Gamebox console?

[PSony]

Just came across this thing:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.54070

It's an emulation machine that claims to support CPS1/CPS2/CPS3/MAME/MVS. Is there any more information on this?

[StealthLurker]

Sounds like it just came out today/yesterday?

http://www.dealextreme.com/forums/Forums.dx/Forum.54070~threadid.797786

Oh well, ordered one! Haha

Plan to use it on an old CRT TV in the garage. Here's to hoping that it works alright...
By looking at their website, looks like the same specs as their multi-game JAMMA board. I hear CPS2 emulation is pretty good on those, not so much with CPS3.

http://www.gamebox.hk/Features.htm

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[betamax001]

Hmmm this device looks pretty cool. It also looks like the controller connects via USB, so perhaps I could use my fancy HRAP3 arcade stick with it.

[MachineGex]

That thing looks amazing. Please let us know how it works. I am not up to date on arcade stuff, but I want this thing(if it is what I think it is).

[buzz_n64]

One thing that might be a problem- "1 * 100~240V AC adapter (EU plug)"
Will a standard universal a/c adapter work, or a converter? Heard that a simple plug adapter is all that is needed, then I'm fine.

Yes, please let use know how well it runs, and what additional accessories would be required and be able to use on this thing. My main goal is it run Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (Sega System-18 hardware) as accurately as possible.

[Kitsune Sniper]

MAME?

That cannot be legal.

[StealthLurker]

Yup, I'll post more info about it once it arrives.

I'll definitely give the HRAP3 and some other usb sticks/pads a test. I hope it has a way to re-map buttons, but I'm betting it doesn't...

Will also try if it will work with an external USB drive and or thumbstick. If it does, prolly need it to be FAT32 I suppose. I'm betting it will only work with SD cards (yeah I'm pessimistic! haha).

Also see if it works with SDHC cards.

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[emceelokey]

Hmmm. Interesting. It's "Network Unnecessary" and has "Only Finger Touch". It seems like it can be nifty but doesn't seem to bring any advantages compared to just connecting my laptop to my tv and running the emulator from it. Curious to how it will run the games though.

[Kiddo]

MAME?

That cannot be legal.

Support for MAME does not necessarily mean it comes with anything particularly MAME-related.

A lot of arcade/PC devices have MAME support, or otherwise work with MAME somehow, without blatant advertising for it.

Now, if it starts coming packed with ROMs outside of Atari or Capcom stuff - particularly classic Donkey Kong - then, I'll be suspicious.

[Steve W]

If you noticed, the company's website is located in Hong Kong. I went to the site and couldn't pull it up. I'd be a bit wary if I were you. EDIT: Along with numerous misspellings on the box, they also misspelled their own website. There's no dash in the middle of game-box.hk.

Does the console remind you a bit of the Brazilian next-generation console Tec-Toy was going to put out?

[Kitsune Sniper]

Support for MAME does not necessarily mean it comes with anything particularly MAME-related.

A lot of arcade/PC devices have MAME support, or otherwise work with MAME somehow, without blatant advertising for it.

Now, if it starts coming packed with ROMs outside of Atari or Capcom stuff - particularly classic Donkey Kong - then, I'll be suspicious.

It's one thing to support MAME but the way that package refers to it... made me think it actually INCLUDED it.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Looks neat, I expect it to be very flaky.

Why are they only producing this thing with an EU style plug if it has NTSC and PAL output?

[megasdkirby]

I have one of thosde EU to US plugs. Will that work?

Also, I noticed a...cart slot?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I have one of thosde EU to US plugs. Will that work?

Also, I noticed a...cart slot?

Probably, but I'm always weary of them. I always prefer to use an actual AC for the appropriate type of outlet.

[StealthLurker]

Hmmm. Interesting. It's "Network Unnecessary" and has "Only Finger Touch". It seems like it can be nifty but doesn't seem to bring any advantages compared to just connecting my laptop to my tv and running the emulator from it. Curious to how it will run the games though.

Yeah generally I'd be in agreement with this. I've got 4 gaming-level performance PCs permanently hooked up to 4 HDTVs around the house and 30 terabytes (not gigabytes! that's right 30 TB!) accessible over my home network. Not only emulation, but videos without having to worry about supported video formats, web browsing, PC gaming, etc etc. Absolutely no compromise in functionality. Overall a much better solution.

However, a couple weeks ago I tried to setup an extra PC on a really old early 90s SD CRT in the garage and just kinda decided to shelve that task. Mainly intended it for playing 2D doujin games and some emulation. To get a clear picture on that thing I had to set the resolution 400x300 custom resolution. Then I forgot I needed to setup something for "pan & scan" or else I wouldn't even be able to see a complete dialogue box because the res is so small (for some doujin games you need to launch a dialogue with settings before the game starts). I'm sure I could have got it all working eventually (I've done it on MAME cabs using an actual low-res arcade monitor before), but just didn't want to deal with it anymore.

I was going to just hook-up a modded xbox loaded with t3h r0mzz on it, but this little gadget intrigues me... haha. Yeah, it's probably crap... but damnit I'm curious!



I have one of thosde EU to US plugs. Will that work?

Also, I noticed a...cart slot?

Yeah the cover of the box shows a cartridge too. That must be where the "60 free arcade games" are.



It's one thing to support MAME but the way that package refers to it... made me think it actually INCLUDED it.

I've got a bunch of these cheesy hong kong little gaming devices. The portable mp4 players with built-in emulation have all the emulators already loaded. Same with the more popular ones like the Dingo. Don't think they can be upgraded either. But I guess that's ok considering how cheap these things are to obtain anyways.


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[Frankie_Says_Relax]

@StealthLurker

As a lover of janky HK clone stuff, I share your curiosity. And despite the prevalence of Dingoo type portables out right now, I have yet to try anything out of HK that emulates above the 8/16 bit era of home consoles.

Be sure to report back when you get it and give it a test run!

[StealthLurker]

More info:

http://dingoo-scene.blogspot.com/2011/01/manual-for-gamebox-retro-gaming-system.html


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[Paet]

Just came across this thing:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.54070

It's an emulation machine that claims to support CPS1/CPS2/CPS3/MAME/MVS. Is there any more information on this?

A friend of mine ordered this. It's a total piece and only works some of the time. If you have a HD TV with VGA in then just hook up your laptop and use good emulators.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

A friend of mine ordered this. It's a total piece and only works some of the time. If you have a HD TV with VGA in then just hook up your laptop and use good emulators.

While I don't doubt that the thing is flaky, would you be so kind as to tell me where I can get a laptop with the same footprint as this device, powerful enough to run "good emulators", and has native RCA a/v output for $53 + free shipping?

[tubeway]

While I don't doubt that the thing is flaky, would you be so kind as to tell me where I can get a laptop with the same footprint as this device, powerful enough to run "good emulators", and has native RCA a/v output for $53 + free shipping?

Well, you could just mod a $20 thrift store Xbox, couldn't you?

[c0ldb33r]

I look forward to someone posting a thorough review :)

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Well, you could just mod a $20 thrift store Xbox, couldn't you?

Yeah, you could, and you'd have yourself a good emulator box that's also pretty huge and heavy.

Footprint on this device looks pretty small ... and no modding needed.

Again, thing 1 =/= thing 2, and some of us like a collection of strange little things like this. I'm not saying it's the best option out there, but if it's halfway decent it might be worth the asking price.

[keldon]

I look forward to someone posting a thorough review :)

My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't mind picking one of these up if we can find out more details on the device. I'm currently working on making a Boxee for downloaded media to stream to the tvs in my house and would like to take a stab at this thing next.

[kedawa]

If this thing gets a decent amount of community development, it may be worth it, but you simply can't trust chinese hardware manufactureres to make decent software. They can barely get the hardware working most of the time. They're also completely out to lunch when it comes to UI and button configurations, and they offer dick all for support or updates.

[buzz_n64]

Anyone receive one yet? Any updates would be helpful. Especially if they can answer any of my questions above.

[megasdkirby]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWK706_dGuI

Found the above link of the unit running/in action. From what I read, the SD card is for media files and you are limited to the games included in the console.

Definitely running off ROMS. I wonder if there is any way to replace or at least add to the ROM list...

Also, the sound seems a bit..."wonky". Maybe purists can help determine this.

[jamespoo]

Because It Supports GBA we can download and use homebrew emulators :)

here is the list of them

http://www.gameboy-advance.net/gba_roms/emulated_on_gba.htm

i think there is some more just do a Google to find them

hope it helps please comment