gaming News - Page 18 of 20 - CNX Software

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Raspberry Pi 3 based Retro Arcade Game Console Sells for under $250

When it comes to retro-gaming for the Raspberry Pi 3 board, there’s no lack of option with firmware like RetroPie or Lakka, a few off-the-self accessories like USB or Bluetooth gamepad, a an HDMI monitor, you can get started in no time. However, if you want to make a retro arcade game console, it may take some more efforts, as you’d normally have have to design the case yourself, source the buttons and controls, the display, extra electronics and so on. But the “DIY classic retro arcade game console” based on Raspberry Pi 3 board currently sold on Banggood for $247.99 should make things much easier, as it’s supposed to be plug and play, while still offering the option to add or remove games, and mess around with the hardware if you wish to. Banggood did not provide the full technical details, but here’s what we know about the specifications: […]

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

ODROID-GO is an Arduino Compatible, ESP32 based Portable Gaming Console Kit

When I first saw Hardkernel made ODROID-GO portable gaming console, I immediately thought they did a Linux device ala PocketCHIP, since so far the company has only designed Android & Linux development board. But ODROID-GO game console is actually based on Espressif ESP32 WiSoC, programmable with the Arduino IDE, and launched to celebrate Hardkernel’s 10-year anniversary. ODROID-GO specifications: SoC – Custom ESP32-WROVER module with ESP32 SoC @ up to 240 MHz, 16 MB Flash, and 4MP PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot connected via SPI Display – 2.4″ 320×240 TFT LCD (SPI) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz – 2.5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR, BLE Speaker – 0.5Watt 8Ω Mono USB – 1x micro USB port for charging (500mA) and USB-UART communication Expansion Port – 10-pin header with I2C, GPIO, IRQ at 3.3Volt Misc – Buttons: Menu, Volume, Select, Start, A, B, Direction Pad Battery – 3.7V/1,200mAh Li-Polymer good for […]

May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

XU4Q Retro Gaming System Runs ODROID GameStation Turbo, Sells for $150 and Up

One of the use case for little Arm Linux boards is retro gaming thanks to open source projects like RetroPie, RetrOrangePi, Lakka, and others. To get a complete & usable system, it’s possible to purchase console kits, enclosures, or even complete game consoles running one of such emulators. This morning I’ve come accross another option, as Ameridroid is now taking pre-order for XU4Q Retro Gaming System for $149.95 and up. As it name implies, the console is based on ODROID-XU4Q, the fanless version of ODROID-XU4 board, which with its Exynos 5422 octa-core processor and 2GB RAM will be much more powerful than Raspberry Pi 3 boards, and most other boards on the market. The kit also includes OGST Gaming Console, GameSir G3w analog joystick controller, a power supply, and a 16GB microSD boot media flashed with ODROID Game Station Turbo based on Debian. If you already own an ODROID-XU4(Q) board, […]

March 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

GameSir X1 BattleDock is a Bluetooth Smartphone Dock with USB Ports for Keyboard and Mouse

Gaming-Dock-USB-Keyboard-Mouse-Smartphone

If you’ve ever wanted to easily connect a USB keyboard and/or mouse to your smartphone, GameSir X1 BattleDock may be for you. The dock holds your phone at an angle, and offers two USB ports for USB input devices, with the phone and dock communicating over Bluetooth. As the name implies, the system is apparently designed for gamers, but others might find it useful too.Some basic specifications for the dock: USB – 2x USB host ports Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 Misc – Mode switch button, status LEDs, foldable phone holder Battery – 3,000 mAh battery good for about 5 hours Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – approximately 13.5 x 10.2 x 3.1 cm when folded Weight – 272 grams The manufacturer claims the dock supports the most common FPS and battle royale games such as PUBG mobile, Rules of Survival, Knives Out, Dead trigger2, Modern Combat […]

March 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Android based Station OS Firmware Focuses on Multimedia and Retro Gaming for ROC-RK3328-CC and Firefly-RK3399 Boards

If you’re interesting in gaming and multimedia, one choice is to run Linux based RetrOrangePi or RetroPie on your favorite development board/SBC, and soon, with the upcoming release of Kodi 18, multimedia and retro gaming will just be an app installation away in Android, and other supported operating systems, since RetroPlayer retro-gaming emulator is part of the latest – and yet-to-be-released – version of Kodi. In the meantime, if you own a ROC-RK3328-CC and/or Firefly-RK3399 board(s), you may want to try Station OS, a firmware based on Android with a focus on 4K video playback and retro gaming. The description claims that Stations OS includes “more than 20 kinds of optimization for video and games, achieve multimedia center, Kodi 4K hardware decoding, game simulator hardware acceleration, real-time cast screen display, network acceleration, perfect Root.” The firmware does not use Kodi directly, but RKMC fork instead with some improvements, and they […]

January 25, 2018January 25, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

$210 GPD XD Plus Handheld Android Game Console Launched with Mediatek MT8173 Cortex A73/A53 SoC

Not everybody is willing to spend around $650 on the recently announced GPD Win 2 portable Windows game console, and for people with a lower budget and happy to play Android games, the company has now launched the expected GPD XD+ console with GeekBuying and GearBest taking pre-orders for $209.99 including shipping. GPD XD+ will be an upgrade of the previous GPD XD console with Rockchip RK3288 replaced by a more powerful Mediatek MT8176 processor, and RAM capacity increased to 4GB. The rest of the design is pretty much unchanged. GPD XD Plus specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT8176 hexa-core processor with 2x Cortex A72 cores @ 2.1 GHz, 4x Cortex A53 cores @ 1.7 GHz, and Imagination PowerVR GX6250 GPU System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 32GB eMMC flash (GearBest shows 64GB instead), micro SD slot up to 128GB Display – 5″ 720p capacitive touch display Video Output – […]

January 22, 2018October 23, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

Pandora’s Box 5S Arcade Game Console – Teardown and Mini Review

Last year – and even in 2016 – , there was a fair amount of new retro gaming news, with products such a Nintendo SNES Classic Edition or GameShell Portable Retro console, as well as community supported firmware such as RetrOrangePi 4.0. GearBest asked me if I wanted to review something a little different: Pandora’s Box 5S (aka Pandora’s Key 5S) arcade game console with 999 games most (all?) designed for two players. This looked fun, and I was particularly interesting in checking out the hardware design, and hacking potential, e.g. if there could be a way to replace the board or firmware with your own. So in the review, I’ll focus mostly on the teardown, before shortly testing out the system and a few games. Pandora’s Box 5S Unboxing The device comes ins a large package (~70 x 24 x 16cm), so I’m surprised customs did not ask any […]