How Long Can The Specs Stay Competitive?

[Shadow of Chaos]

I know the Pandora isnt meant to be competitive with whatever handheld Sony or Nintendo bring out next, but at a guess its probably not more than a year from now until we see new ones.

Do people feel a little sad knowing there are no commercial games for Pandora?

I might get one for my birthday in march, but im not 100% on it yet.. it does look very good for what it can do, if a little overpriced. Shame it wont be able to emulate dreamcast

 

[Trip]

IMHO - The open source nature of the system will be what keeps it going. The ability to keep updating and improving the software will probably keep it around longer than the next generation of handhelds from the big players. You can do amazing things with Linux, even on slower hardware.

Power means very little without control

 

[RajTakhar]

ermmm?

Sony have bought out newer versions of the PSP in recent times as the bleeding things take forever to load games, the original one (which I had back when it first came out) mimicked the Playstation so much that they ended up giving more ram and poorer quality screens (PSP2000 and PSP3000)

Nintendo are bringing out new a DS model called the DSi which in a nutshell is the same DS with some extras namely the in-built web cam and most likely on-line store for flash games, this is to get the DS market to buy on line more like WI for simple games albeit initial batch will be flash based. As well as the fact that the DS is very easy to get downloaded games to work without firmware updates - the DSi is supposed to prevent download carts from working

The Pandora ....

OK so you may not see commerical games straight away, but you will eventually, look around some of the wikis out there and you will see some work/proposals have started - if the GoodDoctor ever comes clean we may even find out what his game really is called.

You will see arcade quality graphics from the Sony Playstation emulators, not to mention MAME and Final Burn emulators which will I'm sure keep you occupied. In addition to this you will have the MegaDrive/MegaCD/SNES/MasterSystem/MS-DOS/Amiga/Atari ST emulators which are supposed to be quicker and faster than the GP2X counterparts.

Have a look around the dev section and you will see lots of people already assembling stuff for it, the initial stuff may not be as you say commercial quality as the initial stuff for the GP2X was, but give it some time and patience and you will see some good homebrew games comin out.

In the medium term after a year you will find N64 and Dreamcast emulators arriving as they already exist for other systems and no doubt someone will compile a version for the pandora.

You might argue with sticking to the GP2X - but you need to remember that the Pandora will take off an be better supported in the long run.

The Pandora is more a UMPC as it can do a whole heap of stuff well, other than just playng games, and no doubt it will last the tides of time as long as the community write apps for it and support as we all know we will.
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gp32_console + :gp2x and Hopefully Soon A andora1:

http://gp2xwizandpandora.blogspot.com/

 

[mazza558]

Don't forget the masses and masses of linux games available.

Having said that, I reckon there'll be a similar-sized system with better specs than the Pandora by june/july.

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

Nintendo won't release anything in the medium term except their new version of the DS which is aimed at children. It has several new gimmicky webcam and audio features. You can shoot funny photos of your friends in the school bus and record short audio files and distort them with effects. How funny!

And Sony announced recently that they had no specific plans for a PSP successor. They were however caught inquiring 3rd Parties on what they thought about their ideas for the PSP2. I do not except a PSP2 this year, though. Because Sony is having financial troubles and there are talks about major restructureings and closing of divisions. I do not think they are in the position to take another risk with a new handheld.

 

[Radon]

Even if Sony released a PSP2 in a few years I really don't think it could replace the Pandora.
Since piracy was/is a big problem with the PSP I bet Sony will do anything to prevent jailbreaks/homebrew on a PSP2. So a PSP2 would be for commercial games only ... the Pandora is made for retro-gaming / open source.

So that is what I'd expect from the gaming handheld market ... nothing that competes with Pandora's scope.

The opposite direction are netbooks / UMPCs / similar devices ... those allow you to create and use own software just like the Pandora.
From what I have seen so far however there is no netbook / UMPC that focuses on games ... so they also don't really compete with Pandora's scope.

So although there might be more powerful devices in maybe 1 or 2 years in either a gaming handheld device or in a netbook / UMPC (some netbooks actually are more powerful already) none of those seem to do what the Pandora is made for ... a gaming handheld device that is open like a notebook.


The only competing devices are the Wiz / GP32 ... but those lack all the details that are so important for convenient gaming ... good digital and analog controls, duals SD slots, etc... From what I've heard those shortcoming were the reason why the Pandora was developed.

 

[Eniko]

Do people feel a little sad knowing there are no commercial games for Pandora?

Do we know this? I was not aware that I knew this. >_>

 

[Dubya']

I think the Pandora is in a unique niche and will maintain that niche to itself. There are two other SoCs coming out in 2009 that are very similar in capabilities to the OMAP 3 series. However, they are slated to be used in PMPs, MIDs and Netbooks and I strongly doubt that any of these will have anything remotely like the tweaked game controls of the Pandora.

Considering that no major manufacturer will have a homebrew game system as their business model (other than the GPH Wiz, but GPH isn't a "major" manufacturer), I think the Pandora will be _it_ for a pocketable MID with serious gaming capabilities. The Linux-based ARM SoCs coming out that are similar to the OMAP 3 and slated to be used in hardware that doesn't compete in the Pandora niche will simply provide a lot of neat software to cross-pollinate the Pandora library.

The Pandora is a pocketable game system and MID designed and tweaked BY gamers FOR gamers with a manufacturing team that truly listens to and accommodates its customers. Nothing could be better for gamers.

 

[Phawx]

Supposedly there is someone here that is crafting a DreamCast port which we *assume* will be a commercial product.

Also, I think if OpenPandora plays its card right, they will shoe-horn themselves into the gaming market.

Sony has already said they have no plans to create a PSP2 in the near future. Nintendo is notorious for selling "just enough" hardware with their equipment.

If we could get Steam on Pandora (Or equivalent with the status that is behind Steam now), that would catapult the Pandora into its own Realm.

The Pandora is the shit. It is the perfect design, provided that the controls work perfectly, everything should be fine afterward.

Truthfully, the main reason I don't play my PSP and DS is awkward and uncomfortable controls respectively.

 

[ignatz]

Before reading this post i switched off my gameboy. I'm not worried.

 

[Svartalf]

Do people feel a little sad knowing there are no commercial games for Pandora?

Excuse me, how do you know there won't be any commercial games for the Pandora- either at rollout or shortly thereafter?

 

[LosOutlandos]

it does look very good for what it can do, if a little overpriced.

overpriced? when i first learned what the price would be I was really surprised that they managed to achieve a pricepoint that's in the vicinity of the PSP, while the functionality the PSP offers gets nowhere near of what the pandora is capable to do...

 

[Frogboy]

I know the Pandora isnt meant to be competitive with whatever handheld Sony or Nintendo bring out next, but at a guess its probably not more than a year from now until we see new ones.

We might see incremental upgrades to the PSP and DS in a year but I'm doubting that we'll see completely new ones. Sony just started making money of the PSP a couple years a go at best and they still aren't selling games the way they would like or expected. Even if Nintendo puts out a new system, the spec won't even come close to Pandora.

Do people feel a little sad knowing there are no commercial games for Pandora?

No, not at all. If I wanted commercial games then I'd buy a PSP, DS or a home console (360, PS3).

I might get one for my birthday in march, but im not 100% on it yet.. it does look very good for what it can do, if a little overpriced. Shame it wont be able to emulate dreamcast

If any large corporation put out the Pandora with its specs, it would probably cost five to six hundred dollars (US) or more. A lot of what you pay for advertising and other things that the Pandora team doesn't have to pay for because of their built in audience. Pandora is actually cheap considering tha harware that is in it and the fact that they have to make money on the unit itself. They can't rely on selling games or software licenses like a commercial handheld but that's the price of having an open system. There is a reason that a PS3 can be had for $250-$400 (in some instances cheaper) but a computer with similar hardware would run you much more.

Don't count on Pandora never being able to emulate Dreamcast. I suspect that one day it probably will be able to at least a semi-playable level.

 

[Svartalf]

Supposedly there is someone here that is crafting a DreamCast port which we *assume* will be a commercial product.

While I can't speak for TheGoodDoktor, I can state that there's plans for other vendors making titles available...

QUOTE

Also, I think if OpenPandora plays its card right, they will shoe-horn themselves into the gaming market.



Indeed. We've stepped up to the plate in the big league, to use a baseball metaphor. The least I see us doing is a single (Which would be better than anyone not as deep pocketed as Sony or Nintendo have ever accomplished...), to carry the metaphor a bit further- but we might just send it out of the park. I'd love to see that happen.

QUOTE

If we could get Steam on Pandora (Or equivalent with the status that is behind Steam now), that would catapult the Pandora into its own Realm.



Steam is nice, but not needed. Someone like Good Old Games or Gamersgate is a must, though.

 

[mali]

The next competitive thingy will be Nokia's N8x0 successor mid/end of the year. It will be more expensive and less gaming friendly. I guess Pandora will stay competitive till Pandora 2 comes out

 

[Eniko]

Do people feel a little sad knowing there are no commercial games for Pandora?

Excuse me, how do you know there won't be any commercial games for the Pandora- either at rollout or shortly thereafter?
I think the OP might have mistakenly used "commercial" instead of "AAA". Although we don't even know that much.

 

[Svartalf]

I think the OP might have mistakenly used "commercial" instead of "AAA". Although we don't even know that much.


You know, with a few exceptions out there (mainly on my Wii and PS2 or PS3...) there's not a lot of "AAA" titles that I would honestly care to see on the Pandora. Much of what they're calling "AAA" is craptacular these days and riddled with very obnoxious DRM that they will insist upon to be on the Pandora.

Me, I'd rather have the indie stuff and do without the anal probing, thank you very much...

 

[WizardStan]

I might get one for my birthday in march, but im not 100% on it yet.. it does look very good for what it can do, if a little overpriced. Shame it wont be able to emulate dreamcast

If any large corporation put out the Pandora with its specs, it would probably cost five to six hundred dollars (US) or more. A lot of what you pay for advertising and other things that the Pandora team doesn't have to pay for because of their built in audience. Pandora is actually cheap considering tha harware that is in it and the fact that they have to make money on the unit itself. They can't rely on selling games or software licenses like a commercial handheld but that's the price of having an open system. There is a reason that a PS3 can be had for $250-$400 (in some instances cheaper) but a computer with similar hardware would run you much more.
You just contradicted yourself. You say a large corporation putting out a Pandora like device would probably cost more, and then a few sentences later admit that Sony puts out the PS3 for much less than a similarly speced computer would be.
The truth is that if any major company had released the Pandora it would

• have cost them much less than it has for Craig and company. Sony has a devoted R&D department that is (supposedly) very good at what they do. They've done this stuff before, they already know where the pitfalls lie. OpenPandora is still learning, and making their own costly mistakes. A large corporation would also put more weight behind the product, planning to sell millions, not thousands; bulk purchases of components results in savings.
• have a lower cost to consumer. The aforementioned lower cost of production translates directly to savings for the consumer, not to mention most hardware is sold at a loss (or minimal profit) with the intent to make up the difference in software. OpenPandora, by its very nature, is unlikely to see any revenue from 3rd party licensing, so they need a higher profit margin.
• be totally locked down as a result. The big business model involves selling commercial games. While the "ClosedPandora" might be the same hardware for a lower cost, you would be much more restricted in what it could do.

So, while it's true the hardware is overpriced when compared to what a big corporation might produce, the extra cost is made up for in the freedom of software you gain.

 

[TaG]

This thread looks vaguely familiar. yawn...

 

[Phawx]

To be honest. What I am most afraid of most is the controls. When the Pandora gets fully assembled, I would like to see some video of it being play tested and showing off the controllers accuracy on both the D-pad and the analog sticks.

The PSP is horrendous to control. I've seen the video of the thumbstick getting use, but I have no idea how that translates into actual function. Though it does look usable, I would prefer some real world tests.

Are the analog sticks even _Working_ on the dev boards?