Convince Me Into Buying A Gp2x

[JaseDaMase]

A few years ago I bought a GP32 from gbax and was very pleased with it, especially as it was the first handheld I had owned and its ability to play some of my favourite 8 + 16 bit classics but I did feel emulation was never really good enough to call perfect and it has gathered a lot of dust since I purchased a PSP which originally was bought to play lovely 3d games etc. I then discovered homebrew on PSP which was an improvement over the GP32 and considering the commercial games on PSP were really nothing special I have kept the firmware at 1.50 and never bought a PSP game except the few I got from new. Some of the recent PSP releases are very tempting but of course I will lose access to all homebrew if I pop a recent UMD in my PSP and I dont want to mess around with all these UMD emulators and up to date firmware hacks etc, I just want to buy a game put it in the machine and play, but I want homebrew too!!. I seem to have two options, buy another PSP or finally take the plunge with the GP2X.

I'll be mainly interested in Snes, Megadrive, Speccy c64, Atari ST and Amiga along with some of the ports like SCUMM and Doom all of which seem to run very well on PSP except Amiga which as most of you know is a bit of a git to get perfect on any machine. Is the GP2X as good or even better at running these emus etc than a PSP or should I line Sonys pockets again and get a 2nd PSP and keep the old one for my emus.

I appreciate the opinions will be more biased towards the GP2X but maybe some of you have experience with both. Oh and the cost of the machines is a factor in my decision especially having seen the link to the ebay auctions at £74.99 for a GP2X but it would not be the main deciding factor.

Thanks for your comments

 

[Shadowsithe]

Use Dark Alex's firmware. Really, it's better.

 

[mdinire]

edit: damn u LOL ^

How about trying Dark Alex's custom PSP firmware

 

[Azure]

I've also been torn between getting a GP2X (actually, it'd be my 3rd time buying one) or a PSP for emulation. From what I understand, the PSP has superior SNES and PSX emulation (and possibly CPS2 emulation?), while the GP2X has superior emulation for the other platforms. You don't seem to be interested in PSX emulation, which certainly balances things out with the whole PSP vs. GP2X thing. One plus for the GP2X seems to be the ability to turn it into a sort of home console with TV-Out and the cradle (the only problem is that it seems not all of the emulators support using USB joypads through the cradle).

For those that have experienced SNES emulation on both the PSP and the GP2X, what do you guys think? From what I understand, the PSP SNES emulation has greater compatibility and speed with full transparency support (I don't believe the GP2X SNES emulators support games like Mario RPG and the like). If I am wrong, please do correct me.

The other big issue is the screen. Some people have complained about the PSP's blurry screen claiming the GP2X has a much sharper one. Some also have complained about problems with aspect ratios, but you should be able to play with black bars around the sides so that the games run in their native resolution (I don't believe you're forced to stretch to full screen).

 

[Shadowsithe]

I've also been torn between getting a GP2X (actually, it'd be my 3rd time buying one) or a PSP for emulation. From what I understand, the PSP has superior SNES and PSX emulation (and possibly CPS2 emulation?), while the GP2X has superior emulation for the other platforms. You don't seem to be interested in PSX emulation, which certainly balances things out with the whole PSP vs. GP2X thing. One plus for the GP2X seems to be the ability to turn it into a sort of home console with TV-Out and the cradle (the only problem is that it seems not all of the emulators support using USB joypads through the cradle).

For those that have experienced SNES emulation on both the PSP and the GP2X, what do you guys think? From what I understand, the PSP SNES emulation has greater compatibility and speed with full transparency support (I don't believe the GP2X SNES emulators support games like Mario RPG and the like). If I am wrong, please do correct me.

The other big issue is the screen. Some people have complained about the PSP's blurry screen claiming the GP2X has a much sharper one. Some also have complained about problems with aspect ratios, but you should be able to play with black bars around the sides so that the games run in their native resolution (I don't believe you're forced to stretch to full screen).

As I recall, PSP's SNES emulation isn't that good. Their PSX emulation is pretty much perfect. I was none too crazy about the blurring on PSPs myself. I'd wait for the PSP-2000 to come out and see if it fixes screen/button issues before making a call.

 

[TelcoLou]

Convince me why I should convince you ...


I like carrying around an entire arcade in my pocket, maybe you might as well ... or maybe not.

 

[Azure]

As I recall, PSP's SNES emulation isn't that good.

Really? Could you elaborate? Did you use the latest emulator and are your impressions relative to the GP2X? From what PSP users have told me and the videos on YouTube, it seems SNES emulation is fantastic (but I could be wrong...). Does PSP SNES emulation have worse speed and compatibility than GP2X SNES emulation?

 

[Unfathomable Depths]

Imagine your joy at finding an old run-down arcade with 3 of your all-time favorite cabinets. Walking calmly to the change booth you hand over the largest note in your wallet.

Youd go back, right?

But every day but they put another 50 cabinets in the place. Some youve never heard of, some you vaguely remember.

Imagine the owner designed new cabinets.

Imagine you paid a one-off fee and got access to all of this. In your hand. At any time.

Anyway, buy one.

 

[CABBAGES]

Buy one or i will kill a puppy :angry:

 

[yalborap]

As I recall, PSP's SNES emulation isn't that good.

Really? Could you elaborate? Did you use the latest emulator and are your impressions relative to the GP2X? From what PSP users have told me and the videos on YouTube, it seems SNES emulation is fantastic (but I could be wrong...). Does PSP SNES emulation have worse speed and compatibility than GP2X SNES emulation?

The SNES emulators can PERFORM better on the PSP. However, that does not necessarily mean they are BETTER. The PSP can go up to 333Mhz. You might actually get worse performance on the PSP compared to the DS if you clock them down to the same speed.

However, all PSPs can go to 333, so it just cuts into your battery life. Personally, I have both. However, I am also a consumer whore, so take that as you will.

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

I have both PSP and GP2X, and I prefer playing emus on my GP2X. It's easier and has more updates. Also there's amazing homebrew games especially those by the amazing Puck. I mean you will be missing out on a LOT of stuff.

 

[___]

Have a look at the recent gbax competition. Soooo many amazingly professionally done homebrew games for the gp2x. I think the homebrew scene is growing and growing every day and seems to be way more active as the one for the psp. That alone is a convincing argument.

 

[X-Code]

I'm not going to try to convince or persuade anyone into buying a GP2X , if it's what you want you will buy it.

I for one bought it ( actually have 3 now lol ) so that I could finally create a couple of my projects... For a portable machine... I love the little beast :lol:


Edit: I won't even waste my time talking about emulation.

 

[craigix]

*MUCH* better MAME and Amiga!

 

[OMars]

I think that if you aren't that much into amiga, then stick with you psp and get a 4GB stick. You will be surprised at the playstation emulator if you like psx games at all. SNES is usually fullspeed with a little optimizing (the highest frameskip that I have used on it is 2). Plus, you can run backups of your psp games. So, if you ever get tired of emulation, just play some commercial games. It is very easy to upgrade to the new "3.52 M33" firmware, and have all the advantages of sony's new firmware.

But, if you would really have an interest in Amiga and might be interested in MAME, then get yourself a gp2x. It also has far cheaper memory cards. Another advantage would this great community of ours. It also depends if you like 2D or 3D games. I know I sometimes grow weary of final fantasy's graphics on the SNES, how about you? But there is something new on the gp2x at least every week, so that more than makes up for it. And, I'm pretty sure that SNES is fullspeed with sound and no frameskip on most games (overclocked, of course).

If you do decide to stick with your psp, I highly recommend "Gun Showdown". It is simply amazing. There is also Suikoden and Suikoden II for the psx. They are the best games for the psx in my mind, along with Vagrant Story. Oh, and then there is a new Final Fantasy Tactics remake coming out for it.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[markiej]

Clear advantages:
- no firmware hassles
- SD is much cheaper than memstick.
- The screen ratio & resolution is better suited to classic emu & homebrew ports (4:3)
- I like that I can bring a 8 charged-up AA's and spend about 16 hours straight playing games and watching movies, and listening to tunes without plugging in (I'm a frequent business traveler so this is key for me). dedicated, pricey lithium batteries make that a non-starter.

I never thought for a second about a PSP because of the firmware hassles alone. If it also had the library of the DS / GBA I would have considered it, but PSP's library is pretty weak, unless you like those cookie cutter ps-2 style action romps (with few but notable exceptions).

 

[Cervante]

Think of it this way.

 

[sand_man]

Cervante wins this thread

 

[virusx]

...Think of it this way.

:lol:

 

[JaseDaMase]

Think of it this way.

lol thats some comparison, think i'll pretend i dont own a psp after that one, some interesting comments, i'm not fussed about ps one games , I do like the amiga but for the games I would play the ST emu would prob do the job and I hear thats great. Seems like a second PSP would be silly, might as well get a brand new toy rather than the same one so time to check out them gp2x deals.