New competitor for handheld gaming! (Gamepark GP32)

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-04-03 05:16pm

http://english.gamepark.com/

Very nice very nice. Check out the tech stuff. Just some things to catch your eye:

WIFI multiplayer up to 10 metre NON line of site for 4 players
plays MP3s, MPEGs, runs Java VMachine, and will soon support Linux
USB port, Smart card reader, EMULATES GBA GAMES

And guess what? its 180 bucks. Check it: http://www.upstategames.com/gp32_hw_sys.phtml

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-03 05:22pm

Nice, but without that Nintendo label...will fall the way of virtually every other hand-held.

At times I begin to wonder why Nintendo even does consoles...given the utter stranglehold over three continents they have in the hand-held market.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-04-03 05:26pm

At times I begin to wonder why Nintendo even does consoles...given the utter stranglehold over three continents they have in the hand-held market.

Vanity. Nintendo would probably be better off abandoning consoles in favor of becoming a 3rd-party developer for the other console companies, and concentrating elsewhere on handhelds.

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-04-03 06:00pm

Good advertising might actually allow Gamepark to break into the console market. They could XBox the GP32 -- Market it like fucking hell, and drop the price to just-above manufacturing cost to make it more appealing to people, so it becomes popular. Once they get people interested, their next handheld can be more expensive for relatively similar manufacturing cost, because people know the quality and functionality of Gamepark devices.

Also they should have plenty of games with it. Also the ability to multi-function the machine will also be a seller. You could download games instead of buying them in stores, you could buy harddrive addon that plugs into the SMC reader, etc.

Shame its not backlit, but then again neither is the GBA only the GBA2 which lacks vital things like HEADPHONE PORTS.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-03 06:10pm

Could but even then...look at X-Box veresus something as entrenched as PS2.

I mean that and the GBA actually has outlandish figure...seriously.

Entering the hand-held is suicide for Sony and company let alone GP32.

I'm sorry, it'll be another wonderswan/NGPC/GG.

Lord_Xerxes · Post by **Lord_Xerxes** » 2003-04-03 06:51pm

Does anyone else find it funny that it looks extremely similiar to the GBA?

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-04-03 07:36pm

Ghost, it might mean death for the company, but only if they keep the high price and nonexistant advertisement. They also need good games.

If they had the games, advertisement, and low price to make it competative, they would get a foothold into the market. They need to be willing to loose alot of money for the first run of the GP32, but once theyre into it they'll be pretty good.

They need a good rep, you know? They cant just market for games tho, they should market for everything it can do. I mean, the thing is damn versatile.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-03 08:37pm

A good rep doesn't really do much against something that has over 30+ million units.

$180 will ward off the mightbes regardless of how much it can do. I mean take the NGPC...it was evrything the GBA SP is and had a selection of games from big people(NG actually allowed third parties of Namco, and Sega amongst illuminaries) and it fell flat.

It advertised what it could and sold in major outlets and was $50 more...and this was during the dawn of the GBA...and it got slammed.

Seriously anyone thinking that they can rush into the handheld is commiting suicide unless you have Sony backing you and even then, you need something on the level of Yu-gi-oh or Pokemon to stay alive for a year.

It's not being bitter or arrogant but literally Nintendo's hand-held survived the early rough phase with virtually no one and hung on through the meanest times and now literally is ingrained to a point where unless you come out with a portable CD/DVD with color backlit with Yu-Gi-Oh as your first game...at $100...it outright dies.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-04-03 08:47pm

It also has a, shall we say, limited assortment of games.

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2003-04-03 08:58pm

Sounds like the handheld X-Box, gizmos out the ying-yang that attracts idiots and shit for games. All it needs is some overhyped game(*cough**cough*Halo*cough*) and it might just take off.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-03 09:13pm

Nathan F wrote:It also has a, shall we say, limited assortment of games.

I still loved it...sniff. Also the sheer stranglehold Nintendo has on publisher is sickening in terms of the Handheld...I mean fucking A they make Sony look like pussies.

As for getting a 'Halo'...sadly that is till their best thing persay out there, and sadly it's a first gen(nothing has reached Halo's height for X-box...and honestly that's not a good thing)

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2003-04-03 09:25pm

Nintendo has a grip on the market because they have the only good handheld out there, and they have that because they've been able to do that for years.

And Pokemon. But still, they deserve the position they are in. Now Microsoft which is buying out game producers that are producing games to everyone, with some special ones for the cube. They bought Rare right after StarFox Adventure. That means Rare loses SF and Donkey Kong, and GC looses the work they were doing with them. And now they were thinking about buying Sega. And I was pissed off when Sony bought 11% of Squaresoft to take ahold of the Final Fantasy games. The GBA forced Squaresoft out of that.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-04-03 09:26pm

I don't see why the comparison to X-Box should be a good thing. Microsoft loses money every time you buy one of those things. That's not exactly something to be proud of.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-03 09:29pm

Actually Sony now only has 8.9% of Square voting(ah the merger did some good...take that you bastich!!!)

Well, most consoles the company loses...until they reach a breaking point.

As for X-Box...MS biggest hurdle is that the companies they have gotten haven't really used any power(people are basically looking for Halo 2 to be the next big thing, that's not a good sign...that game has so fucking much to live up to)

kojikun · Post by **kojikun** » 2003-04-03 11:39pm

XBox is loosing money, i said that, but you wanna bet XBox2 is going to sell like mad?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-04-03 11:47pm

kojikun wrote:XBox is loosing money, i said that, but you wanna bet XBox2 is going to sell like mad?

In America. I don't know about Japan.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-04-03 11:47pm

No. I wouldn't. Frankly, the last thing I need is for the company that makes my shitty OS to start making video games. Besides, the only reason I'd remotely consider buying an X-box is DOAX.

Why does that thing look just like a GBA?

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2003-04-03 11:49pm

kojikun wrote:XBox is loosing money, i said that, but you wanna bet XBox2 is going to sell like mad?

No, I don't. That's microsoft's plan, but the competitors(Gamecube and PS2) are far more entrenched, and have all the best companies on their side.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-04-03 11:54pm

I find myself playing my trusty PS1 with LCD screen more than anything else. I can play it in the livingroom, while my wife is watching TV. We have a PS2, but frankly neither of us plays that thing much. We used to watch DVD's on it all the time, but once my wife made me get a surround-sound system with DVD, the PS2 now mostly just collects dust.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2003-04-03 11:59pm

I could have told you that putting a DVD player on a console was a stupid idea. I mean, I have 2 DVD players and 2 DVD-ROMS in my house. What the hell am I going to do with another DVD player?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-04 12:00am

jegs2 wrote:I find myself playing my trusty PS1 with LCD screen more than anything else. I can play it in the livingroom, while my wife is watching TV. We have a PS2, but frankly neither of us plays that thing much. We used to watch DVD's on it all the time, but once my wife made me get a surround-sound system with DVD, the PS2 now mostly just collects dust.

LMAO...ah what a good many of the Japanese used it for.

Thanks jegs2

As for Xbox2...the saddest truth is the X-box needs some kickass games to get a name, and Halo 1+2 aren't going to cut it.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-04-04 12:02am

Darth Yoshi wrote:I could have told you that putting a DVD player on a console was a stupid idea. I mean, I have 2 DVD players and 2 DVD-ROMS in my house. What the hell am I going to do with another DVD player?

It's for two demographics I think.

1. Those that can afford one entertainment device such as a PS2, but not wealth enough to get a DVD player as well. It captures the market that would buy a game console if they had money left over from buying a DVD player.

2. Those that play games but aren't heavy DVD-philes and don't care about stuff like incredibly good sound. They just want your basic cheap DVD player without all the bells and whistles. The type that would buy a DVD player from Walmart.

brothersinarm · Post by **brothersinarm** » 2003-04-04 12:03am

I got a feeling this handhelp might be backed up by some rather large korean companies. (LG, samsung) otherwise how could it even hope to compete? And if it is backed by some large korean company it might be able to do relatively well. Everyone thought that Samsung could never capture the tv, cd, dvd market owned by sony but look at them now. So its possible this little device might be able to grab a share in the handheld market.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-04-04 12:07am

Yeah if in it's own little niche...but when Sega, NEC, Neo-Geo, Atari...and such tried before Nintendo became entrenched.

And Sony is currently musing but thinking maybe not...I'm doubting it.

Plus at $180...it's asking to get it's ass handed to it unless it's doing what PS2 does and more(costing as much as that is not the way to enter the market.)

brothersinarm · Post by **brothersinarm** » 2003-04-04 12:07am

I find myself playing my trusty PS1 with LCD screen more than anything else. I can play it in the livingroom, while my wife is watching TV. We have a PS2, but frankly neither of us plays that thing much. We used to watch DVD's on it all the time, but once my wife made me get a surround-sound system with DVD, the PS2 now mostly just collects dust.

There are some very poor people in this forum. I could only dream about a PS2 collecting dust. Donations of unused PS2 accepted here! lol