All articles tagged with #emulation
Lenovo has pulled its G02 handheld, a Game Boy-like emulation device pre-loaded with dozens of copyrighted Nintendo and Sega ROMs, from sale worldwide after a controversy and mixed messaging; the company said the G02 was a China-only regional license product, not part of its official global portfolio, and it was briefly rebranded as the Sunyao G02 before being discontinued.
Not a physical museum, The Virtual OS Museum is a personal collection of about 1,700 installations across 600+ operating systems on 250+ platforms that you can download and run via emulation on your PC; curated largely by Andrew Warkentin, it traces computing history from 1948’s Manchester Baby to early Android, with many obscure OSes and DOS variants. Most images include only the OS and basic tools, making CTSS software hard to find; the full archive is 127GB (Lite ~14GB).
Retro Recap rounds up the week’s classic‑gaming headlines: OmniDrive’s firmware enables legal Blu‑ray ripping of Wii, GameCube, and Xbox discs on PC; Lenovo investigates why its G02 handheld ships with preloaded ROMs via third‑party sellers; Colin Porch discusses the 37‑year journey to complete Head Over Heels’ sequel Return to Blacktooth; a fan upgrade revitalizes Gradius Advance; a former Sega executive offers a sharp critique of Yuji Naka; plus reviews of the Anbernic RG Rotate and Princess Crown.
The Virtual OS Museum, created by Andrew Warkentin, lets you run over 1,700 pre-installed operating systems and applications across more than 250 platforms—from 1948 to today—via emulation. It offers a full offline 121GB download and a lighter 14GB version that downloads guest VM images on first use, with automatic and manual updates. Note that not every emulated system boots perfectly, and performance on Apple silicon may be limited since the host VM is x86-only.
Digital Foundry’s PS5 Linux tests with RPCS3 show PS3 games can run on PS5, with titles like Ridge Racer 7 and Resistance scaling to 4K/60 and 4K/30 (40–60fps range) and Heavenly Sword reaching 5K upscales, but CPU-emulation of the PS3’s SPUs cripples others (GTA4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2/3). Turning off MLAA helps Killzone 3, yet performance remains spotty and not polished. The results underline CPU bottlenecks and suggest true PS3 emulation on PS5 may hinge on future architectures (e.g., Zen 6), even as PS5 Linux enables deeper hardware exploration.
GameNative, an Android app built on Pluvia, lets you install and play Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and standalone PC games offline on Android, with a default “known configs” feature that auto-optimizes game settings. Creator Utkarsh Dalal envisions the app could replace handheld PCs like Steam Deck within two years, leveraging Proton/FEX and community Turnip drivers to boost compatibility on ARM devices. The project is free and open-source, with plans for store partnerships and OEM integration, while Valve’s tooling indirectly benefits Android gaming. Nevertheless, x86-Android compatibility remains a challenge, though newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 hardware and expanding GPU driver support are narrowing the gap.
A new custom firmware for PC optical drives, OmniDrive, enables reading proprietary GameCube, Wii, and Xbox disc formats to back up or create playable digital copies for emulators. While PlayStation 3/4/5 and newer Xbox discs remain encrypted, the setup requires compatible drives and flashing expertise to avoid bricking. MakeMKV can help verify compatibility, and the Disc Preservation Project maintains a list of supported models. Users should weigh the legal nuances and hardware costs against the benefit of digitizing their collections.
A Lenovo-branded retro handheld (G02) sold in China by a white-label partner reportedly ships with unlicensed ROMs for Nintendo and other publishers; Lenovo confirmed a regional brand-licensing arrangement for China, but the device is manufactured and sold by a third party. The Linux-based handheld supports 30+ platforms (PSP, PS1, N64, GBA, DS, Dreamcast, arcade) and is available on AliExpress. Nintendo’s IP enforcement looms over the arrangement, potentially creating legal exposure for Lenovo despite the licensing. Lenovo notes white-label products may differ from official Lenovo offerings.
Gizmodo reports Lenovo’s handheld G02, sold on AliExpress for about $73, is a Game Boy–like device powered by a Rockchip RK3326 with 1GB RAM. It reportedly boots with a Lenovo splash screen, and some units come with an SD card preloaded with thousands of classic Nintendo titles, raising copyright concerns around emulation. Lenovo says the device is a China-market brand-licensing product, not part of its PC lineup. While emulation devices are common, Gizmodo cautions against piracy and points to legitimate alternatives like the Anbernic Rotate, Retroid Pocket Classic, or TrimUI Brick for US buyers.
This week’s Retro Recap covers major retro gaming headlines: Digital Press’s forum goes dark, Twilight Princess officially but unofficially ports to PC, 3DS clear-shell kits initiative, Analogue 3D updates with cartridge color options and save-states, the GF1 Neptune FPGA core demo for Sega 32X, new Evercade Neo Geo and Activision collections, plus reviews of Return To Blacktooth and Epilogue’s SN Operator, a tribute to Roy Ozaki, and an interview about the Neo Geo-first party game Overserved.
RPCS3, the open-source PS3 emulator, updated its contribution guidelines to permit AI-assisted research but require full human ownership and disclosure for any AI-generated code in pull requests; untested AI-generated code may be closed or banned, with repeated violations leading to bans, as maintainers urge contributors to learn debugging and coding themselves rather than submitting 'AI slop'.
RPCS3, the open-source PlayStation 3 emulator, asked its GitHub community to stop submitting AI-generated pull requests, warning that those who do so without disclosure will be banned; the developers said there are plenty of resources to learn debugging and coding rather than producing AI slop that often fails, a sentiment echoed as other projects like Godot Engine deal with similar AI PR floods; RPCS3 has helped make about 70% of the PS3 library playable since 2011.
Evercade unveiled two new clamshell handheld emulators, the C64 Handheld and Spectrum Handheld, each with a 4.3" 840×480 display, a quad‑core 1.2GHz CPU and 256MB RAM, plus the ability to load your own games via an SD card. They cost $130 to pre‑order (shipping in October) with Collector’s Editions at $150 that include a bespoke case and a classic British gaming magazine. The devices support PAL/NTSC and can run multiple versions of each machine, and are available to order internationally (UK Funstock site noted; US listing not yet). The piece blends news with nostalgia and includes the author’s personal preorder impulse.
Blaze and Retro Games Ltd will launch two Nintendo-style clamshell handhelds—THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld—each with a 4.3-inch IPS display, 25 preloaded games, MicroSD expansion, and USB keyboard support. They emulate C64/Spectrum titles with selectable formats, weigh about 235g, and offer roughly 3+ hours of play. Priced at £109.99 / $129.99 / €129.99 with Collector’s Editions at £129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99, both launch in October 2026 and are available to pre-order via Funstock (limited to 2,000 units each).
Security engineer Andy Nguyen released PS5-Linux, a project that unlocks PS5 hardware to run a full Linux desktop on 3.x–4.x firmware via a patched hypervisor vulnerability, enabling Steam games and emulators with 4K60 HDMI and audio; installation requires a 64GB USB drive (external SSD recommended), a keyboard/mouse, and a network adapter, and the setup is not a dual-boot—each boot requires running the exploit—while standby, HDMI quirks, and other bugs remain; full installation guide is on GitHub.