The iodd 2501 doesn’t need an OS to run, which means you can actually boot and install from an ISO. It’s perfect for people who repair computers, but I’m sure anyone who owns a lot of optical media or ISO files can see how useful this drive enclosure is. You can store OS installation disks, games or ripped Blu-ray discs, all in one small device.

Like most drive enclosures, the iodd 2501 does not come with a hard drive, but that’s not a real problem since you can use any 2.5″ hard drive or SSD with it. It connects via USB or eSATA, has a write-protect switch, and draws power via USB. The iodd 2501 Portable Virtual ROM is available at Amazon for $70 (USD). Time to rip those discs!

[via Everything USB]

The compact handheld will run a customized Linux distro in firmware, and is targeted to assume the throne from the aging GP2X platform.

The Pandora’s clamshell case will be roughly the size of a Nintendo DS, and will offer a substantial color LCD touchscreen display. To further support its gaming chops, the Pandora will sport dual analog joypads, a digital D-pad, A-B-X-Y buttons and a QWERTY keyboard just for kicks (or if you want to do more than play games).

The CPU under the hood is said to be powerful enough to emulate everything from the NES to the Super Nintendo to the Sony PlayStation all at full speed. Full specs are listed below:

• ARM® Cortex™-A8 CPU running Linux
• 800×480 4.3″ 16.7 million color touchscreen LCD
• OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Dual SDHC card slots
• Dual analog and digital gaming controls
• 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
• TV output
• High Speed USB Host

The Pandora development team expects to start releasing developer kit in the next couple of months, with a goal of a full-on consumer launch this Summer. Retail pricing is expected to be around £199 (inc VAT) / $330 USD / €212 (Ex.VAT).

[OpenPandora via Retro Thing]

[Pandora FAQ]

Currently in the prototype stages, the pocket-sized Gameport will be capable of emulating multiple classic 8-bit systems, currently the Atari 2600 and Colecovision, with additional systems to come in future. You’ll be able to connect the Gameport to your computer via a USB port, and transfer game ROMs to the device’s SD memory slot. The system will even be able to output to a television, thanks to built-in A/V outputs. The current build measures 3.5″ x 5″ x 1″, but Ben thinks the final version will be a little less chunky.

Gameport hasn’t yet announced any retail outlets, a launch date or price, but I’ll let you know if and when that changes.

Let me start off by saying that the Tankstick is a one mammoth controller. It’s meant for serious arcade game fiends, and those who just have to have the biggest toys on the block.

First and foremost, the Tankstick is designed with PC gaming in mind, with a definitive bent towards those who like to play arcade and console emulators. There are adapters available so you can use the Tankstick with any console, but since these are optional, I didn’t get to try out the controller on my Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii.

I knew I was in for something special when this giant box showed up on my doorstep. Packed neatly inside, the controller is a whopping 30-inches wide, and weighs in at about 20 pounds.

While you certainly can play with the Tankstick in your lap, its really way too big for anything but desktop or countertop placement. Build quality of the Tankstick is exceptional. It’s made from heavy duty arcade-grade materials, and includes real arcade joysticks, buttons and a full-size trackball.

The Tankstick features dual eight-way digital joysticks and eight buttons per player. This setup lets you play pretty much any arcade game ever made (other than games that demand a spinner or a wheel input.) The dual stick design works extremely well for classics like Smash TV and Crazy Climber, which both used two sticks in their original arcade incarnations. With dual controls and a name like Tankstick, the first game to pop into my mind was BattleZone. I was really looking forward to that one, only to find it virtually unplayable, due to the lack of any button or trigger directly on the joysticks. Regardless, pretty much any other joystick-based game I tried played just like it did in the arcade. The dual stick design is also really nice for two player games, assuming you put the controller on a hard surface instead of your lap.

Joystick and button responsiveness is excellent, and everything feels like the “real deal” here. In addition to the dual sticks and buttons, the controller features four side mounted buttons, which can be used for functions such as pinball-flipper games, or for coin-in triggering. There are also player one/player two start buttons, which each have nifty people symbols on them (oh the little touches!)

Setup was a bit more challenging than I’d prefer, but since this controller is really geared towards techie types, I won’t hold it against X-Arcade too much. The Tankstick comes with both USB and PS/2 interfaces, and all the cables you need to hook it up to your PC. You’ll need to make sure you have two available ports for this controller. One cable connects to the trackball, and the other one connects the joysticks and buttons. Once connected, I decided to give it a whirl with my install of M.A.M.E., the leading classic arcade emulator.

Since all of the digital functions are designed to emulate keystrokes, mapping keys to buttons is pretty straightforward, but can be time consuming. Thankfully, there’s already a configuration built into M.A.M.E. for X-Arcade’s sticks, making it fairly painless to get up and running (assuming you read manuals.) On the other hand, I had a heck of a time getting M.A.M.E. to recognize the trackball. After a bit of research, it turns out that the more recent versions of that emulator can support multiple analog devices, and I had to manually edit my configurations to get it to use the trackball instead of a mouse.

Once I worked out the trackball kinks, though, I was hooked. Classics like Marble Madness, Centipede and Crystal Castles all thrive on trackball play, and with the Tankstick’s full-sized orb, it felt so good to play those classics the way they were meant to be played.

I’ve spent alot of time talking about how well the Tankstick works with classic arcade games. Heck, X-Arcade even includes a handful of arcade games from Atari and Midway on two included CDs (real gaming snobs won’t settle for less than the original arcade versions under M.A.M.E., though.) However, since all of the controller’s buttons and joystick contacts are user-programmable, you can use the Tankstick with just about any PC game, as long as it can use the keyboard and mouse. I was even able to get the Tankstick working with Half Life 2, but I’m pretty old school when it comes to playing first-person shooters, so it felt awkward to me.

At $199.95, the X-Arcade Tankstick isn’t for everyone. It’s a massive piece of equipment and a bit challenging to set up at first. Its built like a tank, so unless you plan on dropping it on the floor, you get years of gameplay out of it. For serious arcade enthusiasts, it’s about as close as you’ll get to the real arcade without dropping thousands on a full-size arcade cabinet.

Technabob Review Scores
Functionality:
9 out of 10

Build Quality:
10 out of 10

Ease of Use:
6 out of 10

Value:
8.5 out of 10

Overall Score:
8.5 out of 10

The Plezo PMG-250 media player features technology that lets it play classic (and not so classic) games from Sega MegaDrive, Nintendo NES and GameBoy Color consoles. The PMG-250 has a 2.5″ LCD color screen, with stereo speakers and a joypad for controlling games. In addition to its game playing prowess, it can play audio and video clips in a variety of formats, and has an SD slot for expandable storage.

The manufacturer doesn’t indicate if they’ll be selling games for download onto the system, or if they’ll just rely on the savvy of owners to find their own (under various rocks.)

Retail price for the PMG-250 player is KRW 169,000 (appx. $180 USD.)

[via QJ.NET]

The game was built by programmer Scott Pehnke entirely in Flash, and features a full emulation of the game including all of the sights and sounds of the original. It even features one of the first ever video game easter eggs.

If the Atari 2600 is a little too primitive for you, here are a couple of other web based classic game emulations you can check out: Link 1 Link 2

[via bits bytes pixels & sprites]

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The menu system is a very faithful reproduction of the Wii menu system, and he’s got it all tied together with his Wii-mote to let him control some emulated console games on his PC.

I’m sure Nintendo won’t be thrilled by the blatant copyright infringement in his design, but maybe they’ll give him a break and just appreciate the fact that he’s just a really dedicated Wii fanboy.

[via GoNintendo]