Difference between revisions of "Arcade Ultimate"

Revision as of 18:58, 16 October 2020

Arcade Ultimate

Manufacturer: AtGames

Distributor: AtGames, Blaze Europe (UK), H&B (France), Tectoy (Brazil), Hyperkin (US)

Built-in games: 20 / 80

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	2012-11^[1]	$59.9959.99^[1]	GP2628-80
US (20G; Hyperkin)	20xx	$49.9949.99^[2]
FR	20xx
UK	20xx	£39.9939.99^[3]
BR	20xx
RU	20xx

The Arcade Ultimate is a handheld Sega Mega Drive console on a chip created by AtGames. It can be seen as an enhanced version of the Arcade Portable.

Like its predecessors, the name of this product is disputed and varies considerably between regions and distributors. While AtGames call it the Arcade Ultimate on their website, most packaging designs call the system the Gopher, with Sega Mega Drive Arcade Ultimate Portable, Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player, Sega Genesis Firecore Portable Player, and Sega Mega Drive Firecore Portable Player also in use. In Brazil the system is known as the MD Play.

There are three versions of the Arcade Ultimate, all with similar aesthetics. Models GP2628 and GP2628-80 are the most common with 20 or 80 built-in games respectively, however a GP2628R variant (frequently referred to as Gopher Wireless) also exists which adds support for AtGames' range of wireless controllers (which are both sold separately and bundled with some other AtGames consoles).

Arcade Ultimates are available worldwide, however are most common in the likes of Asia, specifically Russian and Chinese markets.

Hardware

The Arcade Ultimate is a handheld device with a built-in, backlit LCD screen and a 6-button control pad (as oppsoed to the three seen in the Arcade Portable). Also featured is an SD card slot and a built-in lithium battery with USB charger. Furthermore there exists a TV output connection, so that games can be played on a large screen, however the device will only produce a NTSC signal.

The console uses the same "console-on-a-chip" technology as its predecessor, and comes equipped with a similar selection of Mega Drive games. SD card support allows most Mega Drive games to be played, emulation permitting. The console does not support saving however, thus games must be finished in one sitting.

Using an SD card

To boot games from an SD card, Sega Mega Drive ROMs should be placed inside a folder called "GAME" at the root of the card. ROMs can be either .bin or .smd and all regions are compatible. There is not full compatibility with all games, if you find that a particular ROM doesn't work; try to use verified dumps [!] and if a certain region doesn't work, try another. The games will be listed in the order they were added to the card, you can use a tool called folder_sort to force this order into alphabetical order.

MDB.DAT

Images can be displayed for custom games on the SD card, in the same way as the built-in games, by the use of an MDB.DAT file. Without the presence of this file all games on the SD card will display a blank place-holder image. There are at least two tools that can edit or create an MDB.DAT file: ScreenGopher and MDB_Edit

Using either tool you need to create an entry for each ROM and assign a picture (120x112). The name you enter in the MDB.DAT must match the filename exactly (excluding the extension). You cannot use a period "." in the name and a space is automatically inserted before a capitalized word, so if you put a space in yourself you will see a double-space on the device's menu. For example "Sonic theHedgehog 2" in the MDB.DAT would give you "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" on your device.

You can read more about the structure of the MDB.DAT file in the ScreenGopher Manual. The application is currently unavailable but the PDF is filled with useful information.

List of Built-in Games

Depending on the distributor, the number and library of games varies across Arcade Ultimate consoles.

AtGames 20 Games version

Blaze 20 Games version

AtGames 80 Games version

The 80 Games version only includes 40 Mega Drive/Genesis games, however it also has 40 AtGames developed games to bring the total up to the stated 80. The game list is below:

Air Hockey
Black Sheep
Bomber
Bottle Taps Race
Brain Switch
Bulls and Cows
Cannon
Checker
Chess
Color Puzzle
Cross the Road
Curling 2010
Dominant Color
Fight or Lose
Firefly Glow
Fish Story
Flash Memory
Formula Challenge
Hexagonos
Jack’s Pea
Jewel Magic
Logic Dial
Mahjong Solitaire
Match Eleven
Mega Brain Switch
Memory
Memory Match
Mirror Mirror
Mr. Balls
Naval Power
Panic Lift
Reaction Match
Snake
Space Hunter
Spider
Sudoku Quiz
Table Magic
Treasure Hunt
Warehouse Keeper
Whack A Wolf

Digital manuals

AtGames Arcade Ultimate manual (Model Numbers GP2628 and GP2628R)
AtGames Arcade Ultimate manual (Model Number GP2628-80)
AtGames Arcade Ultimate manual (Model Number GP2628-80M)
ScreenGopher manual
MD Play manual

Gallery

Unbranded red model
Tectoy model
H&B model
Russian model (blue)
Russian model (green)
Ultimate Portable Game Player model
UK Unbranded model (Orange)

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US (20G; blister pack)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; blue)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; blue; alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; blue; deluxe)

Mega Drive, US (80G; white)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; white; alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; white; alt newer)
Cover

Mega Drive, US (80G; deluxe; white)

Mega Drive, US (80G; deluxe; white; newer)
Cover

Mega Drive, UK (18G)
Cover

Mega Drive, UK (20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, UK (blue; 20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, UK (20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, FR (20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, FR (20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, RU (20G; orange)
Cover

Mega Drive, RU (20G; blue)
Cover

Mega Drive, ?? (15G)
Cover

Mega Drive, ?? (20G; blister pack)
Cover

Mega Drive, ?? (orange; 20G)
Cover

Mega Drive, ?? (100G)
Cover

Mega Drive, RU (20G; blue; alt)
Cover

External links

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 http://www.atgames.us/Ultimate-Portable-Game-Player-GP2628-80.htm (Wayback Machine: 2012-11-27 22:26)
↑ http://hyperkin.com/index.php/retro-gaming/sega-genesis-game-console/retro-system-atgames-gopher-handheld.html (Wayback Machine: 2011-04-17 11:38)
↑ http://www.blazeeurope.com/sega/sega-ultimate/prod_133.html (Wayback Machine: 2010-08-05 14:01)

Sega consoles created by AtGames
"Plug and play" systems
PlayPal Plug & Play (2006) \| Arcade Gamer (200x) \| Brain Games Colour (2008) \| Mega Drive Twin Pads (2008) \| Arcade Gamer Classic (20xx) \| Arcade Master (20xx) \| Reactor (20xx) \| Arcade Motion Dual (2010) \| Arcade Nano (2010) \| Arcade Blast (2011)
Systems with a cartridge slot
Arcade Motion Classic (2008) \| Arcade Classic (2009) \| Genesis Gencore (2009) \| Sega Mega Drive Flashback (2017)
Handhelds
Arcade Gamer Portable (200x) \| Arcade Portable (200x) \| Arcade Ultimate (20xx) \| GenMobile (20xx)

Sega Mega Drive
Topics	Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) \| History \| List of games \| Magazine articles \| Promotional material \| Merchandise \| Cartridges \| TradeMark Security System
Hardware	Japan \| North America \| Western Europe \| Eastern Europe \| South America \| Asia \| South Korea \| Australasia \| Africa EZ Games \| Genesis 3 \| LaserActive \| Mega Jet \| Mega PC \| Mega Play \| Mega-Tech System \| Mega 6 \| Nomad \| Teradrive \| Mega Drive Mini \| Mega Drive Mini 2 New Mega Drive \| Tianli VCD/DVD Players \| "Consoles on a chip" \| Licensed clones (Magic 2 \| Mega Game II \| Power Pegasus \| Super Bitman) Unlicensed clones
Add-ons	Game Box \| Power Base Converter \| Mega-CD \| 32X (Mega-CD 32X) \| Mega Modem \| Demo System DS-16
Cases	Sega Genesis Nomad Carrying Case \| System Carry Case
Controllers	Control Pad \| Six Button Control Pad \| 6 Button Arcade Pad \| Arcade Power Stick 6B \| Konami Justifier \| MK-1470 Action Chair \| Activator \| Arcade Power Stick \| Keyboard \| MegaFire \| Mouse \| Mega Stick \| Menacer \| Remote Arcade System \| Ten Key Pad \| Third Party Controllers
Accessories	4 Way Play \| AC adaptor \| Cleaning System \| Control Pad Extension Cord \| Game Factory \| Genesis Speakers \| Headset \| HeartBeat Catalyst \| Microphone \| Region converter cartridges \| Mega Terminal \| Nomad PowerBack \| RF Unit \| SCART Cable \| Stereo Audio Video Cable \| Team Player \| Video Monitor Cable \| Third-party AC adaptors \| Third Party Accessories
Network services	Sega Channel \| Sega Game Toshokan \| Mega Anser \| Mega Net \| TeleBradesco Residência \| XB∀ND
Development tools	ERX 308P \| ERX 318P \| Sprobe \| SNASM68K \| SNASM2 (Mega Drive) \| SNASM2 (32X) \| PSY-Q Development System (Mega Drive) \| PSY-Q Development System (32X) \| 32X CartDev \| Sega Mars Development Aid System \| Sega 32X Development Target
Unreleased	Edge 16 \| Floppy Disk Drive \| Mega Play 1010 \| Sega VR \| Teleplay System \| Video Jukebox

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20121127222616.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.atgames.us.2FUltimate-Portable-Game-Player-GP2628-80.htm-1] 1.0 ^1.1 http://www.atgames.us/Ultimate-Portable-Game-Player-GP2628-80.htm (Wayback Machine: 2012-11-27 22:26)

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20110417113822.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fhyperkin.com.2Findex.php.2Fretro-gaming.2Fsega-genesis-game-console.2Fretro-system-atgames-gopher-handheld.html-2] ttp://hyperkin.com/index.php/retro-gaming/sega-genesis-game-console/retro-system-atgames-gopher-handheld.html (Wayback Machine: 2011-04-17 11:38)

[https:.2F.2Fweb.archive.org.2Fweb.2F20100805140126.2Fhttp:.2F.2Fwww.blazeeurope.com.2Fsega.2Fsega-ultimate.2Fprod_133.html-3] ttp://www.blazeeurope.com/sega/sega-ultimate/prod_133.html (Wayback Machine: 2010-08-05 14:01)

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 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110417113822/http://hyperkin.com/index.php/retro-gaming/sega-genesis-game-console/retro-system-atgames-gopher-handheld.html Product page on Hyperkin.com] (archive)
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100805140126/http://www.blazeeurope.com/sega/sega-ultimate/prod_133.html Product page on Blaze Europe] (archive)
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805122132/http://www.tectoy.com.br/produto_interna.php?id=45 Product page on Tectoy.com.br] (archive)
 ==References==