Alternative Games

I remember several years ago, probably 1999 or 2000, I was wandering Kentia Hall at E3 and came across these wacky Koreans with what looked like oversized GBAs with antennas. Intrigued, I stopped to check them out, and they proceeded to show me the early prototype of what eventually became the GP32, a 32-bit Linux-based handheld gaming console. These early Frankenstein’s monster units eventually became a bit more smooth (if never really small) and released to a moderate amount of success, especially among the game geeks and homebrew modders.

Last year the GP2X was announced for the US and the Uk. The official launch has been mired in uncertainty, but American and British orders should begin shipping this month if they haven’t already. At this point, the GP2X seems already much more successful than its predecessor. The system is essentially everything gamers wish the PSP would be: Game Park Holdings is incredibly friendly to hackers and homebrew developers, remaining true to the Linux and FLOSS spirit, and the system is very powerful. Dual 250mhz RISC processors power a customized Linux build. 64 MB of system memory provides plenty of RAM and an openGL graphics processor delivers good visual performance. Of course, storage is always an issue, so the GP2X uses common SD Flash memory cards for media storage. All of this for around $189 USD makes the GP2X a better value than the PSP.

Couple that kind of hardware with a dedicated user community interested in developing homebrew games and apps, and you have the makings of a true cult gaming phenomenon. But Game Park is not resting on its laurels. The GP franchise is set to expand rapidly and determined to become as fashionable as a Game Boy Micro.

Continue reading ‘GP2X Linux-Based Handheld (Coming) Out Now’

Working Designs made a name for themselves by bringing over some of the best overlooked titles released in Japan with an obvious reverence and affection that permeated every aspect of their releases. From their start importing titles for TurboGrafx 16, Working Designs built a reputation for clever dialogue localizations that were well-received and often considered improvements over the original Japanese versions.

Working Designs released a lot of games in their lifetime, focusing mainly on traditional Japanese RPGs and niche Japanese shooters. Each game they released was chosen personally by Working Designs CEO Victor Ireland, one of the gaming industry’s maverick personalities.

Ireland’s love of the games Working Designs brought to America is evident in his farewell letter to Working Designs fans, posted on the company’s Web forum December 12, 2005:

There’s no easy way to say it, so I just will. Working Designs is gone. All the staff has been laid off and the office is closed and has been for some time. Yes, the website is still here, and I am going to do my best to keep it tucked away somewhere on the ‘net so it doesn’t become an illicit domain. (Of course, some of the haters may be of the mind that it’s been illicit all along, heh!).

…

I know many of you will have lots of questions, and there will be some I can answer, and some I can’t. Sony has made it clear that they do not want the details of their dealings with any publisher made public. Suffice to say that you would buy what we wanted to sell if we could sell it.

…

Thanks for everything. It’s a tough road ahead for games that aren’t of the least-common-denominator variety. The choices you make with your hardware dollars are more important than ever for the generation that is upon us.

Feeling a bit nostalgic for Working Designs, I dug up an old GamesFirst! interview with Victor Ireland. I remember when Jeff did this interview; we were so happy to be working with Working Designs. Now, GF! is still there, but WD is not. Incidentally, the hardware platform Ireland seems to endorse in the full farewall letter is the Xbox 360, which he says he is working with to bring over some cool Japanese imports. That read works with what I’ve seen so far as Xbox 360 pushes limits with both indy / alternative games available through Xbox Live Arcade and the cooler incidental features of the Xbox 360.

Get the full Victor Ireland interview from September 2000 after the jump.

Continue reading ‘Alt Nostalgia: Working Designs’