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Educate me on "obscure" pocket / portable / handheld gaming devices.

Orteip490

Member
When I was a kid, i won a tiger-like game machine, from coupons found in the 'Fruttolo', a italian yoghurt.

Only found this image:
$_35.JPG
 

Krejlooc

Banned
Oh man that GP32 website linked earlier is flooding my memories. I had forgotten about the port of Pinball dreams, that was an absolutely incredible port. Played exactly like the Amiga original, I remember spending hours playing that in between my college classes. They have a ton of demos for commercial games that I haven't played in years. I definitely remember visiting this site when it was alive and kicking.

EDIT: I remember bloody cross being a HUGE game for the GP32. As in, file size. Really good animation.
 

TUSR

Banned
That iBen looks like some hot shit. It's a bit too large but the idea behind it was good.

we made it to page 2 without someone saying Vita :')
 
I had a QD, no more side talking and a bigger screen.
The games were kinda fun too. I never regretted getting one.
Someone stole it from me though :'(
There's something about the N-Gage QD's design I really like, whereas the original N-Gage's design looks horrible to me. I picked up my QD for £10 brand new and sealed on clearance. I think maybe it was a price error because that's silly cheap even for a failed handheld.

Good little handheld with probably more games and short-lived third party support than most expect.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
There's something about the N-Gage QD's design I really like, whereas the original N-Gage's design looks horrible to me. I picked up my QD for £10 brand new and sealed on clearance. I think maybe it was a price error because that's silly cheap even for a failed handheld.

Good little handheld with probably more games and short-lived third party support than most expect.

Thats how I picked up my QD, when everything was being liquidated from EB Games for dirt cheap. Picked up virtually every game released in stores that way and really got into the system. That lead me to finding the online-only games which are the best hidden gems on the thing.

I much later got the Taco model can everything about it is pretty bad. I think the old model looked outdated upon launch, that grey and silver design was so tacky.
 

creyas

Member
Yeah lol I still laugh at how the mic was on the top of the device, meaning people had to use their phone like this:
I had one of those and used it for a couple of years. The side talking was dumb but Tony Hawk and a few other games were fairly competent for the time.
I had a QD, no more side talking

7633.png


Sidetalking wasn't necessary, you could make calls fine without it. Nobody i knew did it with theirs.

Pretty sad mine got the WSOD.
 
The N-gage was a good phone/gaming hybrid for its time. Phone gaming wasn't much more advanced than Freecell, so it was great to get actual games to play. It even had a Genesis emulator! The taco version also had a good MP3/media player. For all the ridiculousness of side-talking, the N-gage was the only phone I'd had until then that I could put to my ear and hear perfectly without any adjustment.

I had both the taco and QD versions. I sent them along to a couple of GAFers who expressed interest.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
7633.png


Sidetalking was completely unnecessary, you could make calls fine without it. Nobody i knew did it with theirs.

Pretty sad mine got the WSOD.

Sidetalking was the least of the original model's problems. The ergonomics of the thing is pretty bad, but the worst part is having to remove the back plate and battery to change games.

Even ignoring the side talking jive, the QD was a big improvement in virtually every way, save no hardware radio support and dropping the built-in real player playback (although an app exists).

One thing I hate about the QD is how you need an adapter to plug in headphones because it's a slightly smaller jack, and how both models lack volume buttons, so turning down the volume varies from game to game (some use the number buttons, some make you dig through menus, some lack the option all together and rely on the system's volume setting).

EDIT: And if sidetalking was real, and a huge problem, you could get around it by using a headset.
 

Qwark

Member
I wouldn't say the partnership collapsed... Sony bought them. I think it's pretty well assumed that whatever tech they had got rolled in with the PSP.

Ericsson Red Jade 64 bit portable

(Unfinished prototype shown below)

200211110052_230680.jpg


Supposed to launch in 2001 with GPS, PDA, digital camera, mp3, and wireless internet capabilities.

Never launched after a rumored parternship with Sony collapsed.

Edit: Er, I guess they only bought part of Ericsson, apparently Ericsson still exists on it's own, who knew?
 

Aesnath

Member
I actually won an N-gage QD from some kind of give-away on Adult Swim when they were launching. I actually really liked it, more as a phone than a game machine. It got washed and that was the end of it.

I can remember playing some alien FPS quite a bit.

As for other systems, I had a NeoGeo pocket color and it had some cool exclusives. I remember buying the SNK vs. Capcom card battler on a whim and really liking it at the time.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
I actually won an N-gage QD from some kind of give-away on Adult Swim when they were launching. I actually really liked it, more as a phone than a game machine. It got washed and that was the end of it.

I can remember playing some alien FPS quite a bit.

Ashen? The abundance of buttons was actually a blessing on the N-Gage for games like that, as you could set up dual d-pad controls that felt pretty good. That's how I played Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

As for other systems, I had a NeoGeo pocket color and it had some cool exclusives. I remember buying the SNK vs. Capcom card battler on a whim and really liking it at the time.

I love my NGPC. Sonic Pocket Adventure and Match of the Millenium are two of the best portable games around on any system.
 

openrob

Member
I know it wasn't 'obscure' as such, but I knew no one else that owned an Atari Lynx.

Atari-Lynx-I-Handheld.jpg


I had 2. One that is tattered, has been painted and covered in sonic stickers and when the plastic screen broke, replaced with one cut off of a game gear and Frankensteined on.
Then I had one that was clean and pristeen.

I had a carry case and a battery pack.

I lent the nice one, with games and accessories to a friend when he went to the army. I never saw it again. Will post a pic later of the one I kept.

Though can anyone shed light on why I saw boxes for Atari Lynx in GAME stores like 5 years ago. Never enquired and found out about it :/
 

Krejlooc

Banned
I know it wasn't 'obscure' as such, but I knew no one else that owned an Atari Lynx.

Atari-Lynx-I-Handheld.jpg


I had 2. One that is tattered, has been painted and covered in sonic stickers and when the plastic screen broke, replaced with one cut off of a game gear and Frankensteined on.
Then I had one that was clean and pristeen.

I had a carry case and a battery pack.

I lent the nice one, with games and accessories to a friend when he went to the army. I never saw it again. Will post a pic later of the one I kept.

Though can anyone shed light on why I saw boxes for Atari Lynx in GAME stores like 5 years ago. Never enquired and found out about it :/

I have an Atari Lynx II, pretty cool handheld. It's got an awesome port of Stun RUNNER and the unreleased version of Alien Vs Predator is actually awesome, I like it more than the Jaguar version.

No clue why you'd see boxed Lynxes recently. But, funnily enough, there is a project to build a FPGA TV-out board for atari lynxes over at AtariAge that is just about ready for release. That means it'll be possible to build Atari Lynx consoles in the very near future.
 
I know it's not obscure, but the Turbo Express Portable was my favorite portable system. I just wish it didn't destroy batteries like it did.
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
Pretty cool stuff in this thread that I had never even seen before!

I collect obscure handhelds. Here is an outdated picture of my collection, so feel free to ask me anything about them:

What's your favorite device? Excluding Sony/Nintendo/Sega.
 

Aesnath

Member
Ashen? The abundance of buttons was actually a blessing on the N-Gage for games like that, as you could set up dual d-pad controls that felt pretty good. That's how I played Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.



I love my NGPC. Sonic Pocket Adventure and Match of the Millenium are two of the best portable games around on any system.

Yup, Ashen, that was it! I was actually really impressed by it at the time. And I agree about the extra buttons being helpful in terms of setting up configurations.
 

krae_man

Member
I collect obscure handhelds. Here is an outdated picture of my collection, so feel free to ask me anything about them:

800px-Sammlung.jpg

Why do you have 2 GP32s'?

Looks like the only things you have that I don't are the Game Kings and whatever is below one of your Neo Geo Pockets(It it just some random chinese thing?). Oh and I don't own whatever is on the top left either. Pic of my stuff when I get home. Haven't taken a pic in a long while.

Anyway, OP wants Edumuncation.

Behold the first legit cartridge based game system:

The Epoch Game Pocket Computer
DSCN3032.jpg


Sure it was preceded by the Microvision and the Palmtex PVS/Super Micro, but the Microvision had membrane buttons on the cartridges and a oh god, I'm blanking one of those Arkanoid controller thingies :lol.
9rnLj8q.jpg


The Palmtex PVS had membrane buttons and the screen was part of the cartridge.
JCqJgAe.jpg


Anyway, back to the Epoch Game Pocket Computer. It came out in Japan in 1984. As you can see it has a D-Pad and 4 action buttons and true cartridges. So it was in every way what we consider a handheld gaming system. It had a 75x64 pixel resolution with two shades of grey(although programming tricks could allow 3).

Only 5 games were ever made for it (above) Mahjong, Store Keepers(officially licensed Sokoban game), Reversi(board game), Block Maze(a simple puzzle game) and Astro Bomber(a Scramble clone).

Depending on what you consider the Adventurevision, Astro bomber was probably the first ever portable game with scrolling. It even has boses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe32M4Y4uKM
(Skip to 5:20 for the boss fight)

Unfortunately it doesn't have levels and a final boss. The level just repeats getting harder and harder(Level 1 is just a difficulty level and nothing more. It has two difficulty levels: Level 1 and Level 2).

Another neat think you will notice is that the cartridge slot is clear which allows you to see the game title. Instructions on how to play the game are also printed on the cartridge label.
 

Ocaso

Member
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tapwave Zodiac yet.

Tapwave_Zodiac2_640.jpg


I needed a PDA for work and bought this one a few months before it was discontinued. It was a very sleek product that was actually priced comparably to similarly capable PDAs of its time. Had it been marketed as a PDA for game enthusiasts rather than a handheld console I think it might have found a niche, though given how similar Sony phones have fared maybe not. Still, this was actually a great device which served me well for years after it's company caved.
 
Pretty cool stuff in this thread that I had never even seen before!
What's your favorite device? Excluding Sony/Nintendo/Sega.

The N-Gage was fantastic back in the days - it was a smartphone before smartphones were common and was also a great gaming device.

Is that a GameBoy Light in your picture? I've been thinking about buying one recently.

The GBL is a great device and it's a shame that it never got a release in the west. If you want to play old GB games, it's the way to go. The screen is awesome and it doesn't color your games in like the GBC and GBA are doing - so you'll get the "pure" GB feeling.

Why do you have 2 GP32s'?

Looks like the only things you have that I don't are the Game Kings and whatever is below one of your Neo Geo Pockets(It it just some random chinese thing?). Oh and I don't own whatever is on the top left either.

One GP32 has the frontlight screen, the other is unlit. The three units below the NGPC are OneStations, pretty crappy chinese handhelds with some original games.
 

Celine

Member
Bandai WonderSwan (and iterations of which the Swan Crystal is by far the best)

Bandai_swancrystal_rose.jpg


It was the best selling non-Nintendo dedicated handheld in Japan until PSP dethroned it.
The system was supported by a broad array of japanese third-parties:
Squaresoft, Namco, Capcom, Konami, Taito,Sammy and even hardware manufacturer like Sega, Sony and somewhat even Nintendo (HAL developed a puzzle game for it).

Being Bandai the manufacturer the WonderSwan got a vast amount of anime games like Gundam, Saint Seiya, Dragon Ball, Hunter x Hunter, Detective Conan, Digimon, Naruto, One Piece, Inuyasha, Shaman King, X and much more.

As far as capabilities goes the WS could produce FMV and MP3 quality music although the rom space constraints (u to 16MB) prevent to use them in spades.
Graphically it can be considered a SNES-lite and the best efforts like Final Fantasy, Front Misison, Riviera, One Piece Swan Colosseum etc. could easily be mistaken for GBA games.
Too bad the sound was Game Boy like.

swjbanc29shots.jpg


As far as rhythm games the WS got a version of beatmania by Konami which was leaps better than the GBC version.
Give a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVcwad2th_M

Also Nano on sha (Parappa the rapper, Vib Ribbon) developed an exclusive for WS:
Rhyme Rider Kerorican.

swjbanc01shots.jpg
 

krae_man

Member
Sticky Balls was really that good, huh?

Best game intro ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSSGvOV5bt8

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tapwave Zodiac yet.

Tapwave_Zodiac2_640.jpg


I needed a PDA for work and bought this one a few months before it was discontinued. It was a very sleek product that was actually priced comparably to similarly capable PDAs of its time. Had it been marketed as a PDA for game enthusiasts rather than a handheld console I think it might have found a niche, though given how similar Sony phones have fared maybe not. Still, this was actually a great device which served me well for years after it's company caved.

The batteries for this and my Gizmondo don't hold a charge anymore and you can't replace them unless you do some Frankenstein shit to specific cellphone batteries that is not within my capabilities.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tapwave Zodiac yet.

Tapwave_Zodiac2_640.jpg


I needed a PDA for work and bought this one a few months before it was discontinued. It was a very sleek product that was actually priced comparably to similarly capable PDAs of its time. Had it been marketed as a PDA for game enthusiasts rather than a handheld console I think it might have found a niche, though given how similar Sony phones have fared maybe not. Still, this was actually a great device which served me well for years after it's company caved.

I have one of these with Spy Hunter and Doom II. It also had a really good homebrew community that overlapped quite a bit with the GP32, at least in the early days.
 
pryL3Nk.jpg


I had one of these :|

Oh man, I had one as well. I think I had the first model (I believe they actually made 2 different models!) and it was truly awful! I got rid of that thing, but I actually found a Virtua Fighter 2 Cartridge in my closet recently.

That "game com active" still haunts me...


I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tapwave Zodiac yet.

Tapwave_Zodiac2_640.jpg


I needed a PDA for work and bought this one a few months before it was discontinued. It was a very sleek product that was actually priced comparably to similarly capable PDAs of its time. Had it been marketed as a PDA for game enthusiasts rather than a handheld console I think it might have found a niche, though given how similar Sony phones have fared maybe not. Still, this was actually a great device which served me well for years after it's company caved.

I wanted one of these so bad at the time. I remember wanting to play Stuntcar Extreme so badly.
 

Nikodemos

Member
The N-Gage was fantastic back in the days - it was a smartphone before smartphones were common and was also a great gaming device.
An excellent for its time phone/console hybrid ruined by some epically shittacular ergonomics.


Sony's xperia play has to count in this lol. It had so much potential, though mine became purely an emulator machine.
I managed to see/meet one person who owns one. It's his emulator machine.
 
Got a gp32 also. I've been trolling eBay for awhile trying to find one that isn't grossly overpriced and managed to get a nonlit version. You can install a custom firmware on it that makes browsing and loading things easier than the default one. No need for the transfer cable if you have a card reader.

I'm still looking for a backlit version though.
 

GuyKazama

Member
I recently discovered that Philips made portable versions of the CD-i. Now I'm not sure I can live without one.

vzAtM17.jpg
 

krae_man

Member
I recently discovered that Philips made portable versions of the CD-i. Now I'm not sure I can live without one.

vzAtM17.jpg

You're going to have to live without a crap load of money then.

I want one too

That and a Koei Pasogo are on the top of my want list right now. The Portable CDi's pop up frequently enough they are just expensive as fuck. The Koei Pasogo is impossible to find.
 

CTLance

Member
Two GP32's? I'm guessing one BLU and one v1?

Man, I even bought the wireless dongle for that lovely handheld. Never got to use it though because nobody I knew had one as well. Sigh.

Shame it got curbstomped by the GBA quite THAT thoroughly.
 

Krejlooc

Banned
Two GP32's? I'm guessing one BLU and one v1?

Man, I even bought the wireless dongle for that lovely handheld. Never got to use it though because nobody I knew had one as well. Sigh.

Shame it got curbstomped by the GBA quite THAT thoroughly.

I wouldn't say it got curbstomped per say. They honestly were entirely different markets.
 

friz898

Member
I love handhelds.

I had a Lynx.

I almost bought a Pandora but didnt due to all the problems with actually receiving product etc.

I almost bought a Sony UX micro-pc but I was late to that party.


I always wanted a portable mmo device. It looks like tablets are almost getting there. Meanwhile items like the Shield and Vita (both through remote play) are making my niche dream a reality.
 

onken

Member
I have an openpandora (CC version, aka the first one). Seriously obscure, there's like 7000 of these things worldwide.



They have a stepmania port, if that helps. Not big on that particular genre.

Lol I nearly bought one of these!
 

krae_man

Member
Okay handheld education time:


Right to left top to bottom(more or less

1)Virtual Boy-Released by Nintendo in 1995. Sold terribly caused eye strain. Had some kick ass games though
2) Atari Lynx-Released in 1989. First ever color handheld game system. Some cool games mostly generic filler
3)Gamate- Gameboy clone from the mid 90's. Games are mostly crap
4)Nintendo DSNintendo's previous handheld. Released in 2004. Best selling haldheld of all time
5)Atari Lynx version 2 Smaller Lynx, but not by much
6) Nintendo DSi XL Nintendo DSi with a larger screen
7) Nintendo 3DS Nintendo's current handheld system
8) Pokemon Mini Released in 2001, Smallest handheld system with Interchangable cartridge
9) Nintendo DSi Nintendo DS with a camera and internal memory for apps and downloadable games
10) Nintendo DS lite Smaller lighter Nintendo DS
11) Tapwave Zodiac Released in 2003 PDA with gaming in mind. Touch screen some cool games like Doom 2 and Duke Nukem
12) Nintendo 3DS XL Nintendo 3DS with a larger more awesome screen
13) GP32 Open Source handheld that came out in 2001. Designed with emulation in mind. GBA level specs, used SmartMedia cards
14) GBA SP Gba with a Rechargeable battery and a backlit screen.
15) PSP Go Sony PSP with 16gb internal memory. No UMD Slot, double the ram allowed cool features like suspending games
16) Wonderswan Gameboy competetor came out in 1999 in Japan only by Bandai. Designed by Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi after he left Nintendo after the Virtual Boy disaster(conflicting reports of if he was fired or wanted to leave on his own anyway)
17) Nokia N-Gage Side talking taco edition Released in 2003. First attempt at a gaming focused cellphone. games controlled like crap.
18)GP2X Caanoo Last in the line of Gamepark Emu systems. Came out in 2011. Bout twice as powerfull as a PSP. Had it's own online marketplace to buy games from as well as being open source for emulation. Failed so hard Gamepark went out of business
19) Game.com v 2.0 Smaller lighter Game.com. Only one cartridge slot. Backlit screen
20) GBA SP Final revision of the GBA. Packing awesome in a tinyer space is just not possible
21) Wonderswan Color(in this case FF1 limited edition)- Gameboy color competitor. Released in 2000. Final Fantasy I, II and IV were released for it(III was planned but never released). A direct result the N64 having cartridges and Square and Nintendo's falling out.
22) Swancrystal Wonderswan Color with a super sexy backlit LCD screen
23) @games handheld-Officially Licensed handheld with a couple Dozen Genesis games
24) Nintendo 2DS Nintendo 3DS minus the 3d.
25) GP2X Followup to the GP32. Similar specs to the PSP/DS gen. Designed specifically for Emulation. Came out in 2005

Two more parts to go.
 

openrob

Member
As promised, here is my Lynx

img_20140623_235634ugjfn.jpg


img_20140623_235549lwsjj.jpg



First time pulling it out for years. Not sure it still works though, I whacked some batteries in and got no response, but it has no game in.
 

krae_man

Member
Part 2:


1) Neo Geo X Gold Officially Licensed handheld that plays Neo Geo Roms. Released in 2012. SD cards with additional roms can be purchased
2) Cougar Boy exact same as Mega Duck. Released in Brazil
3) Mega Duck Gameboy competetor releaed in 1993. Games are kind of crappy
4) Game.com Tigers attempt at a proper game console. Had two cartridge slots, Released in 1997, had a moden to connect to a text only internet. Internal Solitaire game, Had some terrible ports of games like Sonic Jam, Fighters Megamix, Resident Evil 2. Supposedly a port of Castlevania SOTN was in development.
5) Epoch Game Pocket Computer: Came out in 1984, first legit handheld with interchangable cartridges. See my above post for more info
6)Gameboy Advance Follow up to the gameboy color. Came out in 2001. Awesome games, terrible screen
7)GCW Zero-Kickstarted emulation focused open source handheld. Kickstarter was funded 18 months ago and the creator has still not shipped all units. Decent amount of emulators and ability.
8) Sega Nomad Portable Genesis released in 1995. Not compatable with Sega CD, 32X or Power Base converter. but handheld blast processing!
9) Game Gear Sega's first handheld released in 1990. Basically a portable Master System. had awesome games but eats batteries like a mofo.
10) Samsung Galaxy Tab 2- Android tablet gaming!
11) Microvision-Released in 1979. First ever handheld game system with interchangeable cartridges. 16x16 resolution. Breakout game is ridiculously hard.
12) Watara Supervision Gameboy Competitor from 1992. Neck bends
13) Watara Supervision redesign Now even more of a gameboy ripoff!
14) Turbo Express Portable Turbo Grafx 16. Color screen, TV Turner, portable Bomberman 94
15)PSP 2000- Slimmer and lighter PSP
16) PSP 1000 Playstation's first true portable(sorry pocketstation). Released in 2004
17) GP2X Wiz Gamepark's third handheld after the GP32 and GP2X. About twice as powerfull as the GP2X(approx 533mhz processor). Has a touch screen. Came out in 2009
18) I don't remember Some random cheap chinese handheld. Guts are GBA like
19) Neo Geo Pocket Gameboy competetor from 1998. Has awesome clicky stick great for fighting games
20)Dingoo Open Source emulation handheld from 2009. Similar specs to the Gamepark systems

On to Part 3.
 

krae_man

Member
Final Part:


1) Gizmondo-PSP Competetor from 2005. Made by Tiger Telemetics which was previously a carpet company. Whole thing was apparently a giant scheme to rip off investors. Originally was going to have two models, one add supported for a reduced cost. First handheld with a camera, had GPS, Video, music playback and MMS capabilities.
2)Neo Geo Pocket Color Color revision of the Neo Geo Pocket. Came out in 1999.
3) FC 16 Go Portable that plays SNES Cartridges. Super Game Boy compatible if you ever want to play Pokemon on the go
4) Gameboy Pocket Slimmer, lighter, better battery life then the OG Game Boy
5) Gameboy Light OG Gameboy with a backlit screen. Came out in 1998 in Japan only. Seriously awesome
6) Simpsons LCD Game- Simpsons LCD Game
7) Simpsons LCD Game- Simpsons LCD Game
8) FC Mobile Handheld that plays NES Cartridges
9) Game Boy Nintendo's first handheld. Released in 1989. Revolutionized handheld gaming.
10) Game Boy Color Released in 1998. Gameboy with a color screen
11) Simpsons LCD Game- Simpsons LCD Game
12) Palmtex PVS/Super Micro Released in 1983. Shown off at a CES a year or two before. Company went bankrupt before release. Another company bought inventory already created and released it. Only 3 known games for it. Cartridges had pre drawn sprites(think tiger handheld games) System had a light box that would shine through the cartridge and would "turn on" all pixels except for the ones that were to be used, thus the light would only go through specific pixels "lighting" them up.
13) Simpsons LCD Game- Simpsons LCD Game
14) Game and Watch Ball 1200 coins via Club Nintendo. Remake of Nintendo's first game and watch game
13) Game Wizard Some random LCD thing.

Done!

Any questions ask away!
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Impressive collection! I see game boy lights here sometimes but I don't think I've ever seen one on. Curious as to what the screen is like in person.
 

Raonak

Banned
I really wanted a Pocketstation for FF8. There were like 3 exclusive summons, and a few exclusive items that could only be obtained from it. It was the pokewalker before a pokewalker existed.
 
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