[GTALUG] GameShell: The Hackable Handheld Retro Gaming System

[Stewart C. Russell]

On 2017-11-14 05:22 PM, Scott Elcomb via talk wrote:
> 
> "GameShell is the world's first modular, portable game console with a
> GNU/LINUX embedded operating system. …"

I suspect that Adafruit's PiGrrl might've beaten them to it by a couple
of years, but details, details. Selling a machine that requires you to
scavenge abandonware ROMs for RetroArch is inviting all sort of legal
challenges by copyright holders. Not all dormant publishers are quiet:
up until recently, Ultimate (later RARE, and now part of MS) would do
all they could to keep their old games off archive sites.

> It has a modular gameboy-like form factor based on Clockwork Pi (Quad
> Core A7), 512MB RAM and a 2.7in RGB display. 

Things I like about this:
* Likely faster screen than most Raspberry Pi TFTs (except the new and
nice Pimoroni ones)

* Proper battery charger, unlike the barely-able-to-run-a-Pi3 one
specified for PiGrrl

* Sound! The PiGrrl's sound is hacky, and if you've ever tried to add a
speaker to a Pocket Chip, eww.

Things I'm not so sure about:
* Totally new board, which claims to run Raspbian, but would need tweaks
to enable Mali over VC. Remember what happened to the Via APC Raspberry
Pi killer…? No? Exactly.

* That chipset's gonna get *hot*, and the lovely acrylic case will not
like that. Many RetroArch emulators run the CPU in a tight, busy loop,
so cooling's a must.

* The $99 price to Canada is really $126 (CAD) + import duty/taxes +
import fees, so around $160 all in.

* We can do so much better than 320×240 screens these days …

I recently built a tiny gaming rig for work based on a Raspberry Pi, a
2.8" TFT and a small Rii wireless keyboard. It's a mess of cables, but
it's very small and capable:
https://elmwoodelectronics.ca/blogs/news/big-retro-gaming-little-box

cheers,
 Stewart