell the hardware in enormous quantities so you can get the pr
How the hell did this ever get funding? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, what a horrible idea. I don't see how this has any hope of competing with the three consoles that are on the market now. It doesn't have an impressive graphics chip, so it isn't going to blow people away with visuals. At the listed price point, it doesn't have any real price advantage (you can get a 360 for $300, a Wii for $250, a PS3 for $400). It doesn't seem to have ANY new games, much less games that you can't get on another console. So what's the draw?
OSS isn't an answer. Consoles gamers really don't care. The reason people like to buy consoles is to get cheap hardware to play games and no problems. They aren't buying them to write their own software. For that they buy, well, a computer.
I cannot see how the hell they expect this to succeed.
Re: (Score:2)
Same way the GPX2 and pandora do. They expect to get sell thousands of units not millions of them.
Not everything ever sold has to be found in every home in the first world to turn a profit.
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks for invoking the GP2X. Now I *know* I'm not going near this thing...
GP2X: Good idea, bad execution. =\
Re: (Score:2)
(you can get a 360 for $300, a Wii for $250, a PS3 for $400).
Actually, the base level 360 is $200, which makes this an even more absurd product.
Year of the Linux Console (Score:5, Funny)
2009 will be the Year of the Linux Console.
That's right, you just read it on the internet -- it must be true!
Re: (Score:2)
Any role for X? (Score:2)
I was wondering whether X has a role in this venture...or did they strip the memory hog out in favour of something better.
Google did it with Android did it. Apple did the same thing with their OSX system too. Maybe the EVO Linux Gaming Console can take a leaf from Google and Apple.
Yikes indeed... (Score:5, Funny)
(that website, yikes)
Hmm - Flash used gratuitously where regular HTML + bitmaps would do nicely: CHECK.
Given that they're going to use Flash, failure to take advantage of Flash's main advantage, vis. nice, scalable, anti-aliased vector images: CHECK.
Annoying "mystery meat" navigation system: CHECK.
Annoying textured backgrounds under text: CHECK (at least choose a texture that doesn't look like compression artefacts!)
Crummy English: CHECK. (two words, guys: proof reading!)
Now, I'm not a FOSS purist who's going to curse them unto the seventh generation for merely using Flash, but if FOSS/Linux is going to be one of their USPs they might want to consider their target market!
So, if the console/software designers had any role in that website - forget it.
Re: (Score:2)
At this point I wonder why they bother mentioning Linux. They should just sell a black box, and tell customers what it can do and what games are available or will be available soon.
Since they only listed 4 open source Linux games on their site, my guess is they don't have a good story to use to sell the console.
if this pans out (Score:2)
1. Buy said Linux-based video game console
2. Do not play it, nor open the box. Wait for product to fail.
3. Sell it on eBay 10 years later for a huge profit
Proof that this works: look how valuable the Halcyon console is. That's the holy grail of classic video game collecting. The more a console is a dud, the higher profits you can sell it later(exception: Atari Jaguar).
Re: (Score:2)
Bad example. The Halcyon was released with a $2500 price tag. Even if it lost a significant chunk of that value, it would still be one of the most expensive consoles in history.
With the possible exceptions of the Pippin and the Jaguar, nearly every "bad" console has lost significant value over the years. F-Channels are worthless, O^2s can be had for a song, people practically give away 5200s because of the controllers, and 7800s can be found f
Seems like a weird time to enter the market (Score:5, Interesting)
How many more $200-$400 game consoles does the market need? My opinion is that we need fewer than we have. I would like to see more $50-$100 game consoles. I think there is a place in the market for an inexpensive console that everyone can afford, that has some built-in networking for purchasing content and service.
It could be as basic as $50 + $7.50/puzzle game. Plus if you focus on online purchases you don't have to setup retail channels, and you don't have to battle the used game market.
Wii, 360, PS3, iPhone, and Amazon Kindle are examples where a consumer device is plugged directly into an online store for buying apps. But all those devices are over $200 (except maybe a used 360).
Specs don't have to be fantastic either, if you aim for simple games that "non-gamers" like to play. I'm just thinking out loud here, but there are a lot of options for the hardware while still being fairly economical. The 600MHz OMAP3530 (ARM) [beagleboard.org] can do HD resolutions and 3D graphics, although I think a game system would have to be around $125 if you use that to break even. Maybe if VIA does a Nano with integrated chipset(System-on-Chip) the prices might be low enough for an x86-64 based console. But even if it was just an SNES with ethernet welded onto it, that would be good enough for a fair number of simple games. And SNES hardware is incredibly cheap to reproduce (I have an Chinese SNES clone that cost $30). But I think most of us would be willing to pay double or triple to have something that could do vector graphics and maybe light 3D.
Dial-up (Score:2)
Plus if you focus on online purchases you don't have to setup retail channels
You do if the market for a $50 console largely overlaps the market for $15/mo Internet access [netzero.net].
Re: (Score:2)
Just make the games under 512K (90 second download) and you're fine for dial-up too.
Also I wouldn't pay more than $8 for dial-up.
The real issue with supporting dial-up is that a 56K modem has costly licensing issues and certification issues that don't exist with Ethernet, and are simple for WiFi.
Re: (Score:2)
3. It needs three more.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Or you could just get a PS2 [joystiq.com]
And there's 1900 games for it (plus 1200 PS1).
Good luck competing with that.
Re: (Score:2)
Nintendo DSi is also $170, and also features internet play and an online store. Although the hardware specs for the PSP are far superior, you really need a good resolution LCD display to make emulation fun in my opinion. 256x192 on the DS doesn't really cut it for NES or SNES or anything else really.
I no longer have interest in installing custom firmware on these devices, and from a marketing stand point requiring customers to do that makes no damn sense.
To be honest I put handheld system in a different cat
Good Potential (Score:2)
If it can do all that and do it well, I'd love to have i
April fools? (Score:2)
Kinda puttin' the cart before the horse... (Score:2)
Was there a burning need among consumers for a Linux console that was going unfulfilled? Speaking as the kind of person who spends too much money on video games, I see no reason whatsoever to lay down any money at all for a Linux console. If I want to play Amiga games, I can download an emulator. If I want to play games on Linux (insofar as I can), I'd use WINE. Well, really, I'd just run XP or Vista, which I currently do, but that's another can o' worms. The point is that there aren't Linux games that woul
Um.. it looks like a u-ITX pc (Score:2)
All their photos show a typical u-ITX Pc case you can get most anyplace.
Add in Bluetooth and some PS3 controllers and you have the same thing.
In fact it's probably a better setup if some group got together to make a linux distro for a base set of hardware that anyone could slap together for a Open Source gaming platform. Kind of like how the guys at MythTV have created a PVR platform recipe that everyone follows.
I thought... (Score:2)
I thought April Fool's stories were done with already...
Alsoa vailable with Vista (Score:2)
http://www.evosmartconsole.com/specs2.html [evosmartconsole.com]
Calm down, folks. It's just a regular scam. (Score:3, Informative)
Crappy Website [envizionscorp.com] built with a crappy 50$ template in a very crappy manner. Tacky template music. Boilerplate pictures of some office building somewhere in the about section. Crappy pictures of crappy boxes with what looks like your standard Mini-ITX package in them and way overpriced purchase options to buy them. Bets are ten to one that this is a scam and you won't even see any hardware at all if you fall for it. /. - let alone the buzz in the comments right now - is beyond me.
Nothing to see here, move along. How this even gets any attention at all on
Pre-order? (Score:4, Insightful)
You mean reserve. Not sure why we accepted the newspeak gamestop was pushing, it's exactly the same old annoying process by which you give someone money and they promise to give you something at some point in the future.
If there is a difference, it's that game retailers (again gamestop) try to punish those who don't "doubleplusadvanceorder."
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Re:Great. (Score:5, Funny)
Well people often play commercial games for free, so there is at least symmetry.
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That's actually quite a serious point - all games consoles have copy protection because developers won't go near them otherwise.
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Indeed. Not only that, you get to play a static, old version of Linux, on static, old hardware, with static, old games designed for that system. Hardware devices are one place I'd like to see Linux and other trademarks enforced, so that their name doesn't get associated with upgraded wristwatches.
Long term support (Score:2)
you get to play a static, old version of Linux
You mean like the kernel of the Long Term Support versions of Ubuntu OS?
on static, old hardware
You mean like the Eee PC, which has the same Celeron 900 CPU as desktops available 7 to 8 years ago?
with static, old games designed for that system.
Know why Nintendo loaded the Wii Shop Channel up with Virtual Console games for the Wii launch? Easy: it prints money [ytmnd.com].
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
>> you get to play a static, old version of Linux ...just shows how little you know.
>
> You mean like the kernel of the Long Term Support versions of Ubuntu OS?
LTS versions of Ubuntu will get new kernel releases. That's rather the point of the S in LTS.
Plus, you can install any other kernel you like. Some of us weirdos even have versions of the
stock kernel running on their copies of Ubuntu LTS.
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