Homebrew Handhelds Roundup: Linux on Dingoo, Wiz at GCO
Pretty sure I’ve talked about the Dingoo Digital A320 elsewhere on the Internet, citing its potential, okay looks and great D-pad/face button placement, only hindered by its closed-source nature and that its parent company, Dingoo Digital, doesn’t seem to give a damn about its fanbase. Over the past couple weeks however, developer support has been building for the little handheld, and now fans have built a Linux kernel around the little system, opening the floodgates for games and emulators to be ported on the system. A couple of videos after the cut!
Main competitor Gamepark Holdings, furthering its bid to take over the world/get the word out on its own handheld, the GP2x Wiz, just sent us word about their trip to Leipzig at Games Convention Online. Tony Han, Overseas Sales Manager for the Korean-based company, had this to say on the company’s presence:
“The main reason why Gamepark Holdings Co., Ltd attended at Game Convention Online was ; they have started in producing the Wifi adaptor, which with the Wifi adaptor network games will be supported. For the beginning short distance network games will be available, however starting from year 2010 Gamepark Holdings Co., Ltd is going to bring out online games. The online games will be able to be play from one country user to another country user which means it is played internationally. Many games will be supported by the Wifi adaptor and many distributors who have attended at Game Convention Online were really interested in the future plan of Gamepark Holdings Co., Ltd.”
The big news is that Gamepark is actually pushing for its own wireless gaming infrastructure (coming by way of a rather clunky adapter, but hey, it’s something!), not bad for an independent manufacturer. It’s always awesome to see more competition in the handheld space, barring the charred remains of the Wonderswan, Lynx, et. al. The folks at Gamepark were also nice enough to share some snapshots of their presence at GCO for us, so here you go!
UPDATE: Gamepark sent out this press release today:
Gamepark Holdings Meets Ralph H. Baer.
At Game Convention Online 2009, recently held in Leipzig, Germany, Gamepark Holdings Co., Ltd had the pleasure to meet Mr. Ralph H. Bear. As most of you might be aware is, that Mr. Ralph H. Baer is known as “the father of video games”. He was responsible for the development of “Brown Box”, which started in 1966. The “Brown Box” got released as what we all know as Odyssey 2 game console nowadays. The Odyssey 2 had its official release in 1972.
While Mr. Tony Han (GPH Overseas Sale Manager) had a discussion with Mr. Ralph H. Baer about the GP2x Wiz, he showed a lot of interest, because he sees great potential. Mr. Ralph H. Baer was pretty much sure, that many developers will enjoy the inside technical aspect of the GP2x Wiz, which will cheer up many developers, but also users. He compared the GP2x Wiz with the Nintendo DS and a PSP and just smiled and said: “The GP2X Wiz is small, but also big, compared to the other handheld consoles”.
Mr. Tony Han and Mr. Ralph H. Baer had a great time and also captured the moment in form of a picture.
Gallery: Gamepark at Games Convention Online
