European releases and some others!


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Hi i got an email today from lik-sang showing this info please take a look its very interesting heres what it says it is at the news section with pictures i think but if it isnt heres the info:-


GP32 Happenings: Euro release details, Radium 3D update, new commercial game announced, TV Show
Thu Dec 18 2003 08:07:07 Hong Kong Time - Handheld

Here we go for another round-up of the happenings around the powerful little GP32. Lik Sang has received official statements in regards of some rumors floating around the web, and you get all the details below!

GP32 coming to Europe: Virgin Play confirms distribution to Southern countries

As reported everywhere around in the GP32 news columns and also in the Spanish mainstream online press, Virgin Play was supposed to handle the distribution of the Korean system to the Southern European countries if Mitsui was to massively import the handheld to the continent. After Mitsui’s coward U-turn, a big interrogation mark was raised concerning Virgin Play’s future decisions on the unit…

A couple of weeks ago, Gamepark casually told Lik Sang that a distribution agreement had been signed in Madrid, without revealing more details about it.

Lik Sang got in touch with representatives from Virgin Play this week and retrieved some valuable comments and answers to several questions. First of all, the distribution agreement signature is acknowledged. ‘Virgin Play will exclusively distribute the GP32 handheld system to Spain, Portugal and Italy starting approximately from April of 2004’, says Teresa Nuñez, PR Manager at Virgin Play. It seems though that the quantity which will be imported and stocked for launch is not yet decided and that the sales forecasts are not yet calculated.

Señora Nuñez also announced that the retail price of the standard GP32 console will be fixed at 169 Euro, VAT included and that a range of 6 to 7 games (line-up to be announced at later stage) would be launched alongside the system while Virgin Play is also considering selling the GP-Link (GP32 RF Module) on the hardware side. She further admitted no decision had been made yet concerning the GP32 [Front Light], due to its much longer production leading time.

‘What seduced the Virgin Play team is the potential of the unit’, also mentioned Teresa Nuñez, referring to both the technical aspects of the device and the applications running on it. She finally declared that ‘Virgin Play’s president traveled himself to Seoul in Korea and decided an order could be placed in confidence. Later, the Vice-president of Gamepark visited us in Madrid and we decided to go ahead and work with them directly [= without Mitsui].’

What really happens with the GP32 distribution in Europe, only time will tell. Lik Sang hopes the system becomes a commercial success over there but has to stay skeptical, after the numerous European launch announces or rumors which didn’t turn into reality in the last two years…

GP32 on Air – Presentation in Giga NBC TV (Germany) on Christmas day

The GP32 has its first TV appearance scheduled on December 24th, 10-12 PM on NBC Europe/GIGA GAMES in Germany. In a show prepared by the Giga people in cooperation with some Lik Sang members and with helping friends from the scene, the little Korean star console gets to be presented through four sequences of 5 to 6 minutes. The focus is of course not on the games but on all the cool and diverse software applications that have popped up from the scene in the first two years of GP-life. Videos will be posted right here for download (for all non-German readers eager to watch this) as soon as it is streaming at Giga. Stay tuned!

What’s up with Radium 3D? (expected to be the best game on the GP32 to date)

Nearly a year ago, Karma Studios announced Radium on the Gameboy Advance, an ambitious 3D adventure game (behind-the-hero type) based on an impressive 3D engine developed in-house by Karma. Around the release of the game on the GBA in April, an indiscretion filtered about a GP32 port being under development in the Netherlands (where Karma’s offices are located). Back then, Lik Sang had some talks with Martijn Wenting, CEO of Karma Studios, who confirmed his interest in the GP32 on short-term with a Radium 3D port ongoing, but also on the long run with other titles from their large catalogue (Karma is a very active publisher in the mobile phone gaming business). Back then, he concluded by adding: ‘At this point Radium is nearly finished on the GP32, and only a deal has to happen for the game to release. We are currently negotiating with Gamepark about this. All I can tell you is the game looks impressive, after we made some slight improvements compared to the GBA version, and after we made a complete new stereo soundtrack for the port.’ Lik Sang then received an update in August that the port of the game was completed.

Months later, and still nothing announced officially… We thought it was time to contact Martijn Wenting again to see what was going on with what promised to be the best game on the GP32 since the console launch. He first admitted to us that the GP32 European launch rumors had been the cause for the loss of time so far… After Mitsui’s plans all went to the rubbish bin, Karma Studios got back into talking with Gamepark Korea directly and negotiations are now finally moving forward again: ‘Lately, the CEO of Gamepark has seen the game personally and he loved it.’, Martijn Wenting declared proudly to Lik Sang earlier in the day, ‘We are talking about a solid deal for a commercial release, both in a boxed retail packing and through the GP32 online download channels (such as JoyGP). If we can reach a reasonable success with Radium, we will also consider a few other ‘larger’ titles for GP32 (SMC+Online) and a whole bunch of mini games (based on our mobile games) for online sales solely.’

Simply stay tuned for a final release date to be finally set on this one. In the meantime, you can take a look at the screenshots:





Wanna Be Wizard – New beautiful game from Korea to be launched soon

Wanna Be Wizard is a japanese-style Action-RPG based on a one-way story of a girl willing to become a wizard and of her island. It is currently developed by A&B Soft in South Korea.

As you may notice it on the screens, battle scene will be like a beat them up (Street Fighter 2 for example). Items, Different levels of power, magic spells, will be available and the game will be for one or two players simultaneously.



A&B Soft hopes to release an English version of the game but this still need to be discussed with Gamepark. The boxed release is expected for first quarter of 2004, and preorders will be taken at Lik Sang as soon as an exact day and a retail price are communicated.

A&B soft team is really motivated to offer you a splendid and fast game with various alpha-blending effects ! Judging by the screenshots, they're in the right direction ;)




There is also a video feed available for this game:

Download Wanna Be Wizard Video

ADIC 2003, the Amateur Coding Competition on GP32, ends soon

The ADIC 2003 has a deadline set on this Monday December 15th for registrations. So if you coded a GP32 game in your basement and want to submit your latest developments to the jury, you better hurry up!

This year, two mainstream journalists are guest-starring among the judges: Jihem is working for France leading news site JeuxVideo.com, while Ulrich comes from Germany’s nr.1 printed video game magazine Maniac!

The winner takes home a Panasonic Q while second prize receives a pack of various handheld game systems. Finally, a GP32 ASR Pack will go for the third place in the ranking. All this, offered by Lik Sang of course.

• Visit the ADIC official page


Of course, that’s not it. Every morning, after long nights of coding, with a coffee machine next to the PC, the GP32 sceners are posting in some new freeware, utilities, media players, work-in-progress 3D engines, emulators, games, home-made hardware etc. It just flies in all directions. For all details on all ongoing topics, the best portals to head over to are GP32 News and GP32 Xtreme.

Considering the installed base of the GP32 is only 20.000 units in the world right now (this has been admitted to be the amount of produced systems in Gamepark’s first run, and it is now nearly sold out), it is incredible to see so much creativity and makes Lik Sang look forward to see such a dedicated fan base growing further. No more doubts allowed that the open-source / open-mind strategy behind this GP32 handheld is a big ball of air for the alternative gaming community.

To enjoy easy software download, stereo high-quality MP3 playback, movies playback (with the GP Cinema software), emulation, wireless RF multiplayer action and unparalleled hardware power on the go, you don’t have to be living in Spain or Portugal and you don’t have to wait for Virgin Play till April 2004 either. Lik Sang is carrying the GP32 machine since 2002 already and still keeps good stock of both the GP32 unit and the GP32 Front lit model, shipping within 24 hours respectively for US$ 149 and US$ 209.
 
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