GP2X gaming handheld modded with D-pad, PSP batteries (video)
By Darren Murph 
posted May 20th 2010 8:49PM
posted May 20th 2010 8:49PM
posted May 20th 2010 8:49PM
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would kill for one of these
@StevetheTeddy
I use a micro and a flash cart, emulates Gameboy, Megadrive ,NES and all the good SNES games are on the GBA anyway.
im still waiting for my pandora!
@skyblaze
You, sir, are a very loyal customer and fan. For me, Pandora's time came and passed, like two years ago. The handheld technology is taking a brand new leap into a new generation this summer, as ppl continue to wait for their Pandoras. Not to mention that when this happens, used moddable PSPs will drop to less than $99...
@TareG
you strike a valid point. But on the same token, the 300+ i spent on it has also came and passed... I'm tons of paychecks ahead of that so I don't even miss the money anymore. When it gets here it'll feel like I got it for free or something =). So no matter how dated the hardware is on today's standards, I still wait in anticipation and will use it to its fullest extent... at least until I get bored with it, lol... but yes, my hacked 3000 serves me well in the meantime. Japanese Prinny 2 ftw, dood
@TareG
The only compelling reason to get a Pandora anymore is for open source (handheld) gaming which is its primary function. Homebrew game developers probably aren't going to be able to fully utilize the power of the Cortex A8 let alone something more powerful. It is still king in its class by a good margin.
@skyblaze If you send me 3,000$ I promise to get you the hottest selling homebrew handheld in 25 years (I might actually be screwing myself here but I somehow doubt it).
@skyblaze
Well, you can always ask for a refund, and -following the same notion- get a "free" Nintendo 3DS + Used moddable PSP his summer.
I remember have a first gen one of these, ended up getting bricked and sold my replacement only a few months after getting it.
They are neat but there was too many hardware and software quirks for me at the time, amazed they are still kicking around non the less on the front page of Engadget.
I just might have to try this. Haven't touched my GP2X in at least a year, mainly due to me hating the non-dpad controls and the hassle of rechargable AA batteries (regular alkaline batteries last literally 10 minutes at most for some reason while rechargables last for hours).
I'm gonna same the say thing I say in every one of these threads
... combine the Directional Pad and Fire Buttons from something like this GP2X or the Pandora, with the hardware of a modern Android phone (like the EVO or Incredible), and you are going to have some HUGE sales.
How is it that no company out there sees the market potential for that? A modern N-Gage would sell like hotcakes.
@Hazdaz
I have been thinking the same thing for awhile, since gaming has become so popular on phones recently. I suppose you have to come up with some sort of control standard so each game doesn't have to be re-written for each phone though.
@reallynotnick
My guess is that most of the games that people play are old ROMs anyways, so as long as you can map the buttons, I think it doesn't make much of a difference.
But then again, that is why having native games is so important - so you can take full advantage of the device's hardware.
That is why I sooooo would love if Sony came out with a PSPhone - let it run PSP games, let it be hackable and a phone too. (then again, if it was Sony, they would try to lock it down and ruin all the fun)
@Hazdaz Cuz it'd be more expensive than a PS3.
@Firehazel
Phones already are more expensive than a PS3. An EVO or Incredible out of contract is about $500.
Adding a few well-placed buttons should be a nominal cost at best. We aren't talking about adding fancy hardware here - a couple of hardware switches and a couple of plastic buttons. It's just simply having the intent from the beginning that this phone will be game-friendly.
@Hazdaz
I know what you mean and have thought the same myself. A landscape slider (or tilt) with a portrait sized querty to make room for a d-pad and buttons would rock the house, especially if it ran on an open platform.
Psp is kinda better, making this thing useless
How is it that no one has mentioned the GP2x Wiz in this discussion? It's not as snazzy as the Pandora, but it's got more horsepower than the original GP2x, an OLED screen, costs half what a Pandora does, and it exists in this particular universe.
Oh, and the d-pad and rechargeable battery are standard.
@hexapus
For whatever reason, the Wiz hasn't gotten a whole lot of love in recent days. I was kind of hoping that GamePark would be ready for their usual yearly upgrade to the Wiz since its first birthday was about a week ago. Thought maybe they'd add wifi to it or something.
@hexapus
they really screwed up by not putting 3D accelerators on these things
and the ARM9s are pretty much a joke these days
@Frogboy All I know is I love mine. After a bit of finagling, I have literally thousands of games in my pocket, and that sucker has gotten me through many a train ride. To be honest, I'd prefer a joystick on mine, but I'm getting the hang of throwing HADOKENs with the d-pad.
@hexapus
I liked my GP2X. Unfortunately, the joystick was so bad on it that many types of games were impossible to play. I imagine the Wiz is probably way better than GP2X was. I might pick one up one of these days.
This is pretty convenient, considering I re-discovered my GP2x in a box in a closet last week. Two years of use, and it still doesn't have a scratch on it. Hell, I still have the interface cradle stashed away.
I really don't know why such a modification is necessary, though. I carry six 2000 mAh rechargeable batteries with this thing, and each pair gives me around 4 hours of SNES emulator play.
*looks at pic* Xzibit: Yo dawg we heard you like gaming so we put a game pad inside your game pad so you can play games while you're playing a game.
I love my GP2X WIZ! Use it all the time - the AMOLED screen is awesome and the battery life is superb. You can overclock it and it runs MAME and other retro games with ease.
Stick a 32GB SDHC in there are you have all the Flight of the Conchords and Life and Times of Tim you could want in a handy package.
I actually did something very similar to this.
Put two 3g ipod batteries in parallel and got nearly double the battery life over nimh cells. Had to cut out the battery compartment of the GP2x (battery cover still fitted though and had to charge it using crocodile clips but other than that it was pretty easy.
Actually, the one that started all this was the GP32, not the GP2x — the latter was the successor to the GP32, hence the 2 in its name.
I have the F-200 series. It's a decent unit but the D-Pad sucks for playing any fighting games. I am thinking about modding that for something better.
http://showcase.benheck.com/triton_project-hack2x_61.html i really need to get this thing 100% finished sometime soon :(