Consoles

Pokemon on a Dreamcast VMU

Published

6 years ago

December 9, 2018

In the modern world of gaming any game can be run almost anything with a processor and a screen. In this golden age of retro gaming some has modified a Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit to run old Gameboy games thanks to a raspberry pi small single-board computer.

The maker of the Dreamcast VMU and GB games crossover is someone who goes by the name Kite on the Sudomod forums—a site dedicated to raspberry pi and Gameboy related mods.

The Dreamcast was Sega’s last home console, released in 1999, this well-loved machine was sega’s final farewell to the first party games they used to make before becoming to a third party develepor. It’s memory card was a large piece of plastic with its own screen, and had it’s own games, and was small enough to fit in your pocket but big enough to seem when you tried to get it into the Dreamcast’s massive controller.

“It is great for GBC games due to the low res, and ‘basic’ games like Sonic (that require very few buttons),” Kite wrote on the Sudomod forums. “The screen is super smooth and no tearing but it does make menus quite hard to use…I currently have it on my keychain for my keys because it has a lanyard hole at the bottom!”

Old hand held consoles, like the VMU and the Gameboy series are perfect for innovative makers to bust open due to the smaller size and thanks to the fact that they come with screens and buttons. Many of these modified consoles use Retropie, software that allows users to emulate old console and handheld games.

To be clear, Kite’s using an LCD screen that comes with the pi zero/w not the original VMU screen. He’s not done messing with the VMU either, he plans to upgrade the screen and begin selling some of these beauties in early to mid 2018.

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Consoles

Despite popular belief, PS4 sales in the UK skyrocketed last year

Published

9 months ago

January 10, 2024

Zach Riley

PS4 sales in the UK climbed by a shocking 633 percent year-over-year in 2023, so apparently the old system isn’t dead yet. The previous year’s very limited supply of the system is likely a major factor in this figure, since the console’s lifespan was drastically reduced because of chip shortages caused by the pandemic. Still, it’s proof that PlayStation’s original platform has unmet demand.

With the very low prices of PS4 software (both in-store and online at the PS Store), this strategy makes a lot of sense. Plus, it’s future-proof, so there’s no harm in stocking up on PS4s while new-gen pricing is still high, since if you decide to switch to a PS5 in the future, you can transfer all of your purchases across. Not to mention that the majority of new releases still come out on the PS4, with several offering free PS5 upgrades.

While the percentage rise may seem huge, real PS4 sales will probably be much lower. It’s a sign that the gadget, which is now a decade old, isn’t completely dead yet, and we expect it to keep receiving maintenance for a while longer. Of course, this is great news for Sony, because the company would rather have PS4 players playing on its last-gen gadget than none at all, even if it would love to have them upgrade to PS5.

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Consoles

New PS5 firmware is available for download!

Published

10 months ago

December 6, 2023

Zach Riley

A PS5 firmware update on a cold winter morning is unmatched. The latest PS5 system software update is 23.02–08.40.00 from Sony. Does this one add useful features or just boost system performance?

Though closer to the latter, it’s more than Sony’s favorite patch note. It fixes security issues, improves messages and usability, and boosts system software performance. Official patch notes for this 1.185GB update:

We updated system software security
We improved system software stability and performance
Some screens now have better messages and usability

That’s it. PS5 gets another win to recover from its midweek slump. Do you share our enthusiasm for this firmware update? Comment below. To spice things up, make your comment rhyme.

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Consoles

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox Version Will Help PS5

Published

10 months ago

November 30, 2023

Zach Riley

Belgian developer Larian Studios’ work on Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox Series S version will improve performance on all platforms, including PS5. The game’s fifth major patch, expected to launch this week, will include upgrades and new features. More details will be revealed later today.

Director of Publishing Michael Douse says PS5 performance improvements may be the “least exciting thing” in the title’s next update, so it sounds like a big one. Larian Studios employees are proud of “finally” implementing tweaks, fixes, and changes, Douse says. Later today, we’ll bring you all the Baldur’s Gate 3 update details.

Those who reached the RPG’s third act have reported technical issues during the narrative’s conclusion, especially in co-op, so today’s update should fix them. New features like a permadeath mode are expected, along with Xbox Series S optimization fixes. What else should be added to the game?

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