A Quick Story...

[TJFBryant]

Back in 2001, I had purchased a first batch Original GP32. At the time, playing MAME and NES games on a handheld was unheard of. It was a none FLU nor BLU version of a GP32. It was a straight up reflective surface screen, a la Neo Geo pocket color.
I would watch 320x240 video clips in 15fps. The ultimate portable video player. I brought as many SMC's with me that I could handle all the roms and mp3's it could hold. With thatin mind I hung out here for over 7 years watching the GP2X and Wiz come to light.

Now sadly, Feb, 4th, 20010 my GP32 has died...
Where does the Pandora come into all this, well here it is.
While I was mourning my loss I couldn't help but feel that this passing of my GP32 ONLY means the beginning of something better.
Truth be told I had a GP2X , and I have the Wiz, but I can't help but feel that after almost 8 years coming it seems to me that the PANDORA is the TRUE SUCCESSOR to the original GP32.
The GP32 created this community, and the Pandora will lead us into a new realm of possibility and imagination.
So my comment and question to you all is this; For those that had the distinct honor of owning and using a GP32. Doesn't it seem like the GP2X, the Wiz were only distractions or less mere talking points until this Pandora arrives?
Do you believe as I believe that the Pandora is the true, and honorable successor to the GP32? Well, regardless if you believe as I believe... The Pandora is a bigger part of this community and our lives than some give it credit for.
Its a sappy story...but true
Thats my 2 cents.

 

[trix]

...lay off the trance music, man.

 

[Iorgy77]

The GP32 era was truly awesome. It was a more international scene as well, with French, Spanish and Germans as well as the English/US guys all pumping new stuff out on a daily basis. The gp2x era followed by the current wiz and dingoo era just dont feel the same even though the hardware is more powerful. The stuff that was done on the GP32 was amazing at the time and its closest competitors were a GBA with homebrew cart or the ill fated zodiac.

GP32 - An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. :rolleyes:

Then the PSP came out and we all screamed for MOAR POWAR!!!



As for the pandora being a successor, I dont really know. The Gp32 was obscure and simple. The pandora seems like it is trying to please everyone and has ended up a more complicated system. I Guess we will see how it is recieved. I know I will enjoy using mine.

The dingoo scene on the other hand seems to be moving pretty quickly at the moment with many releases. A cheap device which isnt perfect by any stretch but still has suprised some people.

 

[GPJosh]

I agree, I really feel the community spirit of the GP32 with the Pandora. The stuff that people managed to achieve on that hardware was truly incredible with NES, Genesis, and towards the end very playable to fullspeed SNES.

The homebrew was also great with the GBAX coding compos being a high point in the year. (are those still going on?) It seemed like for every new game / application / launcher there would always be at least 30 people who would right away be willing to comment and try it out. I know I played the hell out of all the 15day compo stuff in the day.

Even with the community expanding, and all the problems that come with that, it's been great to see so many of the same faces stick around.

It's been amazing to see the growth from a small community focused on a small, obscure, korean, handheld to a large one that has helped design a (almost) full production custom device. Cant wait.

 

[relliker]

If my enthusiasm for a device which I still don't have is anything to go by I think the Pandora is going to create a massive continuous hive of community activity. Seeing that the complexity of this device creates an unfathomable amount of things to try out beyond gaming and watching movies and listening to music, there is going to be a huge increase of new people finding different uses and hitting off each other (in a good way) while trying out new ideas or collaborating on projects. In summary I think the GP*Xs, Dingoos and Wizzez together will not be able to match the buzz the Pandora is going to create by itself. I myself, who was rarely interested in "creating" anything connected with software projects, am already working on some Pandora project ideas (not games, sorry!) and have a virtualised environment ready to create some new stuff for the Pandora. I'm not a developer though so my projects will be more related to finding more creative uses for existing software (and possibly hardware -> hint!) in conjunction with the Pandora.

 

[slygamer]

Not a bad effort, lasting 18009 years.

 

[mali]

I'm not a developer though so my projects will be more related to finding more creative uses for existing software (and possibly hardware -> hint!) in conjunction with the Pandora.

Sounds great! Hardware is my métier and I'm really looking forward to mods and additions. What about a detachable docking station with an integrated DVD burner? Pandora as a small emergency laptop

 

[TJFBryant]

The GP32 era was truly awesome. It was a more international scene as well, with French, Spanish and Germans as well as the English/US guys all pumping new stuff out on a daily basis. The gp2x era followed by the current wiz and dingoo era just dont feel the same even though the hardware is more powerful. The stuff that was done on the GP32 was amazing at the time and its closest competitors were a GBA with homebrew cart or the ill fated zodiac.

GP32 - An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. :rolleyes:

Then the PSP came out and we all screamed for MOAR POWAR!!!



As for the pandora being a successor, I dont really know. The Gp32 was obscure and simple. The pandora seems like it is trying to please everyone and has ended up a more complicated system. I Guess we will see how it is recieved. I know I will enjoy using mine.

But all hail to what should be the new Queen in town...Pandora

The dingoo scene on the other hand seems to be moving pretty quickly at the moment with many releases. A cheap device which isnt perfect by any stretch but still has suprised some people.

Your Right too!! The Dingoo scene is something I didn't see coming. Its an inexpensive device and run lots of Emu's and interpretors very well.
How could I have left out the Dingoo. I do have a space in my retro gaming for my dingoo as well.

 

[Gruntfuggly]

I agree very much with this - the GP32 was a real 'Pandora' for me - coming from a GB advance, the openness of the GP32 was awesome - the fact that I could run what the hell I liked on it was such a breath of fresh air. It really was amazing see what devs were producing back then too - although the gp2x scene was cool, it never had the same 'pioneering' feel to it for me. I never play my gp2x anymore (mainly because of the piss poor battery life) but the GP32 still gets used quite a lot.

I'd like to think that the Pandora will be a spiritual successor to the GP32 - maybe the leap in power just wasn't quite big enough for the gp2x - GBA, PSX, etc. were tantalisingly close but didn't really happen...

My only worry is that devs will naturally want to push stuff to it's limits rather than polish off the stuff that will work easily on the Pandora. I will be disappointed if some of the gp2x stuff doesn't get ported over - I can imagine it will be much more tempting to get a dreamcast emulator really working on the pandora rather than the lynx emulator, but I've got my fingers crossed...

 

[Sphinxter]

Much like only God can make a tree only GPH can truly kill a handheld.

 

[Jourdy288]

How dead is your GP32 exactly? I don't think all hope is lost yet... what happened?

 

[Nova]

I loved my GP32 to death. I would genuinely buy another one right now if I didn't have the utmost faith that Craig, ED, MWeston, Fatih and co are going to produce something so tailored to the community that enjoyed our favourite little ivory console, that it will have the same feeling and atmosphere surrounding it.

This is a device created BY the GP32 community, FOR the GP32 community. It's gonna rock, trust me.

 

[grasshoppir]

I love my FLU

 

[Nation.A.List]

I love my FLU

Swine!

 

[palmertech]

Interested in selling the GP32?

 

[CodedKitty]

Sorry about your loss. ;_;

 

[slaanesh]

That's a pity, I've got at least 3 most excellent GP32 releases still to come!