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Linux gaming handheld targets $10-$20 price -- but is it for real?
2011-07-05 Article Rating:  / 2
Eccentric indie game developer Robert Pelloni ("Bob's Game") announced he is developing a gaming handheld prototype based on Linux that will sell for $10-20 by year's end. The 400MHz ARM-based "nD" device will offer a 2.4-inch, 320 x 240 display, and Wi-Fi, and will be supported soon with a Linux SDK, claims Pelloni, although many are skeptical the device will see the light of day.
The "nD" prototype, which stands for "indie," runs custom embedded Linux firmware on an unnamed 400MHz processor, according to Pelloni's website, ND Forum. This is said to be four times faster than a $160 Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and faster than a $130, 333MHz Sony Playstation Portable, all at a fraction of the price.  nD prototype  n2, top view A promotional video on the prototype (see farther below) shows a mock-up, complete with internal break-out view (below), but there's no demo. According to the nD Forum FAQ, the device is in the prototyping phase, with the first batch due "possibly" by the end of 2011, with 2012 "a more realistic date." The target demographic is children ages 6-12.  nD, expanded breakout view It does not appear that the initial version will offer a touchscreen, but the device offers a variety of gaming buttons. A future version may offer a clamshell covering, says the site. The nD will ship with at least 16MB of RAM, but more likely 32MB, says the FAQ. It will likely offer 2GB of flash storage, but no SD slot, and will integrate Wi-Fi and a rechargeable battery, says the site.  Various design concepts based on the nD, including the current one (center) The nD developers will sell games through the nD forum online Game Store, taking a 90 percent profit from each copy sold. Developers may, however, to use the free, open source SDK (software development kit) to sell titles independently without paying a cut. The Linux-based SDK is said to be "coming soon." It is based on the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) standard. SDL is a cross-platform multimedia library that offers low level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, 3D hardware (via OpenGL), and a 2D video framebuffer. The nD will come pre-installed with the long-awaited final cut debut of Pelloni's "Bob's Game" title, which has been available as a preview for several years. Meanwhile, Pelloni has signed up over a dozen other pledges for ports to the device, according to his site. Hell hath no fury like a Nintendo developer spurnedPelloni has played a somewhat similar counterpoint -- or thorn in the side -- to Nintendo that GeoHot (George Hotz) has played to Sony. (After being sued by Sony over PlayStation hacking exploits, GeoHot settled with the company, and is now working for Facebook.) Yet Pelloni is not so much a modder as a disgruntled, would-be Nintendo game developer with a grudge. Skeptics believe that the nD is merely the latest in a long series of stunts and protests launched by Pelloni since 2008 when Nintendo refused to offer him an SDK to compile his finished version of his Bob's Game title. As explained in detail on this Wikipedia page, after being rejected by Nintendo in December 2008, Pelloni claimed to have locked himself in his room for 100 days as a protest. This was followed by various other public threats against Nintendo, as well as claims of deals with various game vendors and homebrew groups that never quite came to fruition. In January, 2009, there was even said to have been an unhinged posting that some feared was a suicide note. (Police broke in to his room and found Pelloni to be okay.) This was followed by more claims and rumors, both from Pelloni and others, with Joystiq reporting that he had vandalized the Nintendo World Store in New York City. Some suggested at the time that the stunts were all part of a viral marketing campaign developed in cahoots with Nintendo. Yet, in February, 2009, Nintendo rejected Pelloni's request for an SDK again, according to the Wikipedia account. Pelloni announced that the hunger strike and other activities had indeed been a viral marketing scheme, but that Nintendo was never involved. In March of that year, it was reported that Pelloni released a playable demo of Bob's Game, which required a flash cartridge and was designed to be played on the NO$GBA Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance emulator for Windows. Meanwhile, a video preview of Bob's Game posted on YouTube has received over 100,000 hits. It will be interesting to see if the SDK makes it out the door, let alone the nD device itself. If it does, the handheld console is unlikely to hit the $20 mark, although maybe $29.99 may be a possibility. Certainly, as Pelloni writes, the smartphone industry has drastically reduced the cost of certain mobile device components in recent years. Last year, for example, the Indian government claimed to be working on a $35 Android tablet. In May, U.K. games developer David Braben launched an OLPC-like foundation called Raspberry Pi, hoping to sell a tiny ARM/Linux computer aimed at K12 computer education for as little as $25. Braben demonstrated a single board computer (SBC) prototype running Ubuntu 9.04 on a 700MHz, OpenGL-enabled ARM11 processor with 128MB SDRAM, HDMI, USB, and SD connectivity, supporting 1080p video. nD promo video on YouTube Source: nD Forum (Click to play) More information on the nD handheld, said to be due in 2011 or 2012, may be found on the nD Forum site. Related Stories:
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