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[ElectricThunder]

Definitely a worthy topic, and rather interesting in terms of how the handheld tech at the relative fringes like this leapfrogged out the established tech trends at the time. I only ever ran into the odd bits of articles in gaming mags on the gp32 at the time, but after the fact the saga definitely got interesting. Rather odd/unfortunate that the disruptive rise of smart phones/mobile would wind up having such a homogenizing effect on the handheld scene with now only Sony and Nintendo still at it, and even then only hewing towards a more classical approach.

That, and hoping future attempts at similar gambits can learn from the missteps and fare better, like the upcoming Pyra which is just about the only modern day peer that comes to mind

http://www.pyra-handheld.com/specs.html

 

[Dash Kappei]

you've really done it justice with your funsaver photo, wall of text, and couple screens of clearly low-rent games

You had something to rip NES games with in 2001? Neat.

You two must be fun to be around with, you should exchange PMs and make a new forum exclusively for yourselves.

Also, you're aware some of us are adults around here right? I had a magicom to rip my Super Famicom/Super NES/Super Nintendo games (only up to 8Mb, then I upgraded to newer models like the Doctor) back in 1991 already. So ten years before.

Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but just not acting like a smart-ass will do in most cases.

 

[Stereogatari]

Never heard of the Gamepark 32? I thought NeoGaf was legit.

My reaction too. I guess there are a lot of youngins that have an excuse.

Nowadays with Android and such there isn't really a market for Gamepark 32 like devices, but at the time it was a rare way to emulate games on the go.

I'd say the Nvidia Shield is the modern day version of what Gamepark 32 was in its time.

 

[Vinegar Joe]

Yeah, can't say this is my favourite handheld (that would be the NGPC), but I do have very fond memories of this and the GP2X. Yes it was primarily a handheld emulation machine, but back then it was a marvel to have all those systems in the palm of your hand, plus the ability to play movies and homebrew games.

Really good community built around the thing too that gave it support well beyond its natural lifespan.

 

[djtiesto]

My only memory of this system is reading a huge Insert Credit article about it in mid 2004, when I first got started at my previous job and waiting around for work to get assigned to me. Was thinking of getting one, especially for Astonisha Story R (which apparently sucks according to those who've played the PSP version) but then the DS and PSP came out and put a stop to that idea.

 

[Lonely1]

Definitely a worthy topic, and rather interesting in terms of how the handheld tech at the relative fringes like this leapfrogged out the established tech trends at the time. I only ever ran into the odd bits of articles in gaming mags on the gp32 at the time, but after the fact the saga definitely got interesting. Rather odd/unfortunate that the disruptive rise of smart phones/mobile would wind up having such a homogenizing effect on the handheld scene with now only Sony and Nintendo still at it, and even then only hewing towards a more classical approach.

That, and hoping future attempts at similar gambits can learn from the missteps and fare better, like the upcoming Pyra which is just about the only modern day peer that comes to mind

http://www.pyra-handheld.com/specs.html

There's the Shield. I lost a lot of confidence with such indie projects since I got burned with the Open Pandora... :S

 

[Phediuk]

I remember some people being absolute diehard fans of the GP32 back around 2002. Never actually saw one myself.

 

[GamerJM]

This is pretty neat, the most I knew about this system was just my memory of seeing it in lists of video game platforms, never had any idea what it was.

 

[Renpatsu]

I had a PSP and grew up learning of and tinkering with that homebrew scene so when I did some more research into less restrictive homebrew consoles I found myself yearning for the GP32 along with the Pandora with it's sub-notebook features and being vaguely reminiscent of the DS Lite at the time.

 

[dallow_bg]

Surprised few remember this.

 

[Cynn]

I met the Gamepark guys at E3 before the GP32 was released and they gave me a bunch of printed info and brochures for it. I need to dig those up and scan them for preservation sake.

 

[Krejlooc]

I met the Gamepark guys at E3 before the GP32 was released and they gave me a bunch of printed info and brochures for it. I need to dig those up and scan them for preservation sake.

any chance you could get around to this sometime? I'd love to see their promotional material.

 

[Brhoom]

Sorry for the bump, but your post on the favourite failed system caught my eye.

Its screen was 320×240 meaning pixel perfect emulation.

Weird I never heard of it before you mentioned it, will look into it more, care to post your collection just so we could see what the games looked like.

 

[Who]

Cool read!

Man Id consider myself a hardcore videogame enthusiast for about 10+ years now, but I'm still learning about things I never even knew existed.

 

[TriAceJP]

I had one of these, and never did I once hear it be called the GamePark 32. I learn something new every day.

You had something to rip NES games with in 2001? Neat.

I seriously believe when people say this, they are being sarcastic. No real person actually cares how people played their NES games in 2001 (or now, for that matter).

And yes, I could dump ROMs since the 90's.

 

[Harp]

Consoles that let you play games for free and illegal usually are pretty popular. But I am sure you guys just played roms of games you already owned.

 

[NewFresh]

Consoles that let you play games for free and illegal usually are pretty popular. But I am sure you guys just played roms of games you already owned.

In what world was the GP32 "Pretty Popular"?

 

[Celine]

To me it's mostly an emulation machine which isn't a great compliment when I think of a system.

 

[Gr8one]

To me it's mostly an emulation machine which isn't a great compliment when I think of a system.

The GP32 was much more than a emulation machine. For fans of homebrew games it was revolutionary. There was nothing like it at the time. I honestly love my GP32 and the GP2X (including the F200 wonky controls and all) and the dev scene was incredible. There was always new stuff coming out every day. It fills a niche that other handhelds couldn't touch even into the PSP homebrew scene as GP32X (RIP), a popular forum for devs and users, was a great community. It was definitely a niche device and homebrew is not for everyone.

Obviously there are some issues with the legality of roms and emulators, but emulation was a byproduct of the open nature of the GP32 itself. For the coders porting and optimizing emulators and open source games it was a challenge and getting the most out the GP32 was an achievement. Also in context this was the early 2000s and well before Nintendo brought out the Virtual Console and Sony had PS classics. You couldn't buy your favorite classics like you can now on a Vita or 3DS. This was way before the Chinese Android handhelds like the JXDs and GPDs and which are clearly emulation machines with ROM piracy apps built in and have very little to do with homebrew and the spirit of the Gamepark systems and community.

Glad this thread was bumped as it brings back some serious nostalgia.

 

[BigDes]

Consoles that let you play games for free and illegal usually are pretty popular. But I am sure you guys just played roms of games you already owned.

Nice shitpost.

What us it with people on this board trying to get people banned all the time?

I never had on of these but I got the machine that came after it. It was pretty neato.

 

[flak57]

Consoles that let you play games for free and illegal usually are pretty popular. But I am sure you guys just played roms of games you already owned.

Sounds like most popular systems and probably what you are typing on too. Are you projecting?

 

[Dynomutt]

Tapwave Zodiac.

 

[CTLance]

I have a non-BLU GP32 that doesn't overclock all that well, but I love it all the same.

It was just ridiculous seeing a GBA and a GP32 side by side. That piddly screen, tinny mono sound, and sad amont of accessible buttons. Plus, those huge cartridges. So clunky and huge. The cards for the GP32 were practically paper thin.

And fuck off to the guy that insinuated we used our GP32 for pirated ROMs. Sure, there wasn't a huge amount of commercial games available, but some of them were seriously awesome. And the homebrew scene went ino overdrive. There was so much cool stuff on the system.

 

[levelplane]

These are really cool. Didn't really have access to get one at the time, being a kid and all.
Later on, owned a GP2X for a while, but the joystick broke. Currently own a Caanoo. Though, don't use it much.

 

[PaulExcellent]

What a great bump.
As a kid, I always saw these cool systems in magazines and the internet, but living in Panama meant I had to skip all of them.
It's pretty rad seeing more about them after so long.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

I have to agree with the OP.I have the blu gp32 when virgin here in spain distributed the consoles to the game stores like 12 or 13 years ago.I have to say i spent a lot of time in this console and the scene was awesome back in the day.

Great days in gp32spain.