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Mame on the Nokia N-Gage

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the start-your-lust dept.

wraggster writes "The Nokia N-Gage has now joined the club of consoles for whom the excellent MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) was ported to. Staffan Ulfberg has ported EMame over to the N-Gage - the emulator supports a mass of games."

148 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. System was dead before it was out the door... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Honestly, who actually wants an N-gage. Even if it could emulate a GBA and SNES to perfection I wouldn't go 10 feet near it. Who the hell wants to talk into a taco? Worst design ... EVER.

    1. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      "This is Al Gore, and I am so totally sidetalkin' at you right now!"

    2. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Frymaster · · Score: 3, Funny

      ... and how are you going to cram four people around it for guantlet 2?

      --

      2 1337 4 u!

    3. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      ... and how are you going to cram four people around it for guantlet 2?

      There are versions/plug-ins for MAME that allow multiplayer gaming over the Internet. Surely they'd port that over to work over Bluetooth.

      Karma goes to the first person to cite the site on sight.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    4. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by TonkaTown · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually it's not, I can tell you've never been near one for at least three reasons:

      1. If you use it traditional phone style, you really don't have to hold it in the exagerated sidetalkin' style, it's fine held more discretely and a hell of a lot more comfortable in the hand.

      2. It comes with a wired headset, which has a few uses, it's the antennae for the built in FM radio, it means you get to hear our MP3s in stereo, and you can use it for non taco-stylee phone calls.

      3. Oh yeah, it's got Bluetooth too, and Bluetooth headsets are great, you keep the phone in your pocket and your hands are free for driving or whatever.

      The only possible reason I can see for sidetalkin' with the N-Gage is that it does look pretty funny and maybe it's a good way for spotty teens to visually shout out "LOOK AT MY NEW TOY".

    5. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by thesolo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually it's not, I can tell you've never been near one for at least three reasons:

      I have to disagree, it's still dead on arrival for one main reason: changing games.

      Those three positives you mentioned (and bluetooth is a big one, in my opinion) don't outweigh the fact that to change games on an N-Gage, you have to do the following:

      1) Turn the unit off (which means, turn your *phone* off).
      2) Flip it over, and remove the battery cover & battery.
      3) Take out the very tiny game chip, replace it with a new game.
      4) Replace battery & battery cover.
      5) Turn unit back on, wait for system to load, go to the right menu, and then start your game.

      Compare this to a GBA, where the steps are turning it off, removing the game cart, putting in a new one, and turning it back on. Especially compare this to a GBA if you're on a train, bus, streetcar, or any other form of public transit. Try easily changing a game on the N-Gage while crammed into a seat on a subway.

      This flaw in their design absolutely kills any of the positives of the system, and makes it, at least to me and many other people, D.O.A. Not to mention that I personally really don't want to turn off my phone when I swap games.

    6. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Kenja · · Score: 1

      How about you compare it to a GBA when you relize that you can have a 512MB memory card in the NGage with a bunch of games and emulators installed. In fact there is a GBA emulator out there allready. Just transfer games and ROMs over via blue tooth. So you have NO game swapping on the NGage VS removing the cart and installing another in the GBA.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    7. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by TonkaTown · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Changing chip based games sucks, I couldn't agree more.

      But that only applies to some of the N-Gage games, downloadable games are selling better than originally expected, and I'm even cynically wondering if Nokia deliberately left hot-swap capabilities out to try to get games companies out of their cartridge fixation.

    8. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Fred+IV · · Score: 1

      Link?

      A quick google search turned up GoBoy for game boy games, but no GBA emulator.

      I'd consider an NGage if I could play FFTA or Advance Wars on it.

      FIV

    9. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Kenja · · Score: 1

      Sorry, saw it at a Nokia dev con and didn't think to get a copy or a location for it.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    10. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by duslow · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Another problem with this gadget is that you will be unable to play it while flying in an airplane (at least in the U.S.). Airlines will not allow you to turn on your "cellphone" even if all you plan to do is play games on it.

      I was asked to shut mine off even after I explained to the flight attendant that I was not on the phone, just playing a game. I even showed her the screen. Her reply was that no cellphone devices of any kind were to be powered on while the plane was in flight.

    11. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Kris_J · · Score: 2, Informative
      Sorry, no. The game swap issue is not a deal breaker, given that hundreds of games and at least four emulators supporting possibly as many as 5,000 games total can all just be loaded onto a single MMC. Heck, with the cracked games doing the rounds, you can have them on your MMC too. There are 512MB MMCs that are compatible with the N-Gage.

      I have at least 150 games with me on my N-Gage. When you're carrying around a GBA, how many carts do you have with you? The answer is often one, making swapping games completely irrelivant.

    12. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 1

      by that logic, having a huge flash linker cart makes the GBA even MORE attractive. Thousands(Including GB/GBC games too) of really sweet games, all running at %100 speed on the system it was designed for.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    13. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      just one cart.

      one really big flash linker cart that is.

    14. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by rifter · · Score: 1

      Honestly, who actually wants an N-gage. Even if it could emulate a GBA and SNES to perfection I wouldn't go 10 feet near it. Who the hell wants to talk into a taco? Worst design ... EVER.

      I understand what you mean, but I rarely use it as a taco-phone. I use the earphones which are included and which include a microphone. They are very small and yet very effective. Usually I am playing games or listening to music on it, anyway, and use the earphones because you can hear the sounds better and it does not disturb anyone around you. Last but not least, it is the best speakerphone I have ever used, and that includes some of those $600-$3000 conference phones.

      The Ngage is a radio, an MP3 player, a portable console whose graphics are better than the PS1, a pda (sans handwriting recognition) and a portable hard drive. It uses open standards (midi, mp3, jpg, GSM, Java, MMC) and is all in all pretty spiffy. I havent tried to connect it to the PC yet so I am not sure of it's Linux abilities, though I am told it does work and it should in all honesty.

      There are a lot of misconceptions about the ngage. I have found that actually using one dispells many of them.

    15. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      So what you're saying is if you pirate games the game swapping is a non-issue. That's a GREAT selling point. Surprising Nokia aren't pushing it more :P

    16. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by darc · · Score: 1

      Uh uh. No no way.

      The NGage has a ARM based chip that's 104mhz. Emulation requires at least, at the very least, triple the processing power of the original platform. Add in the fact that a 700mhz computer barely runs GBA emulation in windows, I call bullshit on your GBA emulator. A GB emulator exists, and runs fine, yes, but there's no way in hell you'll get a GBA game running smoothly on Ngage.

      Don't spread misinformation, the ngage has no chance of running GBA, escpecially not with the GBA's specialized graphics chips.

      --
      Tired of legitimate data sources? Try UNCYCLOPEDIA
    17. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Rovaani · · Score: 1

      It's not enough to be not speaking to the phone. You'd also have to shut off te radio part of the phone. While you're flying that cell phone is constantly transmitting at peak power and trying to find network coverage.

      I think Nokias Communicators feature a PDA-only mode with the phone-part turned off. Dunno if the n-gage has it.

      --
      Karma: Good! Napster: Baad!
    18. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by MikeDX · · Score: 1

      Well in that case I call my GP32 into play. It has an ARM7 cpu which can be overclocked to 155mhz+, 8mb onboard ram and up to 128mb storage via smart media cards.

      I have 3 128MB smart media carts, all filled with emulators and roms. That makes a good 5000+ gameboy [color], atari2600, arcade, pc-engine, neogeo pocket, atari st, atari 800, commodore 64, spectrum, commdore 16/plus4.. TO NAME BUT A FEW. you can see all of these and download them at GP32EMU or other sites found by google ;)

      Most if not all of these run at damn near full speed, no need to swap memory cards or any of that old jazz. Tons of great games in your pocket and the memory cards are light and take up no space.

      Add to that, the fact that is a completely open system which you can develop for without paying any fees, just simply downloading the FREE sdk.

    19. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by rifter · · Score: 1

      Ahhhh... so you're another one of those annoying people that decided we didn't need to only hear one side of the conversation while you stood in line to buy that crappy version of Tony Hawk for the N-Gage (only person in line I might add.... for the entire christmas season), but needed to hear BOTH sides of the conversation.

      No, I am one of those annoying people who thinks that when you have a meeting it makes sense to hear everyone present. Otherwise why make them sit through the damn meeting just to further insult them by not caring about their input?! Speakerphones are for conferences/meetings, I use the headphones most of the time. I try to be conscientious about those around me (thus the comment about not bothering those around me). Besides, with the quality of the microphone, you will probably not hear my side of the conversation unless you are on the other end of the line. I can pretty much whisper and be heard by the person I am speaking to.

      BTW. All those open standards... here's a clue:
      Other cell phones use them too, and they do it better.

      The open standards bit was a bit of a sop to slashdot. But I do like that aspect of the phone. I do know other phones do it, too; all new Nokia phones do this. I don't understand what you mean by "do it better." I don't see any deficiencies in the way the Ngage supports the standards I mentioned or any other useful standards it could support. The midi in particular is better supported than pretty much any other phone by dint of the superior sound hardware.

      (BTW, your claim about graphics is wrong, the game does not support the equivalent framerates, resolution or texture quality of the PS1)

      I'll admit I have not done a side-by-side comparison of the technical claims of the two systems. I have however done a side by side comparison of the quality of identical games for both platforms. The graphical quality of Tomb Raider, for instance on PS1 was abysmal. I honestly never understood why people even bothered playing it, because gameplay sucked, the camera was retarded and on crack, and the main premise seemed to be looking at a very blocky Lara Croft for the duration of the game. There are still problems in the ngage version, but the graphics are better (there are better curves) and the game seems more fun to play to me.

      After boycotting Tomb Raider for the duration of its existence over a seeming unwillingness on the part of the developers to fix the above, I bought it for Ngage because it looked better on the Ngage when I saw coworkers playing it. I'll admit I would probably have gotten Red Faction instead if it had been available, and Tony Hawk if I had noticed the multiplayer options. My choices were, for the record, Pandemonium, Sonic, and Tomb Raider. Two of those are available for PS1 and both look better (TO ME) on the Ngage.

      I have not seen any problems in framerate, either. I have played Sonic through about half the game, and in Tomb Raider I have had Lara run/swim/jump around as fast as she can go, and I have never had a single hangup, never have frames skipped, and if anything it seems to run smoother than the PS1. I have not noticed any texture quality problems, but then the games that I have seen so far never used a lot of textures no matter what system they were on. Besides, the screen is pretty small, so it would be hard to provide too much detail (we only have so many pixels to work with, man!).

    20. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Kenja · · Score: 1

      Your right, there is just no way that a 104MHz ARM cpu can emulate a 16.78MHz ARM CPU.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    21. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by Kris_J · · Score: 1
      If you buy the games then download the hacked copies that let you install them onto an MMC, how is that different from installing Diablo II and a No CD patch?

      Ultimately it's unimportant as the commercial games are so damn average.

    22. Re:System was dead before it was out the door... by darc · · Score: 1

      Uh huh. Since the ngage has no graphical chips, it has to handle video calculations in software. The GBA uses an extremely advanced 2d video processor. If it were as simple as emulating the CPU, we'd have seen GBA emulators that run on everything from toasters to smart watches. As it is, even PocketPCs cannot emulate the GBA at any respectable speed, and they are packing much more processing power than the ngage.

      If a 400mhz ARM chip can't handle the job, you're right, a 104mhz chip will do just fine.

      --
      Tired of legitimate data sources? Try UNCYCLOPEDIA
  2. Even games... by jayhawk88 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...that don't look like ass?

    Seriously, have you seen those "This is where I..." ads for this thing? The game screenshots they show look like total crap. I don't know about you, but if I was a developer, I'd be embarrassed to see my game on national TV looking like it was running on an Atari Lynx.

    1. Re:Even games... by jcenters · · Score: 1

      It's not that the games look like crap. In fact, they're not bad looking for such a small device, but they look as if they run at no more than 5 FPS.

      Look at Red Faction in the ad! It looks like a frickin' slideshow! And that's probably after dressing it up considerably for the ad. But you're right, either way, the games look simply embarrassing.

      --

      vi ~/.emacs

    2. Re:Even games... by svallarian · · Score: 1

      Even better is seeing that rainbow six game...in 2d.

      So i'm thinking all you can do is walk-up behind someone and club them in the back of the head???

      My 486DX-66 called, it wants its games back.

      --
      I patented screwing your mom. But it got revoked for "prior art."
    3. Re:Even games... by jayhawk88 · · Score: 1

      Seeing that one reminds me of Batman for the NES.

    4. Re:Even games... by kubrick · · Score: 1

      Hey man, don't diss the Lynx. :)

      --
      deus does not exist but if he does
    5. Re:Even games... by davidhan · · Score: 1

      Hey, from what I can tell, Lynx games run smoother than those N-Gage games. In the commercial I saw (it may have been Tony Hawk), the N-Gage gameplay was obviously jerky. Who would buy that?

  3. This Is A Hoax by lewp · · Score: 4, Funny

    For this to be true, someone would actually have to own an NGage. Come on, nobody's that dumb.

    --
    Game... blouses.
    1. Re:This Is A Hoax by alienhazard · · Score: 1

      im sure the clerk payed the man to take it.

      --
      > "I allege that SCO is full of it" -Linus
    2. Re:This Is A Hoax by rifter · · Score: 1

      I'm sure Nokia is somehow behind this. I mean if they couldn't sell it with games, or discounts, why not push it for emulation?

      Erm, they are selling it with games and discounts. At least they were very recently. $100 in-store rebate and 3 games. That is why I bought one.

  4. This might be alright by Cap'nMike · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I would love to take a bunch of old NES or arcade games with me to travel.

    --
    Celebrities are like ads, if we all ignore them, they'll just go away.
  5. n-gage? meh... by twiggy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I forget the name of it, but a new n-gage like competitor is coming out that supposedly may cost as little as $100... It also won't require you to remove the battery just to change games...

    MAME is cool and all, but man... even geeks don't seem to like the N-gage (they hate it more than most).. I wonder why someone bothered with this...

    --
    http://www.babysmasher.com
    http://www.openingbands.com
  6. Re:Yeah ... and? by xeno_gearz · · Score: 2, Offtopic

    True there are few good games out for the Ngage but I was pleased with the graphics of Red Faction, and Tony Hawk. Still, it seems quite overpriced and two games does not make for a good library.

    Perhaps it would just be better to have a cheap cell phone and a gameboy advance.

    One advantage of the Ngage is the bluetooth multiplayer gaming. FPS deathmatch in class!

    --
    *
    troll blacklist. Please mo
  7. Also supports other phones by rjbrown99 · · Score: 5, Informative

    You guys bashing the N-Gage are missing the point. I have a Nokia Series 60 3650 phone. It's based on the same Symbian OS that the N-Gage uses. I can use this on my phone. The 3650 is very widely deployed in the US and Europe. This is a great thing not just for the N-Gage folks, but regular guys like me who happen to own one of the Series 60 phones.

    I can't wait to try it. My phone has a 128mb MMC that can store a ton of games. Should be a lot of fun.

    1. Re:Also supports other phones by sysopd · · Score: 1
      They may be missing the point, but it looks like you are too. The 3650 is only slightly trumped by the N-Gage in uglitude. What with its giant gaudy (and incorrect) imitation of a rotary dial.

      But in all seriousness, this is good news since the 7650 (same series 60 symbian OS) is a really cool looking and small phone and would benefit from this as well.

    2. Re:Also supports other phones by rjbrown99 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It may be ugly, but it has a great OS, has expandable storage (which the 7650 does not), and has excellent bluetooth support. I can get online with my laptop via Bluetooth and GPRS. It's about the speed of a 33.6k modem, but hey I can be in the car or on a train when I use it. For the US, that's pretty impressive! :)

      To me, the expandable storage is the key. With that feature, you can play movies, install tons of applications, and have a lot of games to play.

      Round keys suck no doubt, but you can't knock the features of the phone.

    3. Re:Also supports other phones by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "You guys bashing the N-Gage are missing the point."

      Though your point is interesting, nobody's missing the point. It's a horrible game machine.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    4. Re:Also supports other phones by sysopd · · Score: 1
      I'm not knocking anything but its size/look and physical interface, which are the two items I deal with most frequently. I want a phone I can place in any pocket and use without looking at the buttons or re-learning the key layout.

      You made some great points, the expandable storage is great.

      Apparently there have been enough complaints about the 3650's terrible physical layout that they're releasing a model without the imitation rotary keypad. I can't remember what model, something like 3652.

    5. Re:Also supports other phones by malfunct · · Score: 1

      I think what he was saying is that the fact that it runs on the n-gage may not be that exciting but that having mame for the model of phone mentioned is much cooler.

      --

      "You can now flame me, I am full of love,"

    6. Re:Also supports other phones by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      too bad 7650 sucks otherwise..
      why? no mmc slot.

      series60 phones rock though.. but with 7650's miniscule memory for apps/pics/data it doesn't get to far.

      personally i love my 3650(the 'stupid rotary dial' is really good actually.. the buttons are far enough from each other.. makes thumbing it a lot easier for me)..

      and if could find somebody who would be willing, i'd trade my 3650 to a ngage in an instant(because of the few benefits it does have over 3650, like the headphones, an controller that doesn't block itself, more heap memory). if anybody in the finland/tampere region wants to do this.. contact!

      the series60 system is so much more than just a regular j2me enabled phone is(and they have the best j2me support out there as well). the reason why ngage is intresting is because it is the cheapest series60 phone out there.

      and quite frankly.. i'm not on planning removing the mmc card from it's slot if i'm not changing to a bigger one.

      and as the last point.. to the taco bashers.. how about you try to speaking with it? it's not that bad(but bashing it sure gets a lot of karma!).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    7. Re:Also supports other phones by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      3660..

      but the pad is not that bad(on the 3650). actually it's great, it has enough room between the buttons which the 3660 version doesn't seem to have. the guys who i know who have or have had it haven't complained(including me) about it. it's just a reaction people who haven't used it get("eek, what were they thinking") get(people don't like anything different, and bashing things that are different is a great easy way to 'fit in'). ..and for the 200$(?) pricepoint ngage has in the states it's a great deal, great deals often get bashed though(they wouldn't exist otherwise even). i mean, if it was 200$ here, with 3660 at nearingly 400.. 200 buys a pretty nice camera compared to the crapcam in 3650(and the other phones you can buy for 200$ are great.. .. for talking, but not for anything else, and tacotalking isn't that bad having tried it)

      like fuck, do we now do computer reviews based on what the thing looks like? cpu reviews based on a pr picture?

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    8. Re:Also supports other phones by fondue · · Score: 1

      "But in all seriousness, this is good news since the 7650 (same series 60 symbian OS) is a really cool looking and small phone and would benefit from this as well."

      'Small' is not a word I'd ever imagined to see being used to describe the Nokia 7650.

      --

      Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck

    9. Re:Also supports other phones by dspyder · · Score: 1

      I'm still not convinced that I'm as quick texting with my 3650, but I have gotten used to where the numbers are to be able to dial without looking.

      It was incredibly difficult to get used to at first, much like a Dvorak keyboard... but now it's fine

      What I don't like about the 3660 and a lot of the other Nokia phones is the inconsistent size of the keys. At least in the rotary configuration they're the same size and [rotated] shape... Try finding the 8 key on the 3660. Or the stupid wobble buttons on the 3200!

      --D

      p.s. I absolutely LOVE my 3650! Best phone I've ever had!

    10. Re:Also supports other phones by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 1

      Whatcha talking about, Apple users have done this for years :)

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
    11. Re:Also supports other phones by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "I don't like the N-Gage, so it's a horrible game machine."

      That wasn't my reply. My reply was that it is a horrible game machine, not "I think it is a horrible game machine. Pay attention.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    12. Re:Also supports other phones by Kris_J · · Score: 3, Informative
      I can use this on my phone.
      Actually, you can't -- you don't have enough RAM. 6600 owners can use it though.
    13. Re:Also supports other phones by urrbanlleg-end · · Score: 1

      Annoyed by the rotary dial ?
      Then get a 3660 !

    14. Re:Also supports other phones by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      just wondering, did you ever get that emame working on your 3650? i get an 'emame ecomplx 31' with error beep when i try to start it :/

      ah well.. gotta just stick to gbc games for a while.. and irc..

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    15. Re:Also supports other phones by dspyder · · Score: 1

      Just got around to testing the latest eMame... no go. I've read there's not quite enough internal memory on the 3650 for it to load. The developer is slowly working on a trimmed down version, but since he doesn't have a 3650 he doesn't have much to go on.

      If I could find some time, I'd take a look at it. I think the Doom port had a similar problem.

      --D

  8. Re:Yeah ... and? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 4, Informative

    Did you miss the article? Thanks to this port of MAME, there are now many good games for N-Gage! :)

    Besides, what games for a dinky little screen like the N-Gage's would anyone want other than Tetris? Well, maybe Pac-Man.

    I find it amusing the 'screenshots' on this project page aren't even FROM an N-Gage.

  9. MAME is cool but... by obsequious23 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    This makes MAME the only cool thing that the NGage does that I'd be interested in. $199 for a portable MAME isn't worth it.

    1. Re:MAME is cool but... by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 1

      I'm curious if Nokia would be angry that they'd lose sales for their own games from people that would prefer to just use "free" MAME games instead. Are they selling the hardware at a loss hoping that game sales will make up the difference.

      N.

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
  10. i wonder... by simcop2387 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... how long it will be before Mame can emulate N-Gage Games, then it'd only be a matter of time before it could emulate itself!

    1. Re:i wonder... by Dark+Paladin · · Score: 2, Funny

      No! Whatever we do, we can not let such a piece of software exist! The creation of a singularity in software would make black hole that could destroy all life on this planet as we know it!

      Or, barring that, open up a whole to an alternate dimension where the N-Gage doesn't make you look like you've got a metal taco sticking out the side of your head.

      --
      52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
    2. Re:i wonder... by dq5+studios · · Score: 1

      I know you were being humourus but MAME is arcade emulation only, you want MESS. MESS is a console emulator based on MAME code. Yes I know N-Gage isn't a console in the strictest sense but neither are the GameBoys and MESS handles them fine.

  11. So does... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So since it's been found many n-gage games, including Sonic-N, can be run on other smartphones, such as the Symbian, without any modification, does that mean other smartphones can now run mame too?

    1. Re:So does... by albat0r · · Score: 2, Informative
      many n-gage games, including Sonic-N, can be run on other smartphones, such as the Symbian First of all, Symbian isn't "another smartphone", it's an OS. Second, there's a lot of smartphones that use Symbian OS, and one of them is the Nokia N-Gage. Other Symbian OS phones include the SonyEricsson P800, Nokia 3650, BenQ P30, Motorola A920, Sendo X Smartphone, etc.So, if a game is able to run on the Nokia N-Gage, for sure it runs on Symbian OS! (but probably not all devices running Symbian OS...)
    2. Re:So does... by TonkaTown · · Score: 2, Informative

      A little clarification on this.

      Many N-Gage games will work on other Symbian Series 60 smartphones (such as the 7650, 3650, 6600, Siemens SX1, Sendo X), no big surprise really, as the N-Gage is a member of the series 60 family of devices.

      There's an interesting article on MAME and other games on Symbian devices on Mobitopia

    3. Re:So does... by Kris_J · · Score: 1

      Sorry, Series 60 only. That doesn't include the P800. Only needs a port, but the binaries are not compatible. Also, the 3650 doesn't have enough RAM. Sendo X looks promising through. The N-Gage isn't "just" a Series 60 phone, it's *A Series 60 Phone*! With Lots Of RAM!

  12. HO-Gauge by heliocentric · · Score: 1

    Just ignore the little N-Gauge toys and go with the more popular HO-Guage as you will find more equipment available and as you grow older the largher scale will work better with your eyes when it comes to the finer detail work. Plus I think the track looks more realistic.

    Oh... wait, that's n-gage... well, that's just a bunch of hooey.

    --
    Wheeeee
  13. what about multiplayer? by Comsn · · Score: 3, Funny

    does mame on n-gage support multiplayer? finally! pong! head to head!

    1. Re:what about multiplayer? by AndyBusch · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, MAME no longer supports Pong. Pong didn't run in a ROM-style architecture. So, when it emulated Pong, it was all in the source code, which means they were distributing a game internally to the code, which went against the spirit of MAME, so it was removed from the code somewhere around .55.

    2. Re:what about multiplayer? by Cutriss · · Score: 1

      The argument was about whether it was being emulated or simulated, and in this case, it was the latter. I remember when they yanked it.

      On the other hand, it appears to be back in.

      I don't use MAME32 anymore, but I did recently get an Xbox and MAMEoX 0.76b1, and it comes with Pong. Falz and Noodle basically just wrap the existing MAME cores without any modifications unless needed for compatibility/performance (see the MK2/3 debate), so I doubt they added this on their own.

      --
      "Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
    3. Re:what about multiplayer? by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 1

      what about multiplayer?

      I suppose that Bluetooth could be leveraged to allow this possibility?

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    4. Re:what about multiplayer? by freeweed · · Score: 1

      Pong was "removed" (we'll get to this in a second) because there is nothing to emulate. No code, no ROM, nothing.

      Pong was originally entirely run off of discrete circuitry (much like my beloved Magnavox Odyssey 1). There was no code, just combinatorial circuits that controlled the game. As MAME is intended and designed as an emulator, well... when you have nothing to emulate...

      However, it's not actually removed AFAIK. It's still in the source code if you want to compile it yourself, just not in the "official" binaries. This may have changed recently though, it's been months since I compiled a new MAME myself.

      --
      Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
    5. Re:what about multiplayer? by tuffy · · Score: 1
      On the other hand, it appears to be back in.

      Any version of Pong in MAME is using the crusty old driver someone wrote many many versions back. The official build doesn't carry Pong and neither do most of the straight ports. This is because Pong has no ROMs, can't be emulated and any driver that isn't a discrete simulation (requiring more CPU power than your computer has, or will have for many years) is just somebody's best guess.

      --

      Ita erat quando hic adveni.

    6. Re:what about multiplayer? by Bakaneko · · Score: 1

      Actually, the stated reason as to why Pong was removed was that actually it wasn't an EMULATED game.

      Pong, being built from analog circuits, could never really be emulated but only simulated, which is what the Pong driver did.

      Actually, I take that back. It could be emulated if they wrote a bunch of "analog circuit B" programs, but that would be getting a tad bit crazy.

  14. Re:MAME for Windows? by dcgaber · · Score: 2, Informative

    I am not sure if this is a troll, but will respond anyway.

    There is MAME for Win-32. Requires DOS commands to run the ROMs, but there are also plenty of MAME frontends for windows that are very GUI and let you adjust all your settings and organize your ROMs and point and click to run a game.

    Go here to get it, and look for the FAQ on finding frontends. I have used a few, and they vary. Forgot which I liked best.

  15. Bah! by musingmelpomene · · Score: 4, Funny

    You kids and your fancy game systems.

    My Vectrex works perfectly fine for me.

    But I would like to get one of those Nintendo things. I hear there's a game on there about some plumber that jumps on turtles and stuff to save a princess. That sounds pretty high-tech!

    Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to playing Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Game. You suckers with your Playstations don't know what you're missing!

    1. Re:Bah! by GoRK · · Score: 2, Informative

      Man, the Star Trek vectrex game was horrible even by Vectrex standards.. It was just an endless shoot-em-up space game and it had nothing to do with Star Treck except that they were both set in space.

      The Vectrex could draw text on the screen. They should have at least pretended to add a bit of a plot (one line of text would have improved the game 10000%!

    2. Re:Bah! by musingmelpomene · · Score: 1

      Agreed - but you do have to respect the only game in history to have two colons in the title.

      I loved Spike, too. Gotta love that canned speech.

      EEK! HELP! SPIKE!

      OH NO! MOLLY!

      doo-DOO, doo-doodoo-doo-doo-DOO...

    3. Re:Bah! by _Sexy_Pants_ · · Score: 1

      Vectrex is 100 times more fancy than N-Gage if you ask me

      --
      Look it's a joke about my sig IN MY SIG! LOL!
  16. Re:MAME for Windows? by vasqzr · · Score: 1


    You sound like a troll but...

    MAME32 is what you're looking for.

  17. ADW, 12/3/2003 : by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    AAQ88

    Ohhhhh, that don't look good. Aces and eights, the dead man's hand.

  18. You are talking into a Taco by tepples · · Score: 3, Funny

    You are already talking into a (Slashdot story posted by Cmdr)Taco.

  19. Can't miss an opportunity... by gklinger · · Score: 3, Funny

    Forget MAME, get SideTalkin'!

    1. Re:Can't miss an opportunity... by sean@thingsihate.org · · Score: 1

      what a bunch of goddam dorks

      --

      One of the many things I hate. thingsihate.org
  20. Re:MAME for Windows? by Comsn · · Score: 3, Informative

    a search on google for "windows mame" returns MAME32, a beautiful windows port of mame.

    http://www.classicgaming.com/mame32/

  21. Re:Yeah ... and? by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1
    Any games that are even remotely interesting are already out for other systems.


    Thanks to this port of MAME, there are now many good games for N-Gage! :)

    Since MAME is an emulator, wouldn't that make those games "already out for other systems" by definition?

    Not that those games aren't great!
    --
    Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  22. Re:Yeah ... and? by hpavc · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    i seriously doubt that thousands of games work on that port.

    --
    members are seeing something, your seeing an ad
  23. multiplayer gaming by Tumbleweed · · Score: 1

    FPS deathmatch? Even better, now thanks to MAME - multiplayer Mario Brothers. Or better yet, Karate Champ. ("Full Point!") Awww yeahhh...

  24. WOOHOO! by ActionPlant · · Score: 1

    Yaaaaaaay! Just what we need...more options to distract drivers! I just can't WAIT to get hit by someone scrolling through a list of games trying to figure out what to play while they drive!

    Damon,

    --
    http://actionPlant.com
    1. Re:WOOHOO! by jonathan_the_ninja · · Score: 1

      And then, they'll have the person they crashed and the IDSA trying to sue their pants off!

      --
      I love NetHack.
    2. Re:WOOHOO! by ZzzzSleep · · Score: 1
      Quoth ActionPlant
      I just can't WAIT to get hit by someone scrolling through a list of games trying to figure out what to play while they drive!
      You mean like this?
      Sigh... as a cyclist, I really wish people would pay more attention when driving...
      --
      Emerald Astrology
  25. Nice English by Craig+Davison · · Score: 1, Insightful
    "The Nokia N-Gage has now joined the club of consoles for whom the excellent MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) was ported to."

    What the fuck is that all about? Seems like the poster tried real hard to avoid ending the system in a preposition, and then did anyway. Also, since when is a game console a 'who'?

    Bah.

    --
    Hands in my pocket
    1. Re:Nice English by butters+the+odd · · Score: 1

      As someone that visits that site rather infrequently, I can tell you that Wraggster's newsposts are always like that. The whole purpose of a newspost is to get a bit of info, if you are interested, you get more information, if not, you read the next newspost or go on about your business. You read it, you understand it, you shouldn't gripe about it.

      BTW, wraggs posted the exact same newspost over at vg-network

  26. The N-Gage has one winning feature... by heironymouscoward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is the only tax-deductible gaming system.

    Seriously... in European high-tax countries this means that the state gives a discount of 40-50% on the item (plus VAT back!).

    Even grown men like to play games now and then. And the N-Gage is surprisingly snappy, not like playing Java games on other GSMs, which is slow and boring.

    MAME on N-Gage is a great addition, Nokia should try to license these arcade games since many of their potential clients (men aged 30+) are probably more familiar with some of them than with the "real" games actually available on the thing.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une signature
    1. Re:The N-Gage has one winning feature... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      in European high-tax countries

      If you add what amerians pay for HEALTH CARE to what they pay in taxes, you'll find they actually pay the most taxes on earth...
      in these other 'hightax' nations, they get HEALTH CARE for free.. get it? shhhhhhss dont tell the americans, they like to look down at europe/canada for being stopid commies with payin high taxes to their gumint. twits.

    2. Re:The N-Gage has one winning feature... by W2k · · Score: 1

      And the N-Gage is surprisingly snappy, not like playing Java games on other GSMs, which is slow and boring.

      You clearly haven't tried playing Java games on a Sony Ericsson T610. Sure, the built-in games aren't that great, but T610Downloads takes care of that. After that, it's the best hand-held console I've ever used (disclaimer: I haven't used many). And it looks damn good to boot.

      Anyway, I guess I don't really "get" why anyone would want to put a full hand-held console into a mobile phone. Whenever I'm on a trip long enough that I _need_ games so as not to die of boredom, I generally just lug along my laptop. Better games and I can get some work done, too, when I feel like it. Battery life is a problem of course, but when I travel for more than two hours it's almost always on a train or an airplane, most of which have power outlets... That or by car, in which case I'm driving, in which case I don't have the time to play games to begin with.

      --
      Quality, performance, value; you get only two, and you don't always get to pick.
    3. Re:The N-Gage has one winning feature... by EddWo · · Score: 1

      But it lets them feel superior that they can have healthcare because they "work hard" and have a "good job", while they people who break their backs all day at Walmart or are mentally or physically disabled and actually need healthcare all the more, can't afford to have it.

      Isn't capitalism wonderful?

      --
      "Taligent is still pure vapor. Maybe they'll be the last who jumps up on Openstep... "
    4. Re:The N-Gage has one winning feature... by CavemanKiwi · · Score: 1

      What about the Zodiac. This looks like a cool system, a gamming PDA. Check it out.. Hopefully MAME will be released on it soon.

    5. Re:The N-Gage has one winning feature... by Valar · · Score: 1

      Just to clarify, I was joking.

      --

      ====
      Crudely Drawn Games
  27. How Long... by da3dAlus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Until Nokia sues somebody for this? I'm sure they'll say that their product was hacked, even though it might actually add some value to that PoS. Maybe people will actually buy one just to run MAME......naah...

    --

    Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion.
    1. Re:How Long... by albat0r · · Score: 1

      Why do you say that the N-Gage was hacked? The N-Gage run Symbian OS and Symbian OS allow you to install what you want on it, and it support Java and CPP, so you should be able to run whatever you want, including a MAME port.

    2. Re:How Long... by rbeattie · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, Nokia is promoting the use of MAME on its N-Gage site.

      -Russ

      --
      Me
    3. Re:How Long... by freeweed · · Score: 1

      Sweet zombie Jesus. Grab your ice skates kids, we're going deep.

      A major coporation has its product modified to do something entirely unintended, AND could be linked with piracy, and isn't suing right out of the gate.

      Hell hath frozen over. Finally, a company I can respect.

      --
      Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
  28. MAME is great but.... by crush · · Score: 1, Interesting

    how the hell do you get games for it? The whole dk.mame website had to take down ROM images because of copyright threats.

    1. Re:MAME is great but.... by Echnin · · Score: 2, Informative
      Ever heard of eMule?

      Here are a few games for you.

      Site is VERY slow, but obviously as soon as you get the links in your client, you'll enjoy P2P and stuff.

      Alternatively, you can download from Suprnova with BitTorrent.

      So there you have it! Have fun buying memory cards if you want to bring all those games with you at once.

      --
      Lalala
    2. Re:MAME is great but.... by kidgenius · · Score: 2, Informative

      or, for the cost of media, u can get the roms from theFreeMameRoms project.

  29. Re:MAME for Windows? by dcgaber · · Score: 1

    Ok, how my comment that was possibly responding to a troll with usefull info got modded by anyone as a troll itself is beyond me. I guess I am new here.

  30. Re:well by awx · · Score: 1

    Well said, that man.

    --
    Feel that power? That's mah MOUSING FINGER
  31. Re:Generic MAME question by Big_Ass_Spork · · Score: 1, Informative

    Sure... on taco's site: http://cmdrtaco.net/cabinet/.

    --

    Proof of the gay-linux conspiracy!

  32. X-Men anyone? by Ty_Webb · · Score: 1

    I can just see the Nokia ad now:
    *picture of a crater*
    This is where I used my MUTANT POWER
    (And yes, Colossus was my favorite character)
    N-Gage: +1 Coolness

  33. The Icon for this topic by ufpdom · · Score: 1

    Isnt that an X-arcade joystick? Does /. have permission to use that? :)

    --
    There's no Freedom like UFP-dom
  34. They won't by ColourlessGreenIdeas · · Score: 3, Informative

    The NGage is an open system, so anyone can write games for it. That's why it costs so much*; Nokia has already got enough profit when you buy the device and they don't care if you never buy an official game. The hack simply means that cartrige games can be pirated and run on other Series 60 phones. It's always been the case that anyone can go out and write software for the NGage without paying Nokia a penny. (There's a special games SDK that comes with some games libraries or somesuch that costs money, but this won't use it)
    *Actually, it's now available for free with a contract here in the UK, but the network is subsidising that, not Nokia.

    --
    In soviet russia stale jokes recycle you!
  35. Obligatory link.... by mrpuffypants · · Score: 1

    Sidetalkin!

  36. Re:RUSH LIMBAUGH EATS EVERYTHING by fenix+down · · Score: 1

    Well, not so much anymore. All that heroin kinda killed his appetite.

  37. Sidetalkin' by Aaron+England · · Score: 1

    Its so cool, everyone is imitating it.

  38. is sound playable? by otis+wildflower · · Score: 1

    last time I tried mame on my P800, it was absolutely unplayable when sound was turned on, but with sound off it was pretty solid.

  39. Not Another One by nathanh · · Score: 4, Funny

    What hasn't MAME been ported to? Wouldn't it be easier to just have articles listing the rare mobile phones and cameras without MAME? I can just imagine a future article...

    MAME Not Ported To Enigma Machine
    mame-maimed-in-spain department 2006-01-04

    In news that has shocked the MAME community, a project to port MAME to the 1940s Engima machine - used for encryption and decryption by the German forces during WW2 - was cancelled yesterday due to lack of interest.

    Miguel De Mameiza said "We were halfway through the port when we just decided to stop. We already have MAME ported and running on buildings, phones, cameras, watches, books, elephants, asteroids in the deepest part of the Kepler belt. We looked at each other and said 'OK, enough is enough, let's stop there'. We unanimously agreed that MAME is pretty much everywhere it needs to be; we don't need it ported to what is essentially an advanced mechanical typewriter."

    The gaming community had mixed reactions to the news. "I'm really glad they stopped" said one gamer. "MAME is everywhere. It's more pervasive than the SoFreakingBig virus." [Ed: referring to the Windows virus that crippled international commerce in 2005 when it managed to infect 140% of all Windows computers, an intrusion level that still baffles mathematicians] "Yesterday I bought a loaf of bread from the store and some bastard had ported MAME to the RFID tag. It's really weird to have your shopping basket bleeping Pacman music while you're waiting in line. And the checkout chick gave me the oddest look when I asked for my change in quarters."

    But others were angry at the decision. One MAME enthusiast maliciously commented "bleep bleep bleep bwowowowow" and then disappeared in an explosion of pixels. The journalist unfortunately had no change so could not ask for clarification.

    1. Re:Not Another One by Aelfy · · Score: 1

      Has it been ported to the GameBoy Advance?
      Seriously, anyone seen a GBA MAME? or c64 or any kind of GBA emulation?

      I understand the games would probably have to be compiled along with the emulator into a single GBA ROM, but has anyone attempted it?

    2. Re:Not Another One by stg · · Score: 1

      ROFL!

      Really great post, reminds me of Futurama (probably mostly due to the "what if machine" episode with the videogame segment)...

    3. Re:Not Another One by Abcd1234 · · Score: 1

      Yes. Many have. Off the top of my head, the following platforms are emulated on the GBA:

      Gameboy (oddly)
      NES
      Sega Master System
      PC Engine
      Spectrum
      Atari 2600

      As for MAME, a direct port is pretty unlikely, as, based on the existing population of emulators (and my own experiences), it's necessary to write in pure ARM assembler to achieve reasonable frame rates, as it has a measily 16mhz ARM7TDMI in it.

      Anyway, you can go here for links to various GBA emulators.

  40. which phones can use this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm about to change carriers (probably to ATT) thanks to number portability. Any idea which phone models can run MAME at a suitable speed?

  41. Galaga on my phone? YEEEES! by spoco2 · · Score: 1

    Oh man, that is cool... sure, the NGage isn't... it's ugly as sin (Exactly how ugly is sin anyway? Surely there are some pretty darn attractive sins? Lust for example... man, that can be a darn puurty sin).

    But this is for any phone using the same base operating system, so in effect it runs on others already (as shown in the article), and more in the future... maybe even phones that... wait for it... look like phones!

    When the contract on my current phone runs out (in around 10 months I think), there is bound to be a phone that's nice and cheap running the operating system... and SNAP, I shalst have it, and I shalst have Galaga, 1942 and pacman on my phone.

    And I shall be happy.

    And I shall forget that the actual reason for having the phone is to take and make calls... but I shan't care, for I shall have 1980 arcady goodness in my pocket (Insert lewd references to pockets and joysticks here).

    Ahhhhh.

  42. MAME - greatest thing... ever? by strictnein · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Given a choice between MAME and any other invention (even sliced bread!) I would nominate MAME as the greatest thing ever.

    I love my MAME cabinet. Support up to 4 players on thousands of games. It's just great. My latest obsession is now NBA Jam TE (which I have determined that the CPU players cheat like crazy). Before that it was Street Fighter Alpha 2.

    Yeah, it's illegal (except for NBA JAM TE for me, I own the ROM =), but you show me someplace I can go and pay to play all of those games and I'll be there. I know it will never happen, but as I've stated before, if I could buy a license for my MAME cabinet I would. I would gladly pay $300 - $400, maybe even more. Hell, how about a monthly fee, I don't care. And it's not like I didn't spend 10 years of my life plugging all the money I had into arcade machines anyways.

    The MAME scene might start running into a little more trouble soon now that they're getting close to emulating some of the newer, still commercialy viable games (Tekken 2 works, but is choppy and without sound, Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag are almost there, along with a number of other pretty new games like Blitz 99, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, Mace: The Dark Age, CarnEvil and San Francisco Rush).

    --
    Casual Games/Downloads
    1. Re:MAME - greatest thing... ever? by strictnein · · Score: 1

      (I know, I'm cool responding to my own post)

      Didn't even notice this either, the controller they show for the MAME stories is the one I currently use and really really recommend. Bought two of them. Check it out at http://www.x-arcade.com/

      --
      Casual Games/Downloads
    2. Re:MAME - greatest thing... ever? by Aelfy · · Score: 2, Informative

      you show me someplace I can go and pay to play all of those games and I'll be there

      Try:
      StarROMs

      *Very* limited selection of legal ROMs for purchase - pretty much only about 50 Atari ROMs at the moment, but I'm sure the catalogue will grow, given enough support.

    3. Re:MAME - greatest thing... ever? by cyrax777 · · Score: 1

      and flawless playback of the latest NEO-Geo Games. SNK versus Capcom chaos in paticlur sure one need to recompile the emulator but its opensource no big deal.

    4. Re:MAME - greatest thing... ever? by isaac · · Score: 1
      Given a choice between MAME and any other invention (even sliced bread!) I would nominate MAME as the greatest thing ever.


      I'll take vaccination, indoor plumbing, and affordable commercial air travel over MAME, personally. But MAME is still damned cool.


      -Isaac

      --
      I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
  43. Re:Yeah ... and? by NetFu · · Score: 1

    Why don't you try thousands of them on an eMAME install and then come back and tell us they don't? That's the only way you know for sure -- FUD like your statement doesn't tell us anything, the only thing that does is real-world testing.

    I've run MAME on a helluva lot of different platforms and almost all of the ROM's work on every platform because MAME is that good of an emulator. Granted, some of the most recent ROM's (from 2001-2003, for example) may have problems, especially on a low-end platform like a Symbian OS phone, but I consider running a large number of arcade games on my PHONE to be really damn cool...

  44. N-gouge has GAMES now?!?!?!?!!? by doublem · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cool!

    Now that you can actually play games on this sucker, it might be worth owning...

    Naaah.

    --
    "Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
  45. Vertical-scrolling games by ro_coyote · · Score: 1

    I never liked the idea of the display screen of the N-Gage being so tall (especially for side-scrollers), but hey... wouldn't be bad at all for classic arcade games that have a vertical setup in the first place, huh? Some Namco classics come to mind, such as Pac-Man, Dig Dug, and Galaga (not to mention lots of other vertical shooters out there)...

  46. What I want to know is... by webslacker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why isn't there a MAME for PalmOS yet? There are NES, C64 and AtariST emus, but what I'm really wanting is MAME!

  47. Re:Too bad the NGage runs like a 386 by homer_ca · · Score: 2, Insightful

    For that matter, what's the framerate like with Pacman? The N-Gage has a 100Mhz ARM CPU. Even on a 400Mhz Xscale (same processor family) Pacman in MAME is a little choppy with the sound on. Native execution on something like a GBA SP still has a big advantage over emulation. Compare the size, price and battery life of a GBA SP to a PocketPC or N-gage running MAME.

  48. Re:Slashbot Astroturf by strictnein · · Score: 2, Informative

    You don't like the X-Arcade? Interesting, I've tried a lot of different setups, from home brewed to some other professional companies, and I think the X-Arcade is by far the best. And I don't quite get where you find the x-arcade "flimsy". The wood they use is pretty damn solid. I've had a number of pretty large parties since I've finished my mame cab, and the controllers have been beaten to hell and had beer spilled on them and everything, the only thing I had to do was replace a couple sticky buttons (a $5 fix).

    Of course, I overcome the "desk-sliding" part by having the two that I own built into a stand that is attached to the cabinet.

    The lack of a trackball or spinner does suck, but there's only one game that I would ever play that uses either of those (arkanoid). /. will use the icon at every opportunity since they make 15%

    How do they make 15% when they don't even link to x-arcade.com?

    --
    Casual Games/Downloads
  49. Re:MAME for Windows? by strictnein · · Score: 1

    MAME32 is awesome... it's a windows-32 ported version of mame (I believe).

    Go here:
    http://www.classicgaming.com/mame32qa

    --
    Casual Games/Downloads
  50. WTF Happened to Mame? by 2Wrongs · · Score: 1

    I played MAME a couple of years ago and loved it.

    Recently, I downloaded it and it seems to have reverted to a buggy command line utlity and all the ROMs are on crappy warez sites that usually don't have anything. Anybody keep the old version around?

  51. Re:Slashbot Astroturf by barc0001 · · Score: 1

    Are you trying to point out the Treyonics site, or is that your sig? Because it sure looks like your .sig, and you know, bashing your competitor is not scoring you any crdibility...

  52. Since you make a competing product... by 0x0d0a · · Score: 1

    ...and since you've obviously used the X-Arcade, maybe you can answer a question I have. Why are all the arcade-style joysticks intended for home use so expensive?

    I mean, you call the X-Arcade cheap, and the cheapest variant of it is $100. The arcade control set you sell goes for $400.

    Most of the components, however, are pretty cheap. Nice arcade buttons sell for around $1.50 a button, plywood is extremely cheap (unless you use Formica, not sure what goes into these things), and a joystick for $10.

    The X-Arcade basic model has a joystick and nine buttons. The total component cost is maybe $30. That seems like an awfully hefty profit margin...perhaps it's just that so few people buy these things. As for labor, it's gluing and drilling a few holes. Where do the high prices come from?

    --
    May we never see th
  53. screen res problem? by thanasakis · · Score: 1

    From what I saw in the article, PacMan runs at almost full screen in the Ericsson P800. If I remember correctly, the nokia engage,3650,7250 and the newest 6600 (first midp 2.0 phone) have a smaller screen res. Has anyone tested it yet? Would the smaller res be a problem?

    I 've been contemplated buying an 6600 for almost a month since it came out but the rather high price (500 Euros) kept me from doing so. Having MAME available and usable would really be something else...

  54. hmmm by gunfinger · · Score: 1

    interesting development. so many million$ spent on developing the system / games / advertising, and a FREE program gives us a reason to consider buying an n-gage. or at the least waiting for it to peter out and buying them for $50 on ebay and THEN rocking out to 1942x on the subway.

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    ### http://www.gunfinger.com ### greed / tec
  55. Re:Such a bad idea by fondue · · Score: 1

    The 'hilarious' Penny Arcade quote in the sig of the above post is the icing on the cake for me.

    I don't think much of the N-Gage, but at least I'm capable of forming my own opinions.

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    Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck

  56. StarRoms by JMZero · · Score: 2, Informative

    For money, they sell legal Mame roms. They've made the deals - it's perfectly legit. Use them, and perhaps they'll expand their currently limited catalogue.

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    Let's not stir that bag of worms...
  57. Re:Sigh... by 0x0d0a · · Score: 1

    Penny-Arcade. Do you have any idea what Penny-Arcade is? If you don't, I highly recommend you visit. It is the single most influential game site on the planet.

    Honestly, I don't see how you can argue with Penny-Arcade.

    Penny Arcade has a lot of strong opinions. Whether or not you agree with them on the N-Gage, I think it's the rare gamer that hasn't disagreed strongly with Penny Arcade on at least one occasion.

    I remember the Halo "pounding nails through our dicks" cartoon, and while I agree that Halo sure ain't perfect, Bungie still made one hell of a mean game.

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    May we never see th
  58. what about my commie by BlastQuake · · Score: 1

    When are they going to port MAME to my trusty Commodore 128D? Even the C64 should get a port!

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    "What use is power to the Keeps of Balance?" -Disnt of Nightmare LpMud
  59. Re:MAME for Windows? by 0x0d0a · · Score: 1

    Seriously, is Linux so arcane because you guys WANT it that way? To keep your club for the elite?

    Linux is "arcane" because:

    a) It takes a lot of work to make something easy-to-use. Most Linux developers are making software that *they* would want to use. They don't really want to spend an extra week adding toolbars and tooltips all over the place (not that toolbars make a program easier to use, but a lot of Windows folks are deeply attached to them)

    b) Linux is a UNIX clone. UNIX is not like Windows. You cannot re-use much of your Windows experience, and the learning curve is much steeper.

    c) If Linux is a club, it's the easiest to get into club in the world -- anyone can download Linux. You just have to be willing to learn.

    d) Frequently, easy-to-learn implies stripped down from a feature standpoint. For example, regular expressions are extremely powerful. I would never dream of working with a text editor that couldn't do find-and-replace based on regular expressions, since I know how to use them. However, many Windows-based text editors will not include support for regular expressions because it makes things easier for folks that aren't familiar with the editor at the expensve of making the software much less useful to the folks that *do* know regex syntax.

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    May we never see th
  60. This isn't a new OS for MAME by cacheMan · · Score: 1

    EMame has been around for quite some time. You can even read a paper on Symbian.com about the good work of Peter van Sebille who ported it to Epoc 5 and Epoc 6 (read Symbian/UIQ/Quartz whatever you like). I'm sure the guy who changed the key mapping for the N-Gage would acknowledge that most of the work was already done for him, but nice work anyway!

  61. NES emulator for Game Boy Advance by veganjay · · Score: 1

    Well, you can have portable NES, if you have a GBA and a flash card:

    www.pocketnes.org

    1. Re:NES emulator for Game Boy Advance by Abcd1234 · · Score: 1

      And, if you want a testimonial, I can tell you that PocketNES is an absolutely *brilliant* emulator. The video emulation is practically flawless, and the sound is excellent as well. Moreover, with all that, it runs at full speed. It's truly amazing...

  62. Even more sidetalkin' by pr0ntab · · Score: 1

    More sidetalkin'

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    Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
  63. Even more sidetalking (mod down other, typo) by pr0ntab · · Score: 1

    Sidetalking like it's going out of style And it is.

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    Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
  64. Re:MAME for Windows? by protoshoggoth · · Score: 1
    However, many Windows-based text editors will not include support for regular expressions

    Totally offtopic, but just for the record the good ones do.

  65. The next best thing. by DaveOf9thKey · · Score: 1

    While there's no MAME for PalmOS, there is XCade, which runs Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Phoenix, Star Castle and a few others. Support for more games is on the way, though Galaga is fairly low down on the list.

    Here are some screenshots.

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    Visit me on the web at Permanent4.com.
  66. Re:Yeah ... and? by butters+the+odd · · Score: 1

    Due to ram restrictions in the N-Gage, it probably won't run anything beyond the 1970s. However, this is still quite a selection of games, and for those of us who like old school games, this is heaven.

  67. OT, ignore me. by dfenstrate · · Score: 1

    If you add what amerians pay for HEALTH CARE to what they pay in taxes, you'll find they actually pay the most taxes on earth

    Stated by someone who obviously hasn't done the math. I'll do it for you, then.

    Checking my recent pay stub, my federal taxes, including social security and medicare taxes (programs which I do not benefit from, nor expect to, because they'll collapse before I'm eligible) add up to 21% of my gross income.

    My health care insurance, which is the total cost of health care for my employers 20,000 employees divide by that same number of employees, is $1180 (my yearly contribution + company's contribution), plus a maximum out of pocket expense of $750 per year, equals $1930, which isn't even 2% of what I earn.

    So, you're looking at a rate of 23% by the way you calculate things. Hardly a crushing burden compared to a european high of 60%.

    --
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.