GP32 viable?

[Sneth]

I have been pondering the future the GP32 as of late, and i must debate the viability of this system. Will the open source continue to flow in 6 months? Will the closed source continue to flow for that matter?

SMC have gotten nice and large, and the 6 in 1 at liksang makes this thing look even better. Still, i do not want to throw down this hunk of $$$ for somethig that is on its way out.

I know the market in japan is failing, but how is the korean game market? Granted this thing can play 1000's of games via emu, but i need next gen to feed me. Will there ever be a US release? Doubtful , as i've watched this system since release. Is it dying, or is it growing?


Obviously theere should be concern with the announcement by bandai, that they have ceased production of WSC.....



How does the GP community respond.......

 

[Esn]

"Granted this thing can play 1000's of games via emu, but i need next gen to feed me."

Good for you. In that case, you should wait until the next version of the GBA emu is released. There's no question about the possibility; there's already been news of a full-speed private emulator that the author was unable to release.

"Will there ever be a US release?"

As you said, doubtfull. However, there's a very good chance of a European (probably British, maybe French) release soon, and if that's successful they'll probably come to Canada to test the North American market.

"Is it dying, or is it growing?"

This is best answered in Gamepark's own words (Feb.22 Interview on GP32News):
"The actual [financial] situation is absolutely not critical."

"Obviously there should be concern with the announcement by bandai, that they have ceased production of WSC....."

No, I don't think it's a concern at all. The WSC only ever was in Japan; the GP32 is in Korea. They're two different markets, and the WSC can neither play MP3s, nor DivXs, nor connect to the PC. The GP32 can emulate the WSC.

Gamepark's reaction:
"We are sad to see that Bandai stops the manufacturing of WonderSwan Crystal, but we welcome them to develop on GP32!"
B)

I wouldn't be too worried. As long as Gamepark doesn't pull an SNK-NeoGeo on us and puts in too big an investment into this thing, I think it's financial situation is fairly safe. So far, however, they've shown remarkable restraint and allowed international interest in this device to leak out of its own merit, so I think they'll stay here for a while.

As for closed/open source programs... well, Gamepark has a confirmed release list of 12 games of so for this year. There are also some international titles waiting to be released; once MeGaGP International is up and running, I think quite a few small developing companies who do not wish to take big risks with a GBA will take a serious look at the possibility of selling their games as software over the internet.
As for open source... I don't think it'll stop coming anytime soon. It's just SUCH an easy system to develop for that there'll probably be lots of fans developing for it even after it's gone.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Why won't Gamepark sell the GP32 in the US? Hell, just line up some distributors and let them handle it. A lot of the people I have shown mine to say they would buy one if they could order it from a US address. If Best Buy carried them they could sell out, but I guess the big N would step on that.

If the author of the GBA emulator is afraid to release it, he should just release it anonymously.

 

[Esn]

"If Best Buy carried them they could sell out, but I guess the big N would step on that."

That's just it.

If Gamepark were to release it in the US, they'd be taking an absolutely enormous risk for several reasons.

First of all, the US is a huge country and one of the most expensive; they'd need to spend a lot of money promoting it and they'd have to produce a lot of systems to make the GP32 available to everyone. What if the systems don't sell? They'd go bankrupt like SNK did.
If they release it in a smaller country like Britain or France it's a much smaller investment and something they can probably recover from if it completely fails.

Secondly, The US where Nintendo has and has had an absolute stranglehold on the handheld industry like nowhere else.
Historically, the US has always been the place where handhelds other than the Gameboy have done really badly. The Game Gear, for instance, was more popular than the Gameboy in parts of Europe, but definetely not in the US.

And last, Gamepark is currently so small that Nintendo is not paying it much attention (or at least pretending not to; they know all too well that Gamepark is so unknown that if they ever mention that they are watching them that that will spell big sales for the GP32). If they come to America, Nintendo will do everything in it's power to kill off the GP32, legally or otherwise.
They absolutely can't risk a competitor in the handheld market, no matter how small; especially if people find out that it can emulate the GBA. The handheld market is the only stranglehold that Nintendo has left; their Gamecube sales are floundering.

 

[ralp99]

future of GP32 .. hmmm.
i love the system. i don't even have one yet but on principle I love it. if you want to get one, weigh your reasons for wanting one before laying down the cash.

i love emulators and retrogaming. this thing would get a helluva lot more playtime out of me than an xbox, ps2, and GC all rolled into one. next-gen (need a new phrase!) doesn't really do it for me. if i can have a portable nes, sms, pce, genesis (etc) that i can take with me EVERYwhere and have it not be a laptop then dammit, i am pretty happy. i doubt i'd ever even want to buy a 'gp32 exclusive' title anyway (from what i've seen)

if you want gba emulation - i say, f that! save yourself some $$$ and just buy a freakin' gba and a flashcard for that! (instead of a GP32 altogether)

Why settle for an underpowered version when a fullpowered one is so easy to get, and not a huge investment either (between the hardware + flash kit). SP looks like a great system that improves on the already VERY impressive GBA - besides all the regular GB/C and flash stuff, there's a pretty active development communtiy going on (if you are only 'kinda' into the dev/emu stuff anyway)

it's up to you. like i said, weigh your reasons. if next-gen is so interesting to you, go for GBA and it's 'assured future' (the system will be around for a LONG time, don't worry!) GP32 is a great system as well but it's just not for everybody I think.

As far as an American release- as I have said elsewhere, I WISH this thing (GP32) would raise more eyebrows even if it possibly threatens putting it on the big N's radar. Solely for the purpose that more homebrew/emu developer (+etc) interest would perk up and I'd get my sega genesis emu (and others) that much sooner, or ever. The system has so much promise and potential, and it's already got much farther than I would EVER have expected - but there's just no way it's gonna get much further without some damn exposure. IGN needs to be running more cover stories on this thing! After what I have seen in this industry, I doubt it will last in the market for more than another couple of years, and even then the pace will perk up and dwindle --if we're lucky--! But who knows with the asian market, they got all kinds of weird shit over there, mayeb the thig could take on a life of it's own and truly become the paul's boutique of handheld systems. It's certainly deserving enough to.

ok there's my nightly rant for ya...

 

[Shrike]

well it was meant to be released in britain this xmas just gone but nay GP and their distrib had a falling out or something.
Britain would be the best place to test it because we are a nice small country who would buy it if it promised to do what it says on the box. Most game players would look at it and a GBA and go "Wow! lets go buy one!"
maybe
probably
not in those words
But it has sold the most in France outside of Korea sooooo it has an International fanbase already, it just needs to take Britain, then America, then the world!

 

[hiryu]

Good for you. In that case, you should wait until the next version of the GBA emu is released. There's no question about the possibility; there's already been news of a full-speed private emulator that the author was unable to release.

Is it true ? where and when have you read this ?

 

[timthepig]

--I don't think it would sell on a large scale -- think about it

Little kid wants GBA!

--Little kid plugs in game cartridge in GBA - Little kid plays

Little kids wants gp32

--Little Kid gettings confused and doesn't understand how to do anything apart from wipe his bogeys on it - Little Kid asks Daddy - Daddy has no Idea - Whats USB? - Plug it in and register through GamePark? SMC? - Damn I need a PC to get emulators etc? What games can I buy for my kid? Hmph - all in Japanese?


--Get the picture - Majority of market is young kids wanting to play Harry Potter and Pokemon --

Not Unless gp32 is made more attractive to people by exposure of emulators\homebrew - Thus older buyers will be interested. --Perhaps Promoting Moviepark - DVD ripping\VCDs - MP3 Playback should be highlighted a little more. Lots of people turn heads when I say MP3\DVDs can be played(well yeah once ripped to a smaller AVI).

--Big Kids will get it! -- Let the big kids know about it

 

[Shrike]

all though i love my ps2 i have 3 games for it and i have had it a year....none of the games have jumped at me cept for final fantasy 10 and Zone of the enders. i mainly watch dvds (can do that on gp32 in a sense) and playing old psx games, which gp32 can't do yet...but the principle is that i prefer older games which makes gp32 perfect
if people want games for great graphics good for them, i prefer game play

 

[tombott]

--I don't think it would sell on a large scale -- think about it

Little kid wants GBA! etc.

i've got me gp32, it's a must have, i've shown it to friends, workmates etc and they all love it.
i run gpengine, sms-gg emu Wolf3D etc, use it for MP3's and ebooks
i don't think it is aimed at kids, it's aimed at the late teens to 20-30's market, people who are into their emu's etc. and have a bit of cash in their pockets
I know of around 10 poeple on another forum who have all bought a GP32 in the last month and they are all uk based.
i've not actually bought a game 4 it yet, but thinking about it.
i say let the kids keep their GBA's and let the adults have the real deal the GP32 !

 

[timthepig]

--I am also from the UK - so make that 11

 

[tombott]

coolio

 

[nufu]

better make that 12 h34r:

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I would be interested to know how many members here are from each country.
Since most GP32 owners have probably heard about it over the net, a pretty good population should be accessable here.

Hando, are you set up for polls here?