Open-source gaming goes commercial with Wiz handheld

[MattyBoy]

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Though sales of the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable are strong, there are many who use the devices exclusively for homebrew applications. While some of these homebrew devices or homebrew-enabling schemes are looked upon less than favorably by the big manufacturers, such as the infamous R4 flash cart for the DS, there are some companies who see the value in releasing devices capable of homebrew software. Enter the Wiz, a new open-source handheld gaming unit from GamePark Holdings.

Homebrew and open-source applications often offer utility unrivaled by the more mainstream units, and that's something GPH is hoping to take advantage of with this new handheld. The Linux-powered device (running its own GP2X distribution) sports an Arm9 533MHz processor with a 3D accelerator, 64MB of RAM, 1GB of built-in NAND flash memory, an external SD card slot, and a single USB 2.0 connection. The display is a 2.8" OLED touch screen panel with a resolution of 320 by 240 (QVGA). The unit is powered by a 2000mAh Lithium-Ion battery that nets an advertised five hours of play time.

Official commercial games, launching alongside the unit, are a strong focal point. While previous devices in the line have been host to for-pay games, the Wiz will debut with a full suite of official games from third-party developers. Launch titles Asura Cross Wired, a fighting game, and Her Knights, a side-scrolling action game, will come alongside the release of the handheld and future titles that are slated for release through 2009, including puzzlers, rhythm games, shooters, and even RPGs.



The most attractive feature for gamers is surely the device's ability to play classic games via emulation. There are no fewer than 130 different emulators currently available for the GP2X which can be used with the Wiz, including emulators for nearly every console, handheld, and home computer ever released—and even some arcade machines. Thanks to the inclusion of an external SD card bay, gamers will easily be able to fit all of their favorite Atari 2600, NES, Super NES, Sega Genesis, N64, and Neo Geo games. Other more powerful but imperfect emulators for the device, such as those for the PlayStation and the Nintendo DS, are also ever-evolving.

Other out-of-the-box applications include a digital media player, a photo viewer, a comic reader, an E-Book reader, a planner, a calculator, a voice recorder, and more. The device also comes with an integrated Flash Player (Flash plug-in 7.0). The device also includes a number of built-in smaller games, as well as support for user-created games and other software, such as emulators. Built-in games include a number of original titles like Myride, a UFO shooter mini-game collection, and a touch-to-kill game called Space Varmits, as well as popular clones like Snake on Dope, a Snake clone.

GamePark Holdings is no stranger to the handheld market—it is responsible for the GP line of open source handhelds. The company's previous unit, the GP2X F-200, proved to be a solid handheld with a great screen and a level of versatility unrivaled by popular mainstream gaming devices. Low battery life and a lack of commercial games hurt the device overall, and those ailments are two of the main points of improvement with the Wiz.

Given that the operating system of the device is open-source, a large homebrew community has already begun preparing for the launch of the newest model. A wide variety of homebrew applications are already available for the various GP2X devices. The unit itself also comes packaged with the SDK, so hobbyists can begin making their own open-source games right out of the box. More information about the GP2X homebrew and open-source development community can be found at the GP2X file archive.

Of course, the question of whether or not the device can truly challenge the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable is liable to arise when discussing the advent of any mainstream open-source portable. While the Wiz may never be able to capture the mass market in a significant way, the attractive device could become a hit amongst savvy gamers: the flexibility of the device is extraordinary, and making use of homebrew doesn't require time-consuming firmware hacking that could irreversibly damage the device.

The Wiz is expected to ship in mid-October of this year. While it's not the strongest mobile open-source device of its kind, the likely price point of around $170 (the F-200 retailed for the same) makes it an incredibly attractive device at a modest price.

source arstechnica

[opaper]

The GP2X is not quite dead, as it has just been announced officially. This will be a pretty niche device, featuring a built-in Flash Player (compatible with Flash 7.0) that is meant for simple commercial games. Features of the GP2X include :-

• OLED touch screen display
• ARM9 533MHz processor
• 64MB RAM
• 3D accelerator

The GP2X will ship in the middle of October onwards, and I don't see it threatening the PSP or DS anytime soon due to the rather limited hardware. Will developers flock to come up with entertaining gaming titles for the GP2X? Only time will tell.

[robodude]

The most interesting thing is the Flash Player (Flash 7.0 compatible) and the planned release of commercial games. It has a LiIon battery built-in - and finally a place for the stylus! And a nice OLED display. If everything works as planned, it will be shipped in mid October.

Looks awesome cant wait to see what the price is, best thing of all is that GP2X is far from dead, all that has to be done is recompiling of GP2X Homebrew. The specs are quite powerful with an Arm9 533mHZ processor and 3D Accelerator and 64 MB of ram. Looks like the PSP, DS and even the Pandora will have a fight on.Play ASIA HAVE THEM ON PREORDER HERE --> http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-2z59.html

[Jeffrey]

While Linux is becoming more democratic increasingly on PCs and netbooks, he is just move on game consoles! Here are the Wiz, developed by GlimpsePark, console open source.

This console runs as a ARM9 processor clocked at 533MHz with a 3D accelerator and 64MB of RAM. The capacity of flash memory is 1GB and can be expanded through a SD card reader. The OLED touch screen measuring 12.1 cm by 6.1 cm for a resolution of 320 x 240. The console includes a USB 2.0 port for recharging the battery with the cycle announced is 5 hours.

The Wiz embeds a development kit to create your own games and the native support Flash 7. The console can also be used as a digital music player. In addition to the functions alarm clock, memo and reader of books électroniquee, several video codecs are pre-installed: MPEG4, and DIVX XVID. It is also possible to read AVI files. In addition, you can listen to your favorite songs to MP3, OGG and WAV. Finally, the types of images are compatible: JPG, BMP, GIF and PNG.

The Wiz will be delivered with a dozen games and the company plans to release several titles regularly every month. Some of these games will be paid but players will also have a gallery of free titles.

Already marketed in Japan, this console happen on the territory of Uncle Sam on October 8 next for 179 dollars.