Green Yoshi
Member
Pyra, the successor of Open Pandora:
http://www.pyra-handheld.com/fosdem/specs.html
http://www.pyra-handheld.com/fosdem/specs.html
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Best portable emulation machine??
- Thread starter FoxSpirit
- Start date
TheSlySoul
Member
Android phones are probably the cheapest option.
PSP second.
Shield is kind of expensive option, but it also works.
PSP second.
Shield is kind of expensive option, but it also works.
EhrgeizVII
Member
Third time I'm posting this but I still love my emulation setup. Runs most Dreamcast games to an extent. Using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 btw. Dat OLED! Also runs PSX games in high res OpenGL mode flawlessly (most games anyway, Tekken 3 is 1080p60).
The controller is amazing and costs like $15. Search eBay for the iPega 9025. It has clickable sticks and everything.
The controller is amazing and costs like $15. Search eBay for the iPega 9025. It has clickable sticks and everything.
SpecialAgentZ
Member
I'm rocking with my Tab Pro + Dualshock 3
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Yup.
Hoping ED will finish development for the Pyra soon. Can't wait for good portable DC emulation.
sechsterangriff
Member
I want to quote this one again. My HTC One has run everything I've thrown at it.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
I never really like that as an option for a "portable" though, given the bulk of the clip on, and having to worry about eating in to the battery when it's a phone.
I really love my PSP Go for emulation, but I agree with people here that the SNES emulation isn't good enough.
Mostly I use it for NES, Megadrive, Gameboy, etc. It's an excellent machine with great battery, great d-pad, and it is super compact. My only quibble is that the screen resolution is high but not high enough that it can comfortably display images at 2x size.
Mostly I use it for NES, Megadrive, Gameboy, etc. It's an excellent machine with great battery, great d-pad, and it is super compact. My only quibble is that the screen resolution is high but not high enough that it can comfortably display images at 2x size.
Retroarch. Takes a bit to configure but it's totally free and the imaging options are unmatched. Gives you near perfect O2, 2600, NES/FDS, SMS, 7800, TG16/CD, MD/CD/32X, SNES, PCFX, PSX, N64, GB/C, Lynx, GG, VB, NGP/C, WS/C, GBA, CPS1/2/3, NeoGeo and Sega S16/18/X/Y, as well as some specific game engines (Cave Story, SCUMM, Doom, Quake). And that's without messing with DOSBOX, MESS or MAME which add a ton more stuff. The next major update coming this year will also add Vectrex, MSX, SG1000, Coleco, Jaguar, 3DO and PSP! There's also a DS emulator but it's pretty bad.
Besides retroarch you really only need DraStic for DS ($5.99), Reicast for DC (free) and PPSSPP for PSP (free) but the last one is being added to retroarch soon. Dolphin for GC/Wii (free) is also making surprising progress on Android and is even semi-playable on some higher end devices already. There are also some Yabause emulator ports to Android for Saturn but nothing is really playable yet (I get 5-10 fps on Panzer Dragoon on my Shield) or sadly being worked on it seems. Hopefully Saturn and PS2 are the next targets for the Android community.
joeygreco1985
Member
CrunchyFrog
Member
If you want a portable for strictly "portable" emulation (GB, GBA, Wonderswan, Game Gear, NG Pocket, etc.) then nothing beats an OG DSLite with a slot 1 and 2 flashcart. Some minor scaling issues with GB since it's not the same aspect ratio, but I've been doing that for years.
EhrgeizVII
Member
I don't use RetroArch myself, but I figure it would because all my games and emulators work fine with the controller and I can edit the buttons in most of them.
Lord British
Member
PSP will do the same job with a lot less hassle, but the DS Lite is good for emulation, it's true.
zephervack
Member
The only PORTABLE console that does what OP wants in the GCW Zero.
The PSP barely runs SNES.
The DS barely runs SNES, worse than the PSP
The nVidia Shield IS NOT PORTABLE, trust me I own one.
Android phones with clips and Playstation DS3 are not portable.
Perfect SNES, GBA, GB(C), NES, etc emulation on a native 240p screen, no scaling and actually portable
Now, if your definition of portable is needing a backpack to carry your stuff, go with the nVidia shield.
If portable means being able to carry it in your jeans or coat go for the GCW Zero.
The PSP barely runs SNES.
The DS barely runs SNES, worse than the PSP
The nVidia Shield IS NOT PORTABLE, trust me I own one.
Android phones with clips and Playstation DS3 are not portable.
Perfect SNES, GBA, GB(C), NES, etc emulation on a native 240p screen, no scaling and actually portable
Now, if your definition of portable is needing a backpack to carry your stuff, go with the nVidia shield.
If portable means being able to carry it in your jeans or coat go for the GCW Zero.
bennywhatever
Member
I cannot believe how insanely easy and cheap it is to emulate now.
-Go to RadioShack.
-Buy LG Optimus Zone 2 for $30
-Buy a Bluetooth controller for $15
-Play a billion games.
-Go to RadioShack.
-Buy LG Optimus Zone 2 for $30
-Buy a Bluetooth controller for $15
-Play a billion games.
Lord British
Member
The only PORTABLE console that does what OP wants in the GCW Zero.
The PSP barely runs SNES.
The DS barely runs SNES, worse than the PSP
The nVidia Shield IS NOT PORTABLE, trust me I own one.
Android phones with clips and Playstation DS3 are not portable.
Perfect SNES, GBA, GB(C), NES, etc emulation on a native 240p screen, no scaling and actually portable
Now, if your definition of portable is needing a backpack to carry your stuff, go with the nVidia shield.
If portable means being able to carry it in your jeans or coat go for the GCW Zero.
Wow, this looks really cool. Great price, too. Any more info? Notable limitations?
Shitty d-pad, sticky buttons. There are fixes for all of that but out of the box GCWZero has awful controls. Build quality is cheap feeling in general really. Also buy the black unit as white can have light bleeds from the leds and screen due to the cheap plastic used.
It's also essentially capped to 16bit stuff as the ceiling. There's some limited PSX and 32X support but it's not really playable. It's great for SNES/MD/CPS2/Neo level stuff if that's as far as you want to go though.
WAR recon zero
Banned
You will look back when you cant run a SNES game without frameskips
zephervack
Member
Of course, nothing is perfect.
Its not exactly user friendly, updating the machine and putting roms in it can be daunting for someone that doesnt understand basic OS stuff like folder structures. If you know basic Windows stuff, its super easy.
You also have to keep up with their forums to make sure you always have the latest version of your favorite emulators. There is no app store, or a way to install stuff from within the os.
Also, some of its promised features havent come to life yet, not a big deal for me but I really want them to come through with them, specifically, TV-Out via HDMI.
As it supports USB controllers and TV-Out (eventually), you can convert it into a console when you are home.
Also the D-Pad is a bit shit, its not broken, it works but it doesnt feel as solid as something from Nintendo, you can mod it if you want though.
EhrgeizVII
Member
So to sum it up it has a low res screen, shitty d-pad, sticky buttons, isn't user friendly and can't play anything above 16-bit. Why would you recommend it to anyone?
If it really has to be portable, without clip-ons, something like this would be way better. It's Android too, so you can play those games on it aswell.
Granted, the quality of that machine isn't exactly high, but it can do alot more than the GCW Zero...
If it really has to be portable, without clip-ons, something like this would be way better. It's Android too, so you can play those games on it aswell.
Granted, the quality of that machine isn't exactly high, but it can do alot more than the GCW Zero...
Mihos
Gold Member
NVidia shield and shield tablet are fricken awesome... if it cant emulate it, stream it from your PC.
This actually works remarkably well also, especially considering the price.
http://www.jxdofficial.com/jxd-s7800b-7-inch-quad-core-game-console.html
I have the GPD consoles also, and they are better than the JXD 7300 and below... but the JXD 7800 has been the best for me in every way (except for the stupid charging solution)
This actually works remarkably well also, especially considering the price.
http://www.jxdofficial.com/jxd-s7800b-7-inch-quad-core-game-console.html
I have the GPD consoles also, and they are better than the JXD 7300 and below... but the JXD 7800 has been the best for me in every way (except for the stupid charging solution)
Mihos
Gold Member
This is a good system also. It does Sega CD better than any other emu system I own, and I collect them.
bad news is, if it doesn't do it now, it never will... the development is pretty much dead on the Zero (pun intended). The analog stick is just for show... it does nothing. There are also other things they included that they never wrote drivers for... so they are just for show also... even the ones they did fix, like rumble and tilt don't have any uses. It also uses weird button combos for simple things like volume and turing the system off on etc... it also locks up frequently if you move between emulators often. At least they fixed most of the corrupt save issues.
ThatsMytrunks
Member
Beaten. I will argue against the "more expensive" quote. It comes with 16 gigs built in, making it cheaper than a new Vita already.
ThatsMytrunks
Member
The PSP Go is great, but you don't get incredibly accurate emulation, and the analog stick (if you call it that) is awful. Not a big fan of the start/select circle, but that's hardly a complaint.
Not to mention you have to mod the damn thing to get it to do emulation.
sörine;137605060 said:
This. Don't need to pay for emulators when you can have retroarch. Plus the others mentioned above.
zephervack
Member
Whats the best site for GCW Zero emu programs, firmware updates, and all that jazz? and tutorials if necessary.
I have a GCW and barely messed with it
http://www.gcw-zero.com/downloads
Wow this looks awesome! Will I be able to install Steam for Linux on this? I have tons of indie games that shouldn't take much horsepower to run, and I have been looking for something like a Steam Vita to play them on. This may do the trick.
Thanks for the link.
Android phone paired with a Moga Pro.
Tons of highly compatible emulators always getting updated, many of which are even programmed for the Moga - just turn on and play, no messing with settings. I have it paired with a Galaxy Note and it's great. Controller is excellent quality too.
PSP was a cool pick 4+ years ago. Anyone still recommending it is out of their mind.
Tons of highly compatible emulators always getting updated, many of which are even programmed for the Moga - just turn on and play, no messing with settings. I have it paired with a Galaxy Note and it's great. Controller is excellent quality too.
PSP was a cool pick 4+ years ago. Anyone still recommending it is out of their mind.
The only PORTABLE console that does what OP wants in the GCW Zero.
The PSP barely runs SNES.
The DS barely runs SNES, worse than the PSP
The nVidia Shield IS NOT PORTABLE, trust me I own one.
Android phones with clips and Playstation DS3 are not portable.
Perfect SNES, GBA, GB(C), NES, etc emulation on a native 240p screen, no scaling and actually portable
Now, if your definition of portable is needing a backpack to carry your stuff, go with the nVidia shield.
If portable means being able to carry it in your jeans or coat go for the GCW Zero.
Sounds fun, only thing I don't like on it is the placement of the Y/X buttons.
Can it run PSX games? That would pretty much be the sweet spot for me.
LaunchpadMcQ
Banned
I'm rocking the PSP Go for the same exact reason, OP. It's light, fits in my pocket without making me look like a doofus, and emulates perfectly.
Just impulse bought a JXD S7800b on a whim. I've been watching a couple of videos of it and it seems like a decent all-around retro emulator tablet with buttons and two joysticks. I even saw videos of it running Dreamcast games, which is even more than what I was asking for.
I have a 2nd gen Nexus 7 but I'll give it to my mother for Christmas, it was cool to play with a controller plugged in via an OTG cable but I think the S7800b is way more convenient for what I'm looking for.
I'll come back with a little review of it when I'll receive it.
I have a 2nd gen Nexus 7 but I'll give it to my mother for Christmas, it was cool to play with a controller plugged in via an OTG cable but I think the S7800b is way more convenient for what I'm looking for.
I'll come back with a little review of it when I'll receive it.
Blue Submarine No. 6
Member
Just impulse bought a JXD S7800b on a whim. I've been watching a couple of videos of it and it seems like a decent all-around retro emulator tablet with buttons and two joysticks. I even saw videos of it running Dreamcast games, which is even more than what I was asking for.
I have a 2nd gen Nexus 7 but I'll give it to my mother for Christmas, it was cool to play with a controller plugged in via an OTG cable but I think the S7800b is way more convenient for what I'm looking for.
I'll come back with a little review of it when I'll receive it.
Please do. I've been interested in something like this for a while now...
I really like my GCW Zero, but I'm only using it for 16-bit and earlier stuff... It's great for travelling though with decent battery life and great performance for Genesis, SNES and TG16 stuff... The D-Pad is shit, but it's better than that wretched analog stick on my GP2X which is what it replaced.
I picked up a second OLED Vita recently and briefly toyed with the idea of exploiting it but decided against it after a little research... I've got a PSP3K and a PSPgo with 6.60Pro on them that can run anything I could with an exploited Vita - what's the point?
I'd love to try an Nvidia Shield but I haven't even seen one yet except in pictures.