How much did you spend on your portable?

YveltalGriffin

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Why do we still make n64 portables when the pi3 can emulate it almost perfectly and play mutliple consoles?
Man, I wish my Pi 3 could emulate Goldeneye almost perfectly. Then I wouldn't have fried two N64 boards trying to portablize 'em.
 

Shank

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I mean, why do we make gamecube/wii portables even though the Nintendo Switch is available and Dolphin emulator exists?
Software isn't perfected yet, and no handheld device (not even the gpd win) exists that can handle it well. As of writing this, switch doesn't have VC, and even if it does get it it won't have the complete library, or the ability to run modded ISOs.
Why do we still make n64 portables when the pi3 can emulate it almost perfectly and play mutliple consoles?
N64 emulation is awful. Not even top of the line PCs can emulate n64 almost perfectly because the N64 is so janky and nobody has cared enough to perfect emulating it.
Why are you putting a wii in an altoids tin?
Because I hate myself
The answer is and has always been: because we can. That's what the hobby is about. Doing things for the heck of it.
No argument there, but why remake something when a better, professional injection molded solution that does exactly what you want and more can be purchased for less? Its the same reason I argue for the gamecube portable vs wii portable: Why spend more money and do more work for an inferior end result? theengineer has said that he struggles with both funding his portables and case making, so him wanting to spend more to make his own case doesn't make sense to me.
 
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why remake something when a better, professional injection molded solution that does exactly what you want and more can be purchased for less? Its
You guys are right when you say that emulation is not perfect. But I can still use my gaming laptop to emulate most n64 and gc games. My point is most of the projects we do don't necessarily make sense.
We spend a LOT of money on our projects not necessarily because it's the logical choice, but because we want to. For most of us who do not make a business out of it, portables are not an investment but a way to develop our electronics and engineering skills.
The project you make doesn't need to make sense as long as you get a sense of accomplishment out of it. Otherwise raspberry pi portables also wouldn't exist because of devices like the GPD XD.
 
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Sorry guys i didnt mean to start a debate. And my reason for wanting to make atleast some money with modding video game systems is so i can fund other projects that can expand my mind on computer engineering so i can get a job doing what i love.
 

Madmorda

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portables are not an investment but a way to develop our electronics and engineering skills.
I definitely agree with this. I've learned more here in the last year than I have in school by quite a bit. :D

That said, I personally don't agree with the emulation argument. Just because I could play n64 or gamecube games on my computer doesn't mean that I want to. If that was equal to playing on a handheld, we would all be building laptops instead of custom handhelds with integrated buttons, size, resolutions, and whatever other features we feel like. They're fun to build, helpful to learn about, and make you feel good, but (at least imo) are also much cooler, more comfortable, and more convenient than bringing a laptop everywhere. I mean @Gman put a wii in a gameboy :P I'm pretty sure building a wiiboy gives you cool points for life

All of the projects I make, I make either for myself or to sell. In the case of a nes clone portable, I'd personally prefer to buy a professionally made one for a fraction of the price if I were to use it, since it's not original hardware. And a custom one would have a very hard time selling considering the price it would have to be and the amount and variety of competition.

I was assuming that theengineer would be trying to sell his portable when I brought up the handheld clones.
 
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Software isn't perfected yet, and no handheld device (not even the gpd win) exists that can handle it well. As of writing this, switch doesn't have VC, and even if it does get it it won't have the complete library, or the ability to run modded ISOs.

N64 emulation is awful. Not even top of the line PCs can emulate n64 almost perfectly because the N64 is so janky and nobody has cared enough to perfect emulating it.

Because I hate myself

No argument there, but why remake something when a better, professional injection molded solution that does exactly what you want and more can be purchased for less? Its the same reason I argue for the gamecube portable vs wii portable: Why spend more money and do more work for an inferior end result? theengineer has said that he struggles with both funding his portables and case making, so him wanting to spend more to make his own case doesn't make sense to me.
Because i want to get better.... I dont want to be shit at casemaking forever so why ignore it?
 

fibbef

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Because I hate myself
Yeah, but if/when you complete it, you're going to get so much love, so it'll pay off in the end.

On the note of why make portables out of [insert stupid portable idea here], everyone has their own reason. Personally, I don't want to make a NESp because I don't want to tear apart a perfectly working NES. However, I can see myself making a NOACp. Why? Because I have a busted Retron 3 where the NES portion still magically works and I have nothing better to do with it.

Also, why would a guy like me - who has physical controls on his phone and plenty of emulators to use them on - want to make a Pi portable? Or a Wii portable? Again, just because I can. It's something to show off to my friends and I love making stuff. Besides, what else am I going to do with a Wii with a busted disk drive?
 

Acronell

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My stance on this is that I believe all cartridge based portables are meritable, so long as they are capable of playing every standard game for the console.

Standard games referring to games that did not use additional accessories apart from the standard controller.

This being the case, most portables mad from clone consoles don't fit my idea of merit in this case.

My exception is if it does something different than an original, such as using a retroduo or Retron3, and maintaining the dual/triple cart slots and ability to use them. But the Duo consoles don't fall under that anymore since the handheld already exists.
 

GingerOfOz

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The sad thing is that my friend just got an S8 and is capable of emulating several of the greatest GC games. Someday, the portables we've made will be outstripped by advancing technology. Unless you're an iPhone user. Then you'll need a portable.
 
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