XGameStation; new 68K based games console for hobbyists

[meerschaum]

ohhh come on, this thing is freakin cool and ya know it!.... I just hope it has enough power to push graphics the way a SNES could... other then that its a very cool system for 99$...

[redrumloa]

it might
emulate old '2600 games decent though...

Don't hold your breath. I couldn't get decent frame rates out of Stella on my old 060/66. :-x

[CodeSmith]

This thing is definitely a competitor to the c-one.  It's an 8/16-bit system (it's even got a socket for a 65816 just like the c-one's) with FPGAs for a programmable chipset.  There is a USB module in the works, so you should be able to plug in a keyboard and mouse if you want to.

The main difference is that this console is a lot cheaper, in terms of price and features; there is no IDE for example.  In terms of value for money, they might be equivalent though.  Since neither is for sale yet, it's hard to compare the two (hey, where have I heard THAT one before?  :-P )

[SimoAmi]

I think the old Amiga itself is a kind of game station and a development unit at the same time. It also has a motorola 68k, special chipsets to handle digital sound, graphics, universal  input/output slots and a huge server (Aminet) containing all the necessary software to make games and applications.

So it's a good alternative. A first choice in my opinion

[csirac_]

It uses a HCS12 - if it's similar to the normal (slower?) HC12 series, it's a 16 bit MCU with built in EEPROM/SRAM (but you can map more memory externally). It's an embedded CPU for eg. security sytems, telemetry, control systems etc.

It's got a great instruction set - some fuzzy logic in there even. 16 bit (and 8 bit) op codes, heaps of addressing modes. It's a great C target anyway..

I'm actually writing a tiny RTOS for the HC12 - multitasking, small API, memory managment.

How does it compare to the 68000? Well for starters the HC12 only has one stack pointer.. so it doesn't really... the 68000 as we know it in an Amiga context was a dedicated CPU, with no inbuilt RAM/ROM, and physically it only had address/data bus ctrl lines. These HC12s are more of an evolution of the 8 bit 6800 series; these are entire stand-alone CPUs with inbuilt peripherals, such as serial ports, A-D converters, PWM, CAN, SPI, I2C, etc.

I have doubts they will sell this for $99 USD. I had *MAJOR* trouble getting a 68HC912B32 evaluation board for $89, and the major features with this was that it had a serial port and power regulation.

But, if they do sell it for $99USD... I'm buying one, no question about it. It makes a cheap evaluation system for a HCS12 - the only supplier of HC12s (by themselves - and I don't feel like trying to solder high density QFP chips!) I can find has $100 minimum orders

I think this would be cool to have. Maybe I would interface a USB NIC to it and put it on the web... possibilities are endless

Cheers,

- Paul

[DanDude]

That'll keep those hackers busy!   :-D   And, besides the C=1 project is different than that.  Looks like the X is aimed towards all gaming markets including arcade games.  I don't think anyone would build a Vector graphics interface.  Heh, I still have my 19" color vector monitor in the closet.  Some tried to use it for Sega's Star Trek arcade and didn't work correctly.
 :-)

[bloodline]

Is the prize a couple hours with that gal in your avatar? LOL

She's a little expensive... but maybe I could strech that far :lol: