Odroid-go

I just saw a product introduction for the ODROID-GO. It looks like a scaled up Pokitto (including HATs!) running on an ESP-32.

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Looks like a mix of a Pokitto and a Pocket Sprite. Really nice specs for the price ($35 with shipping).

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Excuse me while I ramble all my thoughts out loud.


Iā€™ve got a very similar model of LCD that looks almost exactly the same.
If itā€™s got a text-flip feature then it might even be the same one.

Perhaps I ought to have a go at doing that LCD screen thing with the Pokitto sometime.

Unless theyā€™re an Alphabet/Google subsidary, Iā€™m not sure that usage of the Android logo is going to go down too well.
Or the advertising of the emulators given the dubious legality of ROMs.


Otherwise, itā€™s interesting.
It has a handful of features that I like.

My favourite is the screen resolution because itā€™s got the 3:2 aspect ratio of the gameboy and both dimensions are divisible by various powers of two.

I also like the extra buttons, though I think if they were going to go for 6 buttons and a dpad then they should have gone for an ABXY configuration instead of 4 lots of what are essentially ā€˜startā€™ buttons.


Really though, itā€™s in a completely different power bracket to the Pokitto

I think its spec is nearing the point where Iā€™d be thinking ā€œI might as well be writing code for a really low end laptop or a phoneā€ or ā€œI might as well do homebrew on my GBAā€ (speaking of which - itā€™s more powerful than a GBA and comparable in power to a Nintendo DS, it even has the same RAM - 4MB of PSRAM).

Iā€™m sort of interested in it, but I think Iā€™d use it more for playing ROMs or trying to run old software than for programming, even though the library doesnā€™t look too bad.

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They use a bunch of logos (Tetris, Nintendo, Gameboy, Arduinoā€¦) like theyā€™re actively trying to get sued. :stuck_out_tongue:
Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d like to make anything for it either, itā€™d just be a portable emulator.

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Actually, I do not want Pokitto to go to that direction. I think limitations feed creativity. Think about Pico-8.

And where is the fun in optimizing already a powerful device? Yes, you can do some fancy 3D demos, but I like to play with simpler graphics, and leave 3D to GFX accelerators.

For a portable emulator, RaspPi would provide more power and variety of emulation SW.

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hmm dam its interesting, so i was building out the esp32 hat out and just added a oled panel to it 128x128 (same resolution of Pico-8)

but seems this thing is way better to the hack i was working with trying to upgrade the pokitto

I think they donā€™t have to worry, being a Chinese company

I agree with thisā€¦ kinda. For us, getting around the limitations imposed by the hardware adds a challenge that makes it fun. On the other hand, if the Pokitto is targeted towards children, then learning how to program is challenging enough on its own. :thinking:

Isnā€™t it South Korean?

It is indeed south Korean.

Copyright 2013 Hardkernel co., Ltd. 475-1 ManAnRo, ManAnGu, AnYang, GyeongGi, South Korea ZIP:13962

In the right dose.
A bit of limitation, e.g. enough to rule out full-scale fancy 3D, is good.
Too much limitation can stifle creativity.

I agree about prefering 2D and too much power taking the fun out of optimising though.

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would like to point out that the esp32 can do 3D but in a limited scope think like snes starfox, or some pico8 games do

Pokitto is smaller more Kawaii!!!

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I second this. The Pokittoā€™s shape is a big selling point for me.

I think the arms and legs give it real character and the dimensions remind me of a playing card/trading card.

Also I find that the limbs give me a better grip on it because I can wrap my ring fingers around the legs and my index fingers around the arms.

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I have to admit that i eventually will try out the odroid go, just looks interesting

It does seem to be ummmm, ā€œinspiredā€ by the Pokitto - with itā€™s solderless ā€œbuild it yourselfā€ aspect, and the pex connector on top, and a combination of programming experiments and games.

But it looks like as it there are 2 ways to use it.

  1. Run the emulator and run classic gameboy or gamegear type game roms, or
  2. Connect it to a computer and download and create and run individual programs through the arduino interface (like arduboy)
    .
    Unless someone makes an boot loader based game library system for it, there is no way to create and carry around a set of original new games loadable from the sd card. (it seems to me anywayā€¦)

I do agree that limitations breed creativity, I mean look at the crazy stuff they had to do in the olden days, though I honestly wish there was a scaled up pokitto that could run retroarch like poker chip could lol just because I miss those roms at my hand all the time.

Additionally, how trustworthy is hardkernal? I seriously want to order one and give it a try building the kit

Hardkernel is well established and very capable, maybe just not so well known since they are based in South Korea. If you are based in the United States, then I find itā€™s easiest to order their products from Ameridroid. The building aspect is straightforward, like the Pokitto. Itā€™s a matter of plugging in some connections, mounting circuit boards and screwing the case together.

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Cool I may get one, though if the popcorn is getting produced then Iā€™ll get it, because I already have the frame lol.

Thanks for the reminder about the popcorn. I was so sad to see next thing go bust. I was really on the fence about getting the pocket chip and kind of sadly glad I didnā€™t. But this could be cool!

They claim theyā€™re updating it hopefully it will be a version using the 4 or 8 core chip2

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