GP32

The GP32 (GamePark 32) is a hand held console first released in 2001 by the Korean company Game Park. There are four main commercial versions of the unit:

the original GP32, with no light
a front-lit unit (FLU), modified for Game Park by Hahotech
a back-lit unit (BLU), released in Europe in mid-summer 2004
a back lit unit (BLU+), with a new screen, released in December 2004

All the consoles are white with grey or white buttons, although there are a number of differently coloured promotional units.

The console has a USB port for connection with a PC, and a serial expansion port. The console is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU, which can be overclocked to 166 Mhz through software. This is backed by eight megabytes of RAM (upgradeable to 32/64 MB).

Unlike similar gaming systems, which are proprietary cartridge-based, the GP32 uses re-writable SmartMedia cards (up to 128Mb), which makes it an appealing choice for amateur game developers, as well as general users who can store custom media, applications and games. Commercial games can be purchased via Internet download or on CD, which the user must transfer to the SmartMedia card from a PC via a USB cable.

Although the number of official games available for the GP32 system is limited, users can create homebrew software (a first in video game consoles), with a free suite of development tools from the company's official website. Game Park also allows the publishing of such homebrew games and applications on their website. Homebrew software has included game generators (such as RPG maker), alternative firmware (GUI), image slideshows, DivX players and emulators. In addition to this, many open source/free software developers have worked on various emulators and have ported PC games. Game Park does require any royalties to release games for its device, which makes it easier for independent developers to release software.

The GP32 is easy to program and has the processing power to create emulators of many popular 16-bit and earlier consoles, along with a number of older computer platforms. There is also a Windows-based emulator for the console, which allows users to run GP32 software on a Windows-based PC. The modification of Ericsson Chatboard micro-keyboards to work with the system has led to an increase in popularity of the console for software development, including ports of Linux, and keyboard support being added to many emulators.

The GP32 can also play DivX movies, setting it apart from its rival product, the Game Boy Advance, which requires a third-party upgrade for this feature.

The GP32 system can is mainly found in Korea, although it has also been released in some other parts of Asia, along with Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Italy and the UK. However, the company does not intend to launch the console in North America.