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Visual Boy Zune brings Game Boy emulation to Zune HD (video)
Once hacked, the Zune HD's rabid fanbase wasted no time in ensuring the device could play Doom. Now, the ZuneBoards want to give it Zelda, too. User BackAtIt has taken the wrappings off the first working emulator for Zune, which is currently capable of playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color ROMs, but little else -- though this "Visual Boy Zune" app is ported from the same VisualBoyAdvance code that's enabled handheld emulation since 2004, it's in early alpha with quite a bit of work left to do. A recent update enabled state save emulation and a ROM selector, but there's no audio output, let alone Game Boy Advance support; BackAtIt says he'll need to rewrite much of the codebase to take advantage of the Zune HD's Tegra architecture. Still, it's never too early for a proof of concept video, and you'll find two blurry ones after the break -- unless you'd rather try it out for yourself at the source link. [Thanks, MK1000]
Original Game Boy gets the Advance treatment courtesy of retro-loving modder
The original Game Boy will forever hold a special place in our hearts, but spend a few minutes squinting at an original model and you'll quickly realize that even nostalgia can't make up for that horrible green screen. That's been banished in this custom version, courtesy of modder CRTdrone, which features GBA SP internals housed in an original GB chassis. This gives it compatibility with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and of course GBA games, along with a rechargeable battery and even working shoulder buttons inserted into the sides. All we have to go on at the moment is this picture plus a few comments from the man himself, but CRTdrone is promising full details of the mod are to come, which entails "just removing parts and re-wiring basically." They always make it sound so simple.
Everyone vs Everyone Online: The End is Nigh
I'll be the first one to say it: the Great War is over. What once began as a campaign of conquest has become something none of the original participants could have conceived in their wildest imaginations. Anyone who has had any real exposure to EVE will know who the major players are; the GBC, or Greater BoB (Band of Brothers) coalition and their allies on one side, and RSF or Red Swarm -- most commonly called Goonswarm -- the "Something Awful" forumites on the other. Now that BoB has beaten back the RSF's invasion, a sense of calm and serenity has come to New Eden. Along with it, there is a renewal of an older form of hostility. Small scale alliance warfare is springing up, which makes this peace tenuous at best. The bonds made out of necessity during the Great War are now dissolving and a different type of peace is materializing. The peaceful shooting of one's neighbor. The universe is still at war, but the sides have blurred, everyone is involved in a great melee that in EVE is the only true peace. While it's possible, even likely, that most of the major powers that formed The Coalition (RSF) will remain as players in the broader galactic conflict, things will never truly be the same. To exasperate matters, the North -- to quote a popular post from the official EVE message boards -- is "on fire." Wary players watch the Triumvirate's recent escalation of hostilities, which if the forums are to be believed, are drawing a lot of parallels to the ignition of the BoB/Goon war. Combine that with a growing destabilization due to the anticipated all out Mercenary Coalition / BoB conflict. (Most of the player-base has assumed this will occur since MC overtly back-stabbed BoB in their moment of need.) War once again threatens to engulf EVE, and who will win is anyone's guess.
NES/GB/GBC emulator handheld is powered by the Sun
No, friend, that's not a hip gadget from the new, unfortunately titled James Bond film -- it's a very real, very sexy handheld MP4 player capable of running old school Nintendo emulators using solar power. It also plays MP3's, stores e-books (which it can then read aloud to you, a consideration for our illiterate friends), records audio and displays images, all for a cool $123.32.Here's the best part -- it also has a USB port to connect with other portable devices and share the solar energy it has collected, like a mama bird feeding a regurgitated bolus to her young. That's right, not only can it play your favorite games from the 8-era, it's also an Al Gore-approved renewable energy source.
A DS sequel to Shantae rests in our hands
Remember Shantae? WayForward certainly does -- the Contra 4 developer spent two years producing the delightful Game Boy Color platformer, only to see it die a death at retail, its chances cruelly crushed by the increasing obsolescence of its host platform, as well as the rise of the newly released Game Boy Advance. Boasting an engrossing mix of Metroid-style puzzles and neat visual tricks, the game was an unsung gem that emphatically failed to register on the gaming public's radar.A sequel was planned for the Advance, only for the project to be inexplicably shelved with the game 50% complete, but WayForward hasn't forgotten about the series entirely. With the all-conquering Contra 4 now out on store shelves and begging to be bought, the developer has posted a poll on its site, asking whether or not we'd be interested in purchasing a Shantae follow-up, and what platform we'd like it to appear on.Hence, we implore all of you to hit the link below and get your vote on. If you're still wavering about giving thirty seconds of your time to one of the best DS-related causes we've heard of in ages, go past the break for footage of the canned GBA title.Then go and get your vote on.
Rumor: Official flash cards for downloading Game Boy games
Normally, if we saw an unsourced rumor stating that Nintendo was planning to release its own DS flash media, for the purpose of offering downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles via a Virtual Console-type service, we wouldn't even take the time to write one very long sentence about it. But, as the previous very long sentence suggests, we have reason to at least consider the plausibility of this rumor. It was reported by the usually trustworthy EDGE magazine, so it gets at least a "we don't know" shrug from us. Maybe?If true, EDGE speculates/reports, this development would then lead to a download service like Wii Ware, for original DS content. Confusingly, this is cited as a move to allow officially-supported homebrew content, and thus removing some of the usefulness of non-Nintendo homebrew devices, which can also, of course, be used for piracy. Would it be worth giving up homebrew for the ability to buy the same games? Standardization would at least be nice. And we'd all love some downloadable Game Boy games.
Unreleased Game Boy Color RPG resurfaces
Planned for release in 2001, Affinix Software was ready to put the final touches on Infinity, a role playing title for the Game Boy Color. Unfortunately publishers were already looking ahead to the Game Boy Advance and all the pretty pictures it could display. Infinity was never released, Affinix was eventually dissolved, and the game was left to sit on its creators' hard drives for years. But a Lost Levels forum member unearthed a video of the game in action (watch it after the jump) and suddenly Infinity finds itself the recipient of some well-deserved attention.In early February a news post on the Affinix website mentioned the possible release of an Infinity ROM. We contacted project leader Justin Karneges to get an updated status on the game. According to him, Infinity is very close to being complete and just needs a few story points linked together, spells filled in, and a final boss programmed. In addition to himself, one more team member is needed to tie up the loose ends, everything else is ready to roll. You can even download the full soundtrack from composer Eric Hache's website. As for the ROM: "There's no need to talk us into releasing a ROM. If we had a finished game, it would be released.". Infinity could be a breathtaking game, or it could turn out to be a dud. We won't know until we get to play it, and we're itching to take her for a spin. If you need us, we'll be consulting our astrologers to make sure the stars are in perfect alignment to get this game into the wild.[Via Insert Credit]
Five handheld accessories you should continue to live without
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/Five_of_the_worst_handheld_accessories_ever_PICS'; Portable game systems are completely self-contained. Unlike home systems, which require a TV, multiple outlets, and a separate controller unit, handhelds contain everything you need to play games, built right in to the unit. They are self-reliant. They are also-- and this goes without saying-- portable. They're designed to be small so you can carry them around.Why, then, do jackasses feel the need to make accessories for handhelds? Accessories needlessly add bulk to Game Boys, effectively exiling them from casual pocket-drops. Here are five of the most pointless things you could ever graft onto a handheld system. We're giving a lot of attention to the Game Boy Color, as it turned out to be a focal point for idiotic doodads. Hopefully, these companies are still tired from their furious crap-assembling, and will largely pass over the DS.
Non-Game Boy: Serious games before they were cool
Since the release of Brain Age in Japan, Nintendo has turned their attention toward casual, nontraditional fare for adult audiences. Much of it, like Brain Age, is casual game material with a slight educational slant, but other successful DS releases, like Cooking Navi and Eigo Zuke, are not games at all, but rather educational aids and tools designed to use the DS's unique interface. They're all doing massive business, which makes it difficult to laugh at them no matter how silly they are. But Nintendo was not the first company to attempt to sell application software on a gaming system, however. That distinction probably falls on BASIC Programming for the Atari 2600. Nintendo wasn't even the first company to sell application software on a Nintendo handheld. In fact, Game Boy non-games appeared in 1991. They didn't change the face of gaming. But they make for an interesting historical footnote now, and isn't that better than selling millions of copies? It is for us!
DS Daily: The lost Color
Backwards compatibility has always been a mainstay for Nintendo's portable systems, with every single new iteration reaching back toward the past to play legacy content. Even the Nintendo DS, third cousin twice-removed of the original Game Boy line, has a convenient second slot to play GBA titles, but it's not perfect. The slot is unable to play original Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, and for us old-schoolers, that's a bit of a buzzkill.Does this even matter to you? Remember, the original Pokemon Red/Blue titles were original GB titles, as were classics such as Metroid II, Super Mario Land, and even the very first Tetris. We also miss out on the brilliant duo of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Zelda: Oracle of Seasons for the Game Boy Color, that system's final swan song. Do you still keep around a GBA (or older) system for playing these titles, or did you trade it in for store credit for your shiny new DS? Which game from the GB/GBC era was your favorite? And remember, if you answer ... we know you're old.
