Game Park
Encyclopedia
Game Park is a South Korea
n company that was founded in 1996 and went bankrupt in March 2007. It is responsible for creating the GP32
and the never-released XGP
. Gamepark Holdings
was founded by former employees of Game Park in 2005.
, Game Park entered the industry using government
money. At the time, games in Korea were only made for PCs
and Arcade
. There was a law established after World War II that forbid importation of Japan
ese electronics
. Some clones of Japanese consoles such as the SEGA Saturn
(cloned by Samsung
) and Nintendo 64
(cloned by Hyundai
) were holders of minor market shares. In a place where most games ran on the PC
, a small place resided for video game consoles. To make changes, the South Korea
n government decided to fund a company that would create a console to compete against the monopolized
Japanese market. A contest was held and Game Park was the winning company. Game Park was set to create the first portable video game system from Korea.
The GP32
(Game Park 32-bit
), their first system, was then being designed. Several iterations of it were developed, including a metal
lic look, and a style issued from the original Game Boy
design, and a flat panel with a screen on the upper part and button
s on the lower part. Those systems were shown at the 2000 Tokyo Game Show
but failed to catch attention with their inferior hardware and games. After five years of development, Game Park opted for a more plastic
look, a lot like the Game Boy Advance
. Game Park's new handheld also had a major internal hardware upgrade making it more powerful than the GBA
.
originally launched in November 2001, in Korea
exclusively. Game Park had opted for a narrow-area market approach so they could better handle the production costs. The result was small success in Korea.
Game Park did make an error: paying a large amount of money to port PlayStation
games to their consoles. The porting was handled by Korean developers which had never seen a PlayStation before because of its interdiction in Korea. It was very difficult for them to import games and it ended up that only one ported game was made, Princess Maker 2
, a simulation so complicated it never was translated. One had to speak Japanese to play it well.
Initially, the GP32 launched with a 3.5 inch screen, 2 buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, 2 function buttons and 2 integrated speakers for stereo
sound. It is almost physically the same as the GBA
except for a bigger screen, higher-quality speakers and more ergonomic handling.
to discuss publishing matters with Infogrames
and Atari
. The visit was to conclude an association to launch the GP32
in North America
under the Atari name. The contract was to be for one million systems and games made by Atari and Eidos
. Some of those games would have been Deus Ex
or even the Tomb Raider series
.
Game Park also announced a variety of accessories to be made for the GP32, including a television module, a flash
reader and an RF
module for wireless
multiplayer gaming, etc.
In May, the GP32 was presented at E3 2002 where it receives the moniker of "mini Xbox
" for its multimedia
capabilities. The DivX
reader is announced, as well as the GPI, which is a GP32 capable of functioning as a video game console
, a cell phone, and a PDA
.
At the end of August was the ECTS
in London
. There, Game Park announced new games and the launch of the GP32 in Europe, before Christmas
, first in the UK.
The JoyGP was also launched in 2002, a web site to download games for the GP32, both free and for cost. Game Park also made a contest called the ADIC. The contest consisted of making the best open source GP32 game. The prizes were development kits (3 in total), but only one was won. The game, Tie Break Tennis, that resulted from it was quickly forgotten.
Korean sites focused on the Game Boy Advance
much more than the GP32.
was planned to be a gaming console, its game selection was not sufficient in quality or quantity to truly compete against the Game Boy Advance
. One of its advantage was that in Korea no Japan
ese electronics
were allowed, the Game Boy Advance
included. On January 1, 2002, however, Korea
finally allowed imports of Japanese electronics. The system's success hinged on being an open source
handheld attractive to independent developers and capable of supporting video
and audio
playback.
. The big difference, however, is that the GP32 FLU has exactly the same mold, buttons, etc. as the GP32, unlike the completely redesigned Game Boy Advance SP
. This reduced the cost of the modification. This system was released in Korea exclusively again, in 2002.
The front light can be switched off to save battery
power
.
(the equivalent of the brighter GBA SP
), again having nothing changed in appearance, except for a now back lit screen, much better than the FLU. The BLU gave players a very bright and colorful screen. This unit was introduced in 2004, and later that year they even released it in Italy
, France
, United Kingdom
, and Spain
.
A problem is that without the back light the screen looks very dark and it's hard to see the image, so the backlight must run continuously except when it's not necessary to look at the screen (for example, when using the console as an MP3 player).
ation, due largely to the fact the operating system
on it features both Korean and English
support, even though it was exclusively sold in Korea for many years.
Team 17, the developer of Worms
, offered to port their games directly on the GP32
for free. Although most companies demanded financial support, Team 17 only asked for two GP32 units to test their games. Game Park refused, for currently unknown reasons.
In July 2003, GP32News, a French
news web site for the GP32 took a personal initiative to show and publicize the GP32 at the Japan Expo
in France
. Game Park refused to fund the site, which would have helped give the GP32 a publicity boost.
At the Game Convention event in Germany
in August, the GP32 was announced with a European launch for Holiday 2003. Numerous distributors, to sell the system, as well as the first editors of European games to start development were contacted.
The company in charge of distributing the GP32, Mitsui
(a well known company in Japan
) abandoned Game Park for a bigger company, Sony
. Mitsui then was in charge of distributing the Sony PSP
in Europe, after having no communication from Game Park.
knew a small success in Europe. North America
never saw the GP32. The GP32 was sold in the Americas through web stores, but has become increasingly rare.
In early 2005, there was an internal disagreement in Game Park about where to take the company. Some former employees split off to form GamePark Holdings
, which successfully released the GP2X
handheld console in November 2005 and released the GP2X Wiz
in April 2009.
In 2006, the original Game Park officially announced the XGP
, the successor to their GP32. They also announced the XGP-Mini, a smaller version of the XGP with half the RAM
. Later on, they announced the XGP-Kids, a redesign of the GP32, featuring the same hardware at a lower price for younger players.
None of these consoles were actually released, and in March 2007 Game Park filed for bankruptcy. Gamepark's official website is currently unavailable, and was previously replaced by a website for a shoe store.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n company that was founded in 1996 and went bankrupt in March 2007. It is responsible for creating the GP32
GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
and the never-released XGP
XGP
The XGP was a concept portable video game system created by the Korean company GamePark as the follow-up to its GP32 handheld. Initially announced in 2005, the XGP was finally announced in March 2006 along with the release of the similar XGP Mini and the XGP Kids...
. Gamepark Holdings
GamePark Holdings
GPH, formerly known as GamePark Holdings, is a South Korean company responsible for creating the GP2X that was founded by former employees of the game maker GamePark in 2005.-History:...
was founded by former employees of Game Park in 2005.
Foundation
Founded in 1996 in South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Game Park entered the industry using government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
money. At the time, games in Korea were only made for PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and Arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
. There was a law established after World War II that forbid importation of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
. Some clones of Japanese consoles such as the SEGA Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
(cloned by Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
) and Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
(cloned by Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
) were holders of minor market shares. In a place where most games ran on the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, a small place resided for video game consoles. To make changes, the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n government decided to fund a company that would create a console to compete against the monopolized
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
Japanese market. A contest was held and Game Park was the winning company. Game Park was set to create the first portable video game system from Korea.
The GP32
GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
(Game Park 32-bit
32-bit
The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 GB of byte-addressable memory....
), their first system, was then being designed. Several iterations of it were developed, including a metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
lic look, and a style issued from the original Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
design, and a flat panel with a screen on the upper part and button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s on the lower part. Those systems were shown at the 2000 Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
but failed to catch attention with their inferior hardware and games. After five years of development, Game Park opted for a more plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
look, a lot like the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. Game Park's new handheld also had a major internal hardware upgrade making it more powerful than the GBA
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
Launch
The GP32GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
originally launched in November 2001, in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
exclusively. Game Park had opted for a narrow-area market approach so they could better handle the production costs. The result was small success in Korea.
Game Park did make an error: paying a large amount of money to port PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
games to their consoles. The porting was handled by Korean developers which had never seen a PlayStation before because of its interdiction in Korea. It was very difficult for them to import games and it ended up that only one ported game was made, Princess Maker 2
Princess Maker 2
Princess Maker 2 is the second installment in the Princess Maker series of life simulation games developed by the Japanese computer game and anime production company Gainax. It has been translated into Korean and Chinese; an English-language beta version exists, but was never formally released. In...
, a simulation so complicated it never was translated. One had to speak Japanese to play it well.
Initially, the GP32 launched with a 3.5 inch screen, 2 buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, 2 function buttons and 2 integrated speakers for stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
sound. It is almost physically the same as the GBA
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
except for a bigger screen, higher-quality speakers and more ergonomic handling.
2002 ambitions
2002 was a year of good news at Game Park. In spring, the leaders of Game Park took a tour in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to discuss publishing matters with Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
and Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
. The visit was to conclude an association to launch the GP32
GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
under the Atari name. The contract was to be for one million systems and games made by Atari and Eidos
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. Some of those games would have been Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Deus Ex is an action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000, which combines gameplay elements of first-person shooters with those of role-playing video games...
or even the Tomb Raider series
Tomb Raider series
Tomb Raider is a media franchise consisting of video games, comic books, novels, theme park rides and movies, centring around the adventures of the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft...
.
Game Park also announced a variety of accessories to be made for the GP32, including a television module, a flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
reader and an RF
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
module for wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
multiplayer gaming, etc.
In May, the GP32 was presented at E3 2002 where it receives the moniker of "mini Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
" for its multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
capabilities. The DivX
DivX
DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
reader is announced, as well as the GPI, which is a GP32 capable of functioning as a video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
, a cell phone, and a PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
.
At the end of August was the ECTS
European Computer Trade Show
The European Computer Trade Show, commonly known as ECTS, was an annual trade show for the European computer and video game industry, which first ran in 1988, with the last event occurring in 2004....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There, Game Park announced new games and the launch of the GP32 in Europe, before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, first in the UK.
The JoyGP was also launched in 2002, a web site to download games for the GP32, both free and for cost. Game Park also made a contest called the ADIC. The contest consisted of making the best open source GP32 game. The prizes were development kits (3 in total), but only one was won. The game, Tie Break Tennis, that resulted from it was quickly forgotten.
Korean sites focused on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
much more than the GP32.
Surprising market
Though the GP32GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
was planned to be a gaming console, its game selection was not sufficient in quality or quantity to truly compete against the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. One of its advantage was that in Korea no Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
were allowed, the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
included. On January 1, 2002, however, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
finally allowed imports of Japanese electronics. The system's success hinged on being an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
handheld attractive to independent developers and capable of supporting video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
and audio
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
playback.
GP32 FLU
The GP32 FLU, (Front Lit Unit) is a GP32 which has been modified to include a front light, much like the Game Boy Advance SPGame Boy Advance SP
The , released in February 2003, is an upgraded version of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. The "SP" in Game Boy Advance SP stands for Special. The SP was marketed at US$99.99 at launch. In September 2004, Nintendo lowered the price to US$79.99...
. The big difference, however, is that the GP32 FLU has exactly the same mold, buttons, etc. as the GP32, unlike the completely redesigned Game Boy Advance SP
Game Boy Advance SP
The , released in February 2003, is an upgraded version of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. The "SP" in Game Boy Advance SP stands for Special. The SP was marketed at US$99.99 at launch. In September 2004, Nintendo lowered the price to US$79.99...
. This reduced the cost of the modification. This system was released in Korea exclusively again, in 2002.
The front light can be switched off to save battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
power
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
.
GP32 BLU
The GP32 BLU (standing for Back Lit Unit) was another iteration of the GP32GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
(the equivalent of the brighter GBA SP
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
), again having nothing changed in appearance, except for a now back lit screen, much better than the FLU. The BLU gave players a very bright and colorful screen. This unit was introduced in 2004, and later that year they even released it in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
A problem is that without the back light the screen looks very dark and it's hard to see the image, so the backlight must run continuously except when it's not necessary to look at the screen (for example, when using the console as an MP3 player).
Imports
The system has been subject to much importImport
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...
ation, due largely to the fact the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
on it features both Korean and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
support, even though it was exclusively sold in Korea for many years.
Competition
In 2003, the Game Park line still was not released in Europe or North America.Team 17, the developer of Worms
Worms (computer game)
Worms is a series of turn-based computer games developed by British company Team17 Software. Players control a small platoon of earthworms across a deformable landscape, battling other computer- or player-controlled teams...
, offered to port their games directly on the GP32
GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
for free. Although most companies demanded financial support, Team 17 only asked for two GP32 units to test their games. Game Park refused, for currently unknown reasons.
In July 2003, GP32News, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
news web site for the GP32 took a personal initiative to show and publicize the GP32 at the Japan Expo
Japan Expo
Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture, taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival Kultima and expanded to include some European and US pop culture as well...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Game Park refused to fund the site, which would have helped give the GP32 a publicity boost.
At the Game Convention event in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in August, the GP32 was announced with a European launch for Holiday 2003. Numerous distributors, to sell the system, as well as the first editors of European games to start development were contacted.
The company in charge of distributing the GP32, Mitsui
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
(a well known company in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) abandoned Game Park for a bigger company, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. Mitsui then was in charge of distributing the Sony PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in Europe, after having no communication from Game Park.
Today
The GP32GP32
The GP32 is a handheld game console developed by the Korean company Game Park. It was released on November 23, 2001, in South Korea only.- Overview :The GP32 is based on a 133 MHz ARM CPU and 8 MB of RAM...
knew a small success in Europe. North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
never saw the GP32. The GP32 was sold in the Americas through web stores, but has become increasingly rare.
In early 2005, there was an internal disagreement in Game Park about where to take the company. Some former employees split off to form GamePark Holdings
GamePark Holdings
GPH, formerly known as GamePark Holdings, is a South Korean company responsible for creating the GP2X that was founded by former employees of the game maker GamePark in 2005.-History:...
, which successfully released the GP2X
GP2X
The GP2X is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on November 10, 2005, in South Korea only....
handheld console in November 2005 and released the GP2X Wiz
GP2X Wiz
The GP2X Wiz is an open-source, Linux-based handheld video game console and portable media player developed by South Korean company GamePark Holdings. It was released on May 12, 2009, and was also the first console from both Game Park and Game Park Holdings to be also released outside South Korea...
in April 2009.
In 2006, the original Game Park officially announced the XGP
XGP
The XGP was a concept portable video game system created by the Korean company GamePark as the follow-up to its GP32 handheld. Initially announced in 2005, the XGP was finally announced in March 2006 along with the release of the similar XGP Mini and the XGP Kids...
, the successor to their GP32. They also announced the XGP-Mini, a smaller version of the XGP with half the RAM
Ram
-Animals:*Ram, an uncastrated male sheep*Ram cichlid, a species of freshwater fish endemic to Colombia and Venezuela-Military:*Battering ram*Ramming, a military tactic in which one vehicle runs into another...
. Later on, they announced the XGP-Kids, a redesign of the GP32, featuring the same hardware at a lower price for younger players.
None of these consoles were actually released, and in March 2007 Game Park filed for bankruptcy. Gamepark's official website is currently unavailable, and was previously replaced by a website for a shoe store.
External links
- Official website (non-working)
- History of Game Park Holdings split