How Much Would You Pay For A D-pad Pre-modded Gp2x?


DaveC posted on Sep 24 2006 at 11:15 PM said:
It is $20.00 usd at devs can ask about the dev discount (part of my "donation" for them making the scene what it is). Sorry if it is too much but supply is limited. I may make cheaper in the future.

that's a terrible sales pitch (pay 20 now, or wait and see if i drop the price! heh) but it the final product looks great!

does the kit come with any how-to/instructions?

and i'm still curious on details of how to include a center-push (i see now why you've suggested elsewhere for developers to stay away from the center push, heh!).
 
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Well, since I already have a gp2x and don't plan on buying a second one anytime soon... Well, it would be nice to have one around for experimenting on, but I'm seriously not gonna pay another 180 euros just for that...

Anyway, I digress... Since I'm not in the market for a new one, I wouldn't know how much I'd pay for a premodded one... But probably not much more than $230, so I don't think it'd be in your best interest to do these mods yourself. What with the time you have to put in, the extra price you'd have to charge to compensate for the accidental unit that dies on the surgery table and whatnot...

A kit however sounds very nice. I see you're planning to charge $20, which sounds reasonable enough... I'd buy one off you right now at that price if you'd be selling them already.

One suggestion though: make a video of the modding process, where you talk newbs through the whole thing, and have it hosted online on a permanent host (not those stupid file hosting services that delete your files when they haven't been downloaded for a week). I'd be willing to host it for you, if none of the "official" gp2x sites offer to... Then include the URL to the video in the manual, preferably at the top, in a box, and in bold, so people see this first when they look at the included "manual" sheet. I'm sure this'll help push a lot of frightened sheep over the dam...

Edit: too bad the pad ain't a stylish black though; does someone know of a good coating that takes well on plastic, and holds even under heavy use? Oh, and it has to be something that can be applied in really thin layers as well; something like the black coating used on many "tactical" knives, but for plastic...
 
starpause posted on Sep 24 2006 at 10:27 PM said:
and i'm still curious on details of how to include a center-push (i see now why you've suggested elsewhere for developers to stay away from the center push, heh!).
Some kind of software implementation to send that signal when all 4 directions are pushed is probably the best solution. Expecting people to add another button is unrealistic.
 
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Heya DaveC, I'll gladly be a guinea pig and shoot you $20 for one of these kits. There are some instructions on installation right? Can I PM you to arrange payment and whatnot?
 
One of the reasons I did the poll a little while ago was to test the real feelings of users on this subject. The figures I think which are relevant to you are that 25 people (18%) would be looking to buy a mod kit if available, 46 people (33%) would buy a new GP2x with D-pad integrated (same price). You could probably halve this from people who say they will to those who actually will.

It was obvious that the vast majority of users are unwilling, for various reasons, to open their GP2x and do any mod - anything more than removing a joystick cap and replacing it does not seem viable to many - fair enough. Put it this way, my mod did not require any special skills to make it and didn't even mean clipping off the end of the joystick stick (if you didn't mind the end product being slightly higher, which still isn't an issue to use it, BTW). Wow, big deal - no destruction, no sanding the front down (if keeping the stick intact, as opposed to the way I did the mod). Anyone could easily have tried this mod, and if they wanted to, could revert things back to how there were (ie lifting off the D-pad mod from the case, not leaving any marks on the case), removed the joystick from the motherboard and done your/other D-pad mod. The fact that no-one at all did this indicates an unease about doing an internal mod - which doesn't help with your project!

Those people who have the ability and desire to do so can already make their own D-pad mod - there are many step by step guides for doing it with a GameCube D-pad, NES D-pad and a make-your-own one. The principles are similar - the only real difference between them all is keeping/removing the stock joystick and using a controller PCB or not.

I rather suspect therefore, (I believe my comments are impartial and constructive - I am not selling anything, far from it, so I have no personal motive - I am trying to give an unbias viewpoint here) that people who can do the upgrade already have. Those who see further "how to" guides/instructions will also have a go (parts are easy to get hold of after all). You are then left with two categories of potential customer - those who want a pre-made D-pad and happy to do the mod as required (limited numbers, but that is your market); and those who want one but only if they can have one done from them. This is fine, but as the comments show, they aren't expecting to pay much more than stock cost for this; which doesn't cover your costs, or profit. To make it viable, if you say it costs about $200 for the unit and about $15 for the kit and $200 for the GP2x, you probably will spend a couple of hours doing the work (start to end) per GP2x, to make it worth your while I guess you are looking at selling for about $270 minimum. The reason you posted this "how much would you pay" question is that you want to see what people are prepared to pay before pricing yourself out of the market - no other reason, which is fair enough, but from the comments on this thread, it doesn't appear that people want to pay more than costs - so no point.

You also stand to ruin or mark some GP2x's which will make them unsaleable (and come off your profit line), but even more relevant, is YOU then become responsible for the guarantee period. You cannot sell anything new (second hand is fine, but you will not maintain a "as new" price", rather a discounted price, which defeats the object here) without a guarantee (1 year), so even though you send the GP2x out after testing it, if it goes wrong, you have the costs and issues to resolve - also it would be hard to prove that the problem was the actual GP2x and not your mod - so you will be liable. The only way around this is to sell "as is" without guarantee, but no-one can see it "as is" before buying, so it is on trust - however no guarantee, cheap price (why should anyone pay full whack for something without any guarantee?), no profit, and after-sales issues.

I really suggest to you DaveC, that you can only offer to sell mod kits, with the disclaimer that people undertake the work at their own risk. You would be giving yourself major problems if you don't. You are unlikely to sell many units at all really, unfortunately (I would prefer that your venture was successful, I add, but I am being realistic here), based on what we know so far; how about stating a final sale price (inc shipping) for the D-pad install-it-yourself mod, asking people who positively would buy to send you a PM as a pre-order intent, you then know exactly how many to make and how profitable it would be. You can then post the results. (Just a suggestion).
 
I'd prefer a kit myself, since i already own a gp2x.
How hard is this to do yourself? I have access to all kinds of soldering equipment through my university, but my skills are yet to be tested :)

Although i would like to have a center push button, just in case i got programs that uses it.
But i'd probably pay ~20 bucks with shipping


I also request more photos, from the side so that i can see how much the dpad sticks out from the unit
 
Can you post a closeup picture on the dpad?
Am I right that a small rim of that "bump" with is normally under the stick remains around the dpad (what size in diameter is it exactly)? Does that rim interfere with pushing down the pad? How high above the case is the dpad? 1-2mm or more?

Send you a PM about buying one, but I might as well ask here: how much is the shipping to Europe/Germany?

P.S.: @Pepone could you write a few pros and cons from your point of view?
 
DaveC posted on Sep 24 2006 at 10:35 PM said:
The best thing is if they could be pre modded by Craig, or Evil Dragon's shop. I received a little interest from them but nothing definate.

Don't worry, I have DEFINATE interest.
I was just way too busy resurrecting my server last week (got three hours of sleep per day) to reply to all my PMs. But I'll definately sell and mod them.
 
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bacteria posted on Sep 25 2006 at 09:36 AM said:
I really suggest to you DaveC, that you can only offer to sell mod kits, with the disclaimer that people undertake the work at their own risk. You would be giving yourself major problems if you don't.

I totally agree. Leave that to the retailers; they offload enough units to compensate for the monetary loss of a couple of mods gone wrong, and probably have access to spare parts as well, something you don't.

EvilDragon posted on Sep 25 2006 at 10:50 AM said:
Don't worry, I have DEFINATE interest.
I was just way too busy resurrecting my server last week (got three hours of sleep per day) to reply to all my PMs. But I'll definately sell and mod them.

Great news for those who still don't have a gp2x; be sure to market it appropriately with the full explanation why this mod actually improves the unit, so new users who're not acquainted with the gp2x's stick problems know why it's better to fork over a little more cash for a superior unit.
 
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Julius posted on Sep 25 2006 at 10:28 AM said:
Can you post a closeup picture on the dpad?
Am I right that a small rim of that "bump" with is normally under the stick remains around the dpad (what size in diameter is it exactly)? Does that rim interfere with pushing down the pad? How high above the case is the dpad? 1-2mm or more?

Send you a PM about buying one, but I might as well ask here: how much is the shipping to Europe/Germany?

P.S.: @pepone could you write a few pros and cons from your point of view?

First, I must say I'm very pleased with the result. It improve the experience a lot. There is no more dead zone, and all direction are achievable easily.
Installing the kit is not that hard, the instruction are really well written. The hardest part for me was to desolder the original joystick (I don't have solder removing tools, and my solder iron is too big). With the necessary tools, I guess it's a lot easier :D

For the center push, I've put a small switch (from an old PS2 mouse) behind the gp2x (like a N64 Z button), it's really easy to do.
I can try to make some photo, but my cam is crap, and it will be blurry as hell.

Dave really made a great work.
 
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me, me, me - yeah that's me jumping arround at the back of the queue.

$20 + shipping - bargain. I'll take one NOW! :) Just tell me where to sign up.

What's the worst that can happen ?? I can f**k it up and have to do some major supermodding like Bacteria.

Pepone - i'd love to see how youve done the centre push mod.
 
It will be interesting to see how much EvilDragon sells this for (please also quote £). I imagine he will be taking a fair amount of business from Craigix, if Craigix doesn't also offer this too. It is also nice to see the market for a D-pad is starting to blossom. Hopefully after GP2x uses all their stock cases they will FINALLY yield to the wishes of their customers and incorporate a D-pad into their MKIII or MKIV.

I must say, I just took receipt of a MKII GP2x, its screen is much better (although it is darker), and the joystick, now it is turned a bit, is much better and more responsive to where you want it to go. It is actually USABLE now! It is not as good as a D-pad (nor could it be), but it is far, far better than the first edition or the mid-edition (which I have, and am doing my super-mod with). I can see why many users are saying they are happy(ish) with the MKII joystick now!
 
saboteur posted on Sep 25 2006 at 10:27 AM said:
me, me, me - yeah that's me jumping arround at the back of the queue.

$20 + shipping - bargain. I'll take one NOW! :) Just tell me where to sign up.

What's the worst that can happen ?? I can f**k it up and have to do some major supermodding like Bacteria.

Pepone - i'd love to see how youve done the centre push mod.
Did DaveC say it was $20+shipping? He said it costs him $15-$20, he has to spend time putting the kit together, making sure it all would fit, cover costs, postage; and then put a profit on top. Let's be reasonable, the guy is wanting to make profit from this enterprise!! :)

Centre-push - easy - any 2 button switch you buy (contact when pressed), any size you like, big or small, situated anywhere on the GP2x case you want to put it. Connections (as per my guide, shows centre push connections).
 
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bacteria posted on Sep 25 2006 at 11:47 AM said:
saboteur posted on Sep 25 2006 at 10:27 AM said:
me, me, me - yeah that's me jumping arround at the back of the queue.

$20 + shipping - bargain. I'll take one NOW! :) Just tell me where to sign up.

Did DaveC say it was $20+shipping? He said it costs him $15-$20, he has to spend time putting the kit together, making sure it all would fit, cover costs, postage; and then put a profit on top. Let's be reasonable, the guy is wanting to make profit from this enterprise!! :)

DaveC posted on Sep 25 2006 at 06:15 AM said:
The mod comes with everything you see in the pic except the GP2X of course.

It is $20.00 usd, devs can ask about the dev discount (part of my "donation" for them making the scene what it is). Sorry if it is too much but supply is limited. I may make cheaper in the future.

Read again...
 
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I was looking forward for this mod kit to be ready.
I'm willing to buy it but step-by-step instructions are necessary for me. I think I can mod my gp2x with instructions but I'm not that confident in my hw-mod skills to figure out details myself.

Once I get a working modded gp2x I would probably buy another 3 kits to also mod my friend's gp2x.
 
when you start to sell these, see how much it takes to send a kit to Brazil, I'm interested for sure!

mine will be the first mcu-controlled centre-push :ph34r:
 
bacteria posted on Sep 25 2006 at 10:29 AM said:
I must say, I just took receipt of a MKII GP2x, its screen is much better (although it is darker), and the joystick, now it is turned a bit, is much better and more responsive to where you want it to go. It is actually USABLE now! It is not as good as a D-pad (nor could it be), but it is far, far better than the first edition or the mid-edition (which I have, and am doing my super-mod with). I can see why many users are saying they are happy(ish) with the MKII joystick now!
That's probably the most unbiased comment I've heard about the joystick on the MkII :)
I have no problem with it, but I haven't tried any other GP2X apart from the MkII.

I must say though that DaveC's mod looks very professional and surely a good (and very small) investment for anyone who wants a d-pad. I'd be very tempted if I preferred d-pads.

Kev
 
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I will buy one, if we can 'paypal' - or send cash.
Postage to UK would be how much?

My gp2x is sitting waiting for Zods next test release anyway, this mod may get me to love my gp2x again....
 
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