XGameStation; new 68K based games console for hobbyists

[Jethro_Tull]

While surfing the net, I discovered this site; http://www.xgamestation.com
they're developing a games console based on a 25MHz Motorola 68K CPU.  The big departure is that rather then being a mainstream console aiming for world domination, it's being marketed to programmers and retro-fans who are then encouraged to write their own games.  All tools are provided, including an empty games cartridge,  a comprehensive book detailing every aspect of console and a complete development kit.

The target price of just $99 makes it quite attractive too in my opinion.  Looks like it's quite an interesting gadget for programmers who cut their teeth programming their Amiga in assemly language or C.

[Jethro_Tull]

Hi red,
I'd have to disagree with you on this one.  I've got the impression the C-One is a much more of a complete computer then the XGameStation.  It has a hard disk and floppy interface, fits in a PC case etc.  The XGameStation has none of these, and if you've seen the site, you'll know it's aimed squarely at the games hobbyists.  The XGameStation is quite small (about 12cm X 8cm), comes with extensive documentation and is cheap too, but it old hardware, and is certainly not as innovative as the C-One.

Having said that, the XGameStation should handle C64, Atari, mame etc emulation fairly easily and so would be ideal for nostalgia fans everywhere.

However Red, please let's not turn this thread into a C-One Vs XGameStation thing.  Like Framiga said, they're seperate products aimed at seperate markets, while there might be some apparent overlap, it can also be said for MANY other products.

I posted the news item purely because I thought the product (which I discovered through the demo raido-site nectar) would interest the Amiga community.  Personally wrting a game, burning it on ROM cartridge and run it on your very own console has it's appeal to me.  

I miss the days you had to code in assembly, hit the hardware and come up with clever algorithims for dems and games, when coding was a challenge.  Nowadays, with hardware so powerfull and APIs so vast and arcane, it's a completly different ball game!  That's why the XGameStation rang a bell immediatly with me!
 

See ya' round
Jethro Tull