Arcade Ultimate

From Sega Retro

MDPlay BR.jpg
Arcade Ultimate
Manufacturer: AtGames
Distributor: AtGames, Blaze Europe (UK), H&B (France), Tectoy (Brazil), Hyperkin (US), Kartridzh Tsentr (RU)
Built-in games: 20 / 80
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
$59.9959.99[1] GP2628-80
Sega Mega Drive
US
(20G; Hyperkin)
$49.9949.99[2]
Sega Mega Drive
US
(80G; later)
$59.9959.99[4] GP2632B
Sega Mega Drive
US
(85G)
$59.9959.99[5] GP3228
Sega Mega Drive
FR
SM-4000
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£39.9939.99[6]
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Sega Mega Drive
RU

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

Gallery

Official photographs

Magazine articles

Main article: Arcade Ultimate/Magazine articles.

Variants

Box Name Distributor Date & Price Console Label Hardware Software Documentation Comments
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Front BlisterPack20G.jpg
Arcade Ultimate AtGames
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games
Gopherbox.jpg
Gopher AtGames
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games
SegaGenesisUltimatePortableGamePlayer Box Back.jpgNospine-small.pngSegaGenesisUltimatePortableGamePlayer Box Front.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player AtGames
United States of America US: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
80 games
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Back Blue 80G.jpgNospine-small.pngArcadeUltimate MD US Box Front Blue 80G.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player AtGames
United States of America US: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
80 games
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Back White 80G Alt.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player AtGames
United States of America US: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
80 games
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Back White 80G.jpgNospine-small.pngArcadeUltimate MD US Box Front White 80G.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
80 games
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Back White 80G Newer.jpgNospine-small.pngArcadeUltimate MD US Box Front White 80G Newer.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
80 games
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player Deluxe AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
Sam's Club exclusive.
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player Deluxe AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
Sam's Club exclusive.
ArcadeUltimate MD US Box Back White 80G Deluxe.jpgNospine-small.pngArcadeUltimate MD US Box Front White 80G Deluxe.jpg
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player Deluxe AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
Sam's Club exclusive.
Sega Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player Deluxe AtGames
United States of America US: (201x)
Notavailable.svg
85 games
ArcadeUltimate MD UK Box Front Blaze18G.jpg
Arcade Ultimate Portable Video Game Player Blaze Europe
United Kingdom UK: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
18 games.
Gopherbox uk.jpg
Arcade Ultimate Portable Blaze Europe
United Kingdom UK: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
ArcadeUltimate MD Box Front Blue 2G Sonic2Beta.jpg
Arcade Ultimate Portable
United Kingdom UK: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games, with the box showing a prototype version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
ArcadeUltimate MD UK box back.jpgNospine-small.pngArcadeUltimate MD Box Front 20G.jpg
ArcadeUltimate MD UK box bottom.jpg
Arcade Ultimate Portable
United Kingdom UK: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
ArcadeUltimate MD FR Box Front 20G.jpg
SM-4000 SD H&B
France FR: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
ArcadeUltimate MD FR Box Front SoR.jpg
SM-4000 SD Streets of Rage Limited Edition H&B
France FR: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
MDPlay MD BR Box Front.jpg
MD Play Tectoy
Brazil BR: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopherbox ru.jpg
Gopher Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
GopherBlue RU Box Front.jpg
Gopher Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
GopherWireless MD RU Box Back Blue Alt.jpgNospine-small.pngGopher RU Box.jpeg
Gopher Wireless Kartridzh Tsentr
Russia RU: (20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
ArcadeUltimate MD Box Front AtGames15G.jpg
Arcade Ultimate Portable
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
15 games.
Firecore portable packaging.jpg
Gopher
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher EU Box Front.jpg
Gopher
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
20 games.
Gopher MD Box Front 100G.jpg
Gopher
(20xx)
Notavailable.svg
100 games.

External links

References


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 | LaserActive | Mega Jet | Mega PC | Mega Play | Mega-Tech System | 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 | Cleaning System | Control Pad Extension Cord | Genesis Speakers | Headset | HeartBeat Catalyst | Microphone | Region converter cartridges | Mega Terminal | Nomad PowerBack | RF Unit (Mega Drive 2) | SCART Cable (Mega Drive 2) | Stereo Audio Video Cable | Team Player | Video Monitor Cable | 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