JaqMs posted on May 18 2006 at 01:02 AM said:
Hmm, the XGP Kids picture could either mean that:
A) It *can* run emulators and is already very compatible with the GP32
B ) The Sonic is really just a video imitation, but then that means it can play movies well?
C) It's a picture
Note: I am enjoying some nice Pinot Noir at the moment so I may not be making much sense
.
Well the XGP and Mini are VRender 3D based as Squidge (and ME
) confirmed. They seem a bit of a dead duck from my view, basic 3D core but less potential for 2D emulation and they seem to be pitching it at the wrong market (going up against Sony and Nintendo, do they have a death wish
).
From what I have heard (unconfirmed Korean Engrish grape vine so remember this (i.e. I am
most lightly talking s*it)
) the XGP Kids is repackaged GP32 tech or a direct evolution (i.e. cheap to produce, easy to prototype I guess) but it most lightly
will not be binary compatible.
I have heard all sorts of odd stuff and I have reason to believe while its ARM based (a ARM920T core) it's not a Samsung S3C2400X01or a direct 1/1 rework but rather another ARM licences core (ME?). Add to that it's SD and not SMC based.
Remember that GamePark (not GPH) kept the source for the GPOS (well, to keep there dignity we will call it that) so can move it to another ARM based system (or many) with relative ease. Any games that GamePark published as a 1st party based on the GPOS directly they can revisit and update the source and build it against the newer GPOS that supports the XGP Kids, this would give them a small and cheap launch library I guess. Anything that flogged the hardware on the GP32 and did not use all of the abstraction in the GPSDK is going to be a non starter without work and docs about the new H/W etc..
Also remember that GamePark never really set out to make the GP32 open source
it was a serious of ‘events’ that led to it happening. Who can tell what line they will take with any newer versions of GPOS?
Also remember that GPOS development was tied to ARM ADS/SDT until the community got hacking. GamePark never supported GCC or any of the community tools we used and you sure as hell bet there not looking to support them on a system targeted at Korean kids and there pocket money, if it ever materialises then we will have to hack into it and if we every get something like GP32 compatibility it will be a bonus not a target
.
Anyway, GamePark have to actually get ANY of this out the door yet or even finalised. It is great to have loads of ideas but there have to commercialise them at some point and I have my doubts about that. Still, time will tell and I’ll keep watching and poking about with some mild interest
. If an XGP Kids was derived from the GP32 and well built then I would buy one to hack about out of some sort of ancestral loyalty
. Still, for now it’s back to the GP2X and 32.
