Hydra DIY game console

Andre LaMothe, a programmer and systems designer who's a bit of a superstar in the homebrew and DIY worlds (largely for his XGameStation, a user-programmable game console) has added another, more sophisticated model to his XGS stable, the Hydra. Where the previous system had been based on a simple, 8-bit SX52 processor, the new Hydra is centered around the more sophisticated, multi-core, 32-bit Propeller Chip, which is similar in concept to the PS3 processor (though not remotely in the same ballpark, if you go by the demo screens). The console comes with a mouse, keyboard, controller, 128K game card, and a blank "experimenter" card (which can be used to solder together your own custom add-ons). The system allows you to develop games on your PC -- though if you're any kind of real programmer, you'll do things the old-fashioned way and use the built-in BASIC to code right on your television while chugging Jolt and eating pizza.

[Dan @ Jun 27th 2007 7:33PM]

Woah woah woah, how do they expect you to look at a TV for an extended period of time with something other than pop and pizza in hand?

[Matt @ Jun 27th 2007 8:08PM]

Pop? You must be from Pittsburgh.

[ddaw735 @ Jun 27th 2007 8:38PM]

Nah we say pop here in dertoit. But we also have faygo too.

[Dan @ Jun 27th 2007 9:15PM]

Sorry. Pop is the equivalent of soda, or whatever you call carbonated beverages wherever you reside.

[Paul @ Jun 28th 2007 12:07AM]

its pop in cincinnati too

[PSU_Boss @ Jun 28th 2007 10:17AM]

Wow, i definitely thought that pop was just a Pittsburgh word..

[Patrick @ Jun 27th 2007 7:49PM]

I can't wait to play Super Adventure Breakfast at Tiffany's

http://www.xgamestation.com/view_media.php?path=products/hydra/hydra_ss_22_large.jpg&title=HYDRA%20Game%20Development%20Kit×tamp=&caption=Hot+chick+bitmap+rendering+on+the+HYDRA+by+Robert+Woodring.%0D

[JohnTitor @ Jun 27th 2007 8:12PM]

$200 for this?
a GP2X would be a better buy, already has a lot of content, its portable but can be wired together with accosories to make a full 4 player console
Emulation FTW

[HyperHacker @ Jun 27th 2007 9:27PM]

Indeed, $200 seems pricey for such a weak console, especially given $250 for Wii. Hell all the previous Nintendo systems were $200, and judging by the screenshots (can't find any tech specs), I'd guess this is somewhere around SNES in capabilities.

Win, though, for having NES controller ports.

[John Stracke @ Jun 28th 2007 9:35AM]

It's not just meant as a game platform; it's supposed to bring the chance to have a device where you can drill down to the bare metal, like we used to do on the early 8-bit micros.

[Ryhan @ Jun 28th 2007 1:41PM]

This has been around for a long time on www.parallax.com. The whole purpose of this is for you to program for this; not for playing wii games...

programming can be more fun (& fustrating) than playing games...

http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=32360

[HyperHacker @ Jun 28th 2007 6:53PM]

Don't have to tell me, I'm a hobbyist coder myself. Just, $200?