zodiac

[Dozer]

I know quite a few of u hav or hav ordered zodiacs, but i was wondering. is it worth the extra cash for the zodiac 2?

Also, i saw that the zodiac 1 costs $299 whilst the zodiac 2 costs $399. is this inclusive of vat and delivery charges etc. i know you have to buy a memory card too by the way.

Lastly, does anyone who feels up to it feel like giving a forecast for its future? like how much it will cost by the end of this year along with what kind of software should be available by then? im going to have to upgrade my gp at some point and just want to know the facts.

£160 sounds reasonablish but £217 sounds very steep for something the same but with more ram. but i dont want to buy sumthing just to find that u need the zodiac 2 to get the most out of it.

well a long questions thread but any answers/comments would be appreciated .

 

[ralp99]

here's my (brief) take on the Zodiac
a machine i have never seen in person, but I have been watchign the Z boards pretty consistently.

if you've got cash burning a hole in your pocket, and nothing better to do, then why the hell not -- take the plunge.

otherwise, just WAIT. People on this board like to talk trash about it (just like people on their board like to talk trash about GP32) but let's face it, it's brand new. There's nothing out for it yet that warrants it's purchase over a GP32, other than potential. GP32 still has the best backlog available and plenty more coming up - Zodiac is just getting it's feet wet. If you want to be wise with your money, just sit back and see how things go after they have their "official" launch, and the emulator/homebrew dev communities have built up. Just wait, and watch.

If you MUST have all that calender/organizational/planner Palm-type stuff that is lacking on the GP32, and you are looking for a device that does all that, then I guess I can see why you'd want to pony up the cash sooner than later. But really, be honest, are you so concerned about all that business or do you just want to be playing some games..


I wish good luck to the Zodaic community. It looks like they're got some problems to iron out (with the analog pad + devkits + etc), but that will likely come with time. I am not going to get one, GP32 fulfills my needs quite well (unless drastic things happen!). I hope the two can coexist peacefully.

 

[ThndrShk2k]

If you MUST have all that calender/organizational/planner Palm-type stuff that is lacking on the GP32, and you are looking for a device that does all that, then I guess I can see why you'd want to pony up the cash sooner than later. But really, be honest, are you so concerned about all that business or do you just want to be playing some games..

Someone should make an organizer like programs and such for the GP32... for variety and such
Hell my TI-83+SE has an organizer *includes calaender, addr4ess book, and todo list... also Find option too*

From what i know, it just is notin but a fancy PDA that is designed for games

 

[Rico]

otherwise, just WAIT. People on this board like to talk trash about it (just like people on their board like to talk trash about GP32) but let's face it, it's brand new. There's nothing out for it yet that warrants it's purchase over a GP32, other than potential. GP32 still has the best backlog available and plenty more coming up - Zodiac is just getting it's feet wet. If you want to be wise with your money, just sit back and see how things go after they have their "official" launch, and the emulator/homebrew dev communities have built up. Just wait, and watch.

When I bought my GP32 a year ago, there was basically nothing going for it. ZardozJones' beta genesis, snes and gameboy emulators (at the time the genesis one wasn't even available, it got leaked later), and GPengine, SMS32 and fMSX which were good. InfoNES and fNES were pretty slow.

Now we have LittleJohn GP and fNES 2 which are full speed. OpenSnes9x and fGEN which are awesome. GPCinema, tons of freeware games, fSMS, and more. The wait proved worth it; lots of developments, mostly by yoyofr and rlyeh, have made the GP32 a much better handheld to own.

I guess the underlying statement in all of this is that there needs to be one or two godlike developers on the scene. Perhaps a Mr.Spiv to hack the hardware or a ZardozJ to bring out the first major emulators. Once that happens the ball starts rolling. Until then there will be little interest in the Zodiac from any cautious consumer.

 

[papapopalung]

opensnes9x for zodiac soon... yoyo said so

EDIT: 'cause he won it in the competition, remember?

 

[Steve-O]

why didnt they just release one version of the Zodiac... it would make it alot easier for people to decide hehe

 

[Dozer]

why didnt they just release one version of the Zodiac... it would make it alot easier for people to decide hehe

Because then the people with less money will still be able to get 1 i guess.

here's my (brief) take on the Zodiac
a machine i have never seen in person, but I have been watchign the Z boards pretty consistently.

if you've got cash burning a hole in your pocket, and nothing better to do, then why the hell not -- take the plunge.

otherwise, just WAIT. People on this board like to talk trash about it (just like people on their board like to talk trash about GP32) but let's face it, it's brand new. There's nothing out for it yet that warrants it's purchase over a GP32, other than potential. GP32 still has the best backlog available and plenty more coming up - Zodiac is just getting it's feet wet. If you want to be wise with your money, just sit back and see how things go after they have their "official" launch, and the emulator/homebrew dev communities have built up. Just wait, and watch.

If you MUST have all that calender/organizational/planner Palm-type stuff that is lacking on the GP32, and you are looking for a device that does all that, then I guess I can see why you'd want to pony up the cash sooner than later. But really, be honest, are you so concerned about all that business or do you just want to be playing some games..


I wish good luck to the Zodaic community. It looks like they're got some problems to iron out (with the analog pad + devkits + etc), but that will likely come with time. I am not going to get one, GP32 fulfills my needs quite well (unless drastic things happen!). I hope the two can coexist peacefully.

I think ur exactly right. i browsed the zodiac board during the last couple of days and the gp seems the way to go at the moment. but damn some of them seem to hate the gp crew. icefox got flamed away just for mentioning that snes emulation is better on the gp at the moment, and then again for somthing as petty as spelling!

I think that once the dodgy analogue stick is sorted, and the emulators start overtaking the gp in terms of quality, then ill get 1. it should be cheaper by then 2.

The gp community still seems more friendly tho.

Edit: oh and also, will the zodiac be available in high street shops? i like the underground feel of the gp. be a bit lame with a load of immature kids (and adults!) with their store bought zodiacs spamming boards.

 

[ralp99]

GP32 sure has more of it's own unique "homegrown feel" to it. I mean down to the very last detail, you practically have to buy it from the online equivalent of a Mom n Pop store.... I guess Liksang is more corporate than GBAX but that's very forgivable as they are likewise the online equivalent of a super-game-geek gone haywire. (how many more times do you think I could squeeze in the term "online equivalent")

seriously, I wish the zodiac the bets of luck but I'll always appreciate the GP32 more in that it's truly "by the fans, for the fans" - and Zodiac has a little bit more of that Business about it (with it's fancy billboards and ads in all the mags with "tony hawk + spy hunter" title screens). But good luck to them both, anyone going up against the Big Boys deserves credit for having some BALLS!!


(ps. just watch the big N stand up and take notice if there's a fullspeed/sound SNES emu running on the much higher-profile Zodiac, tripley so if it's a GBA emulator!! As opposed to their giving two shits about what the "measly" GP32 can do -- don't think Tapwave's not thought of it--)

 

[scottm]

Until they get the analog stick problem sorted out I'd stay well clear