Slashdot Mirror
Portable GameCube
Bodero writes: "After Slashdot ran a story about the Portable N64 over a month ago, many of us have been enlightened to the idea of portable home console systems. The Portable N64 was more of a novelty item whose cost and development factor outweighed its feasibility. However, IGN Cube is running a hardware review on the Interact Mobile Monitor 5.4, a 5.4" LCD that hooks up to your gamecube, providing a screen and power from either AC or an included car adapter. All that for only $150. For only $50 more, Interact sells an optional battery pack, which IGN claims can power the GameCube and monitor for up to three hours."
In my opinion, GameCubes were designed for portability. They're light, their discs are easy to carry (they fit in my CD holder), and they're small.
I would venture to say this is the kind of thing Nintendo intended for the GCN.
...$400 and it becomes portable for 3 hours of play. (Game cube retail $199 + 150 screen + $50 battery pack.)
This is getting into used laptop territory. Why would I want this GB setup when I can buy a used laptop with 10.4 inch active matrix screen and 5 hours of gameplay?
I think their price point is a little high. Maybe for $250 it would be sweet. At $400 it is for the rich kid that has everything and needs one more thing for the closet.
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Give me LIBERTY, or give me a check.
natural progression of technology via miniaturisation and improvements in power consumption. We've already witnessed essentially the SNES being shrunk into the Gameboy Advance. The next handheld will surely be a shrunken version of the N64, and so on.
We're only really up to the second generation of portable consoles, so these things are naturally surprising to us. Not that I'm putting it down - I think we'll see a lot more power in portable gaming/computing units in future. I think the issue that needs to be addressed now is battery life.
Perhaps combining those technologies that provide power from body movement (eg, rapidly moving thumbs) with these handhelds is the answer...
I dont see how well this could really work. Outside of using it for the once a year trips to somewhere, little jimmy would have no use for this. I doubt that it would even work that well on a road trip, how do you balance a cube that has a 5.3 inch screen sitting on top of it? It might work fine on a desk, but i dont see how you could play it in a car where there would be no sturdy surface to rest it on.
I agree with you. I have a feeling Nintendo designed not just a powerful home system, but their next portable system in the next 5 years.
Think about that... by the time it launches you have a library of 500 or so games. Heck, by then they might even have an 802.11 adapter for it. Imagine the LAN Party you could have then? Everybody brings their GBA sized GCN and their Network cards, somebody sets up a cheap $100 wireless hub, and everybody sits around an apartment playing a cool game.
Heck.. have the party at StarBuck's or something. Heh.
"Derp de derp."
This is a neat toy, but I'd say save your money.
Most people get a gameboy to hush up their kids, to play on car trips/plane trips, or to play at a boring desk job. Where gameboy is well suited for this because of its high portablity and battery life, gamecube is not.
This thing is a $400 investment which can be easily damaged if dropped. It only lasts for 3 hours and it has many cords that could easily get tangled. The controller aspect alone is enough to not warrent the trouble. The only use I see for this is if you want to bring it to work to play during your lunch break (Hey smash brothers is really cool, might be a good way to make friends). That makes it only worth buying more as a small TV than as a portable toy.
If you're board during work and can get away with a small display, go for this. Otherwise, get a gameboy.
Rob