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Tapwave Gets Duke Nukem, Genesis Classics
Thanks to BusinessWire for hosting the press release announcing pre-order availability and new software for the Tapwave Zodiac handheld, following advance news of the Palm-compatible's specs a couple of weeks back. But newly announced as "...coming in January 2004 is 'Duke Nukem Mobile,' which will open a new chapter of Duke's Universe for the mobile-minded gamer", and Tapwave have also hooked up with Sega, so that "several classic Sega Genesis titles will also be available for the Zodiac console in the months ahead." Forbes has an enthusiastic preview of the Zodiac, noting "Bluetooth wireless connectivity" and "its gorgeous screen display" as positives, although quibbling with the "convoluted interface" for Palm software.
Just how many new handhelds can the market handle? I don't see how this can succeed with 2 other companies (Sony, Nokia) also entering the market, and one competitior (Nintendo) already entrenched.
That aside, the Zodiac looks like one mean piece of machinery. Pity I can't afford one at the moment.
Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?
Why don't they try for something that might exist someday.
Port Daikatana.
HEY! Wait a minute...
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
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If nothing else, it's going to inject some new life into a product niche that until very recently had just started to look boring and short on new ideas.
Man, if that isn't the understatement of the century, I don't know what is. In context, he's referring specifically to the Palm platform, but I think the same can be said about handheld gaming. While several of the games coming out for this system are remakes, the GBA is the Queen of the Ports.
"Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
I think the Tapwave looks a heck of a lot more promising than the N-Gage. That said, the only people who've reviewed it are business magazines. They love it. Maybe there's a market there, who knows, but if Tapwave is going for the gaming market they need to start showing up at these game shows to win some people over.
I mean Sony's really showing them up with the PSP. I can't wait to get it so it can mow my lawn during the day, cook lobster during the night. Oh yeah, and maybe play games! Sweet!
"Dude, are you playing duke nukem?" "Yea I'm playing duke nukem, IN MY PANTS!"
First lets dispell the typical myth about gamming being mainly the interest of teenage boys. The GBA and SP have played well to that myth, infact it appears to be common sense that Nintendo owns the teenage mobile game market. Everyone though knows that the bulk of gamers are not in highschool and many are even college graduates. That being said the Zodiac is set to dominate the +18 mobile gamming crowd. I am part of that demographic and this device looks very exciting. I will wait for a reputable review before I buy though. The Zodiac appeals to almost all of my wish list for a mobile gamming platform. So if there are no significant snags that come with the Zodiac then they have my $400 or so dollars. The specs read like a mobile gamer's wet dream:
.55" (14mm) / 6.3 ounces
Memory:
Zodiac1 = 32MB*
Zodiac2 = 128MB*
* 12MB reserved for system use.
Processor:
Motorola(R) i.MX1(TM) ARM9 processor (200 MHz)
Graphics Accelerator:
ATI(R) Imageon(TM) W4200 graphics accelerator (with 8MB dedicated SDRAM).
Display:
3.8 inch transflective display
480 x 320 (half VGA), 16-bit color backlit display (65,536 colors)
Portrait and landscape display capabilities
Digitizer for enhanced interactive game play, navigation and text input.
Sound:
Yamaha(R) audio component and stereo speakers
Standard 3.5mm stereo headphone plug
Earbud-style headphones included
Support for select third-party portable speakers
Vibration:
Supports silent notification and interactive game play.
Controls:
Variable pressure analog controller (joystick)
2 triggers, 4 programmable action buttons, 1 special function button,
1 home button, 1 power button, and 1 Bluetooth button.
Expandability:
Dual expansion slots for MultiMediaCards, Secure Digital (SD) cards
and SDIO cards, including digital cameras and more.*
Zodiac Connector for additional peripherals.
* Slot #1: supports MultiMediaCards, Secure Digital Cards (SD).
Slot #2: supports MultiMediaCards, Secure Digital Cards (SD), and
SDIO cards.
Wireless
Connectivity:
Built-in Bluetooth radio with dedicated activation button.
Ideal for multiplayer wireless gaming, sharing information and connectivity to other compatible Bluetooth enabled devices.
PC Desktop
Connectivity:
USB Cable
USB Cradle (sold separately)
Cover:
Protective Flip Cover
Wrist Strap:
Convenient strap
Battery:
High-capacity Rechargeable Lithium Batteries - 1540 mAh
Power Supply:
AC Adapter / Battery Charger (120 volt AC, 60 Hz)
International connectivity kit (sold separately)
Size/Weight
5.6" (143mm) x 3.1" (79mm) x
Color
Zodiac1 - Slate Gray
Zodiac2 - Charcoal Gray
The truth suffers more from convictions than from lies.
The Forbes article states that it will be Windows only, but according to Tapwave's site, it uses a modified Palm Desktop. All that is added are a few simple extensions (likely for getting MP3s in to it)
Why do those extensions totally break compatiblity with other OSes? Since the games are on SD cards (and likely using SD DRM), all that the desktop needs to be used for are the PIM functions, which should work fine with any palm. iSync can hotsync over bluetooth with any current palm model.
Is this just igonrance on the part or Forbes, or is there an actual reason it won't work?
Regardless, good work Tapwave! This looked like vapor a few months ago. It's great to see PalmOS gaming getting pushed like this.
I used to get high on life, but I developed a tolerance. Now I need something stronger.
I missed the orginal slashdot article, so I'm going to take the opportunity to make some comments here. I've long thought that a product like this would be a good idea, and I've made posts before stating such. For those who think of this as an expensive GBA competitor, you should instead think of it as a PDA that can play games (and MP3s).
Consider PC's either before soundblasters. (Or you could make a similar arguement pre-3DFX). Before soundblasters came out PC's seemed like a silly place to play games. Consoles were much cheaper and had better games. Never-the-less PC's became a popular platform for games once the hardware could support it. This is despite the fact that a soundblaster costed as much as the game console did alone. That's because people need computers anyway, so they might as well have fun with them. Likewise, people need PDAs anyway, so if this isn't priced too high it has a decent chance. (It will also help a lot if the system is open enough to let anyone write games for it. Remember the best computer games in the early soundblaster era were shareware games from small companies like Epic, Apogee, and of course ID).
I haven't shopped for a PDA lately, but the price for this does not seem out of line for a PDA alone with such a high resolution screen. Even if it's a little more expensive it is often easier to justify an incremental increase in price in a product you were going to buy anyway than it is to justify a completely new purchase.